HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: chajek@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (chajek)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: KEEPING BIRDS AND CATS
Date: 18 Dec 92 14:34:44 GMT
Reply-To: chajek@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM ()
Distribution: world
Organization: NCR Corporation, Wichita KS

We have had a Siamese house cat for years.  We have 6 canaries, 3 
cockatiels, lovebird and a Timneh African Grey parrot.  At first
the cat was very curious about the birds and I could tell that she
"wanted" them.  She knocked a canary cage off the stand and when
I caught her, I gave her a good scolding and next time I saw her
near the cage she got squirted in the face with a water spray bottle.
Every time I saw her near a cage, she got squirted, so she started
leaving them alone.  Now she doesn't mess with the birds or cages 
at all.  In fact, she is afraid of the cockatiels and parrot.  If
the birds are on my lap or shoulder, the cat won't come near me.
Otherwise, she is a lap cat.  If the birds are on the floor or 
furniture, she won't come near them.  When the birds look at the
cat they hiss at her, so that might be enough to scare the cat
away from them.

However, we live on a farm, and none of the outside farm cats can
be trusted to come inside with the birds.  They have slipped in
on occassion, and they would love to eat the birds!  We are very
careful not to let any of the outside farm cats in for that reason.
They have never had any real training to stay away from birds, or
anything else.

I would never leave our house cat and the birds unattended in a 
room alone though, just because of natural instinct.  Even though
our cat is trained and does leave the birds alone, nature may take
over some day, so I don't take chances.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: "barbara turnbull" <barbara.turnbull@canrem.com>
Subject: parrots right or left
Reply-To: "barbara turnbull" <barbara.turnbull@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: rec
Date: 11 Dec 92 20:32:05 EST

H->     Subject: Parrots right or left

H-> Hi! Parrotmaniacs.
H-> There has been a lot of discussions whether a bird is right- or left
H-> orientated in using it's feet.
H-> So if you like let's make some statistics to see what the main orientation
H-> is.

H-> Send me a note containing what you know about your bird. I'll summarize it
H-> for the list. (There will be no other use of the data).
H-> Please use the scientific names as this is international.

if this is correct name, my psittacus erithacus congo [congo grey]
is mostly left left handed.
H-> I'll start with my own two birds as example.

H-> Species :                       Sex :                Orientation :
H-> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-> 1. Amazona aestiva aestiva     | female      |  mostly right
H-> 2. Psittacus erithacus timneh  | male        |  strictly left
H-> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

H-> Statistics will be published about 10th of Jan. if there is sufficient amount
H-> of data.
H-> I hope, you all are interested about what comes out of this.

H-> Hans-Juergen Pfeffer,
H-> c/o. Universitaetsbibliothek Clausthal : ubhjp@ 139.174.1.3
H-> -----------------------------------eof()--------------------------------------

H-> ---
H->  * PCB/UseNet Gateway from Sparkware #1


H-> HEADER:USENET

H-> Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
H-> Path: dosgate!canrem!uunet.ca!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!wupost!darwin.sura.net!jvnc.net!gmd.de!ira.uka.de!Sirius.dfn.de!solaris.rz.tu-clausthal.de!sun.rz.tu-clausthal.de!ubhjp
H-> From: ubhjp@sun.rz.tu-clausthal.de (H.-J. Pfeffer)
H-> Subject: Parrots right or left
H-> Message-ID: <1992Dec10.142531.12958@solaris.rz.tu-clausthal.de>
H-> Sender: root@solaris.rz.tu-clausthal.de (Operator)
H-> Organization: Techn. Univ. Clausthal
H-> X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
H-> Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 14:25:31 GMT
H-> Lines: 26

 Regards from... Barbara Turnbull (barbara.turnbull@canrem.com)

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From: Olga.Johnson@bird.com (Olga Johnson)
Sender: FredMail@bird.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: LOVEBIRD INFO WANTED.
Date: 12 Dec 92  16:44:00 EST

>If any of you can give me some information on keeping lovebirds (as pets,
>not as breeding stock), I would appreciate it.

