MY SPY birdhouse - AS SEEN ON TV!

[debbie276]

My nephew when he was young grabbed hold of my dogs muzzle (basset hound) and pulled. Without thinking I grabbed his arm to stop him and said "no", he started to cry (actually scream) and ran to my sister-in-law. She couldn't believe I would do such a thing, stormed out of the house and we still don't speak and that was years ago.

[chirpy]

Nerien with mine I'm very firm. I worked with animals since I was 14, so in HS I told my friends I think I'll train my kids if I ver have any.. I just have a feeling. And I do exactly that. Its either right or wrong black and white. Daddy babies her more than me. I'm a loving mother of course lol but she doesn't get away with half of my niece does. She has 3 older brother and grandparents 5 minutes away she sees every day so they baby her. I sit for them once a month or so.. The oldest 13 is good he loves me actually the 11 year old ive come close to getting v mad at him with his ungrateful attitude! The 5 year old is good but doesn't listen.. He pushes pushes pushes until I've had enough and I put him in timeout where he self harms (in a 5 year old way of banging his head hard on the wall... Which ends up with either NO fun while everyone else has fun cause I won't slow that behavior.. The little girl has the tendency to bite scratch my daughter til she bleeds. If I tell her no she acts up her brothers all tell me off and the mother of the kids getaway at ME for scolding her kids. Agghhhhh!!! Then why leve them with me! If mine is getting baby sat shed better behave herself ill give them the baton of caretaker until I'm home. If that means no yummy stuff or fun play then so be it.
I'm rambling...

[chirpy]

debbie276 awe bassets I want one so bad!!!!

And yes if she saw how much I put them in time out cause of the way they act around me she might do the same. I'm not having my 11 year old nephew tell me "I can do WHATEVER I WANT CAUSE YOU DONT OWN ME!!!" I looked at him like "are you serious? Did you really say that?" His older brother even told him to stop talking to me like that. I was livid! His mom is those "They are MY kids!" Type people (the two oldest are not my BILs kids, they are from prev relationship) so she pulls that card out every single time something isn't right in her eyes. Which isn't fair on the grandparents cause she uses that.. And not fair on me cause I have to deal with it. I'm not saying my child is an angel but if she's with her god mother (the mother of the kids) I tell her "I trust that you'll discipline her when she needs it. Which is why I ask you to watch her." But it def isn't the same the other way. I love them to bits but I don't want to be a baby sitter. I want to be their aunt. They love me as I'm the "cool" aunt where they tell me stuff starting with "don't tell my parents.." (Its not serious stuff lol) and they want to talk and play watch movies with me.. They look forward to coming over to ours.. I love being the cool aunt.. But I feel like I have a line I can't cross..

[fhgwgads]

chirpy that has to be a tough situation! I agree with Nerien though.. I would stand your ground. It is your house, your rules.. and clearly they aren't getting any sort of discipline or rules anywhere else. If you are asked to babysit then they need to understand that you have rules in your house and that is just how it is. You are not harming the children. You aren't depriving them or abusing them. You are curbing the snotty unacceptable behavior that they bring into your home. If I were in that situation I would certainly do the same. I used to babysit for a LOT of kids.. and they knew what they should and shouldn't do. If they chose to do something they shouldn't.. they knew that I was going to remove them from the situation, and sit them in the corner and they were not allowed to move. I didn't even have to say anything to them. Sometimes they acted up and tried to sneak away.. but I would just stop what I was doing and sit them there and sit facing them just waiting. Eventually they got tired of having to sit there with me staring at them. Obviously with several kids it isn't possible to sit and watch each one like that. But I would definitely try to explain to them when they act up.. you know this is not allowed.. if you continue to do it you are going to have to be put in time-out. You don't like it.. and I don't like it because I want us to all have fun. So would you rather continue doing it or spend time having fun together? It seems to me like these children are acting out for attention.. and the wrong kind of attention. And for her to turn around and say they are "her" kids is ridiculous. If she is remarried.. and those children are living with and being supported by her husband and he is treating them like his own.. they are "his" kids too. And she is the one bringing them to you to watch. She is just enforcing the bad behavior by acting that way. If I ever told my mother that someone disciplined me when I was being babysat she would ask me what I did to deserve it. They probably act that way because they know their mother will run to their defense. Funny enough.. my mother did that with my youngest brother and he is the biggest brat ever and he's in his 20's!! And the fact that they are acting that way towards animals makes me think that maybe their mother just yells at them all the time at home because she doesn't know how to handle them... so they feel the need to belittle the next thing that is smaller than them? I am just guessing though. Either that or they are just unruly, lol! It is sad to see children being mislead like that. I am sure they can be sweet children but they are certainly lacking in proper parenting. Hopefully having you as some sort of role model in their life will make even a small impact.

