It's official, I am having some progress with my Red Rumps! Today, I had one of them (Chris) eating out of my hand in a very calm and somewhat show-off-ish manner. To top that off, the others were quite happy to sit and watch, albeit from the other side of the cage . They've stopped having hysterics every time I walk past, and seem to be responding to my voice now, answering in some interesting little chirps.

I've also noticed a definite pairing between the four. Piper (the only female that I know of) and Chris are always together, and today I caught Jub-Jub snuggle up next to Mickey, headbutting him repeatedly until he got a scratch . Also, the breeding box has definitely had someone in there, I found footprints in the nesting today. It's getting very warm around here now, so perhaps babies could be on the way? (Remember, I live in Australia, so it's not off-season here!)

The only bad news this time is that there has been ANOTHER delay on the aviary . Apparently the woman we're getting it from decided to go overseas, and we have no idea when she's getting back, so my poor birds are stuck in their makeshift house for a bit longer yet. I hate keeping them in the garage, but I have to admit that it's not as bad as some. It's an open garage (it's a 3 car), and I always have the doors open through the day. At least they're sheltered at night this way, and they do get outside time in the grass for a minimum of 2 hours a day (I spend a lot of time outside). So all up, They're not too bad off in the smaller cage, I just think they'll be happier in an aviary.

Hopefully will have more photos soon, having camera problems. Apparently cameras prefer NOT to go swimming :'( so I suggest not trying it. And if anyone has any other ideas for helping them accept me, I'd love to hear them!

I think you doing a good job with them. It just takes one to make friends. Soon they will all be eating from your hand since Chris came to no harm.

That must be very satisfying to have this response - perhaps in a little while they will all come over to say hello & get a treat.

Your set up sounds OK - more than OK - hope you get your aviary soon.

Feel free to add as many photos as you want. I would like to see more of your birds.

Good for you!! and them!!! So happy to hear the news!

Today was even better, I had both Chris and Piper eating from my hand, although the latter was more hesitant and slightly skittish still. And though he would not eat, Mickey still came over for a look at what was going on. Also, Chris has started imitating my kisses, and whenever I do them, he does it back! So I'd say they're getting pretty used to me now, and might even step up soon. Chris has stepped up once before, had a nibble on my thumb before flapping away, but that was about 2 weeks ago now and he wouldn't do it again. I'm just going to take it slow and let them pick the right time.

The next hurdle? Getting them used to my over-active 2 year old who doesn't understand that the birds get scared when she runs past squealing . She's getting really protective of them now, telling me every morning that we have to get them grass (despite me taking them outside, she takes them a handful every morning!) and chasing away the "bad" birdies when they get too close! (We have a family of Indian Myna's here. They pretty much keep away, luckily). I've just got to get her to slow down and use her inside voice around them .

Oh, and camera is now working, so I'm heading out to take some more shots very soon (after lunch) and will post them when I do!

Wow sounds like great progress! I'm finding it interesting to read how they will copy each other, as I was wondering if that would work with Brian.

How annoying about your aviary, I hope you manage to get it soon! But the setup you have sounds good to me anyway, so don't worry too much about that.

I know they're a pest, and aren't supposed to be in your country, but I think the indian myna is a very beautiful bird actually. Not sure why, just do.

Glad to hear things are going well, looking forward to the pictures!!

abc: I am mostly annoyed with the woman for saying we could have it, letting us pay for it, and then disappearing on holiday! Since she lives next door to my dad, he was thinking of just jumping her fence and unlocking the gate so we can hitch it onto the trailer and take it anyway. Technically, it's our property now, and apparently she is one of those people who leaves her doors unlocked in case visitors stop by when she's not home. I guess it's now just a question of how moral I want to be about the whole thing. They birds are in no danger or harsh conditions where they are now, so I don't really mind too much about waiting.

I thought you'd also like to see some pics of a storm we had yesterday. I was very glad the birds were in the garage when this one blew over! It was so hot that day that I had 1/2 filled the little pool and told Tiana she could swim when she woke up from her nap, and less than 30 mins later it was hailing! Check out the pics:



That one was taken from my backyard at 1:15 pm, before the storm blew over. I take occasional stock shots, so was just out mucking around with my camera (after FINALLY getting it working again).



This one was taken at exactly 1:33 pm the same afternoon from my front yard. Out the back it's still 40 degrees C and hot as anything. The next shot was taken less than 10 minutes later and from the same spot the first one was taken:



Just shows how quick they can come in around here . We live in the shadow of some mountains, so a lot of storms blow in over those. In the less-than 3 months we've lived here we've had 3 hail storms :S

Just thought you'd like to see those .

That was pretty amazing. Was the storm over quickly? Luckily we don't get hail much around here.

We've had terrible winds around here since Friday. If you can check the weather sites you would have seen this battle between the cold arctic air & the hot air coming up from Florida - it kind of divided Ontario in half. We had +15C here just a few days ago & almost all the snow went away. But I hear it is coming back & the -15C [we usually have a 'big' snow storm just around New Years , if not on the day.].

I'm sure your 2 year old will adapt - but it will take a while. When my son was little we had some pet rules he learned to listen to. One was that our cat at the time had safe areas - where he could not follow. She was funny - she'd literally run to them & then sit & look at him & he couldn't do anything about it - cause he had to respect her need. We told him she had to feel safe. Maybe if she sees the birds fly she should learn to be still [immediately - like a game] & only move a little when they settle. Hope that helps. Its sweet she wants to care for them - little girls love to do that stuff.