I have owned a couple of lovebirds, Ricky, a beautiful green-pied
peachface, and Lucy, a gorgeous lutino peachface lovebird, for about 8
months. These were handfed babies from an excellent breeder.

We handle them daily, but once Lucy got comfortable in her new
surroundings, she got a little nippy when in or around her cage. Ricky
remained the sweet little bird he was as a baby. They are housed in a
fairly large cage with 4-5 different size perches, a swing, and about 8
or 9 toys (4 of which are loops).

On a daily basis they get some Topper's seed, Sqoz, fresh foods
(corn, peas, brocolli) mozarella cheese, boiled popcorn, and birdie
bread. On occasion they get some of the Kaytee Fiesta mix. They get
spray millet once or twice a week.

They prefer baths to being misted, so I give them a dish with clean
water twice a week.(After offering them a bath dish daily, it came down
to their using it only twice a week, so that's why they get it twice a
week now.) Lovebirds are known to drink from water which isn't clean,
but they would never bathe in dirty water.

They are a joy to watch all during the day. They play, argue, eat, fool
around and generally are the clowns of the household. My dogs (lhasa
apsos) are afraid of them, since Lucy chased them out of the room one
day.

They do not scream like my male cockatiel can, and their little chitchat
is not annoying or bothersome to us.

 * SLMR 2.1a * Good words cost no more than bad.
 * Origin: Bird Info Network Gateway 303-423-9775 (1:104/234)
From: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Young macaw behavior
Date: 14 Dec 92 13:17:13 GMT
Reply-To: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

Can anyone tell me exactly what this sort of behavior means?

Bird: Yellow-collar macaw, 4 months old.

Behavior: Constant repetitive pathetic sounding little screetch (sometimes
loud) accompanied by  a reflexive twitching of one or both wings.

This went on for hours in spite of attempts to feed or play with the bird.
He accepted the food, but went right on "crying". 

He didn't want to play, but didn't want to be put down either. Just wanted 
to sit perched on my hand, crying. 

Does anyone know what this was all about? Do baby birds go on "crying jags"?
From: karyn@cheetah.llnl.gov (Karyn Pichnarczyk)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Hartz birds
Date: 11 Dec 92 20:57:35 GMT

Why purchase sick and dying birds from WalMart?  By buying them you
are SAVING WalMart money, for if the bird is going to die, they get
zero money for it, but when you buy it they get whatever you paid for
it.  

If you saw birds being abused at a private home, what would you do?
Probably call the Humane Society, not buy the abused animals from the
owner.  How is a store any different in that sense?




Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron M. Moy)
Subject: RE: Teaching a macaw to talk, lovebirds, & tiel behavior
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 16:52:16 GMT


1) One of the best ways for a bird to learn anything is to expose him/her to 
another, more skilled bird.  If another bird is unavailable, then you can try
the following:  With two people, have one "teach" the other to talk in front
of the bird.  Have the primary owner (or person to whom the bird is bonded) 
say words and phrases, which are then repeated by the second person.  This
helps teach the bird how to learn.  Also, when teaching, be really
enthusiastic, on the verge of insanity.  Birds respond best to the elevated
emotion.

2) Just a note on strange lovebird perching:  My lutino peachface spends about
half the day sitting on top of his mineral block.  I don't think he finds his
perch uncomfortable; he probably just likes the view better.

3) Regarding Michael E's tiel crotch rubbing:
	It is possible that the tiel rubs his crotch against the perch because
	of a mite infestation.  However, I think that it's more likely that
	he's just doing his hormonal duty.  During mating, the male will mount
	the female and wiggle his posterior.  Females displaying mating 
	behavior will crouch down, lean forward, and lift their tail up,

Aaron Moy
ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu			Was that the phone...
"The Baby's Nest" Hand-Fed Birds		or the bird???
Urbana, Illinois		
(217) 328-1838

Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Bunnys and Christmas Trees
Keywords: Bunnys, Pine Needles
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 13:16:34 -0500

