MOM'S MONTH - MAY 2003 JOURNAL

And means it's Mom's Day Month and some of us linnie guys are going to Mom's as their presents (by request of the Mom's of course) we got our picture at the top of Page.  Course we are going to be a little late as we are not ready to go to our new homes yet, but thats O.K.  

Jo's been real busy here as usual, but this time it's spring cleaning time!  Oh how she hates that job, but feels so good once it's done.  AND it's almost done!  Says tomorrow she is going to finish up our big Resting Room and then it's Lou's turn.  You see he has the chore of doing all our windows on the outside with the pressure washer and man does this house have windows!  Just wait till he reads our Journal and see what his weekend is going to consist of!  You know Jo's behind in the Journal when even Lou is complaining to Jo that she's LATE!  Sorry!

But now we have even more bad news for you.  Jo's gotta run again as the other Jo is on her way over right now to help Jo sex some birds and clip some toes.  Least we got some pictures here for you, back tomorrow with more pictures and all the chattering of the last couple weeks here.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOMS

From all of us Moms and Dads and babies at Tiny Rascals!!

And for all of you Moms waiting for us linnie babies growing up, be patient, we'll be home soon as Jo says we are ready!

We are all doing really well and just a buzzing around our Babies Room now that we have taken flight  Jesse is really happy now with all of us, as you know he just loves us linnie babies and now we are big enough that he can play with us.  We are all doing our step ups onto Jo's finger like were supposed to (or so Jo says) but now she had to work on the nibbling stage.  The little slate gal here started that stage yesterday, nibbling at Jo's ear.  The other day Jo put blueberries (fresh picked and frozen ones) in our veggies.  Well did that ever make for some  pure blue droppings!  Love those blueberries and cranberries!  Took us all of one day to realize how that trap door Jo has on the side of our Condo works as well.  So Jo puts one of us in and two jump out, what a blast her trying to get us all back home!  None of us are talking yet, but give us time.  

So how about all those lovebird babies next door here.  We have silver whiteface, cinnamon silver whiteface, violet turquoise whiteface, a little slate masked fellow that is just too cute as Jo says.  See the picture here of the back of the silver violet.  Some kinda beautiful!!  They have all been reserved with the exception of one of the violet turquoise but theres lots more hatching.  Cookie and Coby, the slate lacewing and whiteface pair now have five babies hatched so far, four of them with red eyes and one with plum eyes so Jo and Lou are anxious to see them feather in.  Jo says they are going to be beauties.  She has two folks waiting on "yellow" coloured babies and these could be the ones!!  Cookie's last clutch was just beautiful babies but to have the whole clutch with red and plum eyes is just too good to be true.

Then we got Jodie and Jesse out to nest now.  Two more whitefaces, silvers and pieds at that, that Jo can hardly wait to see what they will throw her.  This will be their first ever clutch.  Mork and Mindy have their nest all made, now hopefully they will get to work on making the babies.  Let's see what else is going on out there in the Breeding dept.  Well you know Opal and Archie have more eggs.  Opal is known to peel and hide a couple of her babies, but Jo is so hoping she does not do that this time.  She is an excellent Mom, Jo says she just thinks she gets a  little over anxious for those babies to hatch, something like Pig Pen.  Then we got Tilly and Tidbet on eggs, Nadine and Nigel on eggs, Lucy and Linus on eggs, Pascal and Azal are out there and really studing the nest box, but no eggs so far.  In the house we got Grady and Tula who if you remember plucked herself silly to line her nest.  She is feathering back in nice, but in Jo's mind, she would like to see her wait another month AT LEAST before making more eggs to have her feathering 100% again.  Don't think that's gonna happen.  Jo stood there and watched Grady yesterday putting the moves onto her, big time.  You'd think with Jo watching, they would have some pride and wait till no one was watching, NOT SO.  Grady just kept right on with his quest!  

Be back later,  AGAIN,  I know, but Louis's Mom and Dad is taking the whole dang family out for brunch and believe you me, theres a lot of them!!

We are BACK! Grab your coffee and put your tooties up! 

It's me the little slate masked next door here.  Jo is just so impressed with me and sure hopes I don't change.  She just can't figure it out, says for the life of her she cannot get the violet coloured masked babies to stay nice and tame, but us slate ones......holy puff we are just little devits.  Jo has not clipped me yet as she wants me to get good and strong as we are somewhat smaller than the peachface lovebirds.  No prob....... I fly all around the room, Jo puts her finger up and here I come, in for the landing on the finger trick!  Mind you I'm not nice and cuddly, but then Jo has not worked with me THAT hard as she knows where I'm going I'm going to have a partner and have lots of babies.  If I was going to a home where I was going to be a handtame little pet partner for someone, she would work a lot more with me.  Same as all these silver guys and gals here with me.  They are all just the sweetest, handtame babies and Jo has hardly worked with them at all as they are also going to new homes and have partners to make more beautiful babies.  Now she says the next clutch of babies  are not spoken for as of yet, so she hopes they grow up just as wonderful natured.  Did anyone tell you yet, they all got their toes clipped the other day.  Jo is just so excited now for the sexing to come back and find out what the sexes are.  Good old Punky is still here in the Babies Room just waiting to see which one of them is going to be his new wife.  They all got weigh ins today as Jo did not give them no breakfast and gees they most all weighed in at 56 grams at 3 this afternoon before supper.  One guy weighed in at 54.   Jo was impressed but she's not ready to take away their supper feeding yet.

