Rappy can be so cute!

Raptor may be temperamental and aggressive, but he can also be oh-so-cute.

I rarely get good in-cage shots of Raptor because the office, where his cage is, doesn't have as much natural light flowing in as the bedroom does (where Mika's cage is).  Even when he's on the Java stand, right next to the window, the light still isn't that great because of the next stack of condos blocking the sun.  Today we had to move his cage into the bedroom temporarily for a few days while we do stuff in the office, so that meant nice lighting! :D 

He spent a good amount of time just hanging out on his boing, looking fluffed up and baby-ish!!

After his nap, he spent quite a while playing with his Grey Feather Toys MegaFone.  I really enjoyed watching him play with the chain and washers - he was really going at it!  Unfortunately, most of the pictures came out very blurry because he was moving around so much. 
 

So cute.  :)

Recent orders.

Sometime last week I received my small Grey Feather Toys order and, today, both my Things for Wings and My Safe Bird Store orders came in.  

Normally when I order from GFT I get their noisy, mostly indestructible stainless steel toys.  This time I decided to try an all-destructible order with a couple of foot toys.  So far, I have a foot toy in each cage (neither of them have touched it so far) and the Lil Hearts hanging from the boing on the Java tree.  The others will be saved for a later toy rotation.  Thank you so much, Rebecca!

Lil Hearts

Crunch & Munch

Polly Wolly Doodle (small)

Something Amiss (medium)

Flick Fleck

I always have a hard time resisting toys from Danita at Things for Wings.  Not only are ALL of her toys incredibly unique and beautiful, she comes out with collection after collection and you can't help but at least get a little from here and a little from there!!  In the past, I used to make HUGE orders with her but I've been much better at quantity control - mainly because I still have a LOT of toys that haven't gone through a single rotation yet.  Hehe.  Anyway, the most recent collections to come out are Grandma's Strawberry Patch and Pine Only.  Absolutely adorable!  The Fresh Picked Strawberries have been put on the office Java stand and the rest will be saved for a later toy rotation.  As always, thank you, Danita!!

Fresh Picked Strawberries (x2)

My Little Pine Pony

Palm Tree (x2)

Wonderful freebies!

Last, but not least, the order of supplies from My Safe Bird Store.  Normally I order one pound bags of the Totally Organic Pellets (TOPS) but, this time, I decided to finally just get the large four pound bag.  I also got some more Avitech probiotics, and decided to try some of Avitech's new Herbal Extracts.  I got Immune Booster and Pau D'Arco primarily for Mika, and Relaxation/Calming primarily for Raptor.  Other than that, I got some Bountiful Harvest, Goldenfeast Asian Medley and Bean Supreme.  As usual, Kathie (and Kara) have sent a bunch of freebie goodies - both for bird and human.  Thank you guys!

Good stuff!  ;)

 

BIRDYlicious Creations review.

I put the BIRDYlicious Creations new toys I got for Mika in his cage this past weekend.  He has taken a liking to the Big Squeak and Chime N' Tug, most likely because they both have long chains and bells, which he really likes, and they are strategically placed in spots he likes to hang out.  I often hear him shoving and clanging the bells on the Big Squeak and I always find him napping between the chains of the Chime N' Tug (just like he does with his Grey Feather Toys Groovaliscious).

I also saw him shove the Pond Life, placed by his water dish, for the first time yesterday but by the time I grabbed my phone to take a picture he had moved away.  I haven't seen him go to the Garden Cup, which is placed by his boing, yet but I'm sure he'll shove it eventually.  Hehe.  I am very happy with the purchase and it's pretty safe to say Mika is too!  :D

Big Squeak

"You can't see me..."

Chime N' Tug

BIRDYlicious Creations.

A member on a bird forum I'm a member of recently started her own "noisy" toy (bells, chains, beads, etc) making business called BIRDYlicious Creations.  Normally I don't really stray from my tried and true Grey Feather Toys when it comes to noisy toys but I found several toys I thought were cute - and they came with the option of being made in stainless steel.  She is having a Grand Opening sale as well, so I figured I'd give her toys a shot!  

