FEBRUARY 2003 JOURNAL

February 2, 2003

I have to tell you though, Jo has to take off again for awhile.  Member when Fancy Pants was saying ......

" I heard her saying that.  Also heard her saying that she was also gonna do something different to the page and maybe the pictures too as it's Sweetheart Month.   Said she is even going to put some special prices on those babies (not me, cause I get to stay and live here YEAH) if anyone calls and says they want a Sweetheart Present.' ...........

in last months Journal?  Well Jo's off now to get the pictures done up that her and Lou took this morning.  Back later guys.  

Well to start off the month, all four of us green linnies are going to talk to yous.  One of  is  going on the plane this  week to live our new Mom's (yes two, Mom and daughter team with Dad in the background)  and are they ever excited!  Jo pretty much has the pick of the four of us, which one to send them.  Jo had it all figured out which one of us four were going to go and then don't one of us go and talk tonight.  Jo's been thinking for a week now that one of us was trying to talking.  When she was feeding Little Pearl and Seawilly's babies tonight we were all lined up behind her on our drawbridge door.  One of us piped up with HELLO.  Course by the time Jo got turned around to look, we all just gazed at her quite innocently. Tomorrow maybe we will let her in on the secret of which of us  is talking.  Who knows, maybe two of us are!  Before the end of the week comes, we'll let her in on the secret.  

The four in the apartment beside me, one being the little cinnamon in the heart next door here, are just simply sweethearts Jo says.  There two like that cinnamon whitefaces, only one has a beautiful blue belly (the one in the picture) and one has a beautiful belly.  Course then theres Fancy Pants, the silver whiteface and a cobalt whiteface.  When those four are out, they  spend just about their whole time cuddled up with Jo.  It's a real blast as us four linnies laid claim to her shoulders as well so we'll all up their pushen for room.  Then it gets real fun if Jo lets Flo's tribe out at the same time.  You  see the linnie  Jo's shoulders next door here, well thats one of Flo's cinnamon in the background lookin the other way.  They are real real nice looking babies.  

Opal and Archie have 3 weenie babies  hatched out now.  Jo had to rush today and order a few bands to get here quick as our TRA coded ones are still not ready. 

Did we tell you Jo started soaking seed for all us guys and the adults.  Ya she got some winter wheat, some buckwheat, some sunflower seeds and some whole oats.  She soaks this, drains well then mixes with our veggies and other soft foods for the day,  our eggfood,  plus our other supplements and vitamins as needed, depending on who's who, who's breeding, who's molting, etc.  Some of us have taken to it right away, some are being a bit slow to start chowing it down.   We heard Jo saying today as well that she is switching all those adult lovebirds back to Hagen pellets.   Guess she found out there is an ingredient in the Roudybush pellets that she is not to crazy about.  Now that's going to be a real feat to achieve as they all love their Roudybush.   Jo will win this feat, you can be sure!  We all get so many veggies, pasta, greens, grains, breads, etc daily that she was even considering taking the lovebirds off pellets, but then thought better of it.  Going to continue with the same regiment of diet, just the switch of pellets for now I guess.  Jo knows that in the wild these lovebirds did not get pellets, but there may have been much and many and maybe better eats that these guys did get in the wild that we are not providing.  Who knows.   Us linnies won't see any change.   We will still get our seed mixture that Jo orders just for us and adds Tropimix and hemp (that she crushes herself) to.  That's why us guys get doses of vitamins as well (cause we won't eat our pellets).   Those lovebird babies won't see any change at all as they never got Roudybush anyway.  

Guess we better go for now and get some more picture huh........

