#this is about my pet bird

[honeycollectswhump]

talk about death

i hate when you know death is approaching but not yet. you’ll have to watch someone you love slowly deteriorate and even if they aren’t in pain they are still slowly going to a place you can’t follow. it hurts to be left alone even though i know life has to continue. it just won’t be the same. there will be a hole left

[kedreeva]

Today in measuring your peahen, Bug is casually 2 foot, 3 inches tall (she can stretch a little taller when she REALLY wants a treat). This is just tall enough to see over a tray table and pull things off of nightstands and end cabinets.

Bug is also a little over 3 feet long from tail tip to beak tip. Most of Bug is made up of tail and neck. There is a 6lb dead weight in the middle somewhere that she knows how to directly place onto the ball of one foot while standing on you.

Bug's wingspan is around 3.5 feet, thought I didn't get a measurement. It will be over 4 feet as an adult.

Bug is growing in her spurs. As a Spalding (hybrid) hen, Bug will likely have one inch bone knives conveniently attached to her tarsometatarsus. This is technically fused foot bones, not a leg bone. Curiously, pure Pavo cristatus hens have spurs, and pure Pavo muticus hens have spurs, but many domestic Pavo cristatus and low-percent Spalding hens lack them. This is one of the indications of domestication in the cristatus species. As I prefer the wild type, I prefer my hens spurred, so this is a good sign!

Bug's toes measure a smidge over 5 inches from the tip of her rear-facing to to the tip of her longest front facing toe. Try measuring that on your hand.

Bug's nails measure 1/2-3/4 an inch long, depending on the toe. That's almost as long as one finger section for most people.

When I had snakes, I got asked all the time if I was afraid of them biting me. The answer is no. I have been bitten by a 6 foot long, 20lb boa constrictor, and have no scars to prove it. Meanwhile I have so many scars from peafowl sitting on me, particularly on my forearms, that I have had to reassure people I am not a danger to myself.

I post these photos as a reference, but also as a precaution. This is a BABY peafowl, and a female at that. She is only 6 months old and weighs a little over 6lbs, which means she's about 2/3 of the way grown, and adult hens are typically 3/4 the size of an adult male. These are BIG birds that can do a LOT of damage, even accidentally. When they become aggressive, as in the case of hand-raised males or poorly bred birds, they become a potentially fatal threat to any other fowl you have. Unlike chickens, they are more than capable of (and prone to!) jumping to human face level before they flog (kick with their feet in a way that allows their spurs to hit home), which means they could easily take out an eye or cause other serious facial injury if they get a lucky strike. I have seen more than a few people end up with stitches, and more than a few birds end up euthanized because people think they are gonna be cute cuddly friends.

I know that Bug is a cute bird, but I also want to stress that a) she has an outstanding personality as a result of breeding choices and socialization b) she hasn't hit maturity, and won't do so for another 2+ years, so her personality could change considerably still and c) I have been raising peafowl one way or another for my entire adult life, which has been structured around keeping them. I love my birds, and I would love for more people to keep peafowl as they are great animals, but they are not casual animals. They are large and potentially dangerous farm fowl that take a lot of space, care, and knowledge to keep.

[mumblesplash]

[narrator voice] she did not forget

[ofbardsandmen]

birdbros.

[makenna-made-this]

Welcome to today's game of How Many Leaves Can I Stick On Cricket Before She Gives A Shit

[nakaremfarlei]

Was just thinking about the amount of animals Obi-Wan interacts with compared to literally everyone else and in the Clone Wars episode where Kamino gets attacked he literally gets saved twice by the same ray-like animal and just...

The growth from judging Qui-Gon for the 'pathetic lifeforms' he picks up to whatever he has going on during the Clone Wars era. He must have gotten that from Qui-Gon though, right?

And because it's my brain and it's rotting with all the star wars stuff I am consuming I was thinking of Obi-Wan saving all these creatures and the 212th having to deal with that. Surely they made one of the rooms pet proof in case one of them needs a new home. There also have to be clones who love that because of course Obi-Wan can't really take care of rescues on top of all his duties.

After the first few times this happens Cody learns to order animal food and other necessities. And if the Republic doesn't fulfill these requests or asks too many questions he'll just have to make sure to organize them on planet during the campaigns.

[pokimoko]

Can you draw a gender faun fox or dragon?

