Update - Harry the Cockatoo and his new cage!
Badass
Not posted for a month or two, thought I would get back in touch with an
update on Harry, my wife's neck, my TV unit and the new cage!!!
When I previously posted, Harry had been bighting my wife approximately once
a month, on the neck. Happy to report he has not bitten her since the last
time, I reckon 3 or so months now. Admittedly, she has been reluctant to
have any "hands on" time with Harry, but she will happily pet him from the
safe side of the cage.
With regards to the TV unit which he completely destroyed, I replaced with a
slick glossy black glass unit, and he has shown no further interest in the
Audio / Video hub.
I also mentioned Harry was getting a new cage, an Indoor Aviary in one of
our spare bedrooms. The cage has been delivered and installed, and Harry is
very content in his new home!
Here are the final details as installed
- Dimensions are 8ft long by 6ft wide by 7ft high
- Mesh consists of Medical Grade Stainless Steel, 12 Gauge 1" square spacing
- Flooring is 1mm stainless steel sheet, which is under 1/2cm thick linoleum
/ vinyl
- A variety of perches, swings and ropes are attached to the sides at
various heights
- Other toys and "chewables" are hung from the ceiling
- The cage layout has been designed to allow Harry to get flight from one
side to the other without obstacle
- The feeding area consists of the following:
20 or so assorted rocks and boulders surround three large stainless steel
hotplate serving dishes which are used for seeds, fresh fruit / veg and
water. Behind the rocks etc is a huge Railway Sleeper which will take years
of chewing.
The idea for the rocks was to hopefully help keep his nails in check, and he
might also enjoy training his beak.
Harry has his own Ipod / Speaker system which plays sounds from the Amazon
Jungle, American Plains and various other "natural" sounds. He has a total
of around 30 hours of "nature sounds" played randomly and continuously
throughout the day, until bedtime.
There is a seating area within the cage, where I like to play gameboy or
read the paper. It consists entirely of wood, and as such, is being
deteriorated & chewed over time, however I can replace at very little cost.
Harry also has a wonderful view of the city from his window (which has UV
reflective stickers to protect from sunburn, and which is mirrored to stop
anyone seeing into the room). He can see the Pentland Hills in their
entirety, Edinburgh Castle, and various tree's, fields and gardens.
The room Harry lives' in is under 24 /7 surveillance from my office up town.
I have installed a network camera which allows me to log in from any web
enabled PC, so I can always make sure he is safe and well. I also have the
same cameras through the house downstairs as I have three cats which I also
care about, I like to keep an eye on them. The camera's have "intruder
zones" which will alarm me instantly if one of these "preset areas" has any
movement. This is great for security, as soon as movement within a zone is
detected, my mobile receives a text message and all video footage is saved
to a remote PC, whilst images are sent every 0.5 seconds to an email
account. It won't stop thieves, but it might help catch them.
The cage took around three hours to put together, and was tough going.
Heavy, awkward and tiring, due to the size of the room which left little
maneuverability.
A few things which are still to be installed:
- DVD Player and flat screen TV (10inch), I will play videos of other
parrots and maybe a few videos of me and Harry for when I am out.
- Water Feature, I want to install a safe but workable water feature
allowing him to have a constant supply of fresh flowing water. This is
going to be tricky!!
- Audio Trigger System, I want to install a system which will detect if
Harry makes any form of excessive screaming, and if so, it will trigger a
phonecall to me on loudspeaker, which will allow me to calm him down
remotely. Again, not sure where to start but I know it's possible...
- Photography and Mirrors, allow him to see himself and other birds.
All this might seem a bit extreme, but he's worth it all - and I love
obsessing over things :)
Here are some pics from the cage - very hard to get it all in, I have
ordered a wide angle lens, but until it arrives, these will need to do!
Picture 1:
http://img63.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harrynewcagecollection9qf.jpg
Picture 2:
http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harryeatingnewcage8br.jpg
Picture 3:
http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harryeating33yq.jpg
Picture 4:
http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harryincage6lp.jpg
Picture 5:
http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harrysview4hw.jpg
Thanks,
Gary & Harry, the Cockatoo.
Joanne
"Badass" <bada...@scotlandio.com> wrote in message
news:YLYeg.78051$wl....@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hya Guys, (Long read, picture links at foot of this post)
>
> Not posted for a month or two, thought I would get back in touch with an
> Harry, the Cockatoo.
Would Harry like a room mate. I can arrange to spend my vacation at your
house.
Although his cage and bling are lovely, the best part is your devotion to
him and his comfort and happiness. He's a lucky little guy.
Sincerely,
Joanne
Badass
> house.
