FINCHforum

Hello Isobea & W.I & Everyone Else

I finally took the plunge

I had to go to the Pet Shop anyway, for another bag of Puppy food for the Monster.
So while there, I had to check out the Birdies.

Canaries, Zebras, Socies, a couple of moulting Gouldies, a pair of African Fires, several male Stars, an Orange cheek, a female Cordon, some Linnies (for the ungodly sum of $250.00), a Quaker, some Conures, a hundred Budgies, Lovebirds, Cockatiels.....and you guessed it.....

TAH DAH!!! Two Lavenders
I have no idea if they are male and female, or two of the same gender, but I have butt pictures for those who are in the KNOW.

Without further ado, here they are.....

Oops, darn it. Forgot the butt pictures....

lovezebs - Elana, first of all: Congratulations! They are beautiful. Seem to be in better shape than mine. They are not fresh out of quarantine, are they? Are they making cute little chirpy noises, too? Calling back and forth?
As for the 'butt pictures': they definitely look different. Now I wish I could remember if the amount of black is more important or the brightness of the red feathers... Either way, it looks like you might have a pair (w.l. what do you think? Chime in!). In fact, if my poor memory doesn't fail me, I think if I took pictures of my two birds, they would look very much like yours.
Good luck! I think you will get a kick out of these birds.
Iso

lovezebs

NICE!!! Wish I could find lavenders around here!

Sorry I can't help you on the butt photos, but as Iso mentioned, it does look like you may have a pair there.

Looking forward to the baby pics....;)

isobea

Thanks Iso,

One of mine is plucked around the neck as well

Well, we had quite an adventure when we got home.

I had initially planned on banding them, and SCAT'ing them, before putting them in their cage. BUT, they were both in the same box, so I was worried about someone escaping, and getting eaten by a dog, SO....I decided to get them into the cage first, then grab them individually... I mean how hard can it be, right???

It turns out, that grabbing Lavenders in a cage, is not as easy as it would seem .

After what seemed like forever, I managed to grab the chubby one, only to have him slip right between my fingers and fly to the top of the fridge.

Slapping the cage doors shut and howling "NOOOOO!!!!" at the dogs, I went into stealth mode. I approached very slowly, one hand reaching out from the bottom, one from the side. I almost had him, and then he took off to the counter at the other side of the kitchen, hiding behind the rice cooker. Repeat performance, and off he went again to the back door, then to the coat hanger, then down into the basement.

I thought I was going to break my neck, as I thundered down the stairs in hot pursuit, to almost squish him, as he landed on the floor right in front of my feet.

"Come on you tiny little monster, be a good birdie, and come to mama, come on...." As I went to squat down (my knees not cooperating).

By the time I got halfway down, he sailed over the top of my head, to land on the washing machine, then the furnace, then a shelf, then an electric cord.... I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

Then I finally had him, and lumbering up the steps I had the urge to wring his little neck as I dropped into my chair huffing and puffing like a tired old horse.

Finally I had him banded and SCAT'ed. Went to put him back in the cage....and didn't the tiny misery take off again....

Let's just say, it turned out to be a very interesting afternoon.

Nerine

Thanks

I honestly have no idea if they are a pair or not.

We shall have to wait and see if one sings, and if one decides to lay eggs, lol.

Congrats!
Hope you have a pair.
Study the male and femake calls on the website I had earlier given to Iso, and hope for the best. The colors of your birds undersides do look different, but that could be influenced by age, captive conditions...
Anyway, enjoy your Lavenders! And don't let them out too often, the chasing to recapture them does no good to any bird.

w.l.

The bird is doing very well thank you. I think I heard him laughing in a tiny little voice every time I missed him the evil scamp.

They are pretty birds.

lovezebs - My, my, Elana, do I dare say you won't have to go to the gym for a week? What an afternoon but you are right, the little squirt looks very healthy and most satisfied with his escapade (if that's him in the last picture). The little devil in me wants to tell you that I was worried about the exact same thing happening to me when I needed to band and transfer mine. So I took them and their cage into our guestroom and firmly shut the door behind us. Of course, because I took these precautions, everything went smoothly.
Make sure you get a good night's rest...
Iso

Congratulations on your new birds, they are pretty. It sounds like one made you chase him pretty good, glad you caught him/her.

Elana

Congratulations !!! They are beautiful little birds It sounds like your little chubby one gave you a run for your money !! Glad everything worked out ok , considering you must have been exhausted !!! Enjoy your little beauties !!

lovezebs
Congrats on your Lavenders. Aren't they the most beautiful "handsome" birds ever?!?! As w.l. mentioned, I think my pair are already back on a nest. The odd thing is that I don't see the babies begging or being fed by the parents. They are already eating on their own. Do they stay in the nest longer before they fledge making them more independent?? Maybe w.l. will chime in.

Enjoy your beauties.....and don't let them escape!

Congratulations on your new birds!

Jen

I very rarely saw them being fed either.
But they certainly shouldn't be independent so soon after fledging, so don't think about separating them! Fledglings start trying to eat alone well before they are truly independent. To be honest, yours look more "ragged" and less "ready" than mine did after fledging:
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33050
In my experience, Lavender parents are very shy about displaying parently duties while being watched, but they do perform them. Certainly don't remove the fledgelings yet unless the male is aggressive towards them, which mine never was.

Thanks everyone.

The kids seem to be settling in very well in their quaranteen cage. In fact they look like they're loving it.

I have seen both of them take several baths (washing off the Pet Store smell , lol).
They are sampling all the goodies with enthusiasm, playing with the greenery, and checking out an old nest box (which is tightly secured in there, so I just left it there).

They don't seem to be any worse for wear from all the excitement of yesterday.
Oh, and boy did they get excited when I played some Lavender sounds to them. The one that was a real hit for some reason, was this video...

https://youtu.be/2Bv4mC4hP04