[Pukasand]

I just saw this post. I HAVE one of these. I put it outside when I first got it. The suction cups on the back do not hold tight. No birds were interested in it. I brought it back inside and put it in a closet. This past Fall I ran across it again, so I decided to try it in my aviary. I now have a pair of Gouldians nesting in it, and I can hear some chicks peeping. I'm going to try and take a picture. Those of you that know me, know I am 'camera challenged'. My camera needs charged so I'll post a picture or two tomorrow.

[chirpy]

fhgwgads I know.. its my house my rules and I tell them this but it doesnt mean they listen. BUT i do my hardest for them to do it.. there are consequences for their actions especially the boys since they all should know what is right and what is wrong. they all attack each other. The five year old is grandmas boy.. like she she still FEEDS HIM WITH A SPOON if he doesnt want to eat his dinner. lOL my god! no wonder jason can't do anything cause his mom did everything for him!
shes told me she doesnt have the patience to deal with all her kids so she caves in.. i guess thats why they get away with everything or feel as if they can. They always cry once while they are here (the eldest/godson doesnt hes good.. he is 13 wants to be left alone with his headphones on the cough lol) but they leave happy.. so my job done!

@Pukasand What LOL i didn't know this has ben around for a year! maybe they make the suctions stronger since they said... that it was strong. how did you mount it for your gouldians? you MUST take a picture for us.. no matter how bad the quality is lol

[fhgwgads]

See, to me using it in an aviary makes sense because the birds are used to human contact and are more likely to feel secure with a wider array of options. But I cannot see many wild birds using it as their first choice. Though with my luck.. (and I have to say probably Nerien as well since it seems we both have that going for us) I would be the one more likely to have wild birds trying to build a nest on my head instead of that thing, LOL.

[Pukasand]

Okay, here are the pictures. A couple are of the nestbox and how it's attached, one is a closeup of it.. if you strain REAL hard, you can see two chicks inside. I held a small flashlight on it so I could get a shot of them, but the light just glares off the plexiglass on the back. One is of back a bit so you can see it in conjunction with the rest of the aviary. There are many nests/nestbox and areas for them to nest, so this was their option.

[Pukasand]

I had to decrease the size since it said they were too big. Guess you'll have to enlarge them if you want a closer look. Here are (hopefully) 4 more pics:

[Pukasand]

I attached the nestbox with zip ties. Zip ties and S hoops are my main go-tos.

[fhgwgads]

Pukasand that really is such a great idea for an aviary! The birds are comfortable with human interaction where they wouldn't be scared away... obviously using zip ties is a better plan! Those suction cups make me cringe just looking at them. But it's a great way to watch and keep an eye on the babies without disturbing the parents! As long as they don't mind it themselves, that is. But thanks for the inspiration! It's such a great idea! Now I just have to get myself an aviary.. LOL!

[chirpy]

Pukasand Well first of all I am jelly over your cage... !!!

thanks for the pictures! lol you really can look into them cant you! I would think that the suction wasnt enough to hold them onto windows.. I mean I see my Roseanne take off flying and the perches wobble and so does the cage doors LOL so imagine if they are going in and out using the perch it would fall down and wed have hurt chicks!
Did it take a while for them to like the nest? is it easy to clean - as in does the plexi come off at all (slide off)

[Pukasand]

Chirpy, as you can see it's connected with zip ties. This is the first clutch I've had in it, but the back does come off and the top raises up, so it should be super easy to clean. BTW, thanks to you and Flgwgads for the compliments on the aviary.

[chirpy]

Pukasand If I can ever ever persuade him to get me one.. .... id die a happy woman!

Yes, i see you had zipties ;) you wouldnt trust it without would you? I hate suction things. with a toddler I have had lots of suction related things and NONE of them would work good enough.. like those bath toys they come off.. its so annoying.

[fhgwgads]

chirpy I think a general rule with suction cups is that they have to be at least 3000% larger than the item they are holding... but if based on weight.. such as items that are way heavier than they look or unusually heavy for their size I would say no less than 5000% larger. This essentially defeats the purpose of suction cups if you have to have one the size of the entire wall to hold it up.. you wouldn't even be able to fit it on the window. The only suction cups I have ever had a good experience with are the old ones I grew up with which I cannot even say why they were good because I don't remember them enough as I certainly was not evaluating the success of suction cups when I was a kid.. and the bath hook ones that you flip down to secure and can make use of for a few months before they just drop dead.