~~The Unvailing of Miss Ruby Jewel~~

[Turquoise]

A few of you here know that I have been waiting for my Green Wing girl Ruby Jewel to finish weaning & come home. She will be 8 months old on 05-15-13. Well, we went to the DFW Airport this past Monday to pick her up. She flew in from Washington state, my first time waiting for a parrot to come in on a plane. We had a little trouble finding the building to pick her up at due to the airport not having signs indicating what some of their roads' names are, it being located on one said road. It only took us 1 1/2 hrs, 2 phone calls to the 800# for directions, getting a map of the airport from a post office located there & finally driving up to the Delta employee's gate shack and asking the guard where we needed to be [in that order] to find the United Cargo bldg! The guard told us we were one road shy of our destination.

Ruby Jewel was waiting for us at the counter & amazingly very calm & content looking in her carrier. I on the other hand was so relieved to see she made the flight in great shape& finally getting to meet her after waiting 4 months, that I had tears running down my cheeks. It was just an emotional time for me, not to mention I hate the Dallas/Ft Worth traffic & always get stressed out when I have to go out that way. We get her in the car & head for home, which is a 3 hr. drive north west of there & finally get home a little before midnight. She takes it all in stride and is no problem during the ride. Once home I set her carrier on the table & try to coax her out of the carrier with a peanut [her breeder gave her peanuts, not my choice of treats] to no avail.

I decided to take her carrier & set it on a limb in her cage & let her come out on her own. I needed to wrap it all up & take a nap before it was time for the rest of the feathered kids to wake up, it was 1:30 am by now. When I set the carrier in the aviary & she saw that she was in a strange cage she came out in a flash up my arm & on my shoulder! Not because she suddenly liked me, but because she decided I wasn't as scary. She did settle in & go to sleep & so did I. And here are a few photos of her first night, first day out on a play perch & last night at her first meal with us.

Ruby Jewel's official name is: Turquoise Ruby Jewel PeriPhireSquite. Her breeder named her Jewel, I added the Turquoise (my favorite color) & Ruby and my good friend Mar added the PeriPhireSquite because my birthstone is a peridot, hers is a sapphire & Squite because we always end our emails to each other with meeting up at a large Mesquite tree in my yard. She actually lives in New York, and I call her a misplaced ~~Southern Belle~~

~Ruby jewel's aviary (5'X5'X6') before she came home. Didn't have the toys & bowls in yet~
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~Her large play perch we made for her~
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~In her carrier eating a peanut when I tried coaxing her out~
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~On my hand after i put her carrier in the aviary~
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~Ruby Jewel's first day out a couple of days after coming home~
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~Here she is reaching for a tidbit last night at suppertime~
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~Ruby Jewel on her play perch enjoying her tidbit~
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[keepsmiling]

Well congrats! She is gorgeous!!:th_heart: I can relate to being stressed out trying to find where to go at the airport. It isn't any better here, especially since they don't have a sign up and they moved the delta cargo. And no one knows!
So is Ruby a baby, how old? Where is her aviary located? Is that actually a dog kennel?

[Turquoise]

Yep, it is a professional stainless steel powder coated dog kennel. I have my two Catalina boys in one too. Their's is the full 5'X10' divided for each one. They make excellent aviaries & I love being able to walk into them. Ruby Jewel will be 8 months old on the 15th of this month. I have been waiting 4 months for her to finish weaning. Her aviary is located in my living room in the spot a storage closet was.

[keepsmiling]

Oh I see now that she is your first female mac, with two boys in the house. You are a brave mom.:th_wink: I wish you the best.:th_hug8:
Where do these aviaries come from?

[Turquoise]

I bought them locally at my Lowe's store. Since they are dog kennels & not true custom aviaries, most any store that carries kennels will have them. The custom aviaries were way out of my price range like 2 to 4 thousand, so I am ever the thinker & am always coming up with ideas to use something unique for my projects. We build most of our perches & other items pertaining to the birds ourselves. The boys will be on the opposite side of the room from her when we finish my bedroom & I can open up the wall to my old bedroom to expand their cage & play areas. I have no intention of allowing them to ever become a bonded pair or breed. They will always stay on separate play perches & in separate enclosures from each other.

[CrazyBirdLady]

Ruby Jewel is an absolute beauty! Congrats!

[keepsmiling]

It's nice to see that you give your birds more room than most, and already have a stand made for her. Good job!:encouragement:

[keepsmiling]

I would love to know more about the aviary. I am looking at them at Lowe's site. Most do not seem to have a top, is that an extra panel? I do not see one with your exact dimensions yet. I do see some say galvanized-yes, and some say galvanized-no, the one that says no says powder coated steel, but you think they are actually stainless?

[Honesty]

:th_wow:De'Andrea, she is beautiful:)

You have a lovely set up for her.

[roxynoodle]

Congrats, she is beautiful!

I'm also curious about the kennels you chose. If they are truly SS and a reasonable price that is something I might want as well.

[plax]

Wonderful Photos, De'Andrea! I'm so happy to know that Ruby Jewel is finally home and to see her in her new environment :). You have quite the impressive family :D. So now it's time for the bonding phase!

[Pinkbirdy]

Shes great De Andrea !!! :) Im so glad shes home,what a wait and experience :) . Im so impressed with the stand you made her. Hows she doing ?,what does she think of the boys and you ? Keep the pictures coming :)

[aliray]

Wow beautiful bird and I love the cage set up. Fantastic idea. She is going to be one happy bird

[Turquoise]

I would love to know more about the aviary. I am looking at them at Lowe's site. Most do not seem to have a top, is that an extra panel? I do not see one with your exact dimensions yet. I do see some say galvanized-yes, and some say galvanized-no, the one that says no says powder coated steel, but you think they are actually stainless?

The one I have is the AKC 5'X10'X6' one Lowes has on its site. I am only using half of it which makes it a 5'X5' which is why you don't find my exact sizing sold there. And yes, that is one of the extra panels I am using for the top since I don't need the full length. I don't have the space for the full length at the moment where I have it set up.

Now as far as if it is stainless steel, I assumed it was since it said it was steel construction & no galvanizing. The one I have for my Catalina boys which is the bare metal silver color, meaning no powder coat or any other coating on it is stainless steel. I have had it for a little over 1 1/2 yrs now & I don't see it listed anymore, not sure why. Maybe the powder coated is not SS, but either way it is working out fine & I will see if it stands up as well as my boy's enclosure has.

Thanks everyone. I believe in giving all my feathered kids as much space as I can fit into my home & can afford. My work schedule doesn't allow me to let them out for long on work nights which is a 4 on & 4 off. They get out in the morning when I get home a little after 7:00 am for up to 1 1/2 hrs. while I feed everyone & again at 2:00 pm for 1 1/2 hrs. while I get ready for work. So, for those 4 days I feel the large cage is a must to keep them from feeling cage bound. I also love being able to walk into their cages, rather than just be able to reach in. So far neither Roscoe or Angel are cage aggressive I feel due to my comings & goings in their cages as long as I'm not fiddling with their toys, that is!

[keepsmiling]

Awesome, thank you!

[Blancaej]

Congratulations!! She is beautiful. Love your handmade play tree. We may try making one of those. Great job!

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