Kiwi here folks.  I gets one last chance to talk tonight as tomorrow I am going to my new home.  And oh by the way I can talk!  Jo's grandson, Jesse,  who is partial to linnies anyway just loves me, only for some silly reason he calls me Speaker.  Good gosh, Jesse's been at our house for the last couple days as they have had no school due to our nice big ice storm, he's up at 6 in the morning asking Jo if he can bring me out to play.  Course Jo won't let him, says I need to eat breakfast first.  Four of us here, all of us look the same, but that Jesse seems to be able to come right in and pick me right out!    But back to the ice storm, that was pretty wicked down our way.  Luckily us here at Tiny Rascals did not loose any power.  Just 1 km up the road, they lost their power for 3 days.   Lots of folks in town and around,  lost power for up to 4 days.  Jo's ready should any emergencies like that happen here and of course they have the wood stove, so life wouldn't really be to to rough.  Still Jo's hoping never to have to rise to the occasion, specially if she were to have small, wenzie babies.  

Did Jo tell you all about the sky blue (marine) linnie?  Charlotte is her name.  Well she is being her same old usual self in all aspects except they have determined she has a pancreas problem.  Jo has spent a fair amount of time lately researching this, as while she knows nothing can be done to correct this, she wants to do all she can to make Charlotte comfortable and her digestion system working as best as it can.  I know Lou came home today with some medication for her.  Maybe when Jo fills us in on all the scoop with her, we can pass on to you. 

Well folks this may be a short Journal tonight, but I have to get to bed as I have a big day and a long plane ride ahead of me tomorrow.  By the way, that's me next door here sittin proud and pretty on top of the stuffed animal.  So thanks Mom and Dad (Mattie and Matt) for hatching me, thanks Jo for raising me to be a nice little girl, making sure I eat all my dinner and supper, giving me lots of toys to play with,  thanks to all my siblings for sharing an apartment with me and playing with me, thanks to Jesse for loving me so much and playing with me and now I'm off to bed for my big day...... 

Back again we are!  Kiwi is gone but if you go to our new section that Lou added on Birds in Their New Homes you will see pictures of her with her new Family.  Second Heaven I would say, they just love her to pieces.  She's already talked for them, so they know for sure she's a talker.  Jo got a nice Thank You card from them in her mail box today.  

Lets see.......who's got the gift of gab tonight..........who's got the most stories to tell..............that would have to be little Mr (we hope) Seagreen.  He (we hope) got his toenails clipped today so Jo could scoff some of his blood.  It's being sent to Health Gene for DNA sexing.  When they all learn my little secret if I am a boy or a girl (!) ............Boy ..I'm outta here.......Girl .. I'm still lookin to have a new home with lots of toys, fun and good food.  So in the meantime I still have at least a week here, so let me fill you's in.

Jo told you last week I think,  that she's giving all of us some soaked seed everyday.  I'm here to tell you we like that stuff!  Now half the day we gets our veggies/greens/rice/etc., the other half we get our soaked seeds, we always got those old pellets, plus we still get daily treats of kale, popcorn, breads, millet,  etc. on our platforms everyday, plus we still get some of the dry seeds on treat days.   Oh what a life!  Breakfast served, dinner served, supper served, cleans up behind us after these meals .....and she wonders why she's on the always on the go!

The four brats are still in here with us as well.  You know the ones, the ever so darling whiteface beauties.  Jo loves the pastal sky blue on the underbellies of some of these ones.  Only trouble is they are just sooo spoiled.  Or should I say they just love Jo.  Last day or so they have been getting adventureous and  have flown off to  made themselves a little hideout under the stack of bedding.  It's just too cute.  They poke their way in the front of the pile, have a little wiggle path made right thru to the back, all snuggle in together and PRAY that Jo will forget about them there!  One of the cinnamon girls is spoken for and going on another one of those long plane rides.  Oh but she will be happy as she is taking herself a male friend as well. 

 Back in a jiffy folks, we just noticed that we have been doing too much gabbing here and have to go get you some more pictures.