>
> Although his cage and bling are lovely, the best part is your devotion to
> him and his comfort and happiness. He's a lucky little guy.
>
> Sincerely,
> Joanne
He is an absolute joy, I walked into owning him blindly, and had a very
difficult first month (he hated me, I hated cleaning) - however with a
little bit of understanding, time and ultimately, patience, our relationship
has flourished as has my acceptance of the chores of owning such an
animal!!!
His really is like my little boy, and I would never do anything to make him
unhappy. It is a simply a matter of space which has stopped his quarters
from being any bigger. If I ever buy my dreamhouse, Harry will have an
indoor / outdoor living area with as much freedom as possible with a
domestic pet bird.
Will keep you all updated with progress!!!
Badass.
Alexi
like to know who made your cage. Your electronic toys are interesting. It
would be nice to know more about the camera and network specifics.
"Badass" <bada...@scotlandio.com> wrote in message
news:95_eg.78103$wl.4...@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Alexi
like to know who made your cage. Your electronic toys are interesting. It
would be nice to know more about the camera and network specifics.
"Badass" <bada...@scotlandio.com> wrote in message
news:YLYeg.78051$wl....@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
David G Fisher
"Joanne" <Joa...@jobirdnest.com> wrote in message
news:aYZeg.9548$y4....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Agree 100%.
Gary, I lock my blue and gold's cage door with a combination lock whenever i
leave the house. If someone wnated to steal him, they'd have to spend an
awful lot of time breaking open the cage to get to him. Without some serious
tools, i doubt they could do it, or would bother even trying. Have you
considered doing the same?
Where did you get the parrot videos for harry to watch? Online?
Dave
John Hines
>Harry has his own Ipod / Speaker system which plays sounds from the Amazon
>Jungle, American Plains and various other "natural" sounds. He has a total
>of around 30 hours of "nature sounds" played randomly and continuously
>throughout the day, until bedtime.
It would be cool (IMHO) if he had a way to select what he wants to hear.
My goffin is into "rock n roll" which she says when she wants some tunes
turned on.
--
Goffin Cockatoo owned human being.
Badass
>
> My goffin is into "rock n roll" which she says when she wants some tunes
> turned on.
Sounds wicked, although poor harry won't really say much, and being almost 5
years old now, not sure if I can get him to start?
I would love to train him to talk just not sure how to.
badass
John Hines
>> It would be cool (IMHO) if he had a way to select what he wants to hear.
>>
>> My goffin is into "rock n roll" which she says when she wants some tunes
>> turned on.
>
>
>Sounds wicked, although poor harry won't really say much, and being almost 5
>years old now, not sure if I can get him to start?
I'm just thinking of a key pad, where he can tap out different
selections, depending on his mood. Tap 1 for rainforest, 2 for rock, 3
for dance (with a beat), etc.
For speech, just talk to the bird. Cosmo picked it up from me, because
that is what I'd say when I put music on.
Christopher C. Stacy
> "Badass" <bada...@scotlandio.com> wrote:
>
>>> It would be cool (IMHO) if he had a way to select what he wants to hear.
>>>
>>> My goffin is into "rock n roll" which she says when she wants some tunes
>>> turned on.
>>
>>
>>Sounds wicked, although poor harry won't really say much, and being almost 5
>>years old now, not sure if I can get him to start?
>
> I'm just thinking of a key pad, where he can tap out different
> selections, depending on his mood. Tap 1 for rainforest, 2 for rock,
> 3 for dance (with a beat), etc.
InterPet Explorer: http://web.media.mit.edu/~benres/parrot/Interpet1.pdf
Don't know if anyone's invented the "iToo" music program, yet, though.
Badass
Badass.
"Alexi" <n...@no.com> wrote in message
news:PW%eg.105568$F_3....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
Peter Hucker
"Complete with 17" LCD screen". Hmmmm, I wouldn't put a parrot anywhere near an LCD screen! Has anyone tried it? My computer has CRTs, I would think they'd break holes in LCDs.
--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com
Trading standars have removed the gollywog from Robinsons marmalade jars,
not due to racism but because Niggers were using the labels as bus passes!
Peter Hucker
> Harry also has a wonderful view of the city
---snip---
> http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=harrysview4hw.jpg
CITY?!?
> - Water Feature, I want to install a safe but workable water feature
> allowing him to have a constant supply of fresh flowing water. This is
> going to be tricky!!
Hmmmm, you've given me an idea. I'm gonna be building a rather extensive system of ponds in the garden, I might make something to pump water in the aviary.....
> The room Harry lives' in is under 24 /7 surveillance from my office up town.
