I Am Not A Vet, But Thanks to YouTube......

I have parakeets and a love bird and I have only taken the love birds to the vet one time to trim their wings, so they can't fly.  I know that sounds mean, but when I first adopted them, I was afraid I would lose them some how.  

As it turns out, they can't see in the dark, so if they do get out, all you have to do is turn out the lights and you can get them.  So, I never had their wings trimmed again.

The yellow parakeet's beek started growing - and I had always "thought" they could file the beak down on their own on the rough things you keep in the cage.  But the yellow one's beak grew and started to hook in.  

Amy came up and was looking at the birds and agreed that it didn't look good.

So I went to You Tube, and sure enough, there was a video on trimming a beak!  So, I got brand new nail clippers and gave it a shot.

My first mistake was trying it in the daylight.  Didn't work, because the parakeets did not want to be caught.  And they can demonstrate that they don't want to be caught. (Think wild animals.)

So, I waited until dark.  It is not easy to catch one anyway, but I got him and clipped.  I put him back in the cage, and of course, he got out.  The good thing about caged birds is that if they do get out, they get freaked out by all the open space and tend to just stop.  So I got him and got him back in the cage.  And neither of us had a heart attack.

When I got a light on, I saw that I didn't really clip anything - after all, it was dark.  (I am really lucky I didn't hurt me or him, but I know to always start small first.)

So, yesterday I tried again.  This time, I left the closet light on.  And, it worked!  

See, he looks great!

I guess next I will try the toenails.  Live and learn!

The best news is that Carole, Jane and Emma arrived!  They did have an adventure, though.  They got to SF airport for their 8am flight and found out that it had been cancelled. Honestly, the paying customer is not treated well when they fly!

So, Carole got them on another flight that took them to Dulles, VA and they got here about 8:15pm.

Carole, Emma, Jane and Amy

Their shoes

They have taken the Duke tour, so Jane could see the school.  Done one trip to the Duke bookstore, which will be done again for more Duke swag.  Tonight we are off to the Durham Bulls game and then massive shopping over the weekend. (Can you see the shopping trend?)

Anyway, it is great to have them here!

Love, Leslie