Oh but you see the violet turquoise whiteface sitting in the window with the two violets, that's about the only baby  in here with us now that is not spoken for in case your interested.  Boys is his nose ever out of joint!  Oh Jo says she still has a few of the older babies downstairs here, but we are the only youngings, besides the weansie babies in the brooder.  

Now imagine, see the slate linnie sitting on Jesse's head.  Little did Jesse realize that that's the slate's most favoriate spot to sit, when he asked Jo to PUT him there!  Jo is forever taking him off her head as this is not really a habit you want them to become accustomed too. He is the oldest of the group here but the two cobalts are keeping right up with him!  Jo bought those guys some Zupreem weaning biscuits yesterday.  They look just like cheerios, same size and everything.  So far, so dice, Jo has tried them soften, hard, but no taken yet.  She'll let them look at them for a couple three days and who knows.  Maybe they'll pick one up by mistake and start munching away!  Those guys love to eat with their feet so this is what Jo is hopin for.  They sure are chomping back the veggies though!  Linnies love those veggies!!  

..................................I'm back.  One condo of the baby linnies just got a night fright even though Jo has a night light in their room.  She could hear them flying all over so she came running.  Took them all out, calmed them down and snuggled them for a bit.  Then they settled right down again and Jo' left.  

Jo has a real nice picture of Grady I guess she's gonna put up here tomorrow.  HIm, he is spoiled rotten.  You all remember him, he is one of Jo's babies that she raised.  Every time Jo goes near his house, she has to stop and chat with him as he comes running right over to the side to talk with her.  Yesterday she had his front door open, he's just sitting there staring and listening as she chats away with him.  Lou went with the camera and got a picture of him sitting there just as content as can be.  I think Jo's got it in her mind, she's gonna see if she can get him talking.   Tula, she stayed back out of the spotlight.  While she is shy, Jo says she has the sweetest little voice.  Jo can pick her voice from all the other linnies as it is just so soft, gentle and peaceful. 

And good gosh  I forgot last night to tell yous all the most portant thing that happened here this week.  Lou FINALLY found us a new popcorn make, now we all gets our popcorn again!!  Ours had broke.  They went and got a new one, but it didn't work good at all I guess so they took it back.  Dear old Lou found us a real good one this week. YEAH 

Hello folks boys are boys are we slow here this month!  Sorry bout that but things have just been so exciting.  Between playing with all the linnie babies, our silver and violet babies, and last but not least, our great big BB!!  Now who's that you ask.  Well that is the adorable picture next door here of the meyers parrot.  Yep, Jo bought one.  The sexing has gone away now so we still are not sure what sex BB is, but we do know BB is some darn spoiled and just a doll!!  Goes anywhere and everywhere with Jo, goes to anyone and everyone and just chats up a storm.  No one has quite figured out what he is saying yet, with the exception of his name, tickle tickle and hello but he can sure get on his muttering spurts!  Jo fell so head over for him she already has a pair of baby, and I mean baby, just two weeks old, of blue bellied meyers on reserve.  Course it will be 2-3 years before she can breed them to make her own wonderful babies, but says that's O.K. she can wait.

But back to business at hand here, US.  See me here, the little sky blue next door sitting on my food dish.  Well I'll just bet you can never guess what my name is going to be?  LOUIS.  Course Lou thinks that is just a wonderful name to give to your new little feather friend!  The lady that is getting me called this week to make sure my new cage was going to be O.K. for me and told Jo what my name was going to be.  Then one of the little cobalts up top here, we also know her name is going to be Neela which Jo thinks is a real nice name.  She's going to New Glasgow to live.  So things will be pretty quiet here in the next week, week and a half or so, but not for long.  So far this week, Jo has 10 new little babies with more to hatch.  Oh and can you all see what else Jo gots us this week.  A big big nice long ladder that makes a nice long bridge from one drawbridge to the other.  Now we all have a great time running back and forth!  Don't know what the problem is today though.  Normally Jo will let us out for hours on end to sit and relax, but today she's not!  Says we have to stay in our condo's and learn to eat more I guess.  

So now what do you think about Brooke and Dhillon next door here.  Let's just see if anyone can guess what they are up too!  Jo cleaned all the bottoms of their cages yesterday and could not resist running for the camera when this event started right away!  And of course these guys have no scruples whatsoever, they could care less who is watching!  So while she may not be in the Breeding Hut where she is supposed to be, she sure does have eggs underneath that little rump of hers!  

Mork and Mindy, they have some eggs out there now.  So does Jesse and Jodie.  Jo's anxious to see their babies.  Later tonight Jo is going to post up here some pictures of Pig Pen and Petey's little ones.  One is their very first violet seagreen.  Some kinda beautiful and there is an amazingly  little smart 9 year old boy by the name of Dylan in  Ontario that has first dibbs on him.  Cookie and Coby's babies are getting all their pin feathers now and later today, maybe in the morning, we'll post some more pictures of them for you's as well.  

