My Nut Pouch

I love my "Nut Pouch"!  It's made of leather with a few almonds or other goodies tucked inside. Any kind of nut will work, but almonds are my favorite. I love to chew on leather and I took to this little foraging toy immediately. After I get the original treat out, it can be refilled because I've made the hole a little bigger. As you can see, this one is very worn out and time for a replacement.

Marcia bought something similar from a bird toy company years ago.  As you can see the holes are pretty big and we wondered how "bird safe" the rivets are.  "We'll make one!" is what Marcia said!  We'll call it a "Nut Pouch." Here is the original pouch she bought. You can buy one here.

Supplies for a Nut Pouch

We have a store nearby that sell all kinds of leather and leather working tools. Here is the online store. Marcia bought a vegetable tanned hide of leather. When making bird toys it's very important to buy only "vegetable tanned" leather. (Tanning is the term used for the process of cleaning leather to make it soft and pliable.) Other leathers are tanned with chemicals and are harmful to parrots.

This hide will make dozens of nut pouches!

You'll also need 1/8" leather lacing from a bird toy company. The 1/8" size and the rounded edges of this lacing slides through the holes really nicely when lacing.

She also bought two leather punches, 1/8" punch and a 1/4" punch.  She purchased a rubber mallet from the hardware store.

A hard, solid table is perfect to work on because you do some very hard pounding when you punch the leather. A piece of wood placed on the table surface will protect the your table top and will keep your punches from getting dull.

Make your pattern

You can get as creative as you want, but keep the design simple. You will be lacing around it and you don't want it to have too many curved edges. I have a long one for my cage that gets filled up and lasts a long time. I once made a Texas shaped Nut Pouch for Bibi the Bird when she came for a visit.  That was the fanciest one ever made! Einstein's favorite is the triangle shape.

Draw your shape on a piece of paper, then cut it out. I've provided a pattern for the square and triangle shaped nut pouch here.

Transfer your shape to the leather. I like one edge to be folded. (One less edge to punch and lace.)

Cut out the shape with a pair of scissors.

Take the shape, and moisten it with water. Pat it dry with a clean cloth. You want the leather moist, not dripping wet. Leather is easier to punch and work with when it is moist.

Here's a video that shows you how to punch and lace the nut pouch.

Punch the holes

Use the 1/8" punch for the lacing holes and the 1/4" punch for the nut holes.

Lacing

Moisten the leather lacing just like you did the shape. (If you don't finish, just let the leather dry out and then remoisten when you come back to the project to finish later.)

Place the nuts in the center, and fold the leather over. Start lacing the sides. Sometimes a needle nose pliers comes in handy to grab and pull the leather lace through the holes.

Make a knot at each end. Sometimes Marcia strings little bead on the ends to make it fancy!

Let it dry, then enjoy your NewNut Pouch!

Company on the Porch!

Last summer the back porch was screened in so I would have a place to get fresh air and sunshine. You can read about it here. This summer, we have been busy decorating the porch!

While it is a nice place to perch, the humans need a place to perch too! There are a couple of white plastic chairs on the porch that we've had for years. They just needed a little something to make them more suitable for the space. I think these are a wonderful addition to my porch!

LOOKS LIKE I HAVE COMPANY!

Not only do the chairs look better, they are more comfortable too! As a bonus, they look like ME!  Marcia was inspired to make chair covers from a picture she saw on the internet.  That chair had been painted. Marcia's not handy with paint, but she can make almost anything out of fabric.  She searched and searched for a suitable pattern and found one on Etsy.

I was more than happy to be the model for the design on the chairs.  She used machine appliqué to make the design out of various pieces of fabric.

I like the end result! I'm giving it a final inspection.

Marcia also thought it would be nice to have something on the wall too.  She has a friend named Angie who makes beautiful jewelry out of pretty stones and wire. In fact, her business name is Weirdly Wired Jewelry. Angie can be found on Facebook too! Marcia commissioned her make this copper wire design for me, and then Jeff mounted it on a piece of old wood.  I just LOVE IT!  Thank you Angie!

My play area is growing too!

It takes me a little more time to get used to new things.  I enjoy perching on my play perch, and I do have a boing and a swing that hangs from the ceiling.

 As time goes on, I'll have more perches and toys hung.  There is even talk of a shelf! Oh! That sounds like fun!  I have been told not to get my hopes up for a drawer. That will not happen!

Sprouting Sprouts!

Einstein loves sprouts and there is always something sprouting in the kitchen! Sprouts are very nutritious and all birds seem to love them! There are many websites and tutorials on sprouting. In this post, I'll share how I sprout for Einstein. This is the process that works best for us.

I purchased an "Easy Sprouter." (Actually I bought two of them, for reasons I'll explain later in the post.) It is a handy container that drains the sprouting seed and allows enough air to get to the sprouts without spoiling them. To sprout properly, seeds need the right amount of air circulation and moisture. Too much water and the seeds get soggy and don't sprout. Too little water and the seeds don't sprout. Not enough air circulation and the seeds spoil or get moldy. Too much air circulation and the seeds dry out and don't sprout. The Easy Sprouter takes the guess work out of that in an easy and convenient way.

The Easy Sprouter comes with six pieces. (I use 4 of the 6, I don't use the small seed sprouted or the dome lid.)

Bottom of the inner Container

The seeds you select for sprouting should be as fresh as possible and organic.
The sprout mix is called Avian FRESH Diet-Psittacine from China China Prairie Products. This mix contains Hulled Sunflower Seed, Whole Yellow Corn, Whole Oat, Brown Rice, Hi Pro Wheat Berry, Whole Green Pea, Garbanzo, Mung Bean, Buckwheat, Millet, Fenugreek, Pumpkin Seed, Sesame Seed, Quinoa, Radish Seed, Mustard Seed, Red Clover Seed.

China Prairie Sprouts

Place about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of the mix into the inner container of the Easy Sprouter. Rinse the sprouts under running water. Put the inner container with the wet seeds inside the outer container and fill with enough water to cover the seeds about 2 inches.  

Cover the Easy Sprouter with the solid lid. Let stand at room temperature for a 6-8 hour soak.

Uncover, drain, and rinse the sprouts under cool water and discard the soaking water.  As you rinse the sprouts, shake and spin the seeds in the drainer part of the Easy Sprouter. Then place the drainer back inside the Sprouter container allowing it to rest on the upper ridge of the Easy Sprouter container. This enables the proper air circulation. Place the vented lid on top of the Sprouter and let it sit at room temperature for 16 -24 hours. Watch the video for a demonstration of how to rinse and spin the sprouts.

How long the sprouts take to sprout depends on the room temperature and moisture. I find that the sprouts take a little longer in the winter when the room temperature is a little cooler than in the summer. I also repeat the rinse and spin procedure again after the first 8 hours.

You may rinse the sprouts with Organic Apple Cider vinegar as added protection to prevent bacteria growth. To do this, put a tablespoon of organic Apple Cider vinegar in the final rinse water. I usually don't find this necessary, as I rinse the sprouts each time before feeding them. I also smell the sprouts to check for spoilage. Sprouts that smell "nutty" are fresh and healthy. Sprouts that have spoiled will smell sour and will be slimy or moldy. You'll be able to notice the smell of spoiled sprouts!

Sprout "tails" about 1/8" - 1/4" long

After about 16 hours, little tails will appear on the seeds. The tails should be about an 1/8" to 1/4" long. This is when they are ready to feed and at their peak of nutritional value. I add about a tablespoon to Einstein's breakfast mash and/or her veggie chop.

I don't allow the sprouts to sit out and continue to grow at room temperature. I snap the flat lid back on the container with the inner container holding the sprouts, and place it in the refrigerator.  They will still grow a little bit, even under refrigeration.

Each time I use the sprouts I repeat the rinse/spin again just to safeguard the possibility of any bacteria growth.

When I see I'm running low I'll start another batch in the second Easy Sprouter that I have on hand. That way I always have a continuous supply of fresh and healthy sprouts!

I am not in any way affiliated with the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned in this post, nor have I received compensation from them.

It's been a long time....

I apologize, it's been a year since my last post. Time does fly by these days! Several things occupied my time. Most of last year was spent rewriting and updating my website. It was overdue for an update, and I hope you like the new design!

From This:

To This:

You'll find all the same information that was on the old site, just more detailed.  For example, when you click on the video tab, instead of having all my videos listed with links, I've written back stories and information that you might find useful and entertaining. Marcia often gets asked questions like, "How do you train Einstein?" Soon, I will be sharing more details about that! (And how I train her! Ha! :> ) Some things I write will be for fun, and some things will be informative, and you will still be able to find all my videos on YouTube!

As many of you know, the back porch was screened in so I would have a place to get fresh air and sunshine.  It has taken time for me to get used to my new area, and I really enjoy it on pretty days.

I have many ideas for new blog posts and I will continue to do videos. As you can see, I'm a very busy birdie these days! I better stop playing around and get to work!

Pecks! :>

Einstein

Einstein's Sweet 16 Birdhouse

This is my back porch.  It's small.  4 1/2 feet wide by 28 feet long. It gets morning sun and afternoon shade.  The humans hardly ever use it because it's just too small. The view of the back fence is not much to look at either.

Long...........

and Narrow! 

Not Much of a View

One day Marcia mentioned to Jeff that she would love a screened in porch for ME!  Someplace to hang out, get fresh air, and some sunshine.  It would also be nice not have to worry about mosquitoes.  Jeff said, "Well, let's screen our back porch in!   WOW!!!!! What a perfect Sweet 16 Hatchday present!!!

HAPPY HATCHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!

After a few months, Marcia finally found someone to build my "Bird House"!  The men with lots of tools came and there was a lot of banging, hammering, and loud sawing going on in the backyard.  I was not allowed to supervise this project.  It was too dangerous, so I watched from inside.

If they only knew how badly I wanted to help!

The building continued for a couple of days...

Wall is going up!

Needs Paint!

Inside View.  Big enough for me!

Ready for Screens and the Door!

After a few days I began to worry.  Don't you think I need some furniture to go in this new house?  Something to perch on? Come on!  I mean REALLY!  You expect me to stand on a concrete floor!

One day a BIG TRUCK arrived and delivered 2 BIG Boxes!  Just LOOK at what was in those boxes!!!!!  OH! MY GOSH!!!!!!

Java Tree

It's called a Java Tree Perch!  It's really BIG!  It's about 5  feet tall and 3 1/2 feet wide. It has a lot of nice horizontal branches that are just the right size for my feet to get a good grip.  

Marcia ordered this from The Platinum Parrot.  Lisa is the owner and she went to the distributor's warehouse and "handpicked" this perch just for me!!!!!  The toy you see hanging on it was a Hatchday gift from her!  Thank you so much Lisa!  I am a very Happy Birdie!!!!! 

There are not a lot of toys on it right now.  But there will be, I have plenty of time to decorate it the way I want!

The screens arrived and got installed.  They are made of a heavy duty screen material called PetScreen. It is very strong and will keep insects and animals out, but will allow the wonderful UV rays to come through.  I won't be in my Bird House all of the time, just during nice weather and to get fresh air and sunshine, but I need to be safe.  

Screened windows 37" wide by 55" tall

UH! OH!

Do construction projects always go perfectly smoothly?  Every thing was going along great.... THEN it happened!

We have a problem with the door!  

Do you know the difference between a right-handed door and a left-handed door?  Marcia didn't!  She explained to the salesperson what she wanted and which way she wanted the door to open.  The salesperson said we needed a righthand door. That's what she ordered.  WRONG!!!!!  We got the door, (which, by the way, was a special order) and it didn't open the way we wanted.  The door was put back in the box and taken back to the store.  The people at the store where very nice and allowed Marcia to return the door and order a new one.  The only problem is that we have to wait 2 weeks for the correct left-handed door to be made and delivered.  

In the meantime, there is this lovely piece of plywood attached to the opening.  

 The Temporary Plywood "Door"

Update:  Today my door was installed!  All done!

Door installed! Looks pretty good!

Watch the Video!

by Einstein Parrot

Einstein Reviews the Purina Garden Recipe Bird Diet

Purina has recently come out with a new line of parrot/bird food.  They sent me a PetSmart gift card to pick up a bag of the Parrot and Large Conure Mix and asked me to write a review. 

There are 4 different mixes in the line. 

Canary and Finch

Cockatiel and Lovebird

Parakeet

Parrots and Large Conure

Marcia had a hard time finding it on the shelf.  She had to look at a picture of the bag on her cell phone to identify the product on the shelf.  The sales person couldn't find it either and didn't even know it was new.  The 4 pound bag of food cost $18.39, including sales tax.

She brought it home and opened it up. Inside the bag was sunflower seeds, various pellets of different sizes, shapes, and colors and peanuts in the shell.  She poured about a 1/2 cup into my bowl.  I immediately began eating the seed and didn't stop. I ate every single seed, all the pretty little pellets were left in my bowl and I climb up on my perch to take a nap.  

Getting me to eat a new pellet could take weeks, if not months.  So, she was not surprised that I didn't eat them. I normally eat an organic pellet and the rest of my diet consist of fresh veggies, fruits, grains, and beans.  You can find more info about my diet here.  

Several things bothered Marcia in the list of ingredients.  

1) The amount of seed.  A small amount of seed in the diet is fine, but, this was just way too much and to convert a parrot to this diet from basically a whole food diet would be a step in the wrong direction.

2) The peanuts.  Peanuts in the parrot diet is very controversial and lets just say, I am not a peanut fan and would much rather have an almond or a pecan.

3)  These 3 ingredients:

       Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

       Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract

       Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product

From the research Marcia did, these ingredients are used in dog food.  They are added to assist with digestion, they help simulate the natural bacterial and enzyme content in a dogs natural diet.  Excuse me, I'm a parrot!  I don't eat the same things that a dog would eat.  Why would I need this in my diet?

4) Menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K) - This ingredient is banned in human food. If humans can't eat it, I'm certainly not going to eat it!  I get my Vitamin K from leafy greens like spinach, collards, and kale.

5) Color Added (FDC Yellow #5, Blue #1, Red 3#, Red #40, Yellow #6) - No thanks, I prefer NO artificial color.

Here is the list of ingredients in the mix:

Safflower, Red wheat, White millet, Red milo, Rolled corn, Oat groats, Black oil sunflower seeds, Black stripe sunflower seeds, Whole corn, Soybean meal, Shelled peanuts, Wheat middlings, Split green peas, Ground corn, Whole peanuts, Flax seed, Calcium carbonate, Dehydrated carrot, Chili peppers, Dehydrated banana chips, Buckwheat, Salt, Dicalcium phosphate, Coconut oil, Soybean oil, L-Lysine hydrochloride, Algae meal, Potato protein, Ground oats, Wheat flour, dl-Methionine, Fructose, Ground raisins, Wheat germ, Dried egg product, Ground coconut, Ground dried papaya, Ground dried apricot, Ground dried banana, Ground dried sweet potato, Ground dried pineapple, Ground dried apple, Ground dried spinach, Ground dried broccoli, Ground dried carrots, Ground dates, Cane molasses, Choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, Ascorbic acid (source of Vitamin C), Isoleucine, L-Threonine, L-Tryptophan, Biotin, Yucca schidigera extract, Zinc oxide, Manganous oxide, Calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin B12 supplement, Niacin, Copper sulfate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Riboflavin supplement, Magnesium oxide, Ferrous sulfate, Vitamin D3 supplement, Beta carotene, Active dried yeast, Brewers dried yeast, Rosemary extract, Mixed tocopherols (a form of Vitamin E), Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Menadione bisodium sulfite complex (source of Vitamin K), Calcium iodate, Menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K),Thiamine mononitrate, Citric acid, Sodium selenite, Zinc sulfate, Cobalt carbonate, Cobalt sulfate. Color Added (FDC Yellow #5, Blue #1, Red 3#, Red #40, Yellow #6).

You can read more about the product on the Purina website.

If your parrot is currently on an all seed diet, I highly recommend you convert to an organic pellet and supplement with a whole foods diet rather than a pelleted diet full of seed. 

Rated: 2 Toes Down

* Disclosure: I received a free gift card from Purina to try their new Purina® Garden Recipe® bird food and treats. All opinions given are my own.

Bibi the Bird Visits Einstein

A very special visitor stopped by the nest for a little visit!

Bibi the Bird!

I was so excited!  Bibi is a friend who lives with humans Greg and Kelly in Illinois. That's a long way from Texas! I found Bibi on the internet a long time ago when I started watching her web cam. See for yourself!  You can visit Bibi Here!

Not long ago Bibi and her humans decided it would be fun to take a Road Trip across the USA! They did a fundraiser on Kickstarter, bought an RV, loaded it up with a cage and perch and headed out for fun and adventure!

Bibi and I have a lot in common.  We are both African Grey Parrots and we love to talk and entertain humans!!! Just like me, you can find Bibi on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!
We had some Texas Bar-B-Q for lunch.  We both had chicken!  Yum!  and we had lots of Berries too!  Nutriberries!

We got along very well and had a lot to talk about.  I'm on my white perch and Bibi is on her purple perch.  Camera's were perched EVERYWHERE!  Can you count how many cameras are in the room?  1, 2, 3, 4!

We engaged in a lot of "Parallel Play"!  This is what human children do at the age of about 2-3 years old.  We observed each other and was aware of what the other was doing, but didn't we didn't play with one another.  We played independently!  I played with my bell and Bibi ate and played with a toy.   We were good Birds!

After lunch we relaxed and watched the the Life with Alex DVD.  Alex was our hero and our inspiration.  We miss Alex and this is a lovely movie about him.  Go here for more information and to purchase the DVD.

I really enjoyed Bibi's visit and I hope she comes to visit  again!  Watch this video and see how much fun we had together!

Safe Travels Bibi!  "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!"

Show business? or Monkey Business?

Recently I received an email from a reality TV show!  They wanted to talk about me being on their show! A cooking competition reality show!  OK! I'll bite! 

Marcia gave them a call. She spoke with one of the producers of the show. They had watched my video on YouTube of Marcia and me in the kitchen making a salad and thought it was very good.

Marcia had never watched this reality cooking show, named MasterChef, but she had heard of it. They discussed the idea of a "home video" of  us in the kitchen. Something to incorporate into the regular show. They wanted Marcia to come to Dallas for an interview and talk some more!  Marcia loves food and loves to cook! AND they were interest in ME!  What a perfect opportunity to talk about parrot nutrition, cooking for parrots, and parrot safety in the kitchen! (i.e. Teflon fumes, etc.) She was being invited to an open call audition with VIP status! WOW!  Let's Goooo! Weeeeeeee!

Marcia was required to bring a dish that best represented us. She prepared a Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing.  It's sweet, nutty, and a little spicy! Just like us! Perfect!

Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing
Recipe adapted from here.

1 cup white or red quinoa, cooked according to package. Let cool.
Add the following:
1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped (may substitute any favorite nut, or hulled pumpkin seed or sunflower seed).
2 T. dried currants or raisins.
1 small apple, sliced into 1/8" wedges.
1/4 cup mint or arugula leaves, coarsely chopped.
For the dressing, combine:
1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
1 T. finely chopped shallot
1 tsp. curry powder
2 T. lemon juice
Fresh ground pepper
Whisk in 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
Toss into Quinoa mixture and stir.

Taste Tested and Approved!
Served on a Wing Plate!

Off to Dallas! 

Marcia arrived, salad packed and with an 11-page application in hand. She plated her dish along with about 40 other applicants all competing to get on the show.  A couple of people walked around the room tasting the dishes and asking questions. The two people who talked with Marcia seemed to be more interested in ME, than Marcia's cooking.  Then the interviewers made their decision. Marcia and only 4 other people were asked to stay and have a second interview! Everyone else in the room was sent home.  WOW!  YAY! Great Job Marcia!!!!!


The Second Interview

Marcia had to stand in front of 2 more interviewers and answer questions about food, and more questions about me were asked! Questions like, "What kind of food do you like to cook?" "Does Einstein always cook with you?" "Does Einstein learn words easily?" "What is your style of cooking?" "What does Einstein say?" "What does Einstein say about your cooking?"  She was dismissed and was told to wait for a decision in the hallway. The interviewer entered and told Marcia to come back the next day for an "on camera" interview! At this point, Marcia became very curious and decided to play along. Yes! She will do the camera interview!

Lights! Camera!
The on-camera interview went well.  Marcia was asked some food and cooking questions, and A Lot More questions about ME!!!  They told her she did a great job and were interested in her doing the next assignment.  They gave Marcia instructions to do the "home video".
BINGO! Great, she thought! Finally getting down to business!  But then... were we? It seems this was just another part of the "casting" process. Others who came that day for camera interviews were given the same assignment. Marcia was excited but confused? Something didn't seem quite right. This bothered her and she thought about it most of the night.


The next morning
Marcia and I decided to get on the internet and do some investigating.  She found this show's website and discovered they had some of their episodes on YouTube.  We began to watch. The first episode involved a lot of people preparing special dishes for a panel of judges. Based on how much the judges liked their food determined if they would move on to compete in the show that season.

As we watched, it quickly became clear that there were some amazing people! Some of them cooked amazing dishes, some of them had amazingly inspirational stories, some of them had quirky and bazaar behaviors or "props".

Mmmmmm, interesting we thought! Suddenly it all became very clear! They were interested in Marcia and me, but only as a gimmick! This is not what Marcia and I are about! It's bad enough that parrots are so misunderstood as companion animals. This doesn't represent who we ARE at ALL!!!

My mission statement

"To entertain and bring joy, to foster the human-parrot bond, and to convey that parrots are deserving of immeasurable amounts of patience, nurturing, and companionship."

Perhaps the first part "to entertain and bring joy" is fitting, but at what expense? We decided that nothing of value would really come of this experience. We sent them a nice email thanking them for their time and gracefully took our bow.

All in all, it was a fun and exciting experience, and one that reminded us of several life lessons.

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

Trust your gut and that little voice inside of you!

To thy own self be true!