So I got the news. Pippin will be flying to her forever home next week, and I am thrilled. I have gone through all the necessary preparations. Of course, since she will have two other avian siblings, Frodo, my peach front conure, and Samwise, my quaker, my house is already bird proofed.

What does it mean to bird proof a house you may ask. Well, don't rely on me as your final authoritative source, do your own research if you have a bird, or are wanting to add a little ball of feathers to your household. But that said, I have no teflon products in my house. Teflon will kill a bird if it gets too hot. You may say that you can cook with teflon and not let it get too hot; I say why take the risk, use stainless steel. I also have no air-fresheners, febreeze, scented candles or essential oils in my house as well. We also do not use strongly scented cleaners or detergents, and I don't wear perfume since they all irritate a birds breathing. And for heavens sake we do not smoke in our house. That's not a complete list of things to do to bird proof a house, but it is a start.

Next, I found out from the breeder what her favorite foods. In addition to Goldenfeast Central American Blend and Zupreem fruit flavored pellets, she seems to be fond of sweet potatoes and papaya. So I went to Whole foods and bought some organic sweet potatoes and some frozen organic papaya. Why go organic? Nothing but the best for my babies.

I plan on switching her diet, as soon as possible, to get her off of the zupreem pellets. While they are a great bird food company and offer a great product, I do not like the fact that they use artificial colors in their food. I plan on switching her to Totally Organics Pellets. Sam and Frodo seem to like it, and it is organic and contains no peanuts, which are a common allergen. I am reticent to get her off of the goldenfeast. It is a good food but I don't like the idea of pesticides in her food, even if it is supposedly at safe levels.

Most important of all I also scheduled her veterinary exam with Dr. Weltig, a avian vet. I would have taken her out to Dr Kersting out in Chesterfield but it is a $40.00 dollar taxi ride each way. Dr. Weltig is just a few blocks away and I can walk there in 15 minutes. They have a 7 day 24 hour emergency room for animals there. It is important that you have your bird seen by an avian veterinarian before they get sick. Not only do you need to establish a good relationship with a vet, but there are many suggestions they can make to keep your pet healthy. A new bird should be checked for a variety of diseases and kept quarantined from your other birds for 30 days. Me? I live in a studio apartment so that will be a little hard, so it is important for that first visit to check for things like psittacosis.  

As an extra resource I have joined an African Grey message board called Grey Forums. It is a great first stop for insightful knowledge about Greys to talk to other owners. There you can learn how to stop a problem before it becomes a problem, and learn about all kinds of behavioral advice.

OK, I seem to have things in order. Now the hard part is waiting till next week. Once she gets here, I will have all kinds of videos and photos to share. Now can someone please distract me so the week goes by faster?