In article <cam.724099415@milton> cam@milton.u.washington.edu (Cameron Ritchie) writes:
>Here is a bunny question that I haven't seen asked before.  Is it dangerous
>for bunnys to eat pine needles that have either fallen from a christmas
>tree or are still on the lower branches?  We set up our tree last night
>and, of course, the first thing the two buns do is dash over to check out
>this "intruder".  After much thumping and ear-swiveling, it was decided 
>that the tree was not a threat.  Next, as seems to always be the case, it
>was decided that the tree might be good thing to eat, so they sampled some
>of the needles before we blasted them with the water bottle to get them away.
>
>The house rabbit handbook doesn't list pine trees on the list of dangerous
>house plants, but I wonder if anyone on the net knows anything more about
>it?  Thanks.

Well, Dinkum has been going at ours ever since Thanksgiving evening,
when we got the tree, and the only effect I've seen is a frequent
occurance of "pine breath."  He has lost interest in it quickly, but
he'll take a chaw every now and then.

amy
-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Dislcaimer:I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.
			(This means NOT my employer!!)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Ferret hair loss
From: bproden@ualr.edu
Date: 17 Dec 92 21:50:18 GMT
Organization: University of Arkansas at Little Rock

In article <1992Dec17.024527.13841@beaver.cs.washington.edu>, goan@cs.washington.edu (Terrance Goan) writes:
> My ferret (6 years old) has fairly sparse tail hair.  Over the summer
> it was just about bald, but now its just a little sparse.  My wife
> was going to take it to a vet because she is a worrier, but I was
> hoping that I could find evidence that this is not uncommon. Anyone?
> 
> TJ.
> 
My 2-year-old, Sequoyah, has the same problem, but on his lower half instead
of the tail.  From about the middle of his body back to the base of his tail
he is almost bare.  My wife is supposed to take him in next week to see if
it's anything serious.  I'd also appreciate any info from someone else's
experience.

Brian Roden
--Sequoyah and Bandit -- Ferrets
--Zorrita -- Red fox
--Rudolph -- Hampster
--Ziba, Krystal, Bobbi, Tasha -- Cats
--Mittens, Muffin, Tuffy -- kittens we'll get homes for as soon as their
     skin condition heals
"Just call me Mr. Zookeeper"
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: cep4478@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.E. Piggott )
Subject: Re: ferrets
Originator: cep4478@ultb
Keywords: clucking
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 20:22:25 GMT

In article <BzB3n4.D5x@news.udel.edu> graziano@ravel.udel.edu (Lisa Marie Graziano) writes:

>Hissing is a warning, I think more to say 'leave me alone' than 'I'm going
>to hurt you'.

I thought that the clucking was the neatest thing, but mine never makes that
sound.  When I play with him, he doesn't exactly "hiss" like a cat, but he
huffs and puffs and and makes mini-hisses.  He loves to play-fight.

Does anybody else on the net have a ferret that is "without cluck" ?

Chris (owner of Marconi)
-- 
Christopher E. Piggott, WZ2B                    cep4478@ultb.isc.rit.edu
President                                       wz2b.ampr [44.69.0.1]
Rochester Institute of Technology               wz2b @ WB2PSI.#WNY.NY.USA.NA
Amateur Radio Club K2GXT                        CEP4478@RITVAXA.BITNET
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: megm@sco.COM (Meg McRoberts)
Subject: Re: bunnie is now a HE!
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 07:31:13 GMT


In article <1992Dec19.052954.24441@bradley.bradley.edu> gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu (Stephanie Udry) writes:
[fun stuff deleted about she is a he and all. . .]
==> 
==> has anyone here had any problem feeding bunny acidophilus in water?  he said
==> that buhub would probably not drink the water...but you only put such a little
==> bit in...would it really make a difference in taste? what's your esperience?
==> 
==> sorry if i keep calling him a her...this will take a while to break! :)
==> 

rabbit sex is not so easy to detect  -- our vet is VERY good
with rabbits, and a few months ago she was actually in surgery
before she realized that the patient needed to be spayed, not
neutered, so it happens.

