Michelle - New Pics on May 1

[Shirley]

Michelle playing with her bell with Steve -- on the drop-down door of her cage next to his recliner...

[amazing greys]

:wub: what a sweet little thing :p

[harleybaby]

Awwwwwww how adorable!! I love her face in the last picture, just so innocent and sweet looking!:D

[Shirley]

Thank you Leah! She's coming along so nicely with Steve! She doen't bite hard anymore, only little love taps now with the tip of her beak! :heart:

She steps up for him when he asks her to, but he doesn't overdo the asking, either, just enough to keep her in practice once or twice a day, as that's not her favorite thing to do. She comes out of her cage of her own accord for him after he opens her door each afternoon while he relaxes after school. :D

[Jean]

Awwww Shirley, Michelle is adorable and is coming along so good. I am sure Steve must be his height of glory. :heart: :wub: :heart: I agree, the third pic captured an adorable pose.

[harleybaby]

OK I'm not too familiar with this family of birds.:rolleyes: Is she a Myer's?:)

[Shirley]

You got the right family! She's an African Red Belly. the Poicephalus family.

We got her on April 10, completely wild, and she's 8 mos old, hatched Aug 12.

[harleybaby]

Oh like Xakanas Geesh, how did I get that wrong :doh: I rememeber now about you asking how she would do with Holly since they are both african parrots.Well at least I got the right family:funny:


She is very pretty!!! Well, all of your birds are :D

[Xakana]

How precious! Dionysus likes to hang out on cage doors like that, too. She also likes to swing upside down from them, too, lol. Michelle looks so cute in that last picture. Thanks for sharing them!

~Xak

[Shirley]

Thank you thank you thank you! We just love her to pieces!! :heart:

Xak, what do you feed Dionysus? I'm hearing that Red Bellies shouldn't have much in the way of nuts/seeds/grains/etc. I've been giving her Goldenfeast Hookbill Legume. Wrong? (along with sprouts, veggies, some fruits, no chilean grapes.)

[harleybaby]

Hi Xak! It's really nice seeing you here too. Just wanted to say hi. :wavey: Leah

[Xakana]

I feel her zupreem fruit blend pellets (the only kind she will touch) and nutriberries for her seed intake. You do have to watch their weight, as they are heavy birds by nature. Sunflower seeds should just never be given, since they have almost no nutritional value and red-bellies have no problem getting enough fat in their diet! Dionysus has had some weight problems, mostly when I was only feeding her nutriberries (because that was all she would eat) and I was giving her too many. She has done better with her eating and now eats broccoli, corn, potatoes (and random other veggies that I eat) and as long as the fruit is dried, she will eat it. She hates wet or mushy food, but that may just be her. She is nearly obsessive compulsive about having things on her beak. Nuts and seeds are okay as treats, but do need to be 1/3 or less of their daily diet.

Oh, and a sad note about the red underwing feathers... they did fall out. She had kept them for longer than any red-belly I'd read of, so I had hoped they would stay, but during this molt, they came out and no more grew. On the other hand, the blue-green on her back has become brighter.

I think it may also be that she isn't getting as many nutriberries as she used to. I'm increasing her daily allotment again to see if it helps. It helps with a friend's quakers (causes their feathers to brighten and glow beautifully). Jack is on the same diet, since quakers are prone to fatty liver, so I have to keep his seed content low. With the nuts, just try to give the healthies nuts the most. Remember that millet is a good healty seed low in fat for those seed cravings!

~Xak

[Shirley]

:thanx: And Good to see you again! I just printed this out for Steve! :thanx: