Sleeping LOL, yeah dreaming of her prince charming and babies!

Yep, no small, private, dark or boxy type places for Miss Pickles. Next she's gonna try going down your shirt or behind pillows on the sofa, in drawers in furniture, in bookcases, anywhere her body tells her it's right. She's like addicted and has no clue poor thing. So brightness is good,(only for 10-11 hrs a day though) and changing out stuff... like even swapping food and water in different places, toys etc. Subliminal message it's not a safe nest. She's gonna keep you busy for awhile, just consider her "special needs" for now and it'll pass.

Thanks Cindy, she's so dominant she would never take to a Prince Charming. So she needs to forget that and live her long little life with us happily without eggs. She is nesting in her food bowl at the moment, is there anything we can do about that? It's a standard food bowl. We can't just remove that and the water dish completely.


PS. She DOES get in the sofa! She nests in Leo's blocks... Everywhere!

Adorable!!

Yeah, for food you can use paper plates. Or a flat type saucer but they're slippery. I have three sizes, 6 inches, 7.5 inches and the big ones. I also like the straw paper plate holder like you use for barbeques. They can perch on it while they eat or even chew if they want.

For the white cage the small ones fit in the front in between where the cups go, so they dont soil them from above. I'll put a photo of Piper using it here. The third photo is her in her flight cage not the smaller one.

You can take the cups out but watch if she tries to escape. Dont use twist ties because of the metal. I dont use anything but if I had to I'd use raffia or rope tied in a bunch of places. But I wouldn't do it proactively so as to not give her any bright ideas. Or a plastic link but it cant be loose or they can get stuck under the doors sneaking out. Even a claw can get stuck.

For water I use a tube (NOT A BOTTLE) with the widest opening I can find and Piper likes it I think the water stays cold. But I also use the cup. I just dont like having ONLY a tube. But I like them knowing how to use it just in case. And it can go high up in the cage. I use a bright pink (bottom) one so they always know what it is.

You can also feed her OUT of the cage as much as possible even on top if it's safe. You can weigh the paper plate down with a small hamster size crock of water or food or nothing....unless she tries to climb in. The smallest one I have is 2.5 across.

There's also those finger size seed cups like canaries use ....you can place a bunch around the cage for enrichment with different food items inside. But they eat SO MUCH it's really only big enough for treat type stuff.

Also plastic lids (not metal) as long as she doesnt chew them up.

I LOVE using a glass butter dish especially for fresh foods they stay cold with the lid on in the fridge. You just have to watch with the baby that it doesnt get broken.

AND (lol) small glass pyrex cups (maybe, unless she climbs in).

You can give her dusk, then dark sleep (and dawn then light) every single day for about a month. Try and be really strict about it. When you go to bed dont turn the lights on or they wake up the sensor (pituitary gland) in her brain and starts her metabolism all over again, then she needs to eat etc.

OR cover her cage in the quiet bedroom, with black out curtains (they're like sheers for the window) at stores like Linen and Things or Bed Bath Beyond... but heavy plastic. Cover it 3/4 and face the cage to the window so the dawn wakes her up naturally (like if you want to watch tv in bed or something but it's better not to).

IF after a month of REALLY being dilligent and doing the other stuff if she's STILL this bad her doctor can give injections but I dont like that idea and would only do it as a last resort. I dont know anyone personally who couldnt fix this situation with light and schedules except one person on another board who SWEARS it didnt work and her Budgie had to actually get a hysterectomy. But actually I dont know her personally and always doubt the facts like maybe she was covering her with a thin sheet. You just never know....

Good luck and thanks for being so determined to help her. If she keeps going like this her life will be dramatically shortened and not too happy either poor thing.

Attached Images

	Pipereating1.jpg (85.2 KB, 4 views)
	2006_0827PiperToby0030.jpg (92.8 KB, 2 views)
	2006_0827PiperToby0003 (2).jpg (103.7 KB, 3 views)

Thank you SO much Cindy! You have been my miracle worker with Pickles!

Pickles moved out of our room today also, she wasn't having a set schedule. So she is not in Leo's room, he sleeps 12 straight hours and goes to bed at a certain time and wakes up at a certain time. Leo doesn't get up at night and Pickles isn't loud so this was the best possible solution. Hopefully this will work out!

We switched out the water bowl with a bird water dispenser, it's not a bowl but something you clip on the side that collects water in a little scoop. Pickles likes it and she can't sit in it.

Food bowl has been removed and the food is on a small flat baby plate right now, she likes that too. So no more nesting! lol

Nesting or not, those are adorable pix!!

very cute!

Liz, I was just online ordering the calcium supplements we use and remembered about Pickles. Besides calcium deficiencies showing up in physical health problems, behavior and nervousness is another rule-in for calcium deficiency.

I know you said you were trying to get her to do pellets but if she isnt eating about 50-85% of her main diet in pellets then she's not getting the benefits.

Please ask her vet about if she needs supplementation. Usually not with pellets but my perception is she's not really eating "alot" and also with egg layers it's important (i know you know that).

Did he give you anything or did he give her any injections?

Ask about Calciboost that's what I use and my rescue friends too. Its Calcivet in EU, AU and CA. It's very accessible/super saturated...as calcium borogluconate with magnesium and D3.

You only give a small amount in a regular bird (not breeding or deficient) ...1-2 times a week and in egg laying up to 5 times which is high. Ask your vet, ok?

You can only get it online here's two California places below.

You need a glass measuring cup of 8 ounces and a 1/2 tsp (5 ml) to give in water.

It's also usable on soft foods but with these teeny birds I chose to give in water and change it out twice that day. I also dont give baths on those days.

For a crisis or on soft foods they can get it by beak using a childs diabetic syringe with the needle removed if the vet choses to go that way.

http://birds2grow.com/prod.html
http://www.birds2grow.com/testimonials.html

http://www.allbirdproducts.com/Shopp...irdSupplements

I know they are feisty little ones but I think they are just so beautiful.

I always love a bird with big attitude in a small package.

Nice pics.