What better picture than the one above. My husband and I joke that one day we will be in a retirement or nursing home, ragged as a pirate with our dear Viggo sitting on our shoulder. Consider that image when considering a pet parrot...their lifespan is not one of most other pets.
Viggo is molting. He was looking a tad scruffy so I wondered if he was. Many little grey down feathers have been seen around his sleep cage and his day cage. This weekend many more feathers of various sizes also found their place with the down feathers and they continue to drop.
He's never gone through a mojo molt like many speak of with their Eclectus. I've seen many pictures posted of scruffy looking molting eclectus sporting bald patches. I have yet to see this with my boy. I wonder why?
As of late I have been offering Viggo his food in much larger chunks. This has kept him very busy and the mess contained for the most part to the bottom of his cage as he tosses the big pieces out of his bowl. The food falls in perfect slices but it's not long before it looks like a heap of...mush. I've been trying to keep Viggo on his toes with changes and keep things fun and interesting. I'm not sure which he prefers more, the food chopped in his dish or the large portions. He seems to really enjoy the larger sections.
Ever met an Eclectus? The above literally sums up their relationship with food! Seriously!! These little cows live to eat!
All has been well. Active, eating well. Life has been pretty busy so Clicker Training and on going introduction to the harness hasn't been a regular occurrence. I hope to press both areas more.
We went ahead and ordered an Avian Adventures travel cage. After consideration we decided that it would be great to have to use outside, for travel, for camping or short weekend visits. So when it arrives we will introduce Viggo to it so that it's not foreign when the time comes to use it. If we wanted we could also use it as a sleep cage although I really like the one we have for him now. Options have been made available.
Biting seems to be the common topic later on the Eclectus group. All these hormonal red and green brats nailing their human slaves with a powerhouse bite. On the group we are all very aware that we signed up to own a parrot and expect to be bitten at times, they are animals after all. Sometimes with Eclectus though their body language is not as clear as other parrot species so guarding against a bite is sometimes not an option. In Viggo's case he almost always says before hand, "Viggo....No Biting!" as he leans down and watches to see what if any reaction he will get. Most times he just says it and then challenges but nothing comes. Then other times he will do a testing look and then a hyper strike and make like he intends to bite with his beak open. I honestly cannot recall the last time he bit me though. I saw this and decided to post. For anyone considering a parrot....
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