> I have installed a network camera which allows me to log in from any web
> enabled PC, so I can always make sure he is safe and well. I also have the
> same cameras through the house downstairs as I have three cats which I also
> care about, I like to keep an eye on them. The camera's have "intruder
> zones" which will alarm me instantly if one of these "preset areas" has any
> movement. This is great for security, as soon as movement within a zone is
> detected, my mobile receives a text message and all video footage is saved
> to a remote PC, whilst images are sent every 0.5 seconds to an email
> account. It won't stop thieves, but it might help catch them.
Bloody hell!
The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
Badass Scotsman
near an LCD screen! Has anyone tried it? My computer has CRTs, I would
think they'd break holes in LCDs.
I have a 32" Elonex Lumina "PC In an LCD" - he absolutely loves to sit on
it. He never chews. I also have a 19" Digital Sony TFT which he uses as a
perch. He might chew the sony on occassion, byt not enough to damage.
He's not allowed anywhere near my TV - I would have a heart attack.
Gary.
Badass Scotsman
Strange Timing - one of the cams has just gone live and public!!
http://www.parrotmad.com/cockatoo-camera.html
Gary.
Peter Hucker
> "Complete with 17" LCD screen". Hmmmm, I wouldn't put a parrot anywhere
> near an LCD screen! Has anyone tried it? My computer has CRTs, I would
> think they'd break holes in LCDs.
>
>
> I have a 32" Elonex Lumina "PC In an LCD" - he absolutely loves to sit on
> it.
I've had to put "TV shelves" on top of my CRTs. Otherwise they shit down the vents! How do you stop him doing this?
> He never chews. I also have a 19" Digital Sony TFT which he uses as a
> perch. He might chew the sony on occassion, byt not enough to damage.
It's the fact that just touching the LCD with your finger makes the colours go weird. I would have thought a pointy thing touching it could do bad things!
> He's not allowed anywhere near my TV - I would have a heart attack.
Get a projection TV! They can't remove paint.
Seven dwarfs sat in the tub, feeling Happy.
Then Happy got out, so they all felt Grumpy.
Peter Hucker
Cool!
The sound is breaking up though - you need more bandwidth!
Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
Badass Scotsman
> the vents! How do you stop him doing this?
Harry is quite obvious when he is about to poop, he wiggles his arse for
about 30 seconds, then squeezes for a further 5 - 10 seconds before
eventually going. Also, he only ever seems to do it if there is a clear
route to the floor.
Mario, the new African Grey is not as clever so get's nowhere near any
equipment just yet.
> It's the fact that just touching the LCD with your finger makes the
> colours go weird. I would have thought a pointy thing touching it could
> do bad things!
If he wanted to he could probably pierce it, he just shows no interest
really.
> He's not allowed anywhere near my TV - I would have a heart attack.
> Get a projection TV! They can't remove paint.
The bastard removed more than paint a few month back, he ripped three holes
in my plasterboard wall when out on a rampage. Same night he ate my TV unit
:(
Gary.
Badass Scotsman
>
>The sound is breaking up though - you need more bandwidth!
Yeah, sucks. It's Telewest 10MB, but the camera's wireless so looses a lot
there...
Not sure what the 10mb line upload is.
G.
Peter Hucker
>> I've had to put "TV shelves" on top of my CRTs. Otherwise they shit down
>> the vents! How do you stop him doing this?
>
> Harry is quite obvious when he is about to poop, he wiggles his arse for
> about 30 seconds, then squeezes for a further 5 - 10 seconds before
> eventually going. Also, he only ever seems to do it if there is a clear
> route to the floor.
>
> Mario, the new African Grey is not as clever so get's nowhere near any
> equipment just yet.
All of mine (Macaws, Greys, Amazons, and Conures) give about 1 second of warning.
>> It's the fact that just touching the LCD with your finger makes the
>> colours go weird. I would have thought a pointy thing touching it could
>> do bad things!
>
> If he wanted to he could probably pierce it, he just shows no interest
> really.
A few of mine love following the mouse cursor. Although they do only lick it.
>> He's not allowed anywhere near my TV - I would have a heart attack.
>
>> Get a projection TV! They can't remove paint.
>
> The bastard removed more than paint a few month back, he ripped three holes
> in my plasterboard wall when out on a rampage. Same night he ate my TV unit
> :(
I came home to a huge hole in the wall once, right near an electrical socket! (Which was a little worrying).
It's mainly doors, skirting boards, and furniture that getes eaten though.
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Peter Hucker
Probably 0.25Mb, like ADSL. I think it might be 0.5Mb for cable though.
I was receiving at about 0.25Mb, so unless someone else was watching at the same time, looks like that's what you've got.