That's the top of the door to the bird room, as seen from the inside. Sunday morning I work up to hear some crunching noises... Darwin had just discovered that he can hang on the heating vent and chew on the door frame. He'd only removed a couple of splinters but I knew where this would go if I didn't do something about it soon.


I did do something about, it but not soon enough. The big mistake was going to work on Monday and leaving him in the room with Phoebe in the cage. I should have done the reverse - him in the cage and Phoebe in the room. I knew something was up when I had to PUSH to get the door to open... the splinters were so deep on the carpet that I had to lean on the door to get it open.

Darwin of course seemed quite pleased!

He got to be in the cage on Tuesday, and I covered the vent and door frame with duct tape and cardboard (really elegant...) as a temporary measure while I figure out what I really want to do long-term. I've been thinking of putting a shelf up there anyhow, which would not only prevent him from chewing the frame but would also prevent him from perching where he might get hurt if the door closes... but one way or another I have a new project ahead of me. I left him in the room today and he didn't do any more damage so the hasty coverup will suffice for a while.

Never a dull moment around here. :-)