Vinny the Inventor

Vinny definitely watches too much tv. Please let me explain that.

Sometimes when we're doing chores around the house, or we're in the office upstairs for a little while and Vinny's too rambunctious for his own good, we leave him by himself in the big cage in the living room. He's totally fine there. Lots of toys to play with, a bit of snacky food (usually a tomato or just some pellets), fresh water, what does a young Eclectus want more?

Sometimes we leave the TV on. He'll start talking and will keep doing that for at least an hour. He loves loud noise, including but not limited to applause, explosions and thunderstorms. We usually let him watch anything like that, as long as it's PG. We don't want to turn him in to a cursing bird.

Last weekend, we had a moment like that, where we just wanted some rest. We let him be by himself downstairs. However, what we didn't realize, was that he was watching stuff he wasn't supposed to watch. When we came down later to get him, he was watching reruns of MacGyver. Sure, it's PG and of course he loves it. He was babbling a lot and we were wondering what he was saying. But of course that was futile, since the only few words he says that we can understand, is Coca Cola, Hello, Good Boy, Shower and Wockawocka.

Anyway, getting sidetracked here. The thing is ... we didn't realize how dangerous it was to let him watch MacGyver, until a few days ago. My girlfriend was working on her computer and Vinny was exploring the room. Nothing extraordinary. When I go to work in the morning, I usually throw a towel over my desk, otherwise I'll find the keys of my keyboard scattered all over the room, and Vinny also loves the rubber mouse wheel. So at some point she looks over, and sees Vinny experimenting with a few things. 

tools of the trade

On the towel, he had gathered a small coil of network cable, my World of Warcraft authenticator, and a pack of gum. Was he planning his escape? Does he have a secret plan to rule the world? Is he becoming a Prepper?

Either way, of course she had to laugh so hard and me as well, when I came home and she told me about this. It took a little while till we linked this to MacGyver. Of course there were no WoW-authenticators back in the days when MacGyver originallly was on TV, but that only shows how intelligent Vinny is. At least, he's coming up with his own inventions!

Or at least, that's what we like to think. 

basket with foot-toys

However, there's a truth to all of this. We do really believe that Vinny is trying to grasp the concept of tools. In the office, on a dedicated Vinny table, we have this basket with most of his 'foot-toys'. And on occasion, we do catch him trying to combine those toys into one big toy. An example of this is an old decommissioned creditcard he's putting into a little box. Of course, like for most inventors, it also comes with failure, and in those cases he usually just goes into tantrum mode for a few minutes, with him getting angry at the toys and throwing them out of the basket. 

Do you have any similar experiences with your Eclectus or other parrot? Feel free to share them in the comments! Would love to hear them.

Vinny the Babbling Bird

Just for the fun of it, we've created a short video of Vinny. This video contains various footage in the form of random photos and some videos.

We basically created this video to make it easy to share the audio with you. The narration is completely done by Vinny. These are the typical sounds he makes when he's in a mood for it. We haven't been able to record his attempts to speak yet, but as soon as we do, we'll let you know!

This video is posted on Youtube. Click HERE for Vinny's own video channel.

Take care, and have fun!

Good Eats for Vinny!

For us, as first time parrot owners, figuring out the food has been an experiment. We've fed him just about any type of food we've been recommended. All kinds of fruits and veggies, the right pellets (no additives and only with natural coloring), the right seeds, beans and peas, and so forth.

For about 2 to 3 months now, he's been off the Nutribird formula and he's doing great. One night, about a month after his last formula feeding, he was on a rant around dinner time and wouldn't eat his bean mixture. So we tried to feed him the formula again, but after 2 spoons, he flung it all around the room and went back to his old 'new' food. And that was that.

We've gotten into the habit of making his food once per month, bag it up in small batches, and put it in the freezer. On a daily basis, he gets one of those batches, additional fruits and/or vegetables, and a small handful of seeds or nuts.

The most important ingredients for this special Vinny-mix are: wheat pasta, barley, rolled oats, couscous, yam, pumpkin, mango, brown rice, chick peas, green peas, mung beans, black-eyed peas, adzuki beans and lentils. We boil it in separate batches and put stuff together according to boiling times. After cooling, we mix everything up in a huge bowl and put a good spoon full (half a cup) in each freezer bag. We've also experimented with putting in some veggies like broccoli, but stuff like that doesn't thaw out well.

In the morning, he gets a healthy seed/grain mix (again: no added vitamins/minerals), around dinner time he gets the mix and in the evening it's usually snack time. His absolute favorite snacks are red grapes, corn-on-the-cob, and pumpkin. That last one, we sometimes buy at the farmer's market.

He also loves almonds or sunflower seeds, but we usually only give him those when we train him. We do stimulate him by making him open the container himself, or hide it inside a toy.

If you have an Eclectus yourself (or maybe more than one), feel free to comment and let us know what you're feeding your 'child'. If you don't have any Eclecti (maybe this is it?), feel free to skip the technicalities above. Oops, too late! At least I hope you're enjoying the pictures in this post!

Take care and Bon Apetit!

Vinny turns five and a half!

I know, I know, it's been a while. But here's an update about the wonderful life of Vinny the Eclectus!

Vinny is five and a half months old now. He's definitely a fantastic bird, but still a child in all respects. He likes cuddling when we watch tv, he's trying out what our limits are, he's playful, he's a true Explorer and he loves getting attention from us, but also from Charlie and Darwin, our Bubblehead-Budgies.

He rarely screams. Only in those cases where he desperately feels he needs our attention (i.e. when he's hungry or when he gets overexcited). Other than that, he's mumbling a lot and is starting to talk a little bit. So far, we've heard him try to say 'Always Coca Cola', although not very successful yet (something I'm trying to teach him). He is getting better at 'Ello', 'Owah' (which we guess means 'Shower') and 'Wocka Wocka' though. That last one is always followed by typical Eclectus-giggle, probably also an imitation of us, because we usually laugh our asses off whenever he gets it right.

From what we've read so far, this is the age at which Eclectusses (is that the correct plural?) can start to get nippy. And I have to say, our sources are at least partly correct so far. Set aside the playful bites (not hurting in any way) and the grabbing hold of a finger while stepping up, he is starting to bite a little bit. It only happens when he's testing us out and tries to gain some dominance (and if we don't give him that pleasure), or when he gets a bit overexcited when he's in a playful mood.

Of course we usually respond by pushing back instead of pulling away, and that definitely keeps it under control. We're convinced it's only a phase he's going through, like any other child.

Don't get me wrong, 99% of the time he's on his best behavior, so we must be doing something right in his upbringing. And the breeder, who had him for the first 2.5 months, must have done a great job as well. Or maybe it's just in his genes. That one percent of time when he tries to test us out, we usually laugh it off and manage to change his mood rapidly.

Last night, we had a friend over. He hadn't met Vinny yet and he was very cool with our little one. Vinny was a bit reluctant at first, but we can already tell that Vinny is and will be a very social bird. Within minutes, Vinny felt very comfortable being around our guest and was already showing off his new vocal capabilities a bit.

Take care and see you in the next update!

From Baby-Vinny To Big-Bird-Vinny

It's so funny that it seems such a long time ago that Vinny became part of our lives. The days (back in December) that we were excited because there was an egg with our name on it feels like ages ago. And yet ... we're still very much starter-parronts (parrot parents). Every day we learn something new about Vinny, and of course we try to shape Vinny's youth as well, by letting him experience as many new things as possible.

Today we received a very kind email from Jessika (the breeder where we got Vinny). Vinny's parents are doing very well and are actually sitting on eggs again (about to hatch this weekend). Jessika is fantastic and we are very very happy that we found her. Kudos to Jessika! We'll keep in touch for sure.

Anyway, this sudden spur of sentiment also reminded me of a quick blog post I had in mind for a while already. So here we go ... a quick history of Vinny, in pictures:

Vinny and his sister, 2 weeks old
(photo courtesy of Jessika Timmer)

Vinny with green pin feathers and got his ring now, 4 weeks old
(photo courtesy of Jessika Timmer)

Vinny on the day he left the nest, 6 weeks old

Vinny at the vet, getting checked & chipped, 9 weeks old
(photo courtesy of Jessika Timmer)

Vinny getting picture taken for passport, 3 months old

Vinny out in the park with us, 4 months old (2 weeks ago)

Leash & Leisure for Vinny

Today is Queen's Day in the Netherlands, an official holiday that brings fun for all ages. And today is also the first day of actual nice weather. A comfortable 75 Fahrenheit (over 20 Celsius), nice sun, light breeze, couldn't be better and what a coincidence that we got this today! Actually felt like spring and we even got a little sunburn.

Even better, because this morning we went out to the 'Vrijmarkt' here in Groningen, which is basically a big open free flea market in the streets. We got lots of new cheap toys for Vinny at an average of 60 cents a piece. Vinny will be so happy!

Since the weather was so nice, we decided to do a nice picnic in the neighborhood park and give the Aviator a run for its money. The Aviator is basically a harness on a leash especially developed for parrots. They come in various sizes for different types of parrots and it's very well designed and made. Based on this alone, we think it's an excellent product. We bought it online from Avonturia, a store in the Hague, the Netherlands.

So we went out on our bikes (only a few minute ride), Vinny in a carrier and already in the Aviator harness. You have to understand that, aside from twice in the back yard, this was Vinny's first day out! Since the weather has been bad over the last few months, we didn't really get the chance to try this before, but today was definitely the day.

Here's a little tip, in case you are considering getting the Aviator, or already bought it: watch the instructional DVD that comes with it, and/or read the manual. IT people use the term RTFM (Read The Fricking Manual) regularly. Well, it definitely applies here as well. When you go through the whole loop of getting your parrot used to it gradually (like we did), you will be rewarded! It'll be easy to get the Aviator on and off your parrot, especially if your parrot is used to being touched on the head, back and wings.

Vinny was perfectly fine on the way over in his specially prepped carrier, he even made some cute sounds. Oh yeah, about the carrier: We use your basic plastic cat-carrier, but put a (natural) perch in, leaving some room at the bottom to slide a sheet of paper in.

Anyway, when we arrived in the park, we set out our blanket in the shade and unleashed the beast. He was somewhat anxious at first, but soon got used to being outside, to the big sea gulls flying over, and crows shooting through the canopy. He got settled in for sure when he got some food as well, although he wasn't too sure about hopping through the grass or even our blanket. He did seem to want to sit on our shoulders more than normal (I guess it is his safe spot).

The Aviator did its work perfectly. He flew off a few times, but got gently pulled by the elastic cord and was able to stay in the air, doing a few circles before landing softly on our hands or on the ground. At least it made him more comfortable with the grass and at some point he even rolled around in it 'for funzies'!

We even did some starter recall training and we found out that praise is a very good motivational thing for Vinny's training. Works even better than treats. What a perfect bird!

We did figure out one drawback of the Aviator though. Vinny was picking on the harness a lot. Of course this was a first time that he was wearing it for more than 5 minutes, but he didn't seem to be able to get comfortable wearing it. At some point he even loosened it up himself by pulling the strap from the clasp! Not just a perfect bird, also a very clever bird! We did double check if we put it on correctly, of course, but maybe we still got it twisted or something. Hopefully next time he'll be better about it (or we, for that matter).

All in all we had lots of fun, and so did Vinny. After getting back, he flew to the top of his cage and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Do you ever take your parrot out? Do you use some kind of harness or is your bird perfectly trained to fly back to you when you call him/her? What are your experiences with the Aviator or similar products?

New toys for Vinny

Today it's Queen's Day in the Netherlands. April 30th, like every year. Official holiday, celebrations and parties everywhere. Part of the Queen's Day tradition is the 'Vrijmarkt', which literally translates to 'Free Market'. This basically means that anyone can lay out a blanket in the street (designated locations) and put old stuff up for sale. You'll see all kinds of stuff: pots & pans, clothes, weird antiques from the attic, complete collections of whatever people want to get rid of...

Lots of toys to be found that are safe for parrots

One of the things that you will frequently find, is toys. Lots and lots of toys that kids have grown out of. And that's why we went on our own scavenger hunt today at the 'Vrijmarkt' in Groningen City.

Cool people, weird stuff

The things we've been specifically looking for, are small colorful plastic toys that are Eclectus-resistant. No rubber parts that he can chew off, no small parts that can come off, you get the idea. Then of course we were also keeping an eye on safety. No metal parts (unless it's stainless steel), no sharp edges, no toxic paints, no unknown types of wood ... again, you get my drift.

The one thing that we've found quite a number of times, are small plastic 'Fisher Price' type key rings, little spoons and cute things like that. We also found a perfect basket for Vinny to sit on that can hold his toys, so he can pick out one to play with. On the side, we also found a few Coca Cola collector's items that are for the other big kid (me).

More weird stuff

Overall we got about 15 to 20 toys for an average of 60 cents a piece. Once run through the dishwasher (if it won't survive the dishwasher, it deserves to be tossed anyway), they're good to go and we'll give Vinny the first batch. See, what we're trying to do, is not give them all at the same time, but spread them out, no more than 4 or 5 at the same time. We've discovered that Vinny gets bored of a toy in about a week, and to keep him stimulated, we need to do some kind of rotation system for his toys.

So, if you're in or anywhere near the Netherlands next year on April 30th (and the night before), make sure you read up on the Vrijmarkt and other events going on. You'll have a blast, for sure! And you'll be able to find good toys for your parrot. Other flea markets and yard sales might also be a good place to look for cheap toys to buy in bulk. Tip of the day!

Where do you get your parrot toys and what do you spend on those per year?

Our loot for the day

General impression of a Dutch Queen's Day's flea market

Be amazed at the stuff people collect over time

13 Questions for Vinny

You all know them from elementary school or high school. Lists of questions to get to know someone. We asked Vinny the following 13 questions:

1. What is your favorite color?
Vinny: Green of course

2. What is your favorite food?
Vinny: Corn on the cob!

3. Who is your favorite politician?
Vinny: What is that? Can I eat that?

4. What is your favorite movie?
Vinny: Rio!

5. Who is your favorite musician?
Vinny: I currently listen to lots of music. Doesn't matter, as long as it has soul. And I like ukulele music as well.

6. What is your favorite proverb?
Vinny: "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song". I believe it's a Chinese proverb.

7. What is your favorite season?

Vinny: I was born on January 1st of this year. All I know is winter and I have gotten to know spring a bit as well. I like both of them!

8. What is your favorite book?

Vinny: Any book I can take apart.

9. What is your favorite sport?

Vinny: Gymnastics. My cage is one big gym and I like to exercise!

10. What is your favorite website?

Vinny: My blog of course! www.vinnytakescharge.com

11. What is your favorite smell?

Vinny: Nothing beats the smell of fresh corn in the morning!

12. Who is your favorite superhero?

Vinny: That has to be The Green Flash!

And last but not least:

13. What is your favorite pastime?

Vinny: playing with my toys, eating corn, teasing the budgies, flying, snuggling with my parronts, making funny sounds .. should I go on?

Vinny, thank you very much for your cooperation. If we have more questions, we'll definitely get back to you. In the meantime, if readers have more questions, they can put them in the comments (or tweet to @vinnythebird) and Vinny will be answering them asap.

Nine Steps To Happy Hygiene

I'm an evening person. I don't wake up well in the morning and I usually have trouble waking up. Two alarm clocks is the minimum (strategically placed out of reach) and I snooze about 5 times on average.

Here's the morning routine that follows:
Step 1: Final snooze. I'm awake just enough to realize that I have to turn it off and sit up
Step 2: Getting out of the bedroom with some bare essentials, so my girlfriend can continue to sleep a bit more, if she doesn't need to get up. Primarily my glasses and my phone, that is.
Step 3: Find my way to the bathroom for my usual 'first order of business'
Step 4: Find my way to the office while waking up a bit more
Step 5: Sit at computer, check email, news and blogs for 10 minutes
Step 6: Getting mentally ready to continue the morning routine and get ready to leave for work
Step 7: Find clothes and a towel
Step 8: Take my morning shower. Getting reminded of something by a loud squeeky noise.
Step 9: Forgot the bird. Go back and get him.

Yes, I take my morning showers together with Vinny. I don't have any trouble with him seeing me naked, as long as he doesn't say stuff like 'Size Matters'. After all, I do see him naked all the time.

The first few times we took him to the shower, he was reluctantly undergoing the whole process. Since then, we've managed to figure out a few tricks that make it a bit more fun for him and now he likes taking showers very much and is definitely a happy bird when he comes out, soaking wet.

Usually he sits on the shower curtain rail while I shave and wash my hair. He usually makes a few soft scratchy sounds during these few minutes, to let me know that I shouldn't forget about him. Then I turn down the temperature a bit, to a comfortable 30 degrees Celsius (about 85 Fahrenheit). I turn down the power of the water a bit, let him step up on my hand, and get him soaked. Wash off any dirt that might stick to his feathers, and let him drink some water. He likes catching a tiny stream of water with his beak that comes from the shower head.