Here I am again, but Jo still never got no pictures ready for you guys!  She wants me to tell you about a very sad and a very hard experience that she has had to deal with all week.  Probably why you have not heard much from us this week.  Poor Jo, she has really, really been having a tough time dealing with this too, I want you to know.  Says she will NEVER become immuned to the lose of a baby, never mind three of her precious linnie babies.  It all happened last Saturday when she went and discovered one of Opal's babies had crawled to the end of the nest box, Opal had not noticed and brought the baby back to the nest, so when Jo found him, he was ice cold!  Jo scooped him up and held him in her hand, under her shirt, to bring his body temperature back up to normal, slowly with her body heat.  Then she got the brooder all ready for them and pulled all three babies and got them all nice and cozy in their new quarters.  This was at 2 or so in the afternoon.  Things were just fine all day.  At this tender age of just under two weeks, Jo keeps the brooder temp. at 30 to 31 degrees C.  Babies were wiggling and kicking and just snuggled right in.  Jo kept peeking and checking all day and they were just 100%.  They got fed supper (late of course as Jo had to wait till their crops completely emptied from their Mom's food) and Jo did her last check at 8 o'clock.  Well Jo's sittin in on her bed with her trusty laptop getting the pictures all ready for the Album she is (was) making up on them.  Beautiful pictures she had.  Then the gosh darn phone rings at 8:30, friends of Jo and Lou's from up the road, wanting to know if they want to come over and have a card game of wizard.  Now usually these folks come to Jo's house, so Jo says Well we have to go, as we almost never go to their house.  So her and Lou get ready and off they go.  They are back home by 12 so Jo can feed her babies, only to walk into the Babies Room, straight to the brooder, lift the blanket keeping the nice warm air in, and finds the temperature had  gone up to 36 degrees in the brooder and two of her oldest babies had died!  Jo scooped out the youngest baby and one more time with this little one, is now bringing his body temperature DOWN to normal.  She adjusts  the temp back down in the brooder and gently puts him back in.  Now she has the other two babies, their little bodies are still warm and poor Jo (we were watching her) is trying to WILL them to come back to life and is crying her eyes out.  She goes back downstairs and sits tear eyed for 20 minutes and then comes back into our room to check on the wee one again.  He had passed away as well!!  Jo was beside herself.  She went down on the coach for the night and cryed.  All the next day she barely spoke.  I guess you almost have to know Jo like we do, to know how upset she gets when something like this happens.  Took her 4 days before she could talk about this out loud without crying and would tell anyone.  Guess she hates for people to see her all emotional and crying, but then she also gets so upset at herself when things like this happen.  Says if she had not gone out, this would never have happened as she is constantly checking on any new babies.    It was a cold night outside here Saturday night and she had adjusted the temperature for our room, just a tad, but enough that when the temp raised in our room, it also raised the temp TOO HIGH in the brooder.  What's makes this even harder for Jo is that there is a wonderful mother and step daughter that were just waiting on pins and needles for two of these babies.  Now  they have to wait longer for their new additions to their family,  They have been here to visit with Jo and are just so excited to be getting two of these wonderful linnies.  They are also the reason Jo was (and still is by the way) going to do an Album for them.  We'll just have to make sure the Album will be extra special for them, now that they have to wait a little longer.  

   So folks, while it is a very sad time here this week, Jo says we had to share this happening in our world,  as in life you have to take the good with the bad, especially in the land of breeding and raising babies. We all wished we lived in a perfect, happy, safe little  world, but then these gosh darn bad, sad, events happen.  We heard Jo telling her friend Lise, that from now on THEY will be coming to JO'S house to play wizard!    

Hi Folks, February 18, 2003 and it's Pumpkin here!   Now I suppose you all want to know who Pumpkin is?  Remember Kiwi, the little green linnie that went to live in Toronto last week.  Well I am her sibling... Kiwí's new family just love her so much, they have called for me too.  YEPE  I get to go live there  this Friday with Kiwi.  I can hardly wait!  Not that I don't like it here, I love it here.   But that's what Jo does, finds us nice new homes and now I got one too and get to live with my sister to boot!  We are both little girls and get along just fine.  What's even better.  Jo's all impressed with me now cause I said my first Hello yesterday!   Both my other siblings are leaving for their new homes this week as well, so come Saturday Jo should have a pretty long face, as she will  not have any of us linnies around to talk to.  She has one in the brooder but she does not want to speak too loudly about him yet.  He is only 12 hours old and SO SO tiny!  Poor little fellow was not getting fed, so Jo pulled him to feed.  She was feeding him every 45 minutes this afternoon.  Now that he's somewhat stable, Jo's feeding him every 1 1/2 hour but holy camoly she is still some nervous.  She has raised a few from this age with great success, but says everyone is it's own little challenge.  