rasta shares a water bowl with the dog, and i dump more water
than they drink, so i never tried putting the acidophillus in
the water.  instead, i sprinkle it on a bit of oatmeal or
escalloped apples, along with the rest of her medications, and
she loves it.  she quite literally wolfs it down, more like the
way a dog eats than what one would expect for a rabbit.  banana
would also work just fine, except that i seem to have the only
rabbit on the face of the earth who doesn't like bananas!

the best choice for this method, BTW, is pureed carrots or
spinach, but guess who doesn't like those either ;-)

meg mcroberts
uunet!sco!megm
From: graziano@ravel.udel.edu (Lisa Marie Graziano)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: ferret sickness
Date: 18 Dec 92 20:33:47 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Delaware


Someone mentioned a common ferret illness, something to do with the
(adrenals)?  I didn't read it in time and somehow now I cant find that
post.  But I think my ferret has those symptons- hair loss on her tail,
getting thin, and swollen vulva.  We tried all sorts of antibiotics
without success, and finally the vet took a culture from her (there was
some pus) and grew the little bugs and found out there was an antibiotic
they weren't immune to.  That seems to have cleared up the infection, but
if _that_ was caused by a tumor, maybe something more should be done.  She
still seems too thin.  Can anyone tell me more about this?  
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: winsauer@rtsg.mot.com (Ronald Winsauer)
Subject: Iguana Questions
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Division
Distribution: rec.pets
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 13:43:41 GMT


Well I just received an Iguana for X-mas from my wife and I was wondering
how many other people out their in net land had Iguanas (or even other
reptiles) as pets?  Do any of you owners have any suggestions/warnings/funny
stories about them?  How do they handle other animals like cats, and
ferrets?  A question to the net in general what is the strangest pet
that you have heard of ( my parents neighbors have a pair of emus)?

Ron Winsauer
Owned by  Liana Winsauer the wife Kamiria, Frigot, Mesu the cats, 
Judy, Akira, Totoro, Neko the ferrets, and the newest member of the
family DOLOOP: the Iguana
From: kenny@stsci.edu
Subject: Re: bunny's new favorite food...
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 21:00:30 GMT

In article <1g6bl6INN38b@overload.lbl.gov>, horsman@geo.lbl.gov (Jennifer Horsman) writes:
> In article <1fu3t4INN49r@agate.berkeley.edu> annie@garnet.berkeley.edu (Anne Jessop) writes:
>>
>>Anyway, what do you all thinK? What other snacks do your bunnies go
>>for(authorized or unauthorized)
> 
   Wheat thins, chocolate, brownies, cookies, hot dogs, hawaiian punch,
any kind of nuts, raisins, cake and frosting, ice cream, grape nuts cereal,
cheerios, grapes, etc...   You name it, they'll scarf it.  Well, almost 
anything.  They wouldn't try spaghetti.  It's pretty funny watching them 
try to bite into a peanut M&M as it rolls across the floor.

Debbie
From: jp@tygra.Michigan.COM (John Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Funny bunnies
Date: 21 Dec 92 00:40:51 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: CAT-TALK Conferencing System

In article <1992Dec20.153808.1@stsci.edu> kenny@stsci.edu writes:
>In article <1992Dec19.225920.759@bmerh85.bnr.ca>, myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui) writes:
>> In article <1992Dec19.173224.1@stsci.edu> kenny@stsci.edu writes:
>>>Are there any other folks out there with bunnies as crazy (or daring) as this
>>>one?
>>>
>>>Debbie (slave to 9 bunnies)
>> 
>> Debbie: I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. I highly recommend you
>> contact the House Rabbit Society, if you aren't a member already, and
>> submit to them a few choice photographs of your hrair of buns doing
>> their evening siflay. I have a few choice pictures of my one single Big
>> Bundle of Bun (15 lbs), but very few of us (with notable exceptions)
>> can approach your nine Buns.          << Hug Them >>
>
>
>Well, I guess I'm a member.  I sent them money last August and have received
>only one House Rabbit Journal so far.  And I do hug them; unfortunately, not 
>all of them appreciate it - I have scars and scratches to prove it.  They
>much prefer I scratch their backs.
>
>Debbie

Well, BunBun will nibble (with teeth - ouch) at my finger, since many
times when I open his cage and reach in, I'm putting in food (his
favorite is alfalfa hay, but he cant have too much of that). Being
a bit ignorant (I really like "dumb" better, Nancy - ignorant sounds
bad), he assumes my finger is a piece of hay and nibbles on it. 
 