Here's a lil' critter for you to fawn over (<- I am immediately booed off stage).

[trippygalaxy]

Dream daddy au but its all the dads/dad figures from different LOZ aus

(Ideas in the tags)

[oh-no-its-bird]

Adjusting my glasses to take a peek into the umbrella academy tag like Hmmmm. Maybe I don't want to watch the new season after all.

[profchamomile]

hellooo! dropping by to ask if you might have advice on how to bond with a swellow, because mine has always been a little snobby and i want to break through to her if that makes sense :') (@lilycove-living)

Oh, that's par for the course for some birdmons! They can be pretty sassy and sometimes slow to bond with.

One go-to bonding strategy I've found that works for a lot of Pokemon is to bond over enrichment! Find an activity your Swellow may enjoy and train her for it.

Swellows are predatory birdmon that catch their prey by dive-bombing certain bug types. Because of this, there's been "fetching bugs" developed as a toy for birdmon with similar instincts. Simply you throw it, and the way it floats through the air simulates that of a bug-type. And if the Swellow goes for it and brings it back, you can give her a treat! It's more effective on windy days, though comes with the cost of being a bit easier to lose.

Another thing that may help is to try grooming your Swellow! Swellows are VERY meticulous about keeping their feathers clean; you'll find them preening themselves often. It's also a social behavior to preen each other; especially if they're in the same flock.

If she's wary about you taking any sort of grooming tool to her feathers, you can also try simply brushing your hair near her. She may see you do this and offer to "help" you with your hair (of course, most birdmon may have... rather different standards on what a kempt hairstyle should look like). Just let her do it, and after a few minutes, see if she'll let you do the same. You can comb through her feathers with your hand, if a brush might freak her out. But do mind which direction her feathers go and where she is or isn't comfortable with being touched; it can be very uncomfortable if those feathers are made to go the wrong way (ESPECIALLY during molting season!)

All this said, it's also worth keeping in mind that Pokemon are all individuals, and because of this, they may all show affection in individual ways as well. Pay attention to how your Swellow behaves just by being near you. Is she tense or does she seem relaxed? Is she comfortable enough to take midday naps near you? Does she listen to you well when you're training together or performing in contests?

There's a chance that she could think very highly of you, but prefers to just co-exist peacefully beside you rather than being outwardly affectionate.

[spark-circuit]

travelling with the Friend today. it is sunny and we are going to lunch to get sandwiches and then perhaps, a soda

[kedreeva]

Look who just narrowly escaped a hawk by diving into me

I was outside minding my own birds when I spotted a hawk on a tree nearby. I called a warning to my birds to look out for it (they know a trill means sky danger), and then it stooped on a small flock of birds. They took off to where I couldn't see them at the neighbor's, and a moment later exited neighbor's yard left, pursued by hawk.

I was treated to watching a really stunning aerial chase scene over my field, pens, and barn, which ended when the mourning dove the hawk had singled out made a dive directly for me. The hawk turned away and left, and the mourning dove caught his breath in my hand for a couple of minutes, and then flew to the top of the barn to watch me while he recovered. I think the hawk may have nearly gotten him, too, as he was a bit rumpled and part of his tail/feathers were damaged/missing. No blood though, and nothing broken that I could tell from a quick look, he had no trouble flying.

I'm left to wonder if this might be the same mourning dove I rescued from the peafowl pens a week or two ago. Did he remember I helped him and didn't hurt him? Coming for the human surrounded by much bigger birds than the hawk seems like quite the hail mary pass to make, if not. Then again who knows how much I'm being watched in general by the local birds.

Bug did not appreciate any part of these events, by the way. I'm not sure she could tell if I had the predator or the prey bird.

But she didn't trust that dove on the roof.

[mossypidder]

Working on finishing up a cloak for a cosplay while Nugget was out. She thinks she needs to steal my fleece.

[makenna-made-this]

It's them: the LesbiHens💅

[blitzbuckz]

discord shenanigans but also living the dream

[1st-recon-lylith-blog]

Ode to Oli

Oh my gosh

Look at my handsome man

Look at his little beak!

Look at his little cheeks!

Look at his little feets!

He has such cute eyes

I love my fluffy puffy guy

(Oli knows that this poem is for him. I read him the poem and he got all puffed up and excited and started saying "Birdie" which is the only word he knows)