O.K. sorry, but it's 11:00 and time for that wee one to get a snack.  Then Jo's gonna take a snooze so we'll be back tomorrow night folks.

I'm back and not only for the first time tonight but the second!  Oh ya, one more time, I speel off all the current events for Jo, and low and behold her computer freezes up!  Lost all the gossip, so here I goes again.  

The wee one is still doing fine.  He is just so tiny, but hey Jo says he's growing.  Jo can hear his little crying for food and finds it absolutely amazing that something that little would have such a strong cry.    

Jo sent out two linnies today, an olive and one of my siblings.  In that package she also, as much as it breaks her heart, sent Lacy and Webster to a new home.   She knew this day was coming, now that she has all those whiteface guys downstairs, but it still hurts her to part with some of her flock.  She's hoping to be able to get her Breeding Hut back in action this weekend and move the breeders back out.  Then she and Lou have the fun of making all those new whiteface pairs.    The same plane as those guys went on she also sent one of the whiteface cinnamon beauties along with two other males to a lady in Ontario.  That near broke her heart, says putting that whiteface cinnamon, who is just so spoiled,  in that little cage was heartbreaking.  Felt like she was punishing her and the poor girl had done nothing wrong!! 

 Jo just wishes she knew a way to get this other whiteface cinnamon over the border lines to the US of A!! Jo has a very loyal fan over there who is so patiently waiting for one of those spoiled lovebird babies.  Jo says this cinnamon would be just the one for him!  Jo came up for lights out last night and the little cinnamon comes to the door begging to be let out.  Course that was not gonna happen at bedtime, so Jo pokes her finger in to give her a pat.  That little brat sits there, moving her head all around letting Jo "preen"her.  She is just too adorable.  Fancy Pants who is also with her, is almost as bad.  

Now what else is going on in here.  The little masked  baby is doing just great and his new Mom who lives in Winnipeg calls at least once a week to check in on him.  Jo, being so concerned over the wee one and all the shipping she has been doing this week, can you believe never took no pictures of him yet.  Imagine!!  Tracey called today asking for a picture and Jo felt so bad.  She is going to take some at his next feeding to email to her.  Really Tracey wanted a little boy, but we think she has decided that she is going to take this little one, regardless of the sex, as we all know how spoiled it is going to be.   Single chicks are always so spoiled in this house!!  

Did I tell you about Grady yet?  He is our newest member downstairs in the Resting Room.  He is one of Jo's green linnies born last January.  He lived in Salisbury, but his new Mom found she just didn't have the time to dedicate to him he should have.  So what does Jo do,  buy him back!!  She has a female olive linnie, named Tula,  that is looking for a hubbie so now she got herself one!  Grady and Tula.  Jo has had him DNA'd so knows for sure it's a boy.  

Gotta run, the wee one needs some grub.  Later............

..............Pumpkin here, back again guys.  One more time I can chat with you, then I'm off to get a good nights sleep before my long plane ride tomorrow to be with Kiwi.  

So did you see, Jo just posted some pictures of the little masked guy of Traceys.  He's 10 days old today.  Jo says he's doing so well, she had to band him at 9 days and his eyes were not even open yet.  Just today his little eyes are bout half open.  By tomorrow he's be gazing all around.  

Then under that guys picture you got a picture of Jo's 3 days old linnie.  Really the fluffy one of him, he is only 12 hours old, the second one (which is magnified up) the wee one is three days old.  Finally today Jo says he's actually opening his little beak for her.  Takes her so long to feed this little guy that she has to reheat the formula three times.  Jo says sorry he still has a bit of formula on his body, but by the time Jo gets him fed, he wiggles so much he has his supper all over him.  Course that's when Lou comes to take the picture.  

