Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Rosie up-date

Rosie is healing nicely and back to her old self. Feathers are just starting to pop out around the area she plucked. The scab is now small and starting to fall off.
I personally have never seen an injury like this. Rosie reinjuring the same area was very frustrating. This was also Rosie’s first visit to the vet.
Thanks for everyone’s support and concerns.

If you are interested in Rosie's book check out link below
www.luckypress.com/rosie/

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Rosie's Holiday Boo Boo


Rosie pretty much has the run of the house. Because we choose to keep her wings carefully clipped Rosie has many ways to get around. Ladders, poles, slides and big plastic pieces that hook together making a chain.
In this case this case Rosie decided to fly and clipped the top of a chair breaking the skin on her chest bone. It started out as a very small area that fortunately Rosie left alone. Rosie re-injured the area and I called the vet. It was suggested to keep her quiet and make a paste of cream of tarter and put on the wound area. Theory being, would dry up the wound and has a bitter taste so the bird would leave it alone. NOT ROSIE! Within fifteen min she plucked out every feather on and around the area that had cream of tarter on it. In the mean time re-injuring the area yet again.
I decided it was time for a vet visit. Rosie was tenderly examined. Her breast bone was all right but the wound area was squishy and raw. At one point the vet discussed stitching the wound, I almost passed out at the thought!
Rosie was put on an antibiotic once a day dose. It seems the medication makes her tired, so I give in the evening. This requires toweling her avoiding the injured area.
Today as the pictures show it was all scabbed over looking good.
Rosie got mad at me tonight after the toweling and ripped off some of the scab and there was some bleeding.
We will make it through this. I miss her singing, roaming and just being goofy Rosie.
I want to thank all my Facebook friends for their caring and advice!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Tips on Keeping our Feathered Friends Safe During the Holidays

The holidays are joyous and active times for people and their pets. Our feathered friends partake in many of the seasonal festivities with us which makes the holidays that much more special. However, many of the decorations and objects we have around the household during the holidays may be dangerous to our birds. By taking a few precautions, we can make this wonderful time of year a safe one for our pets.

Toxic Foods- Avocado Caffeine Chocolate
Dairy (in excessive amounts) Mushrooms (potentially toxic) Onions (in excessive amounts)
Rhubarb Salt (in excessive amounts) Sugar (in excessive amounts)

Food Preparation -. Birds have a very effective respiratory tract and coupled with their relatively small size are susceptible to toxic elements in the air. During cooking if food burns or smoke is produced, any birds nearby the kitchen could be at risk of fatal smoke inhalation, remove bird from area, offering fresh air. A vet visit may be in order.
Keep your bird out of the kitchen when oven and stove are on. The potential of the bird being burned, stepped on or spilled on are high risks.

Christmas Tree - Keep birds away from lights, electrical cords, ornaments and tensel.
The trunk of a live tree is often coated with chemicals, such as fertilizer or insecticide. When the tree is placed in the stand and watered, the chemicals from the trunk contaminate the water. If your bird drinks it, they may become sick.

Poisonous Plants
Many homes are decorated each year during the holiday season with poinsettias and mistletoe. These plants do represent the season; unfortunately they are toxic for our feathered friends.

Holiday Decorations/Packages
Many people place decorations throughout the house including lights, evergreen branches, holiday knickknacks and other assorted objects to provide a festive environment. Lit candles can burn a curious pet or could be knocked over and start a fire. Icicles and tinsel draped on a mantle are as dangerous as tinsel on a tree. Monitor your pets and watch out for any evidence of chewing on these objects.

Have a wonderful Holiday season with your feathered friends, I know we will with our African grey," Rosie Red Bottom."

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Cupboard Grey One

Rosie's cage is always open, making her roaming the house easy. If Rosie is issuing an undesirable behavior her cage is used as a timeout, with the door shut.
When we are in the kitchen cooking, hot stove, hot oven or hot food, it is not the place for Rosie and her roaming. Because the closed cage is used as a time out we really do not want to put the grey one in there for roaming.

Instead, Rosie has her own cupboard in the kitchen. We emptied out the cupboard only putting in canned goods that she cannot harm or hurt her.

The only bad thing for us is, she rips off the labels having so much fun. We are sure to write the name of the ingredients on the top of the can.
Rosie seems very pleased in her cupboard that is in the middle of all the kitchen action and out of harms way.

One time, I forgot she was in the cupboard and shut the door. Soon I could hear a mysterious knocking coming from the kitchen. It was Rosie, knocking with her beak from the inside of the cupboard ( in parrot Morse code I am sure) saying "get me out of here."
If you are interested in Rosie's book, please click on the link below

Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy Parrot Halloween



It's that time of year for decorating and carving pumpkins. As usual Rosie must impose her critiques and help with carving. Rosie's help consisted of ripping the guts out of the pumpkin and flicking seeds all over the table and floor. There are several beak holes in the nose and eye holes that are hard to see. Rosie in fact had a great time and there was plenty of laughter! BOO


If you are interested in Rosie's book, please click on the link below.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rosie's Tea Party

As I have mentioned so many times before Rosie roams the house, looking for action of any kind.
On this particular day the kids had the brilliant idea for a tea party. As you can see from the picture the kids managed to find pieces of this and that for a table cloth. I can see the T Rex has a skirt on, Brat the Cat sits in the middle and Long Neck finishes out the trio. I could hear the kids giggling and decided to investigate. As I stood there in amazement with a big smile, I could hear Rosie clickety clacking down the hallway. Rosie not wanting to be left out of anything entered the bedroom, eyed things over and climbed up on the table, using the long corner of the tablecloth. Rosie just stood there on the table as if thinking "now what."
I could not resist taking a picture!
And then there was a foursome for the tea party. :-)
If you are interested in ordering Rosie's book, please click on link below.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Grocery Bagging Bird

One of Rosie's favorite things to do is help us un-pack after a shopping spree at the grocery store.
Rosie enjoys picking through all the bags, pulling items out, nibbling on what she can and of course, listening to items hit the floor.
Once all is un-packed, we will pile all the empty bags up on the counter. Rosie will play with the empty bags, climbing in and out, seemingly enjoying the crackling sound they make.
Once The Grey One is done, the kitchen is a mess as usual!
Listening to Rosie laugh while having all the fun is well worth it! We wouldn't want it any other way.
If you are interested in purchasing Rosie's new book, please click on link below.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Iguazu the Conure



The following story and picture of Iguazu the conure was sent to me by a Facebook friend. I thought the picture and story was cute enough for a post on Rosie's blog.

Iguazu the Conure
Iguazu on occasion eats with us, plucking food from our plates and drinking from our glasses. One day after lunch, we opened the dishwasher preparing to load the dirty dishes, Iguazu had other ideas. As always Iguazu wants to be part of everything, he flew in the dishwasher and remained then until we were done loading. All the while seemingly wondering what we were doing.
I started to close the dishwasher wondering how Iguazu would react., he would not move! Finally I had to ask him to come to my shoulder because he would not leave on his own. He definitely loved the dishwasher!
By Matnilde/France




Sunday, September 20, 2009

Silly Rosie




Check Spelling
Rosie just loves playing games just as much as we like watching and interacting. Most of the game playing is made up by her, her rules, her way! If we try to elaborate the game she at times will get mad and show her distaste. So, we go with the flow and follow her lead.
One of Rosie's favorite game is playing in the dog food container. Rosie is always delighted to see the plastic bin sitting on the counter and will make her way to the area. Rosie loves throwing dog food, laughing and running around the edge of the container. There is a little tin cup in the bin used for measuring. Rosie love throwing the cup on the floor and yelling "yea" when it hits the floor. Rosie will say "come over here"wanting us to pick up the cup bury it in the dog food so she can dig it out. Rosie will climb in the bin scratching at the food like a chicken until the cup is unburied. Once again throwing the cup on the floor! Rosie certainly enjoys herself and the dogs like cleaning up the mess. Silly Rosie
If you are interested in ordering Rosie's book please click on link below.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Roaming the House


Rosie pretty much owns the house, directing us and the dogs on a daily basis. Luckily, Rosie and the dogs get along very well!!!! If I had to venture a guess, the dogs are afraid of Rosie.

Our grey one loves roaming the house, walking down the hallways looking for action. Typically, Rosie will roam looking for the kids or us if we are in the back of the house. We can hear her peeping and clicking on the floor and she gets closer.

Her newest pay ground seems to be the dogs water and food dishes. Rosie slides down her pole from cage to floor aiming right for the dishes. As Rosie is laughing she will yank the dishes out of the holders banging and rolling the dishes on the floor. Once she has completed the empty food dish mess, she will take a bath in the water dish. Once she has emptied one dish she heads for the second, water all over the floor and cupboards. Keeping in mind Rosie is laughing, burping and sneezing the entire time.

Rosie also enjoys walking along the bottom of the kitchen cupboards ducking down and running along this space. Around our house you always need to look before stepping! Goofy Grey Bird!
If you are interested in ordering Rosies book, click on link below.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Dishes Anyone?


Rosie loves to be included in everything! My husband and I are always thinking of new ways to include Rosie so all is challenging for her.
Doing dishes in our house is always fun for Rosie and us! Not only do we include her, we make it a learning game teaching Rosie new words.
If we have forgotten to include her, it isn't long before we hear her clicking on the kitchen floor waddling up to us and saying "step up"
Rosie enjoys sitting on the dish-strainer or on the pulled out rack in the dish-washer.
My husband washes and I dry. Each item I dry, I say the name of the item to Rosie such as, pan, glass, ladle, spatula, fork, knife, plate, etc. As I put items away Rosie will walk along the counter and say "here"
We continue the same routine if we are loading the dishwasher. Rosie will hang upside-down on the pulled out rack laughing and saying the words she has learned.
Rosie seems to enjoy the interaction with us the most and she surly makes the task of doing dishes allot more fun.
When Rosie starts rambling, she runs all the words together and starts us all laughing. Rosie sounds like a futuristic kitchen appliance commercial.
Goofy Grey Bird!
If your are interested in ordering Rosie's book, click on following link.


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Book Review for "Rosie Red Bottom"

5.0 out 0f 5 stars Especially recommended to the attention of anyone contemplating having a pet parrot of their own! August 8, 2009

By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) http://www.midwestbookreview.com/
go to site punch on "whats new on this site" and type in "Rosie Red Bottom"

Parrots make fascinating pets in general, and African Grays are particularly beautiful, intelligent, and engaging parrots in particular. In "Rosie Red Bottom: A Comedian With Feathers, Alaskan author and parrot owner Donna Mann tells the story of how one very special parrot became an active and integral member of the Mann family. But "Rosie Red Bottom" is so much more than just an utterly charming and personal story of a family and their parrot companion, it's also 81-pages packed with solid and usable information relevant to the challenges and concerns of raising parrots. Readers will learn of the environmental stimuli and variables that affect parrots, along with the routines, physical set-up, diet, and training techniques appropriate and essential for healthy parrots. Of special note is an appendices with 150 references and web sites for further research and study on parrots and parrot care, including import/export regulations. Entertaining, informed and informative, "Rosie Red Bottom" is especially recommended to the attention of anyone contemplating having a pet parrot of their own!

If you are interested in ordering "Rosie Red Bottom" please visit the following link
http://www.luckypress.com/rosie/




















