Love Bird

See this one, a love bird of mine, it is a hybrid. Seems its parents were a green peach face crossed with red face yellow love bird. Its has yellowish overall feathers color, some green, blue and little bit red. White face and the body shape looks like the peach.

I put it in the metal bars cage, framed in the artist painted and engraved acrylic frame, as seen in the picture. The cage is heavy enough because of the mounted accessories, the acrylic. Plastic feed bowls and perch installed inside.

The painting in the cage is telling a Chinese story, seems it is about the legend of the 8 Gods [pak thian - I am not sure about this Chinese in spelling or writing]. A very good artist who painted this. The colorful picture with the good line for the detail. Some relief in engraving surrounding the picture.

This acrylic type of cage is becoming popular around year 2000 and only last for about 4 to 5 years in popularity after that. Some bird lovers had turned their back from this type. They have found out that this acrylic would not last longer when gets exposed in the sunlight in daily basis and for the long period. Some will be cracked and some will be uprooted as the glue could not hold no longer. I think it is the same problem worked on other material used for cages, if they are exposed under the sun. It is only a matter of mode or fashion cage, where they have a life time for any popularity.

Birds Bathing

Every bird needs to take a bath, just like other animals. There are 2 ways for birds in its nature/wild for taking bath, using water or using dust/sands. The function of each function is different. When they use water for bathing, they will cleans all the dirt. Continued with makes its feathers become neat by using beaks and also puts the wax from its rear body part on the feathers, to make it becomes waterproof, protect it from the rain. This also has function to create the warmer body condition at night, that's why sometimes they take bath in the afternoon.
When they take the sand or dust for bathing, it has function to remove the mites or lice to get away from their feathers. In the wild, in its nature, sometimes they come to an ants nest, the ants nest produced a gas, kind of Nitrogen, which will removes or kills the mites or lice, so they will bathing on that.

The sample of the bird when they are taking a bath can be seen in this short video clip:

In Indonesia, there were some methods of Bird's Lover in bathing their birds. Especially in using water media. Some of them use water sprayer and directly spray it on to the bird while the bird is in their cage. Some 'hi-tech' bird lover use bathing cage, as seen in the picture on above.

The image on above shows an Orange Headed Thrush - Zoothera Citrina moved from its cage get into the bathing cage for taking a morning bath, before exposed in the morning sun. The Round shape cage is made from bamboo material, made in Solo, Mid Java, bottom part is made from multiplex material, polyurethane finishes. The bathing cage is made from wooden fro the frame, bamboo bars and zink plate oil paint finishes for the water tray and all parts.
Another bathing cage type, used by Asian Pied Starling 8 weeks old Chick, as seen in the picture below, is made from Teak Wooden Frame, Natural Color Polyurethane Finishes, with Aluminum Bars. This one is better than the other one as seen in the picture on above, of course the price rate is higher.

When the bird has instructed to move from their cage and get into the bathing cage, the empty cage give an opportunity for the owner to take care of it. They can remove the waste in the bottom of cage, clean the cage, replace or add the food or drinking water. Those activities would not bothering the birds. Just compare it if the bird is still in the cage, the bird may get nerve.

The bathing cage can be made by some materials. Some cages uses wooden frame and bamboo bars, oil base finishes. Other bathing cage is made from teak wooden frame with natural color polyurethane finishes and aluminum bars, this one is more expensive in price. Limited cage uses all aluminum components. Seem this last one is too expensive and too hot when it exposed by sun rays, even this might be more durable.

This bathing cage has a aluminum or steel zink plate, shaped tray for water reservoir. An arched perch is installed crossing the tray, the middle part of the perch is sink in the water, so the bird still can feel the water in the foots/legs and get bathing if they did not want to get into the water in bottom of the tray.

Some bird lover also create a larger cage for bird to fly around a little bit, with metal sheet tray shaped in the bottom and filled with find grain sands for bird to take a sand bathing.

If you see the image below, you can see this Orange Headed Thrush is in the bathing cage, it jumps into the water and take a bath happily. It has been well trained since it was youngster chick, learned the instruction how to move from its cage and get into the bathing cage, and so the other opposite ways around.

In Indonesia, it is common to use this method, bird bathing using bathing cage. Usually they're doing it in the morning. Some of them used to expose the bird under the morning sun first before bathing, some other bird lovers used to put into bathing first and the morning sun exposing will be done after that.
Some bird lovers also believe that gives a bird the night bathing is helpful, to increase the ability of the bird for the competition purpose. Especially in singing ability, the action & sound and performance during the competition.

FOCUS - A Bird's Cages & Accessories Seller

I have visited a bird market, Bratang, in Surabaya couple days ago. I got little chit-chat with some sellers, which becoming good friends of mine since more than a decade ago. I have no aim to go there, I just miss them, and it is been so long I did not came to visit this bird market. I have been busy with the job I worked last year. Even my farm has to be disbanded or frozen for a while because of that.

This one is 'Focus', which specialize in providing quality bird cages, especially the artist made cage [with full relief carved all over] delivered from Solo or Jepara. Those places were famously branded as the best place that breeds so many carver or engraver artists since last age, after the Balinese. Their engraves products were well known better than any other places in Indonesia, more detail, smoother and much more raises 3D effect. Of course the finishes also has pure effect at the final stage.
In the store I can see some plain paint finished cages in many colors and I could see that those are surely high quality cages [ups, please consider that the price is always follows the quality ... isn't right? lol ...]

Some cages accessories also available and stored in the display cupboard. I could see cage curtain, hook/hangers, clipper, perch & socket, carved bit, etc. in there. Unfortunately I could not find a lot of engraved cages at this time, there were only several cages of that kind is available. When I asked why there is only limited commerce to the seller, he said the the order was booked but the products were not delivered yet, may in the next couple weeks it will transported from Solo. Hopefully I will have time and chance to capture some pictures of those cages later.

The seller was my colleague. I met him first time in 1999. He came to my farm that time, looking for a yellow rumped serins, lets called it 'black throat' chick, a cock one. He got a good one chick from me. Since that time, he was becoming a good friend of mine then. Usually I met him in Bratang bird market or when I go to the bird exhibition in Surabaya or Malang area, where he also put his commerce cages and accessories in the occasional bazaar. For several times I bought birds from him and he delivered it and also visited to my residence.

Cockatoo [Kakatua]

See this picture, it was my present new collection. A Small kind Cockatoo. Seem this bird is listed as forbidden for trading. I got this from a friend who's working as the security guard working in the building, where I am working. He found it in the concrete deck roofing in the top of the building. There was the chains in the leg, which already cut [looks like it had cut it perfectly by its strong beak]. Because of this friend of mine is not interested to take care of it, so he offered me to take care and I took his offer.
I have to buy a cage for it. It must be big and strong enough for it. So I go to a shop, buy a hexagonal Aluminum cage and the price is higher than I expected, but what else can I say, I still have to buy it.

First time it came, delivered to my home, there is only a free and available cage [for a love bird, usually] made from small steel wire, for it. Absolutely, it is only took one hour for its strong beak to freed it self by cut some bars. Fortunately, it didn't want to fly away. It was just perching on some other bird's cage and makes some damage on it.
It is a very smart bird and very crowd bird. Able to speak some words, maybe the previous owner have taught it very well. It is very noisy when it feels hungry, and always when I was late to feed it. Scream out some noisy words and sounds [very lucky it stored in the big house building, so it would not disturb the neighbors].

Fantastic, when it only needs couple hours to start some damages in its new aluminum cage, the aluminum sheet mattress. Then it started chewing its feeding bowl made of plastic. Maybe it needs something to keep the sharpness of its beaks, or keep the length of its beaks from growing. But the damage will apparently increased by the time it feels hungry. I have to give it something to be chewed then.

I am just looking for the sub species or kind of this cockatoo. With a full white color, as seen in the picture, a little bit pink in the chicks and crest, also some kind of yellowish in the back of tail. The body size is about 230 mm and totally about 350 mm from beak to tail. Where is its origin? I do not know yet. I try to find out later. At least I have to know something about it. If you already knew about it, please post your comment and just let know it.

Anyway, basically I did not really wanna have this bird. It is not my favorite one. I just try to know it well closely, how to take care of it, what is its habit, etc. Surely, someday someone will take over it, at the day I feel I already understood everything about it well. Or when I have no time for the bird no more.