Parrots are my Weakness.
A repository of parrot-human relationships. The beautiful and the ugly. The joys and the pain. The heart-warming and the heart-wrenching. And then some Buddhist content once in a long while.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Sunflower Valley
Sunflower Valley
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For hamsters in their forever sleep
Scuttling, playing and feasting beneath the golden flowers
Where no one gets trapped, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For rabbits in their forever sleep
Hopping, playing and feasting across the emerald prairie
Where no one gets abandoned, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For parrots in their forever sleep
Flying, playing and feasting above the sapphire sky
Where no one gets chained, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For dolphins in their forever sleep
Swimming, playing and feasting under the turquoise falls
Where on one gets netted, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For cats in their forever sleep
Climbing, playing and feasting among ruby red cherry trees
Where no ones get euthanized, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
For dogs in their forever sleep
Running, playing and feasting among the amber rocks
Where no one gets abused, sick or die.
I believe Heaven is a sunflower valley
Where all kinds of animals befriend each other
Looking down on us...
Cheering for us…
Crying with us…
Waiting for us…
Whenever you see a beautiful rainbow in the sky
Don’t forget your friends long asleep!
At life tiring journey’s end
Good boys and girls see a rainbow bridge
Into an eternal sunflower valley dream
Animals and human friends
Will one day meet!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Imprisoned Parrots: A Short Film on Mistreatment of Parrots by Humans
A short clip to raise awareness of the abuse and neglect of parrots. The contrasting nature-culture, love-apathy, care-cruelty, etc dialectics are brought forth to illustrate humans' exploitative relationships with these beautiful, intelligent yet innocent sentient beings that we call parrots.
The soundtrack is a Chinese song by Peng Ling, named "Imprisoned Bird". It fits the contexts so perfectly, singing the loss of love, freedom and of neglect, that i decide to use it.
If anyone has any issues with the copyright of the photos used, please email me. Thank you.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Introduction to My Parrot Flock Part 4
Xiao Feng (Little Wind) is a name we gave to this darling female Ducorp cockatoo that has shades of yellow here and there in her white cockatoo feathers. She is a very tame and sweet cockatoo…in fact, too tame. Like many cockatoos, Xiao Feng thrives on attention. Deprivation of which, she is prone to scream for it.There is something special about Xiao Feng and that is her left leg—two toes are missing. According to one of her previous owner, her toes got caught in the towel used to cover her cage for several hours. Because no one noticed and help her out, in her distress and panic, she bit off her own toes in a fruitless attempt to free herself. By the time the accident was known through her incessant screaming, it is already too late and her toes are gone.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
How much is your EQ?
Your EQ is 127 |
50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar. |
Friday, January 12, 2007
Sprouting for Parrots
As for information about sprouting, please refer to this wonderful article written by Carolyn Swicegood:
http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html
Step 1: Getting the Right Sprouting Mix
I basically create 2 types of mixes meant for differently sized parrots.
Small sprouts blend is meant for small and medium sized parrots. I also find that my cockatoo loves the small sprouts. Some have said that their greys love small sprouts as well. Therefore, even as this small sprout blend is mixed specifically for small perrots ranging from budgies to conrues and other medium sized parrots, you can use it to for other bigger parrots who love to eat small sprouts.
Small Parrot Sprouts Blend
(Herb seeds)
1) Alfalfa
2) Bishop’s weed seeds
3) Fennel
4) Radish seeds
6) Fenugreek
7) Mustard seeds (yellow, red, and black)
(Grain seeds)
8) Brown rice
9) Wheat (winter)
10) Oat (whole)
11) Rye
12) Millets (yellow)
13) Buckwheat (whole)
14) Quinoa
15) Amaranth
(Oil seeds)
16) Flax seeds
17) Sesame seeds (black, white, brown)
Small Parrot Sprouts Blend (dry)
Big Parrot Sprouts Blend
(Legumes)
1) Mung beans
2) Adzuki beans
3) Pinto beans
4) Black turtle beans
5) Garbanzo (yellow and brown)
6) Green lentils
7) Green peas
(Grains)
8) Corn
9) Rye
10) Wheat
11) Buckwheat
12) Quinoa
13) Millets
(Oil seeds)
14) Sunflower seeds (shelled)
15) Pumpkin seeds (shelled)
16) Sesame seeds (white and black)
(Herb seeds)
17) Radish seeds
18) Red Clover seeds
19) Fenugreek
20) Mustard (yellow, red and black)
Big Parrot Sprouts Blend (dry)
Plastic containers for soaking the sprouts blends.
Step 3: Rinsing and Germinating
Spread the soaked seeds, grains and beans over a tray or container in a well ventilated location, away from direct sunlight. Rinse several times a day to maintain hygiene as well as to keep them moist but not wet. I also use a grapefruit seed extract organic disinfectant to rinse the mixes. This is perfectly safe organic disinfectant that can kill off bacteria, virus, toxic chemical coatings etc in fruits, vegetables and fresh produce. Using this extract in my rinsing help reduce the probability ofr ancidity or decomposition of the sprouts. It is however, not compulsory as long as you rinse themixes well and regularly.
Allow the mix to germinate over a period of 1 to 2 days, with periodical rinsing as you deem necessary.
Below is a photo of the trays I use for sprouting. They can be stacked up for convenience of several days worth of sprouts.
Step 4: Serve!
The mix can be served even before the sprouts are seen as soaking triggered the germination process, thereby increasing the nutritional values of these grains, seeds and beans. They are however, best served when the sprout can just be discernable poking out of the seeds.
As different types of grains, seeds and legumes germinate at different rates, its impossible to feed a mix where every type of seeds are at their optimum stage of growth.
I usually just feed after 1 day of germination for the large sprouts mix as the bigger seeds then to germinate faster. For the small sprout mix, Iwill sometimes allow them to sprout for 2 days before feeding.
Big Parrot Sprouts after soaking and germinating for a day. See how the seeds are swelling and coming alive!
Day 1 Small Parrot sprouts. See how some of the sprouting teeth are poking out of the seeds. Some of these smaller seeds sprout faster than the bigger seeds.
Two day old small sprouts blend.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
2007 New Year Eve Parrot Outing
Bodhi picking up a fight with another parrot...again.
Eleonora cockatoo ( a sub specie of medium sulphur cockatoo)
Amber..."unglam" as Nelson puts it. Mouth filled with sprouts. A greedy lady indeed.
Thats all for now, folks.
Wishing all a fulfilling and meaningful year 2007!!!