Yes - I too sent in $25 to the HRS and got two issues of their news
letter and haven't receive a renewal notice or anything.
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Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: swoodcoc@nyx.cs.du.edu (Steven Markus Woodcock)
Subject: Ferret (well, ermine) X-mas Cards
Organization: The Good Guys, Inc.                                 
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 92 05:44:43 GMT

   Just thought that my fellow ferret fanatics out there might like to know
that my wife and I found some Christmas cards with ferrets on them.  Well,
actually it's an ermine, but close enough for us!  The cards depict a 
winter scene with a dragon and various other forest animals iceskating--
one of the critters watching the whole thing is an ermine.  The title of
the picture is "Down on the Old Mill Pond"; the cards themselves are put
out by Dragon Tales.  We found them at a mostly New Age shop that carries
a large variety of 'small publisher' cards.

   Merry Christmas all!


Steve & Colleen
Proudly Owned by Missy, Newone, Zebulon Pike, Minx, Slinky, and Puck


--
    "...Men will awake presently and be Men again, and colour and laughter and
 splendid living will return to a grey civilization. But that will only come 
 true because a few Men will believe in it, and fight for it, and fight in its
 name against everything that sneers and snarls at that ideal..."
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "karen mcmurray" <karen.mcmurray@canrem.com>
Subject: ferret harness and be
Reply-To: "karen mcmurray" <karen.mcmurray@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: rec
Date: 11 Dec 92 18:41:35 EST


>>distef@carson.u.washington.edu (Sandra Distefano) writes:
> of when secured properly. As for a bell, that always drives Chelsea nuts
> and she rips them off in no time flat. Regular jewelry jump-rings aren't
> strong enough and I can't solder them closed because solder has got all
> that lead in it. :P

When we first put a collar and bell on our Nicki-ferret she would literally
do headstands to try to get it off!  For the first few days, she had real
problems with it -- every time she took a drink from a dish, she'd shake
her head to get rid of the drops on her whiskers, which would ring the
bell, which would make her shake her head, which would...

She got used to it quite quickly, though, and now both our weasels wear
collars and bells.  The collars are the smallest leather kitten collars
we could find (and we still had to cut them down).  They come with a
D-ring for attaching a leash, which is where we attach the bell.  The
bells were in the centre of some plastic-mesh balls (cat toys).  We
attach the bell with a loop of fine, plastic-coated wire, then completely
cover the wire and the top of the bell with hot glue!  This does two things:
     1) mutes the bell slightly, so the ferret doesn't go crazy from
        the jingling (short trip...)
     2) prevents claws from getting caught in the wire loop (we have
        *occasionally* had to help a ferret get a claw extracted from the
        splits in the bell, but there have been no injuries).

The collars are just loose enough to come off in an emergency, say, if the
ferret gets caught on something, but snug enough to stay on *most* of the
time.  We've found lost collars all but once ("Alright Nicki, you've had
your fun.  Where did you hide your collar?").

The bell-and-collar arrangement has several benefits:
     - We can locate the ferrets when they're moving.
     - Guests who aren't used to watching where they step can hear them.
     - When Wasabi escaped from the house and a neighbour found a
       fluffed-up, back-arched, hissing, aggressive little weasel under
       his porch, he *knew* it was someone's frightened pet (and his kids
       had seen us walking them and knew where to find us).

"We have ferrets that jingle, jangle, jingle...".

---
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Byte Craft Limited
Waterloo, Ontario                       'Twas brillig and the slithey toves...
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