Life without birds...

[Diane]

3.5 cats

3.5 cats? Which half do you have, the feeding end or the cleaning up end?

Not long now Greg.

[finchbreeder]

I thought 3.5 cats was probably indicating 1 was pregnant. But in that case it should be 3.5555....
Enjoy Christmas/New Year in Sydney then Greg.
LML

[Diane]

I thought 3.5 cats was probably indicating 1 was pregnant.

Light bulb moment


If I didn't have birds I probably wouldn't spend as much time on the laptop, I would spend more time cleaning , the garden would be manicured to within an inch of its life...trouble is I would be bored out of my mind, and miserable!

[venetta]

Nah, the half is a now about 6 week old kitten. been with us for the last 4 weeks ;)

She'll be a full cat soon enough! Hahaha

[GregH]

Well a life without birds is starting to be less than a theoretical concept than a reality for me. I packed up most of my finches, aside from ones that I'm holding for people, and took them to the pet market district in Manila yesterday. When they know you're going and can't wait you don't get the best prices. Could't get more than PhP1600/pr for cut-throats but my presold ones I'm getting P2500 but they retail for PhP4000 (AUD$95). Diamond Sparrows are as scarce as hen's teeth here and sell for PhP10000/pr (AUD$235) but my lone cock (15 month old) only went for only PhP2000. Still I'm not soo upset as what awaits me in Brisbane is a lot better - please don't tell me that it's not paradise there until you've live here!

[vettepilot_6]

That sucks you cant bring them in like other people do for dogs and cats as pets.....our government has a lot to answer for

[GregH]

Well the dog could have come but the price and organisation is off-putting. Because there is rabies in the Philippines and not in Australia (although we have our very own leadly Australian Bat Lyssa Virus) the dog has to come via a rabies free country and demonstrate that the disease hasn't laid dormant for 6 months. So the closest rabies-free country is Singapore (very odd that it doesn't get bats or rodents carn't cross from Mayaysia). To get there it must be immunised 6 months before export and have rabies antibody titre done just before and 1 month after immunisation. Unfortuately our dogs veinous flow is pretty sluggish and the 3 serum samples recovered we got in May were haemolysed (bloody) and proved not to be suitable. The vets here thought it might be OK and got us to take the samples to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine near Manila but there we were told that they couldn't use the sample and later we found out that the RITM has national accreditation but it's animal results aren't recognised by either Singapore or Australia. So we missed the boat and the dog is going to the kid's school secretary. That alone will save us about $4000 in quarantine and kennel fees! So at given these sort of prices I'd be thinking twice or even a hundred times about bringing birds in - even if I could. My colasissi and guaiabero parrots or the elusive red-eared parrotfinch (which I've never seen) will have to stay here in the Philippines. Pity the red-ears didn't ever make it to Australia; they're supposed to be no harder to breed than the closely related blue-faced parrot-finch. They are a good candidate species if they ever ease quarantine restrictions and there are good numbers available in Europe.

[GregH]

Well I didn't get rid og the last of the Java Sparrows until the day I left (Dec 22) soI've now been without finches for 10 days. I haven't felt spiders crawling beneath my skin yet or been overwhealmed by anxiety attacks but it still SUXS! I can't wait for things to come together in Brisbane and the aviaries to start proliferaing. No one in the Philippines has written to tell me of any disasters so I assume they are all doing well without me.

[finchbreeder]

So you will soon be busy making carry cages and hospital cages to ward off the withdrawl symptoms.
LML

[GregH]

Well here I am in Brisbane at last and geez this modem in the Apartments is slow. I'm suffering withdrawals now. I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and then there is the old Chinese proverb "be careful of what you wish for - you might get it". Once we have a house thinks will look up.