Soooo my Orange chip is a toy I made all by my very self.
My human says I was very clever.
The story began with my human giving me a piece of orange with the skin on. It was a special orange from Cheops Feijoas where no sprays are used so it is very safe for me. As I was eating it I discovered that it was a very fun toy to flirt with. So I threw it down onto the floor and decided to hide it amongst my toys so that my human couldn't throw it away. I kept it safely hidden for quite a few days... I'd almost forgotten that it was even there! Then when I found it again it was all dried and crispy like an taco or corn chip.
Here's how you can get one too:
First get your human to take a segment of orange peel from a well washed un-waxed orange. Ideally it would be from somewhere that doesn't use sprays like mine was.
Ask your human to put it somewhere warm and dry to dry out. By a fire, in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in the oven on low (or while it's still warm after it's been used) are all possible ways to get it to dry out. Depending where it is it may take a few days to dry out till it's fully crisp.
Now nibble, chew, play, flirt and have fun with your Orange Chip like me...
Additional Tips:
Your human could make yours any shape or size you want, or you could experiment with a different kind of citrus skin.
A hole could be made before drying so it could be threaded into toys or slid onto perches... or anything that you want.
SAFETY: Always get your human to check that it is still good before playing with it and if there is any sign of mold or something icky then throw it out and get a new one.
Hello there my friends. This is the first post in a series where I'm going to introduce you to my free or recycled toys. While there are some fantastic toys out there that you can buy, many free items can be as good if not better fun. And because they are free, it means we can easily have more toys available for us to choose what to play with!
I like the triangle shaped ones best as they give a few options of where to sit and climb.
It's best to choose a fully plastic swing. Nearly every human has one to spare from their wardrobe so you can fly by and choose one and leave poopie presents on your human's clothes until they get the message if needed hehehe
Metal may not be safe depending the type as some metal can be toxic. Wood could be treated and so it may not be safe for us; and fabric can lead to us ingesting fibres which can block up our digestive systems.
You'll need to find somewhere for it to hang. For example I have mine over a chair back, which is extra perfect as it has a hole in it. Otherwise over a play stand, cage stand or perch would work well too. In a large cage or aviary it would work well over a bar on the roof, over a branch or perch, or linked onto another hanging toy. If you don't have something suitable you may be able to get your human to use a hook or hanger to set it up.
Now enjoy..... swings are great fun to play on and provide us a little more challenge to land on while moving. But they are also great to relax on, preen on and snooze on.
Most of us birds enjoy some form of bathing but we often have our own favourites. Sometimes we need encouragement to bathe, and sometimes we might need to be taught how.
Me and my little blue lid playing in water
Some methods of bathing include:
Bathing in our water dishes
With a bird bath attached to the cage
Showers in a human shower
With friends - both birds and humans
Playing under a dripping or running tap
Under the hose or sprinkler outside
Outside in the rain
In a shallow dish
Bathing in a dish of deeper water (which is kinda like swimming for a bird)
Misting
Rolling around, playing or 'bathing' in wet salad leaves or wet grass
Waterplay with our humans
In cupped human hands
Or with little water fountains especially for us
Remember not all of us birds will enjoy all of these options, and we may need to be offered an option many many times before we will even get close to the water or enjoy it. Although we should be offered opportunities to bathe we really shouldn't be forced to unless it's essential for our welfare.
My first way of bathing was showering with my human, but my human wanted to help me learn how to bathe in water so that I could enjoy water play. She used a large dinner plate and filled it with some luke warm water. Now, I trusted her so I was willing to come and investigate but for further encouragement she also used my little blue lid. Here's a video to show my experience...
I believe that bathing is just another form of play for us birds and it should be enjoyable and fun. Here are some of my thoughts and suggestions to help my bird friends try fun bathing experiences...
Safety: It is important that where possible we should be supervised especially if you're using deeper water, or a dish where we can't just walk out of it - wet feathers can be heavy and jumping out of water can be hard. For example, a dinner plate with water is easy for a bird to exit; a plastic container with sides, even if only filled with a little water, is much harder for us to exit.
Security: We will need to feel safe to be willing to get our feathers wet as it can effect our ability to fly and that makes us feel vulnerable. This may be why many birds like to bathe in their water dishes in their cage as it is where they feel their safest. If you want us to have some form of bathing in places in the house suitable for water - like the kitchen or bathroom - we might need to get introduced to these rooms enough times to feel comfortable there before we will even consider bathing. Introduce new locations and experiences as slowly as needed for your bird - some of us may need things to progress very very slowly.
With a friend: I like showering with my human, and this is quite a popular way to bathe. Even if your bird doesn't wish to join in under the water, having them nearby is a good way to show them how safe and fun bathing can be.
Timing: Generally it is a good idea to offer us bathing opportunities earlier in the day so we have the warmth of the day to get dry in. However I've seen lots of my cheeky bird friends who like to bathe in their water dishes even late at night!!! I imagine their homes are probably nice and warm and most importantly draft-free.
Sound: The sound of the rain, a vacuum cleaner or running/dripping water can help encourage us.
Here's Benji the Budgie Extraordinaire in 'Benji the Budgie - Wash the Budgie' - you can see how much he loves having a dribbling tap! He's also got a perfect shallow dish with a reflective surface and mirror to make the bath extra super duper fun.
The water: Some of us may prefer warm, luke warm, cold, or freezing cold water. You may want to try water of a different temperature to see if yours might have a different preference.
Depth of water: Generally a shallower dish of water is a good place to start. Some species of bird like deeper water, for example some conures seem to love almost swimming. Unless absolutely certain go for shallower water.
Alternative water sources: Wet leaves and grass are popular with some birds who use the moisture that clings to the leaves to moisten their feathers.
Very early Sunday morning (NZ time) the All Blacks take on the Wallabies in the Final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup! I'm backing Black and have my claws and tail feathers crossed that they will win and bring home the cup again.... I wonder if I'd be allowed to bathe in the World Cup? hehehe
For this occasion I have put together a wee video to support the All Blacks and offer them some last minute advice. I've learnt the following phrases:
'Go the All Blacks!'
'Rugby is a game of 2 halves'
'Don't kick it, pass it!'
But you'll also hear a lot of other old favourites of mine...
I hope you enjoy my video and join with me to support the All Blacks!!!
I thought I'd take you on a wee tour of some of my feathers I lost in my recent 'feather explosion' or moult.
These are some of my tail feathers with the very longest from my tail in the middle. I actually lost the slightly smaller ones a little before but I thought you might like to see them. The two at the bottom are from the underside of my tail - some of my underfluffies hehehe:
And here are some of my wing feathers - I normally loose them in pairs (matching feathers on each side), but as you can see I've hidden some from my human hehehe:
I thought you might like to see my pretty pretty pretty blue feathers
And I have many many many white feathers of all shapes and sizes depending on where they are on my body including my floofies!!!! Some have markings on them like those that make up little bar lines on my head. The little feathers are pretty hard to find after they've exploded hehe:
I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of some of my feathers! Finally an extra special feather - one from my teeny tiny cheek spot... It's balanced on the very tip of my human's finger:
