# My Odd Little Bird



## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

I’ve had Butters for about 3 weeks and it has been an interesting and amusing experience. 

He has very specific preferences and routine behaviors. For example, his breakfast must always be on my desk with seeds in a shallow dish or a millet spray on the desktop that he can nudge around. If I put either into his cage, he ignores it. Subsequent meals are the same; he prefers to eat from a small plate or other flat dish on a desk or table rather than his cage. Lately, if I get up and leave the room he will stop eating and whistle until I return. When I do, he resumes his meal. 

He has a large cage but essentially only sleeps in it, whether overnight or short naps. He uses rope perches for naps and a large piece of driftwood or a hanging planter (see photo) for sleeping overnight. He sleeps most soundly in the planter, perhaps because no one can see him in there and he feels secure. 

If he is tired and we disturb him, he becomes really grouchy and will snap at us. But it is very gentle, same as when he is preening, so it is clear he means no harm and is just telling us to leave him alone. He only bites hard when he is hungry or if we get between him and his toys. 

His toys are essentially any object we are wearing or handling at the moment. He loves earrings, shirt buttons, USB and other data cables, eyeglasses, books (shreds the paper) data cords, etc. But we must be wearing or handling them at the time or they will not interest him. He has no toys in his cage for that reason. 

Perhaps his favorite toy is a plastic ring from a water bottle that he flips over his head like a necklace. When I first saw him do it I was alarmed but he likes it and will bite and fuss if I try to remove it. Some photos are below. 

His flight feathers were clipped when I got him and new ones appear to be growing in. Sometimes he seems a bit frustrated that he cannot fly more than a few feet at a time but is also becoming more confident in his abilities. 
Am I correct in assuming his personality will change a bit once he can fly normally?

Butters' Cage









Waiting to be carried out. He will sit in the doorway for hours until someone lifts him out by hand, even though he can fly down to the floor. I am afraid we have spoiled him. 









Nibbling on wheat grass









Nibbling on fresh mint









Sleeping in his "basket" -- though we woke him up when we took the photo.









Putting on his "necklace" -- Step 1









Putting on his "necklace" -- Step 2









Putting on his "necklace" -- Success!


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Awwww Butters is such a cutie pie!!! 

Be careful with that basket though as Butters matures it may be seen as a nest and stimulate nesting behaviour, He could get very aggressive over it.

He sure is a spoiled birdie! They've got us wrapped around their little toes dont they?


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## Puppydog (Oct 13, 2011)

Hahaha! Cute. He is so sweet. Although I think he may be a she. I might be wrong though. I love your cage setup. Very nice!


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## rainfeather (Jan 26, 2012)

Beautiful, natural cage. But, if hes in there all day you may want to add some swings and toys (or maybe I just can't see those, haha). The plants are gorgeous bur how doesn't he poop on them? What a cutie, how long has he been home because it seems like he's adjusted very lovely.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Aww, Butters is adorable!


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

xoxsarahxox said:


> Be careful with that basket though as Butters matures it may be seen as a nest and stimulate nesting behaviour, He could get very aggressive over it.
> He sure is a spoiled birdie! They've got us wrapped around their little toes dont they?


Definitely spoiled, smart and manipulative.
I cannot believe how much time I spend with him, and how much I let him get away with.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

Puppydog said:


> Hahaha! Cute. He is so sweet. Although I think he may be a she. I might be wrong though. I love your cage setup. Very nice!


Since he is till only about 5 months old and has not molted yet, we are not sure. However, his aggressive behavior, frequent and increasingly complex whistling, and the yellowing of his head suggest Butters is probably a "he." 

I wanted to keep the cage as open as possible and have not actually finished it because, once he can fly, the arrangement of perches and other attachments will change.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

rainfeather said:


> Beautiful, natural cage. But, if hes in there all day you may want to add some swings and toys (or maybe I just can't see those, haha). The plants are gorgeous bur how doesn't he poop on them? What a cutie, how long has he been home because it seems like he's adjusted very lovely.


Thank you.

I plan to add some toys and a swing after he can fly again. He spends so little time in the cage, preferring to sit just outside of it or just walk around the house. 

The plants are just wheat grass and mint so I don't mind if he soils them. His in-cage droppings, however, are confined to the back-center and front-center of the cage; I have yet to find any in the grass. 

He has been home for three weeks but was tame and assertive from day one, with no adjustment process at all. I suppose I got lucky.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

EricSilver said:


> Definitely spoiled, smart and manipulative.
> I cannot believe how much time I spend with him, and how much I let him get away with.


I know what you mean. I spend every spare minute I have with my birds and can't wait to get home to them when I'm at work. 

They were having such a good time chewing my blinds the other day that I just let them. I thought, thats okay, I'll just replace the blinds! Wow, too spoiled!


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## Puppydog (Oct 13, 2011)

I read your first post after this one. Saw there he might be a he.  

He is SO cute!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

LOL....I loved the pix. And I am heading out to Home Depot today to get some baskets like yours. I have green Aracaris and they love sleeping in things like that. Their woven basket is failing apart and they are due for a new one.

And what a GREAT idea of the plants/greens at the bottom of the cage.

One caution though....I have had those type of doors drop down on the bird. I now use a close pin clamped to the bars to keep the door from accidently closing.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Butters is sooooo cute!!! 

Is wheatgrass and mint good for tiels? What a great idea. Could you tell me where you got those peat pots to plant them in? (Sorry, I'm not trying to be funny here but I don't do gardening so I have no clue where to buy seeds or anything :blush Can I just stroll into any gardening centre and buy those pots and some seeds for wheatgrass and mint? And do they need a lot of sunlight? Please give me the "For Dummies" version of how to grow them.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

They are very adorable pics and love the cage, he is gorgeous


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## kimm (Feb 9, 2012)

That is such a cool cage!! I love the natural look of it! He must love it!


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

That little necklace is too cute. I love how proud he looks with it on. Lol.


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## Luna (Jun 22, 2011)

I love the cage  and he sure is an adorable little guy! Congratulations!


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

JaimeS said:


> They were having such a good time chewing my blinds the other day that I just let them. I thought, thats okay, I'll just replace the blinds! Wow, too spoiled!


I actually let Butters eat on the sofa yesterday. I don't even let guests do that. So he is spoiled beyond belief!


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

srtiels said:


> And I am heading out to Home Depot today to get some baskets like yours. I have green Aracaris and they love sleeping in things like that. Their woven basket is failing apart and they are due for a new one.
> 
> And what a GREAT idea of the plants/greens at the bottom of the cage.
> 
> One caution though....I have had those type of doors drop down on the bird. I now use a close pin clamped to the bars to keep the door from accidently closing.


If you have not gone shopping already, try WalMart. Those 10" baskets are a lot less expensive ($1.84) than Home Depot. 

I have three of those large doors on the cage and they are deathtraps; they never stay open. In the photo of the cage you can see the chain I use to hold it open. I removed the chain from the hanging basket. and then used small, plastic cable ties to attach the basket to the cage.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

meaggiedear said:


> That little necklace is too cute. I love how proud he looks with it on. Lol.


And he will shriek and bite if I try to remove it before he is ready.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

kimm said:


> That is such a cool cage!! I love the natural look of it! He must love it!


He basically only sleeps in it and sees it as his "home base." I think he may see it differently when he can fly.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

lperry82 said:


> They are very adorable pics and love the cage, he is gorgeous


Thank you. I was completely unprepared for the "cockatiel experience." I was originally considering a parakeet.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

Annie said:


> Butters is sooooo cute!!!
> 
> Is wheatgrass and mint good for tiels? What a great idea. Could you tell me where you got those peat pots to plant them in? (Sorry, I'm not trying to be funny here but I don't do gardening so I have no clue where to buy seeds or anything :blush Can I just stroll into any gardening centre and buy those pots and some seeds for wheatgrass and mint? And do they need a lot of sunlight? Please give me the "For Dummies" version of how to grow them.


I would assume wheat grass is very good. I grow it for myself for juicing and decided to also grow some in the cage too. He seems more interested in cutting down the mint than eating it. (I imagine that would be true of any stem plant so I won't let him near my Boston ferns.) The wheat is much tougher and thus harder for him to destroy, so he spends less time trying. 

Those pots are actually coconut-based and you can get them at WalMart (first choice for best price), Home Depot, etc. You can order bulk wheat grass online or, if you want to experiment first, PetCo and Petsmart have something called "Cat Grass" which is essentially a blend of wheat and oat grass.

Growing is easy: sprinkle seeds in a shallow pan, cover with a thin layer of potting mix (sphagnum moss or clean soil) and water. The growth you see in my photos took just a week. When the grass gets too tall, cut it with scissors and it will grow back. I suspect the nutrients will eventually be depleted and the grass should start to turn yellow or brown. When that happens, discard it and start again. 

Wheat grass needs only indirect sunlight. Butter's cage gets direct, late afternoon sunlight (which makes him really whistle a lot) which also helps the plants.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

meaggiedear said:


> That little necklace is too cute. I love how proud he looks with it on. Lol.


I love the necklace too. Sooo cute!


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## cloop (Nov 30, 2011)

How adorable.... I know what you mean about spending time with them, they are jus so irresistable.Where did you get your grass and mint or did you grow them? My two tiels are soooo picky about food, I would like to try some different things. The only way they will eat anything good for them other than broccoli is if I put it in birdie bread.


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

I absolutly love the last picture of Butters with his necklace. He looks so proud of himself and it looks like he is trying to show it off to the camera. I really like your cage set up too. I'm going to have to try that once I get my bigger cage for my tiel.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Thanks EricSilver for your detailed response. I don't believe we have PetCo in Canada  but we do have PetSmart and Walmart so I will try to get the pots at Walmart and the catgrass stuff at PetSmart.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

lol. i was showing my boyfriend your cage setup with the garden in the bottom. he saw butters putting on his necklace and said, "that's as cute as can be. i want him."


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

cloop said:


> ...Where did you get your grass and mint or did you grow them? My two tiels are soooo picky about food, I would like to try some different things. The only way they will eat anything good for them other than broccoli is if I put it in birdie bread.


I buy wheat seed in bulk from wheatgrasskits.com and the mint from my local supermarket. 

Butters can be picky but when there is something he likes, such as pistachio nuts, he goes after them aggressively.


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## EricSilver (Jan 26, 2012)

smays810 said:


> I absolutly love the last picture of Butters with his necklace. He looks so proud of himself and it looks like he is trying to show it off to the camera. I really like your cage set up too. I'm going to have to try that once I get my bigger cage for my tiel.


He does look very pleased but not as pleased as yesterday:

Photo 1 shows the typical mess he makes in the morning after his seed and millet breakfast. As I photographed it he strolled behind the computer to the other side and tore off one of the arrow keys, as shown in photo 2, and it was a real struggle to get it away from him.


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## JennyLynn (Feb 13, 2012)

Love the wheat grass & mint in the cage , it looks great


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

He is adorable and I love that cage, I also wanted to ask if he poops on the plants but you already answered


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## Chirpington (Feb 17, 2012)

I may as well be reading my own words with your post hahaha sounds exactly like me and my bird. I think you've the makings of a bossy monster bird on your hands though lol mine is the same, only interested in my stuff and pretty much goes by the mindset of what's his is his and what's mine is his! There is no sharing in his mind, if I have something and he wants it then he lets it known very loudly that he does and my god your fingers aren't aloud near it then lol And of course if he looks like he's really into something and having fun then I also think oh well easier to just fix/replace /clean that later and let him keep playing (although I do draw the line with some things and he gets so peaved at me for it lol)

But yeah awesome cage set up and for anyone else thinking of doing the grass, don;t forget millet grass! You can grow it just from the bird seed usually and they love it! Or mine does anyway


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