Virgil in need of friends and a forever home...

NiteOwl wrote:

In talking with Charis, we have decided that maybe tomorrow would be a good time to put the two birds in a room together, out of the cages, and see what happens. Hope it isn't too early. I'll be standing by with camera in hand. Wish me luck in getting some good pictures!

oooh! Exciting!!

I don't think it seems to early, especially given that they're both so drawn to each other.
Definitely wishin' you good luck with the pics-- but you don't need it, b/c your pictures are always good and they always seem to tell such a great story.

I can't wait to hear how things turn out!!

"Virgil & Cricket, sittin' in a tree...
K. I. S. S. I. N. G. !!"

I'll be hoping for that.

... ...

Yay! I am so excited to hear how their first date turns out!

NiteOwl wrote:

In talking with Charis, we have decided that maybe tomorrow would be a good time to put the two birds in a room together, out of the cages, and see what happens. Hope it isn't too early. I'll be standing by with camera in hand.

Wish me luck in getting some good pictures!

You got it!! Good luck wishes are on the way.

Today we gated Virgil and Cricket in the bathroom, to see how they would react together in the same room. Things were pretty calm as they eyed each other for a few minutes. Then Virgil decided that the dish of seed we had left them was just entirely too neat, so he busied himself with scattering it about the room, as Cricket looked on.


Eventually he did turn his attention to her. He bowed and cooed and followed her around for a while. And to my relief, she didn't seem to mind at all. In fact she was pretty open to his advances, and reached out for a little kiss.


Eventually she did let him mount her, but with only one wing, he lost his balance and fell off.


Then he came on a bit more aggressively, bowing and puffing out his chest. He chased, and she ran. LOL.


Eventually she came back for more.

So all and all things went pretty well. At least she didn't kill him. When she went up higher, of course he couldn't follow, but eventually she seemed to realize that, and came back down to where he was. She can flap a bit, and has had almost 2 years to adjust and learn how to get from point A to point B. Virgil has only just recently lost his wing, and he hasn't been in a loft where he had to practice getting around. He will learn, but it will just take time. I think it was a good day. Tomorrow.....................we will try again, minus the seed that was all over the room, but maybe add the little bird bath and see if she can get him to bathe.

Love the photos, Jay.
Thank you for sharing them with us.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

To Virgil and Cricket . . . Bless you both

Oh thank you Cindy. That's beautiful.
She has been unmated since I've had her. She has been having a thing with Flick, who is mated to Roxy. And she doesn't let any other males get near her. So seeing her with a cute little male who doesn't belong to someone else, well, it just felt great. I've been hoping to find her a mate since we rescued her over a year and a half ago. She was like a whole new bird than the one who normally just spends her days and nights alone. She was actually warm and affectionate. And he was such a gentleman. Sweet and gentle. I like him.

Loved the photos They look perfect together!

They are soooo sweet!

I don't know how I missed this last night ...they look so cute together..it must have been so much fun watching them.
What did they do when you put them back in their cages? Were they strying to get to each other?

When I put them back in their cages, he was calling to her, and she was just standing there looking over at him. It was early evening and time to go to bed, so I covered them, together as I always do, and he kept calling softly. Today we'll set the bath up for the two of them and see how that goes.

The pictures of Virgil and Cricket are absolutely adorable.

Seems like they are a perfect match

This is such a happy development for both of these birds

You're Jay for making this all possible.


Louise

Thanks, but Faon deserves the credit for rescuing Virgil and caring for him. She went through the hard part of caring for him with his wing injury. And I had been hoping for a little mate for my Cricket. Funny................I was about to offer to take Birdy, but found that you were going to send him to Robin. Funny how things work out. He's a nice little bird, and I'm hoping things work out well for them.

It was the cutest thing today. I set the bath up for Virgil and Cricket. Of course Cricket jumped in right away, splashing water all over Virgil, who watched in awe.


It didn't take long for him to hop on the side of the dish for a better view.



Then he kinda half fell in. But once in the water, he absolutely loved it. He played and splashed with abandon. Then he just sat and soaked for a long while.





They went in and out of the water all afternoon. I think Cricket really enjoyed having a friend to play with. They got along really well.
Then they were put back in their prospective cages. Soon, we will set up the larger cage, and try the two of them in there. It's going really well between them.
Don't worry Faon, your little Virgil is doing really well here. And it looks like he's already made a best friend

Ah...sweet.

Those two together are absolutely the sweetest little birds...... .....What a perfect match!!!


Louise

How are they doing today?

I didn't have a lot of time when I got home today, but I wanted to try and get them in a cage together to see what would happen. So I set up a bit larger cage. 30 X 19. I'd like it bigger, but the one I thought I would use, I decided had too deep a bottom. It would have looked like they were in a cellar hole unless they were up on the shelves.
so anyway, I set up the 30X19. Have to do for now. They seemed okay with being together, except that Virgil was chasing a bit more aggressively today, and Cricket had no where to get away. I thought it might cause tension, so I went back and added a shelf a bit higher. Cricket can get to it easily, but Virgil would have trouble reaching it. So she has a place to go if she needs a break from the little guys advances. I'll work on it more for the next couple of days, and it isn't forever anyway, as they should be able to go into the loft eventually. They look so cute together. I just love seeing her with someone of her own. She's a bit wild, but I love my little Cricket. They seem rather suited together. LOL. Here's a picture of the unfinished project. Any suggestions are welcome. By the way Faon, I did add his little hedgehog later.

It looks perfect, Jay. They just need a few twiggy things and the cage will be wanting for nothing.
They really do look cute together. Faon called today...she is thrilled with the budding romance.

The cage looks great :Yes: You might want to give them a handful of grass clippings, piecesof yarn or twigs, like Charis suggested, so they can busy their time doing something.

Cricket & Virgil look wonderful.

The set up looks great, Jay.

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

The cage looks great :Yes: You might want to give them a handful of grass clippings, piecesof yarn or twigs, like Charis suggested, so they can busy their time doing something.

Cricket & Virgil look wonderful.

I don't think I would offer them pieces of yarn as it can get wrapped around their feet too easily while moving about in the basket.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

The cage looks great :Yes: You might want to give them a handful of grass clippings, piecesof yarn or twigs, like Charis suggested, so they can busy their time doing something.

Cricket & Virgil look wonderful.

I don't think I would offer them pieces of yarn as it can get wrapped around their feet too easily while moving about in the basket.

Iguess I should have said 'Short' pieces of yarn. Make sure they aren't too short for the birds to swallow.

I give the dove pairs here 4 in. pieces of yarn & they love adding them to their nest. :Yes:

OMG, I missed the news for 3 days and it's developing like a lightning! :That\\\'s so f It's just so cute :That\\\'s so f

Well it isn't perfect. I just hurriedly set it up after work yesterday, and thank God, it won't be forever. I wish it was larger.
I agree that they need some nesting material, but every time I put that in a cage inside the house, they get it all over. And it's hard to vaccum up. That is what Cricket is used to though. Maybe I'll give it another try. Covering the cage with hardware cloth would probably help. Another project. Hoot just hates it when I give them straw. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep it in the cage, I mean besides covering it with hardware cloth?

Here's how I found them this morning. So cute. Must have seemed strange to her to have company all night long.