Friday, August 7, 2009

Outside Deck Fun




As I have said before Rosie loves being outside with family in the afternoons. The sun shines on the back deck and she surly enjoys the warmth. Typically Rosie likes sitting up in the rungs of the deck umbrella, where she is up high and can see all. "feeling safe as well, I am sure"
However, she is not in the sun or getting the natural vitamin D she needs. If I leave the umbrella down so she can run on the deck table, she keeps starring upward looking for the umbrella and screaming her dislikes.
On this particular day I did not give in, instead leaving the umbrella down and perched Rosie on the back of a deck chair. Rosie clearly not happy at first, ended up inventing a new game and we both had a ball.
I had popped popcorn for the kids earlier in the day and the empty dish was left on the deck table. This dish ended up being of great interest for Rosie filled with un-popped seeds. As Rosie was perched on the back of the deck chair, I tossed an un-popped seed in the seat of the chair just to see what she would do. As the seed rolled around in the chair Rosie scurried down inspecting the seed then tossed down on the deck. Rosie began laughing and indeed wanted more fun. We played this game together until the seeds ran out. Rosie insisted on inspecting the dish repeating the word "seed" and laughing like crazy, ending with throwing the plastic dish down as well. Goofy Bird!
Please check out Rosie's new book, ordering information on following link







































Thursday, July 23, 2009

Game On




Rosie loves playing games, some made up by her, some made up by us, some purchased to heighten her intellectual level. It really doesn't matter; it is a fun time for all of us to be together.
In these pictures, shows one of Rosie's favorite games. The game is a simple concept of putting the right shape in the box through the right size slot on top of the box. Playing this game with Rosie has taught her to say the words red, green, yellow and blue. However as of right now Rosie cannot tell the colors, only says the word.
Rosie tries so hard to put the shapes in the slots, she seems delighted when one goes in listening to them fall inside the box hitting the table.
When Rosie is tired of playing the game she gleefully throws each piece off the table laughing when they hit the floor. Once the table is cleared, game over!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Late Night Madness


Nightly Rosie sleeps on a hanging perch in the bedroom with us. On some occasions before falling asleep we will play with Rosie for awhile in bed. Rosie enjoys the hiding under the blanket game, hanging up-side down and running the length of the bed while laughing. Typically she stays on the night perch starts her beak grinding and sleeps through the night.
Last night Rosie clearly did not want to go to bed or sleep! Rosie was relentless, climbing down the perch peeping, screaming and jumping on the bed.
Typically when Rosie has bad behavior she is timed out in her cage. After trying everything, we decided to put her in the cage for the night. There was no peeping or screaming, instead beak grinding and sleep.
In the morning upon opening the cage door and saying good morning Rosie had attitude! Rosie acted like a little imp, biting, throwing anything she could get her beak on and acting superior.
Shortly after breakfast she seemed to calm down and started acting like the Rosie we all know and love!
Wonder what will happen tonight?

Bird of the Week

Rosie has made Bird of the week on My Domestic Birds!!
My Domestic Birds approached me with the idea of Rosie being their first Bird of the Week. After collaborating, sharing ideas and pictures Rosie is now the cutest Bird of the week EVER!
Please check it out!
http://www.mydomesticbirds.com/index.php

Way to go Rosie

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Rosie Red Bottom "a true comedian with feathers"

Rosie Red Bottom “a true comedian with feathers

Rosie’s book Rosie Red Bottoma true comedian with feathers” is now available for ordering. The book was ready for ordering on July 1st the predicted date. All in all this has been a fantastic experience!
Thank You Lucky Press :-)
It’s all so magical and scary at the same time. Rosie continues to sit on the back of my office chair cheering me through this process.
Please share with other bird lovers you may know.

The book can be ordered through Amazon site below

Rosie' tag="luckypressllc-20&linkCode=" camp="1789&creative=" creativeasin="0977630080">Rosie'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977630080?ie=UTF8&tag=luckypressllc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0977630080">Rosie

Also through Lucky Press site below

http://www.luckypress.com/rosie/

If ordered through the Lucky Press site a trade discount is available for bookstores and libraries. This discount info is posted on the Lucky Press site.