Poor Tula and Grady.  Once again they are sitting on 5 nice large eggs, which Jo is so hoping goes well this time.  BUT Tula is almost bare again.  Out of a flock of  almost 60 this is the only Mom that Jo has that plucks like this for her nest and gosh darn good thing she says.  Breaks her heart to see Tula naked.  Pascal and Azul are also on eggs now too, case we forgot to tell you.  Pascal is a cobalt linnie and Azul is a dark green /split fellow O.K. so we are back with another first for Jo.  Pascal and Azul have AN egg alrighty.  ONE egg!!  They laid one and then Jo never looked again, wanted to give them some privacy I guess.  Yesterday she couldn't stand it and checked to see how many Pascal had laid.  ONE egg!!!  But let me tell you, she is proud and protective as can be of that one egg.  Think maybe she dosen't know she can lay more and Jo wouldn't be mad at her?  Next time.  Let's just wait and see if that one egg hatches.  Pascal was only bout 6 months old or so when she came to live here and out of all the linnies Pascal always was the shy one.  Head always downcast and turned a bit sideways, looking at you side on.  Not scared, just plain shy Jo calls it.  A real sweetie.

Tula and Grady are doing just fine.  Tula's a bit naked again and needs her coat.  I think maybe when they come back to the Resting Room I heards Jo saying they might get separated for a bit.  Give Tula a chance to feather in nice before Grady trys to put the moves on her again.  

Now aren't we some kinda backwards!  Never even told you who I am talking here.  See that picture next door here, ya the little aqua turquoise sharing the little secret with you that I am going to live with Dylan.  Dylan is only 7  years old and has been researching on us guys for awhile now.  He is one smart little boy and emails Jo with all his questions.  He is  getting my new home, all my toys, perches, mineral blocks, food, treats, he has a bedtime home for me and a daytime home for me (IMAGINE!).  I do believe I am going to be a little spoiled.  He has been researching on how to clean my cage, feed me, play with me.  He and his Mom have  also been   preparing their home for my arrival.  Putting the teflon pots and pans away, out the door's going the air fresher, good bye scented candles and for sure they are not going to smoke around me!  Gosh Jo heard that Dylan is even going to try baking some nice birdie breads for me.  Jo's going to send him her favoriate recipe that she already knows I love!  What a Pal  he's gonna make me!

Next who we got here, ya some of Cookie and Coby's babies.  They are all five going to have the nice soft pastal mutations.  

Even though Jo's been very very busy round here lately, she is still going to miss all those linnies leaving Tiny Rascals next weekend for their new homes.  Lou's been busy making cages for some of them and Jo's been busy making new toys, perches, happy huts for them, loving every minute.  Jo knows just what all us like to play with and now makes most all our toys.  Soon she is going to add a page of pictures and prices in case you'd all like to buy some, she's just a little too busy right now with us and the toys to get it done.  

Why so busy your asking.  See the picture on the wrong side of a brooder of linnies.  There are been more added to it since Jo took this picture, plus she has another one of lovebirds.  So while we have a lot of babies leaving, we have lots to take their places.  

Jo got back the sexing on those silver whiteface babies.  Imagine 3 out of 4 are boys!  Good thing as Jo and Lou planned on keeping one female and that's all they got!  Some of them guys are leaving for their new  homes next week and the rest are leaving  with the slate and violet masked fellows the following week.  That's when their new Mom and Dads will be on vacation and more time to welcome them.    

NOW let me tell you about Jo's new BB.  Remember the meyers parrot she has now.  Well Jo got back the sexing on BB, even though after three days of living here, Jo was convinced she was a girl. She was so right.  All this BB wants is for Jo to cuddle her, rub her neck and head, to put it very bluntly she is a BIG sook.  The bad part is though Jo cannot even go near BB and she is doing the skirt dance and trying to rub her beak up and down Jo fingers so Jo will scratch and cuddle her.  Then she starts with the regurating!  In other words .........

So today Jo tried to stop cuddling her (believe me this is hard to do - she just flops herself upside down and lays in the palm of Jo's hand to be scratched!)  BB would do her darnest rubbing her beak into Jo's finger to get Jo to stratch and cuddle her.  No way, Jo never gave in, (that I know of anyways).  Jo takes BB in the Jeep with her and let me tell you BB loves the Jeep and loves these trips.  Just as good as gold, looking all around outside the window and being nosey!  Used to be her home was in the Living Room, but she was doing a lot of calling and watching the Resting Room.  So Jo moved her out there and has not heard a peep from her since.  Jo has perches outside all around her cage and she just sits outside, her goes home for a snooze if she gets tired.  Then Jo had Lou make her some portable perches for other rooms as well.  She still needs a big 5 footer, next week.

Well we are probably forgetting to tell you a lot of gossip, but Jo's gonna go get started on June's Journal with lots of linnie pictures  and you can read it there.

Hope everyone had a good Mom's Day Month and just think ... Next month is Dad's Day Month!  

TINY RASCALS AVIARY