sootie

They are all so gorgeous, I love the photo of them on your bookshelf!

Peanut's a sweetie! Has he been cranky and grumpy at you?

Awesome photos, they must love it so much in their summer home! Which lens are you using with the 450D?

Just a quick update: Django is moulting, with pin feathers and all. It's cute to watch his little feathers fall, and he is less cranky this week than last week, when he would peck the BF and I fiercely. I've put Vetafarm Moulting Aid in his water, hope he drinks it! On bonding and taming, he's doing well. We've progressed with clicker training, he loves to tap his beak against anything I ask him to "touch", and we're currently working on "hold", I've bought a solid perch with soft plastic chain links and am getting him to hold a link with his beak. He's also not so nervous around the BF and I, and will happily step up. We've also heard him making CH-CH-CH (like in David Bowie's song!) noises like the static of a walkie-talkie. Not making human sounds yet but he's been very talkative lately.

Merlin is a gorgeous boy, and his flirty behaviour with you is oh-so-cute! Glad you posted some pictures and an update

I'm sorry to hear that. It hits you badly when you don't know the cause. RIP Nigel.

SO gorgeous

:rofl: Completely forgot. Thanks, Hannah! I do a bit of photography on the side and have been taking photos for quite a while.

What is BOM? EDIT: OH, I get it. "Brand or Model"? It's a Canon digital SLR (dSLR) that uses interchangeable lenses. I used my macro lens for this shot, it lets me get up close to capture details. Thanks CSB he's usually sweet-natured but has been moulting rather heavily this week and is very snappy! These were shot last week before he got into his moult.

He's not the most active bird, or much of a poser! I am amazed, however, at how close he lets the large black thing with glass and a loud clicky sound (yes, my camera is quite large) go near him. Okay I'm off to bed, an hour after having downed the most potent drowsy cough syrup with the hope that I can actually get some deep sleep tonight. 3 nights of coughing makes one really grouchy.

Love the ones of Cosmo taking a bath!

They are unusually curious about twist ties, I tried to introduce Django to his cuttlefish bone and he was more interested in the twist tie I'd attached to its metal frame for hanging the bone.

Yay! :sadsorry: That is so, so adorable! That seems like a good start given that they've only just met and have to work out the hierarchy, etc etc. Is Piccolo now more social with you because Cosmo is too?

Thanks maesie, the sessions are much shorter now (about 1min), and I wait about an hour or so before another training session, or whenever he looks to be getting a little hungry. Training sessions closer to his bedtime (8.30pm) aren't very productive, he never wants to come out so I practise targeting with him inside the cage and that's it. Just checked my Google calendar... Django is a little over 8 months old this past week :sadsorry:. He's still *quite* cage bound, I'm getting a nice perch off eBay so he can call it home outside the bars. Depending on his mood, he either really enjoys cheek rubs (like Chryso's Squee!) or gives us a warning nip when he's cranky. Naughty little cherub! By the way, maesie, love your siggy photo!

:sadsorry: you did your best. I'm sorry for your loss.

Glad he is okay! We live in a small apartment, I'm constantly worried about Teflon fumes from our biggest pan -- I've convinced my housemates that it is EVIL and should be used very sparingly and at no higher than medium heat! Closed doors when cooking and all that.

I can't believe it. RIP little Twitter. I hope you feel better soon.

Week 1 of clicker training and it's going quite well... Django gets impatient with me after about 10 minutes and tries to go back to his cage. He also really likes it when we speak really loudly in the room (not necessary to him though)

It's okay

Awww! He's adorable. I like Kalium, it's an awesome name.

Aww, thank you studiobird. I really want to birdnap Twitter when you're not looking! The answer to that is "yes"!

of grey and

The little cherub chirped like his usual self this morning, but no hands! NO HANDS please, humans, I'm a sensitive bird. Naomi, sometimes I wish he could be as sweet as your little Peanut. Aww, thanks, mysixbabies! That helps, birdluv, to understand that I'm not the only one with a stubborn bird. When this happens it causes quite a bit of disappointment. Oh well, onwards with training! --- So I'm thinking of buying a clicker from eBay next week. good idea, guys?

Training has regressed a lot this week. While trying to prevent Django from landing on the edge of an open lunchbox, he accidentally got hit by the hand that was too slow to cover the box. By "hit" I don't mean a smack, but imagine a budgie and hand traffic accident, nonetheless. I wasn't home at the time it happened, but the BF said that Django let out a shocked squeak. He's been ignoring us, chattering and chirping much less than he used to. He stares at my hand for a long while before eating the offered food. In a nutshell, he's back to the spooked budgie in the initial stages of taming. He's running away from hands again. On the other hand, he feels greatly encouraged to do certain activities when prompted. "Yum yum" means food, and "go on" reassures him to carry on without fear of being harmed. We're leaving him alone for a while now, no hands, only gentle talking, the occasional pampering with millet. Sigh, he'd been doing so well lately!

Cosmo is so handsome! The red looks good