During the next phase, I let him sit on the curtain rail again while I finish showering myself. This is when he's starting to get playful a little bit. He makes funny noises (sometimes) and plays with the toys that hang from the rail.

By this time, we're in the bathroom for over 15 minutes. I used to take 5-10 minute showers, now I have to reserve almost half an hour for the whole process. But it's all fine and dandy, it's a fun ritual.

When the formal part of the showering is done, that is, the actual cleaning, it's play time !!

I set the shower head to the misty power spray setting, take Vinny on my hand, and give him a good steam bath from all sides. He sneezes a bit when he gets a few drops in his nose, but other than that, he's visibly enjoying it. Once in a while he's so happy that he actually spreads his wings and takes in the water as much as he can.

At some point enough is enough. I'll be in a hurry to make sure I'm not late for work, and Vinny is letting me know that he's starting to get hungry. So we get out, I place him on the top perch of the cage and give him some food. As soon as we leave the bathroom, he starts shivering. Well, actually, it's not shivering. His chest muscles contract rapidly, which is a bird's way of creating extra heat to to dry off the feathers faster.

Before leaving, I check his cage and put some clean paper in the bottom tray. I open the blinds to a little crack to give him some daylight, and leave him in the trusty hands of my girlfriend.

Do you and your parrot have similar routines, or do you take a completely different approach? Feel free to let us know by commenting.

Wanna play, boy?

In the previous posts I already mentioned a bunch of recognizable moods, at least so far. There's sleepy, hungry, quiet, playful, vocal and nosy. In that post, we went into the nosy a bit.

I guess we can add angry/upset to that list as well, but more about that later.

So what is Vinny like when he's playful?

Well, to be honest, this can mean a bunch of things. Basically it means that he's into everything. It can be anything in his toy basket, but could easily also be his play stand or swing, our couch, the food cup, you name it.

In our office, we have 2 desks set up, with a table in the middle and an Ikea Expedit 2x2 up against the wall. On top of that, there's a small play stand which he loves. It's high enough up so that he has the feeling of it being his 'throne' (good view of both of us and the rest of his room), plus it's where he gets playful.

We did this by getting a wooden tray at a dollar store that's easy to clean. Then we got 2 wooden ladders from a pet store, screwed them to the tray, screwed 2 sticks of natural wood to the top like perches, and there you go. Of course we used stainless steel screws/washers (not zinc or galvanized, since it's poisonous). And for natural wood we used de-barked willow. Took about 15 minutes to make. It's actually inspired by a similar play stand we made for the budgies (see 2nd picture, with the 2 ladders sideways on top).

He loves it! He climbs around on it, he hangs from it with one foot while grooming himself, he picks at the wood a bit, but mostly he just realizes he can be himself there. Actually, he's not just playful there, he can have any type of mood up there. Sitting quietly, observing everything we do or singing along with Youtubes that we play for him. Then of course sometimes he throws in some drama when he's grabbing hold, flapping his wings as if he wants to take off with the whole thing and growling.

Playing seems to come in two flavors for Vinny. Either he's in the aggressive 'attack the toy' mode, or he's just rolling any type of toy around in his beak, trying to take it apart. We asked the family in the USA send over a bunch of discarded baby toys and selected a bunch that were bird-safe. There's a few that he really really loves, including the yellow-green-orange (his 'fav' colors!) monkey-ring-thingy. He'll be happy just laying on his back, and picking at it.

Then there's the aggressive playing as well, where I think he's pretending it to be some sort of enemy. This is where we're on guard because we've had a few occasions where we thought it would be fun to join the 'fight' playfully but discovered that that's probably why our hands now look pretty banged up lately.

Another example of how to keep a parrot entertained for quite a while:
Go to your local hardware or DIY store, get a few yards of plastic chain, hang it from the ceiling or make a swing out of it (just use tie-wraps to put it together). And there you go!

We'll be making a lot more toys for Vinny and we'll definitely keep you informed! Just remember: 'Playful' is one of the better moods for any parrot to be in, and making toys or designated places to play is just so easy.

Till next time!