I just wanted to say how beautiful Keely is. As I have mentioned, Sly, our lesser, had PBFD and was all white and naked within a short time after he joined our family. Seeing a fully feathered Lesser in such wonderful shape makes me sad and happy... I would love to see more pictures.

Nice to have you here.


Doreen

Hi Doreen! I am sure Sly was a beauty. He was a very lucky guy to have been in your care.

Here is about the only decent pic I have of her:



(Kimba, I finally figured out how to fix photos on my computer... so it looks almost like the one you fixed )

Keely has been with us since Feb 10th 2008. I got her from a lady who bought her from a pet store a few monthes before. She was being sold as a "Greater Vasa", so I sure had a surprise when I saw her for the first time in real life (had to run out and buy a new cage before work the next morning cause the one I had for a "Greater Vasa" was unsafe for her because of the bar spacing.) Wasen't expecting that one. I was told that she was in the pet shop for around 7 years. Her band tells us that she was surgically sexed in Holland on Oct 17th 2000, and she was already mature at that time. That is about all we know about her past.

She is very smart. If Sly was anything like her, his name really suited him !

Oh and here is another one from her old owner. See how light her beak was... its awesome how fast it can change...

I love her little tiny head! I can't get enough of it!

She's so beautiful and graceful! Ruby says "step-up!"

Gorgeous! I love vasas! What is the size difference between the greaters and lessers?

greaters are 23" and lessers are around 12-15", but the biggest difference is the head to beak ratio, and the head to body ratio. Lesser have very small and petite heads compared to their bodies.

look back at the pic of keely than look at eve, Eve has a big o'l head and a more stocky body.

Hows Keely doing with your grey? Sorry I forgot your greys name. But I was wondering if things are progressing as far as them becoming friends.

Kimba, Indi (Grey) and Keely are getting along good (so long as Indi does not step over that invisible line... if he gets closer then about a foot, Keely jumps away). They eat their cooked/fresh food side by side, they nap at the same time, they preen together. It's really cute. They are not together all the time, but maybe like half the day. It's so adorable 'cause when she sings, Indi always asks "You want your apple?"... aw...

Keely is a really neat bird. She is not really a "hands-on" kind of bird, though she will step up and let us pet her head. She went to my mom's for a visit (and a sunbath) and she was so calm and stepped up on my mom too and let my mom rub her with her cheek.

She does not really chew or gnaw... the only toys she likes so far are ones that she can shred (like toys of palm leaf and paper) and she likes "teething" on leather and sisal. She has this ball with paper on it that she shreds and bats around, it's adorable.

But, I have been so intrigued by Vasa and looking for one for so many years, that everything she does just strikes me as amazing I think. I could go on and on talking about everything and nothing when it comes to this bird... I don't know why.

Oh and about her size. Like Kimba mentioned she is about 12 inches (15 when she stretches out her neck). Her body is about the size of a Jardine's or small Timneh Grey (she weighs about 307 grams- which I saw Lesser's weight at about 280 on one site and 310 on another- so it varies a bit). I think they are like the Greaters, with the females being a bit bigger? But her head is small in relation to her body (compared to say a Grey) and her neck, tails and legs are longer and her wings bigger.

Oh and recently my Senegal has started to fly and goes to her cage or on the couch beside it. Man, for a bird that is so pacific with the Greys, she sure seems to hate the Sennie. She holds her wings away from her body and puffs her chest (like the Cockatiel "heart" display) raised her little "crest" (kind of like a flick on the back of her nape) and makes this weird sounds like a Turkey. It is not the same as her singing pose... she seems to be trying to look bigger rather then "show off". She does not seem to be in a good mood at all. She even kind of "pecks the air" as a warning. It's not a lunge, but a peck, like straight down like a Chicken thats eating. Wonder what it means, maybe I am reading it wrong...

I wonder why with the Sennie, she does this, and does not just jump away? She does not go after him, but hops up on her branch and just "cusses" at him. Anyways, the little Sennie and I are working on teaching him not to pester the Vasa. He is probably just feeling a bit macho about being able to go anywhere and everywhere now that he can fly about. He should simmer down when he starts to understand that there are a new set of "rules" that come along with being able to conquer gravity

Anyways, sorry for going on and on...

Edit: so much for saying she doesn't chew wood! Indi brought one of his new balsa foot toys onto her cage this morning, and now she is chewing away at it. I am gonna have to start looking for some more... balsa seems harder to find here.

Balsa can be found at some art stores, if not lumberyards. I saw some at Curry's Art Store. I used to get it at specialty stores that sell toy trains.

Loved the photos & the descriptions of Keely, Indi & your Sennie. Hope no one gets hurt & all agree to disagree or whatever.

Please work on your photos I'd love to see more.