Ollie had to go back to the vet today. He was falling off his perch a lot, was breathing hard, and seemed lethargic. Mommy took him this morning and this time, she asked if he could see a different vet. 

She’s glad she did. A nice lady saw Ollie (she thought he was quite handsome), and mommy said she was much more thorough than the other one. This vet suspects that all of the bacteria from Ollie’s kidney infection isn’t gone and it's "going crazy in there," so she gave him a steroid shot, an antibiotic shot, and put him back on the Baytril for 2 weeks. 

This vet also said that Ollie probably “overextended” his hurt leg, and a recent crash landing he had didn’t help. The nerve inflammation is going to be extremely slow to heal – 6 months or more, so she urged mommy to be patient with this part of Ollie’s recovery. It turns out that nerves only heal at a rate of about a millimeter a month, which is why nerve damage/inflammation/problems take so darn long to heal. So Ollie’s supposed to stay in his smaller cage with low perches for a while. He’s going back for a follow up in a week. 

Another thing this vet said is that Ollie’s too skinny. She said his weight has been steady since he got sick, but he’s at 27 grams, and she’d like to see him back up to 33 grams. Looks like there’s gonna be a lot of millet and honey stick treats coming (I know all of our parakeet friends are letting out a HUGE cheer for that!). Between Ollie needing to fatten up and being required to stay still on low perches, it seems he needs to be like this over the next few weeks:

So Ollie had a bit of a relapse (not a full one, thank goodness), but we’re hoping he’s back on track. Mommy’s just really frustrated because she called the other vet about 3 weeks ago and told him she didn’t think Ollie was completely on the road to recovery, and he completely blew her off. She said she’s not threatening to hurt anybody, but the thought of keeping some rope in her trunk to string up people that give her the run around like Shelob did Frodo Baggins is an amusing thought. Methinks her irritation level is climbing. And I can understand why. Not listening to her is one thing, but making Ollie pay for it because you "ain't got time for that" when she calls is ridiculous. It doesn’t help that daddy needs a root canal next week, and her work is at peak volume right now. Our poor parronts. Please pray for them, and Ollie too!

That’s an update on us. Zack and I are ok and trying to keep an eye on this crazy flock. It’s just one day at a time. That’s the best way to do it. 

Take care. I hope you have a Happy Friday and a great weekend. 

Luv,

Chloe

Hi everybody, it's Ollie here. I wanted to update the blog myself so I could thank each and every one of you for your care and concern while I've been recuperating from my illness this past week. Kidney infections suck, but thankfully the antibiotic is working and I'm recovering. I'm eating, singing, and more energetic each day. Hooray!

The antibiotic is yukky, but it does seem to be helping a lot. I'm getting better and stronger each day. I should finish it in a couple of days, and that will be good.

Thanks again to all of you here and on Twitter for your prayers, winghugs, care, concern, and checking in. I really appreciate it. You're all such great friends! We'll certainly keep you posted.

I hope you have a great end of the week and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Ollie

They don't make scary movies like they used to. They're all blood, guts, and gore these days. Ugh, who wants that? I like the older movies with a psychological twist to them. Things like The Shining (which daddy is watching now, and is distracting mommy quite a lot) and the old Halloween movies. Sure, Michael Myers stabs people, but they're stupid people. And the question is, why does he stab the people he stabs? They all have a connection to his messed up family. Mommy and daddy also like Salem's Lot, but that's impossible to find on video. Now that was a vampire movie!

Okay, I have to admit that there's another reason why I like Halloween. It means the holidays are next! Thanksgiving and then my all time favorite - Christmas! And then my birthday on December 31. Mommy and daddy get more days off work in November and December, and there's so much fun and celebration. Food, family, friends, and fun. What more could a bird want?

And in other news, Ollie is improving. He was one sick bird on Tuesday, but he's better today. His appetite is up, and he's much more active than he was before. There's still room for improvement, but he's halfway through his antibiotic and is showing good progress. Considering it's a kidney infection, it's going to take more time than my sinus infection took. But he's plugging along really well. And he's fighting that medication like a champ. Mommy still gets it in him, but he's giving her more of a run for it every day. Go Ollie!

Finally, my cozy corner is back! Mommy found it stuck in her pants on Thursday. Silly mommy.

That's all for today. I hope you all have a great week.

Luv,

Zack

Hi everybody, it's Chloe here with an update on life in our nest.

First up is Ollie. He's slowly improving and seems to be getting stronger each day. He's moving about easier, and his energy is increasing. It's hard to tell if he's eating more overall - it didn't look like he ate much while the parronts were at work, but he has eaten more tonight, which pleased mommy. He's also singing a little more too. He still needs plenty of rest, but he isn't sleeping as much. We know he's adjusting to the medication, but it's obviously helping. We do appreciate your care and concern, and will certainly keep you updated on his progress.

So keep Ollie in your prayers. We hope he'll recover as well as Zack has.

Zack, by the way, is magnificent. He's definitely made a full and complete recovery. And the mystery of the missing cozy corner is solved. Mommy found it stuck in the leg of her grey pants this morning. That's odd, because she checked those pants twice last week and no cozy corner turned up, but today - whoop, there it is. Zack was very pleased.

As for me, I'm just trying to keep my eye on everybody. Mommy is recovering from her infection, and daddy is doing good. Both of them are still busy at work, of course - that's normal, but they're okay.

Thanks again to all of you for being such great friends. We'll keep you posted on Ollie's progress, and on all of the adventures here as well.

Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend.

Luv,

Chloe

Hi all, it’s Sherri (mommy) here. I’m blogging for the birds to give you an update on Ollie. I was getting ready to leave for work this morning and noticed that he was dragging his left foot behind him, and seemed to be in pain. I called the vet, and they said to bring him in, as they’re booked all week but wanted to see him. 

I’m glad I went. The vet weighed him, and he lost 5 grams since his check up. That alarmed the vet more than the leg. He checked Ollie out and said that there’s no leg or foot injury at all. It turns out that the kidney sits on the nerve to the left leg, and it’s infected. 

Of course, I freaked out, but the vet assured me that I caught it early. There’s no tumor or physical damage, and he said this can be cleared up with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory medication. He gave Ollie a shot and put him on 0.06 cc’s of Baytril for 10 days, starting tomorrow. He also recommended helping Ollie stay still as much as possible to avoid discomfort. We’ve reconfigured his perches so he won’t need to move around so much until he feels better. 

I sure am glad I noticed Ollie limping this morning, because an infection never crossed my mind! So friends, please be sure to keep a close eye on your birds. If they seem to be sleeping more, injured, not as active, or just acting out of sorts, get it checked out ASAP. Don’t wait! Birds hide illness, and by the time you notice they’re sick, they could have been ill for days. They’re so small that illness can hit hard and fast. But being small means that the treatment works pretty quick, too. 

We’ll certainly keep you posted on Ollie’s progress, here and through Twitter. He’s getting great treatment and right now, we just want him to get plenty of rest. I’ve had a kidney infection – those suckers hurt and wear you out! 

Thanks for being such great friends, and for your care and concern. 

Luv,

 Sherri (mommy)

Mommy and daddy have been working hard to clean the house the past
couple of weeks! Daddy went out in the yard to clean up, rake, trim branches, digging up weeds, and do some watersealing on the back steps outside. Mommy’s been scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms, cleaning the floors, dusting and polishing furniture, tidying up the house, and giving our cages a good clean up. The house looks (and smells) really good! They call it their “fall housecleaning,” and I like it!

I’ve heard humans say that they’re either the cooking or the cleaning type. Our parronts are definitely the cleaning type. The house is always neat as a pin. They’re good about keeping it clean and organized. Even Ollie and I are pretty clean, when it comes to birds. We try to keep our “messes” localized to one spot. Chloe, on the other hand, doesn’t mind some mess. She’ll throw some seed on the floor of her cage on purpose just to make a little mess. It drives mommy crazy, especially when Chloe gives a good shovel right after mommy finishes a cleaning and takes the trash out. It’s amusing to watch mommy whale “no, sweetheart!!” as the seed goes flying. Cage cleaning night is also comedy night in our home. 

Do your parronts like to cook or clean? Or are they better balanced (some would call it “sane”) and do they do a bit of both? Watch them to find out. It can be interesting – and quite amusing!

That’s all today. Take care and have a great rest of the week. 

Luv,

Zack

I've been so worried about my big brother this past week! Zack  got an upper respiratory infection last weekend, and today is his 7th day on his antibiotic. He's doing better, but he just got his voice back yesterday. So I had to keep an eye on him and call the parronts if we needed anything. It's good to see him doing better. I know we've all been worried about  him, and it was such a relief when mommy and daddy came  home from supper last night and he belted out his first screams in a week! We all felt better hearing that. And Zack's energy has been increasing each day. He's been a lot more active today, and more like himself. He still has 3 more days of medication left, but overall it seems to be working.

Mommy was worried about me too, because I was so nervous about Zack. I was pretty high strung, and she was afraid I'd make myself sick worrying. She said that happened with her parakeets once before - one of the males got sick, and the female worried so much that she got sick too. But they care for us well, and I'm doing okay now. I've been more relaxed this weekend, now that I see Zack improving. I believe mommy, daddy, and Ollie are feeling better and their anxiety is decreasing too. All in all, the whole flock is doing better.

Thanks once again to all of our friends for your care and concern! Mommy and daddy cleaned up the house and did the shopping yesterday, so we've been taking it easy today. It's just what we all needed. Tonight, mommy said we'll pop some popcorn and watch Breaking Bad. It's gonna be fun!

That's all today. I hope you've all had a great weekend and that you have a good week ahead.

Luv,

Chloe

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Oliver
Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday Ollie! We love you and hope you have a great day!

Love,

Daddy, mommy, Zacchaeus, and Chloe

Hi everybody! Well, it started out as a joke on Twitter one night when I was bored and throwing out amusing tag  lines for stories. Guess what? The sci-fi story stuck and mommy helped me write it. She posted it on Writing.com today to see what kind of reaction this tongue-in-beak story gets.

Mommy's actually written several stories pondering what adventures we have while she and daddy are at work every day. This is the fourth story in what she calls "The Avian Adventures Series." She's considered putting them together into one volume when she has enough stories to do that. Now, pray tell, how many stories would that be? Given that these silly adventures average 3-4 pages a piece, I'd say a lot.

Well, I'm proud of us having worked together on this one and now I proudly bring you an early draft of Avian Aliens!

Luv,

Chloe

Zack gnawed at the wood log toy in his cage, determined to break through it’s core. He didn’t know what secrets lay inside the toy that mommy jokingly called “the monolith,” but he was determined to find out. And if it was just wood, finishing it off was a surefire way to get a brand new toy in here once she and daddy got home from work. 

“Zack, can you keep it down?” Chloe asked from the back of her cage, where she snuggled against her cozy corner. “I’m trying to get in a power nap before mommy and daddy get home from work.”

“I’m almost there!” Zack said, continuing his voracious chewing. “Soon, we shall behold the secrets that lie within the wooden toy.”

 Ollie emitted a series of chirps that sounded like laughter. Zack gave Ollie a warning glare. Ollie squawked and resumed his preening. 

“Have at it, big brother,” Chloe said, resting her head against her back for a midafternoon nap. 

Zack resumed his chewing and was soon surprised when a piece of wood broke off, exposing the center of the toy. He peered inside and saw what looked like a lever in the center of the toy. Curious, Zack grabbed the lever and pulled it with all of the power in his mighty conure beak. A pink light erupted in the room followed by a bang. Zack disappeared and a large, pink parrot with blue eyes appeared in the center of the room. 

“Well, I’ll be darn,” Chloe said. “So that’s what happens when you get to the center of the wooden chew toy!”

“Greetings, Earth birds!” the pink bird said, raising his foot in a standard salutation. “My name is Eeagor. I am from the planet Orthea.”

“It sounds like a pesticide,” Ollie said. 

Eeagor turned to stare at Ollie. “Ah, a budgie! And a green and yellow too! Those are the finest specimens. You’ll make a fine addition to our budgie-bot brigade.”

“The budgie-bot brigade? What’s that?” Chloe asked. 

“We assimilate our finest budgies into a cybernetic avian lifeform that serve as our defenders and protectors. The one you call ‘Ollie’ is the best specimen we’ve seen in all the worlds we’ve visited.”

“Thank you,” Ollie said, “it’s good to be best at something. I’m the littlest one here.”

“Young friend, you will soon behold power beyond your wildest dreams,” Eeagor said, lifting his foot. Their cage doors opened and Ollie flew into Eeagor’s foot. A metallic talon ejected from Eeagor’s foot and he poised to poke Ollie with it. 

“No! Leave my brother alone!” Chloe screamed. Chloe leaped from their cages in a coordinated attack. Chloe grabbed Eeagor from behind with her wickedly-sharp beak, drawing green blood from his neck. 

“Ouch! You wicked little hen!” Eeagor yelled, dropping Ollie and turning to Chloe. She stood tall, her beak open and poised for another strike. 
 
“Wow, I haven’t seen her that mad since Zack stepped on her tail!” Ollie said. “Go Chloe! Sock it to him!”

“Come on, pinky! Meet the beak! Say hello to my little friend!” Chloe screamed, her eyes pinpointing and her feathers flaring. Eeagor stared in shock as she charged him, launching across the floor in a blur and jumping headlong into Eeagor. He pounded against the back wall with the force of her hit. They rolled on the floor in a blur of yellow, orange and pink feathers until Chloe pinned Eeagor, pounding him with her beak and breaking open green oozing wounds in his pink feathers. It looked like the battle was won until he emitted a shriek and swung at Chloe with his talon. She knocked against the wall. 

“Nobody hurts my sister!” Ollie shouted. “And I’ll never be a budgie-bot!” He grabbed Eeagor’s foot with his beak and lifted him off the floor, slamming Eeagor against furniture and the floor until the metallic talon broke off. 

“No, stop! I yield!” Eeagor screamed as blood dribbled from where the talon broke out of his leg. 

Chloe ran back to Eeagor, pinning him to the floor with her foot again. “Who do you think you are, coming here and threatening to turn my baby brother into a cyborg bird?”

 “I’m trying to free you from the tyranny of those ugly, wretched bipeds!” Eeagor said, staring at the picture on the wall next to Chloe’s cage. 
 
“Those are our parents,” Chloe growled as Ollie climbed into Zack’s cage, studying the toy for the lever.

Eeagor’s blue eyes widened in shock. “But how? You’re birds. They’re human. That’s impossible!”

“We’re adopted, you idiot,” Ollie said from Zack’s cage. “And your time here is over.” He pulled the lever in Zack’s toy. The pink light erupted again with a flash. Eeagor and his talon were gone, along with the green blood and mess on the floor. Zack reappeared in his cage, looking shocked.  


“Oh, thank goodness!” Chloe said, climbing back into her cage and pulling the door closed. 

“What just happened?” Zack asked. “I was in the strangest place that had pink birds with blue eyes. They had a horde of cybernetic budgies that tied me with something that looked like mommy’s cross stitch yard and carried me through their streets. They said they were taking me to their leader. I was so scared.” 

“Are you alright?” Chloe asked. 

“I’m fine,” Zack said, breathing heavy. “Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ollie said. "One of their birds got through. He wanted to make me a budgie-bot, but Chloe and I put up a great fight.”

Zack cackled. “I’ve taught both of you well. Thanks for pulling that lever and bringing me back. Zack gave the toy a punch, sending it swinging. The bottom portion of the toy broke off, severing the switch. “Remind me not to pull any switches inside my toys anymore!”

"I don’t think we’ll have that problem anymore,” Ollie said, climbing out of Zack’s cage and returning to his own.

They were silent as the garage door lifted, signaling that mommy and daddy had returned home from work. “Hi guys! Did you have a good day?” mommy asked, pulling them from their cage. 

“Oh, it looks like Zack finished another toy,” daddy said, reaching in to take out the broken wood chew toy. “Goodness, you destroyed that thing! Are you ready for a new toy now, buddy?”

 Zack cackled and winked at Chloe and Ollie, who cackled in return. Yes, they were ready for him to have a new toy. One with more fun and fewer surprises this time!

It's been a bad week here! It started with Ollie molting. Poor fellow lost so many green feathers that we're surprised he has any on his body! Mommy put some molting treatment in his food and that seemed to help him feel better. The molt is slowing down now, and we hope our baby brother is feeling much better.

Then tropical storm Andrea came through, triggering a migraine that plagued mommy on and off for 3 days. Not only that, but it caused mommy and daddy to have sinus problems from blowing in all of that tropical mess and then the grass pollen shot up once the storm passed. And then, to top it all off, mommy and daddy got a virus that just made them feel beat and busted after stressful weeks at work. Mommy had 2 meetings and it was the last week of school for daddy, which was pandemonium.

So Zack and I were the only ones that came out unscathed this week. We've tried to comfort Ollie, mommy and daddy the best we can. They so appreciate our support. We try. We try really hard to be super sweet and comfort them, especially at times like this. That's our job, after all - to love and comfort each other and our human companions. What can I say? We do our best. We must have done alright, because mommy and daddy went by the grocery store earlier and brought home Jiffy Pop. There are no holidays or celebrations, so we must have been good!

That's all today. Thanks goodness it's the weekend. We need it! I hope you have a good one, and that we recover from this week that best us up.

Luv,

Chloe