All four of these toys are for Mika, since he's the one that likes chains and bells.  (Not to leave Raptor out, he's got some toys from yet another new vendor that is currently processing - will blog when they arrive.)  Teasha, the owner, was extremely accommodating and answered any questions I had.  She was even wonderful enough to take my color requests.  These were all made with the s/s option.

Big Squeak

Pond Life

Chime N' Tug

Garden Cup

I'll probably put these toys in Mika's cage come next toy rotation.  I hope he likes them!  :)  Thank you very much, Teasha!!

Finished travel cages.

I finally finished the travel cages for the boys, color matched and all!!  Hehe.  ;)  

Mika's new travel cage!

Left side

Right side

Raptor's new travel cage!

Left side

Right side

Grey Feather Toys!

Since June or July, all bird-related hardware had been changed over to s/s.  Why?  While s/s is the only "bird-safe" metal used to make bird toys, that isn't the primary reason I made the switch (neither of our boys chew or even beak metal so that was not a concern).  I switched over because I found nickel-plated toys to either develop rust spots or get that yucky white cloudy film over them rather quickly.  I have to sanitize our birds toys, especially Mika's, quite often because of Mika's weak immune system so that tended to speed up the rust spot/cloudy film process.  

This past summer Mika was very sick and had to stay at the vet for five days.  Rather than sanitize all his things yet again, I tossed it ALL out.  My vet had said as long as I sanitized well enough, the gram negative bacteria should die and illness shouldn't recur again...but I was paranoid and did not want to chance it.  All I kept thinking was, "What if I miss something??"  I threw away garbage bags full of toys, perches, boings, etc.  I even got rid of his cage, which was only eight months old and still basically brand spankin' new.  

When I started anew, I decided to go with all s/s items because I got tired of throwing things away at the first sign of a rust spot or that cloudy film (I am anal).  Yes, s/s stuff is much more expensive in the short run but, in the long run, well worth it as I won't have to toss toys and other items out as frequently.  These s/s items should last a LONG time.

Anyway...

My favorite place to shop for non-destructible bird toys is Grey Feather Toys.  Not only are their toys extremely unique and fun, they are all 100% stainless steel (s/s).  Mika, my non-toy player, actually likes quite a few of their toys so they will have me as a customer for life!  

Rebecca at GFT is so wonderful.  She is always happy to cater to my annoying color and tweak requests.  This time around, I ordered custom 15" rope perches and toys in yellow/clear and green/clear to match Mika and Raptor's travel cages, respectively.  

Mika's 1/2" perch and Raptor's 7/8" perch.

Mika is a big fan of the Baby Possession and Groovaliscious, of which he has four of each now (in different colors)!  He loves the dangling chains and will nap with the chains draped over his back.  Sometimes he'll grip a chain with one foot and nap that way too.  So cute!!  ^_^  Since GFT doesn't carry clear extra small pacifiers, Danita at Things for Wings was kind enough to send me some so I could have my Baby Possession look exactly how I wanted.

Mika's Baby Possession

Mika's altered Groovaliscious (stars rather than pacifiers)

Mika's Tinker Bell

Raptor isn't a big fan of non-destructible toys, but I'm an advocate for variety so I got this toy (I <3 the pleasant sound it makes!) to go along with the green and clear Tinker Bell I already have in the travel cage.

Raptor's Dingaling

I'll have everything set up and will take photos tomorrow.  I am LOVING how they look and I am so glad that their travel cages will now be complete!!  :)

Homemade swings.

Natacha guessed right!  I ordered more s/s skewers to make swings for the boys!  Not just any swings, though...  foraging swings.  I know Raptor will love having yet another place to retrieve treats from, while Mika will just let the treats stare him in the face if he can't get to them within the first minute or so.  :P

I color coordinated the swings - blue to match Raptor's boing and yellow to match Mika's boing.  We all know I love color coordination!!  ;)  We used gum tree branches as the swing base, and added wicker, clear cups, paper cups, etc. to the skewers for foraging opportunities.

Here is the end product of Raptor's swing:

Right side

Left side

Here is Mika's swing:

Right side

Left side

Mika on his new swing!

 

Take a guess...

What will I be doing with these stainless steel skewers that just arrived from Mother Pluckin' Bird Toys??