Then of course you got pictures of me, Pumpkin, with my sister.  Poor Jo is going to miss us.  She's always talking to us.  Tonight we heard her coming in our room, we ran down our ladder in our home, across the perch and onto our swing ladder Jo has made us, just waitin at the front door to get out.  Jo laughed so hard, she really was not coming to let us out, but could not resist!  

Then how about the picture of the little cinnamon whiteface in the flower pot?  That's the cinnamon that went on the plane this week.  There is a lady called Ellen in Holland (see link for her on our Web Page) who loves our pictures.  She took this picture and made it into a letterhead for emailing to folks.  She also made more for Jo and you can bet Jo loves these!!

Then see Fancy Pants taking flight.  Jo just can't get over her beautiful pastal violet body, the flights are so transparent you can see right thru them.   

Well Jo's giving me a signal there, that I have to be quiet and get to bed.  By by folks. I'm sure my new Mom and Dad will send Jo pictures of me and Kiwi in our new home for Jo to post for you's next week.

February 27th, and no pictures from Pumpkin and Kiwi yet.  But that's O.K. cause we know they are coming, Mary, their new Mom told us so.  Parently Pumpkin and Kiwi's Mom was nice enough to lend out her camera so now we have to wait till she gets it back to share their photo's with you.  

So what do you think about us little seagreen mauve (slate) and seagreen cobalt playing down Jo's shirt.  Well it's us talking here right now, cause we have the most portant news for you.  Really there is three of us, but our sibling is still way down Jo's shirt in the pictures here.  We all got new parents waiting for us once we get weaned, but the best part................ready.................we all get to go to the same home!  YEAH!!!  and to boot one of those whiteface guys (the guy part we are not too sure about)  and a cinnamon lady are coming with us.  Way far away on another plane Jo tells us we are going.   Now Jo ought to be ashamed of herself as she has not updated the Babies Page and does not even have us there yet.  Guess that better change tonight!

But back to Jo's shirt where we  are resting and playing quite nicely.  But then guess what, see that spoiled brat peeking down at us, ya the whiteface cinnamon.  Pretty nosey huh!  Jo wouldn't let her down to play with us though as Jo wasn't convinced she would not try to fight with us.  Her and that silver violet whiteface one are spoiled let me tell you.  They will go to anyone and everyone, ain't scared of nothin!  

The wee one is growin up quite nicely.  Finally Jo says.  The first three days Jo's feeding that tiny wee thing, she's thinking time will never go by and that little one will gain some grams.  Jo has the Album started on her/him, well the pictures are there anyways, then she came to update you here on the Journal, then she said she's gonna work on it some more.  Boy that was a mouthful!  So you want to know the scoop on the wee one from now on, check the Baby Album section.

And the bestest part of all for Jo.  Her Breeding Hut is finally back in commission.  Jo is just the happest little camper around here this week.  She spent three whole days, rotating birds and giving everyone an early spring cleaning, new toys, perches, the whole nine yards.  Out goes Opal / Archie, Dot / Dash, Tilly / Tidbet, Nana / Nigel, Sundance / Cassidy, Misty / Noah, Sunset / Buster and last Alley / Benji. 

Misty and Noah, they are the silver whiteface couple and they had really beat Jo to it as they already had eggs when Jo very quietly and carefully moved them out.  Sundance and Cassidy, while they don't have eggs yet, had all the makings of the nest.  Same with Benji and Alley.  Jo keeps hopin on Sunset and Buster as she has folks already waiting for their babies.  

But oh Jo is so glad to get her Breeding Hut back in order.  See the breeders they get  all the comforts, higher heat, higher humidity, more foods, more lighting, quieter quarters, oh they get the royal treatment out there.  Jo did not and I mean did not enjoy having to have those conditons in our Resting Room for the last couple months.  Having breeders and resters in the same room just does not mix. 

OOPS gotta run, Lou just got home for supper. ........later

TINY RASCALS AVIARY