If you are interested in an autographed book, you can order through me personally. US ONLY
contact me at
hybrid52@gci.net I will e-mail cost and shipping details. ( we can go from there)

Happy ordering and reading. Rosie says, Thank You

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Goofy Bird


Rosie is a goof ball, what else can I say! Rosie loves playing on her tree stand and picking on Sponge Bob for some reason? She seems to take great delight in hanging up-side-down and talking at the same time. She has this look in her eye as if saying “I am a superior parrot and I know it” Then she loses grip an falls! It's a short fall and we have the area cushioned.
Nine times out of ten she lands on her feet just like a cat! Luckily she falls very seldom. Now, the new trick is, hanging from one foot. This has got trouble written all over it, I can see it already. Hang on Sponge Bob!
Goofy Bird!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Camping with a parrot






Camping was introduced to Rosie at age four months. Rosie has a camping cage and a mini hanging sleeping perch. During the day she climbs in and out of the cage that has a perch on top. I also made a perch ring made out of a coat hanger filled with cloth tied in knots. Rosie loves sitting in the ring during the day picking at the cloth. At night the ring is replaced with the hanging perch.
Traveling, Rosie loves to sit on M’s shoulder talking away. On long rides I feed her snacks and she drinks water from a bottled water cap. It is a long time routine Rosie seems very comfortable with. Most of the time Rosie sharing M’s space with the two dogs that must look out the window smearing nose prints so thick it is hard to see. I have a lap and window as well however all pets seem to prefer M’s side. I assure you the window is closed and Rosie is safe in the cab of the truck.
If we need to make a short stop Rosie stays in the locked truck happily sitting on the head rest and the dogs go in the camper.
On this particular trip Rosie encountered a potential threat. We had stopped for breakfast in Anchor Point, Alaska and picked a table by the window so we could see Rosie in the truck. I peaked out and noticed Rosie was not on the head rest as usual? I went out to investigate and could hear Rosie screaming on the floor of the truck. As I looked to my right there was a bald eagle sitting in a tree right in front of the truck, front window height about twenty yards away. Although Rosie was perfectly safe she surly seemed to know the eagle was a threat. I wonder what the eagle was thinking?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Book Cover

The book cover just came out today, it is all so exciting!!!! Just look at Rosie on the cover! She is a true star!




Mirror, Mirror On The Wall




Rosie typically follow’s us around the house helping with all chores, getting dressed or whatever is going on that she finds interesting.
This morning she was more than usual “insisting” on being involved with anything!!!! I was attempting to clean the bathroom, clean being the operative word. I put Rosie on the counter for her assistance with the cleaning.
Rosie quickly started playing with all on the counter, chewing, breaking or throwing on the floor seemed to bring her great glee! I could tell because of her laughing.
Rosie soon noticed a roll of paper towels on the counter; she started repeating the word paper, paper, paper!!!!!!!!! I sat her on top of the paper towel roll and she discovered her reflection!
All cleaning stopped and I grabbed the camera. Rosie played in front of the mirror for about thirty minutes. I might add, calling herself a “ pretty bird.”

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Got Juice




Rosie loves the kids! I mean just loves them! She can be relentless trying to get their attention, following them around the house or sharing a meal.
Rosie can mimic all the children’s separate laughs and certain words they say.
On this particular sunny day the kids were having a picnic on the back deck. Rosie indeed wanted to be part of this summer happening. Rosie crawled down from her tree waddled to the back door and announced she wanted “OUT!” (we are working on out please)
Rosie joined the kids for lunch sampling everything. However, she really went for the foil juice container! Rosie took complete delight in pulling out the straw then poking holes in the container and sipping the juice. All the while laughing and showing off!
What a picnic indeed!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Visitng Rapping Eddie

Rosie went visiting over Memorial weekend. Rosie does have several bird friends however seems enjoy visiting Eddie the most.
When we travel with Rosie we always bring her floor stand containing a food and water dish. We will set the stand up by Eddie so both parrots can visit and share parrot stories. We can comfortably leave the room and can hear Rosie and Eddie whistling together and copying noises.
Eddie loves to show off for Rosie however she seems unimpressed. During their visits they always share a little head nuzzling together and a few glancing kisses.
Rosie is on the left.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Camping

Rosie just had a fun filled weekend camping up in Sutton, Alaska. Luckily the weather was gorgeous and Rosie was able to spend much time outside in the sun with us.
Rosie loves to travel in the truck looking out the windows, mostly out the back window. Apparently she likes to see where we have been.
If we are pulling the trailer Rosie is delighted to say “camping” over and over. Once we get home I can hear the word camping in my sleep!
Rosie has her own set up in the trailer complete with a mini hanging perch for night time. Rosie seems to particularly love mealtime enjoying all the special camping foods that are prepared.









Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fishy Fish

Rosie considers the kitchen counter as her personal space! Because Rosie is so demanding and thinks she needs stuff, all in reach has been chewed, broke, ripped, mashed or broken. If we are on our game all is cleared and only items that are safe for Rosie to destroy remain.
However, our beta fish “fishy fish” is forever faithful sitting on the end of the counter in a protective tank. If Rosie has destroyed everything on the counter the fish is her next target. Rosie will climb on the top of the tank bending over and watch Fishy Fish inside the tank swimming round and round. Fishy Fish seems to enjoy this game now, swimming all around the top teasing Rosie. Often we catch the fish and Rosie looking at each other, like a show down
It is a fun show lasting as long as we allow. Lately Rosie will say….. Fish or I see you.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Piñata Bird Toys


Anyone that owns a bird of any size knows they all love to rip and tear up paper. There is a variety of bird toys out there that are designed with ripping and tearing in mind for our feathered friends.
I do find most of these toys to be fairly expensive only to be ripped up! However, the joy our birds show while doing the ripping seems to be worth the money spent. Even the mess is worth it!
I do most of bird shopping after holidays picking up holiday toys for over half off or more. Homemade toys are also lots of fun to make, saving money.
I found myself in a department store the day after a major holiday and came across a basket full of birthday Piñatas for 1 or 2 dollars. Rosie loves the larger tissue paper –toys! The larger Piñatas also seem to be far more durable unlike the bird piñatas and they last longer.
Give it a try your bird will love you even more for it.

Piñata
Hispanic a decorated papier-mâché container of candy or small gifts that is hung from the ceiling and is hit and broken by blindfolded people with sticks, traditionally during Latin American festivals. It is often shaped like a donkey or a cartoon character.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Let the sunshine In!


Rosie just loves the sun! All of us that are owned by a parrot know vitamin D is so very important for our feathered companions.
Rosie loves sitting on the back deck catching the afternoon rays of Mr. Sun. Often I set a dish out so she can play in the water and supply her with plenty of ice cubes. Rosie loves chasing the ice cube around in the water dish and delights herself with throwing them off the table listening to them hit the deck. Rosie will play the ice cube game with the kids until they are all melted.
When it is not warm enough to be outside Rosie loves sitting in the afternoon sun coming in through the window. Although the sun shining in through the window does not provide the vitamins needed, Rosie loves the warmth.
Don’t forget the parrot sunscreen. Just kidding.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rosie the Kitchen Helper




If there is ANYTHING going on in the kitchen, Rosie must be involved! I must admit it is fun having her company and her expertise in choosing just the right ingredients. However, Rosie will make the biggest messes, tipping all over or throwing on the floor. In the long run it is all worth it, that’s for sure.
Now I just need to find a little cooks hat and matching apron for a goofy grey!
In this particular case Rosie and I were making apple pie, cheating using canned apple filling instead of fresh apples. Rosie delighted herself in licking the filling off the cans, tipping over the bowl and spilling extra cinnamon in the mixture. Rosie even put her beak impressions in around the crusts edge.
The pie turned out yummy!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sweet Beak


Rosie surly has a sweet beak! Rosie is well aware of the sounds in the kitchen and what particular sound means something sweet! Rosie likes all sweets! Syrup and honey on the morning pancakes, jelly on toast, cinnamon rolls, pudding, whip cream, pies, ice cream and sweetened cream cheese on bagels! Rosie is insistent on getting what she wants, waddling in the kitchen looking up at us as if she is starving. Rosie always ends up on the counter sharing whatever sweet treat is being devoured at the time. I am so very grateful the kids are willing to share there goodies with a goofy bird. In these pictures Haley is trying to enjoy some vanilla pudding with whip cream and sprinkles. Rosie has other ideas.