Peanut is not doing well. After years of being his Food Bearer, his Plate, his Perch, Play Gym, Landing Pad, Climbing Tree, Potty Hand, and countless other things, I have now become Peanut's Hospital Cage.

The Daytime Warm Toasties and Bird Ruffles gradually grew into nearly constant attention on Thursday. Now that Bruce is home, we're taking turns being the Hospital Cage.

Peanut is on antibiotics (just in case), a kidney medication, and an anti-inflammatory (also for the kidneys). We decided against taking another blood sample since the first one was so hard on him, he's in worse shape than before, and the medicine won't hurt him. If it helps, we should know in a couple more days.

Giving him the medication hasn't been too hard. Luckily, he likes to take drinks from new containers, and the meds are in liquid form. I've mixed them with a few drops of water in a spoon, and offered it to the bird. He doesn't love it, the taste must be off, but I withhold water for an hour or so beforehand, and am very persistent, and patient, so it's worked pretty well. About as well as with the Finsters, when I catch them up and put a drop of medicine on or near their beaks. After Peanut has drunk his medicine water, I give him "real" water, to be sure he isn't getting dehydrated.

We have moments of fear, like this morning, when it took an hour before he woke up enough to drink anything, much less his medicine. But then we have happier moments, like this one:

He actually got up and yelled at Bruce to pick sunflower seeds out of the toast.

But after that little adventure, he went right back in my hand for more Warm Toasties. Soon he'll probably turn his right cheek up to ask for Bird Ruffles. Because apparently, when you're sick, your right cheek just can't get enough love.