Linus is a new man! (er, parrot)

When I got Linus back several years ago, he had liver damage, his preen gland was malfunctioning, and he had started plucking. He also was extremely anxious. Since then, he has improved, thanks in no small part to his adopted mother Ava, but he still was a very anxious fellow. Rarely did he look relaxed- if ever I saw a parrot with an anxiety disorder, it was him. After Ava passed away this past Spring, I moved Linus into my bedroom, away from the other parrots. That helped, certainly, since I was with him a fair amount, he was in a very calm environment, but more importantly (as I did spend a lot of time with him in the bird room, too) he was with me when I was relaxing and/or sleeping, and relaxation is catchy. A bit like yawning, I suppose. But still he was extremely jumpy almost all the time.

(Just a note, this picture was not taken when he was upset-

that would not be the time to shove a camera in his face.

It does show how I often found him, though.)

This summer I did another round of herbal treatments for his liver, and this time, instead of just helping his liver, they also almost totally stopped the anxiety. Really,  about a two weeks in I noticed some improvement, and a week later it was very obvious to everyone. His panic attack moments are quite rare now, and he is now showing more of his personality, playing, eating better, and demanding attention! Instead of thrashing around when I put the food dish in (even though he has outside access doors and was in other ways semi-tame) he would just wait for me to finish, and dive in. No more slamming into the bars when the door to the room opened. And plenty of time spent relaxed, with his cheek feathers fluffed out, his crest at "half mast", and singing softly. Or loudly. He does love making noise. Seriously a lot of noise.

Now, when he is afraid of something, or wary, instead of becoming what can only be described as hysterical, he visibly makes a decision to abort, by leaning back, backing away slowly, or as a last resort flying off, or even occasionally stand his ground and hiss.

I am really amazed at his progress, up until now I just wondered if he would ever be relaxed and happy, let alone really tame. I suppose his amygdala (part of the brain that handles stress response) finally decided he was healthy enough to calm down! I have felt rather guilty about him for quite a long time, since he came back in fact; as it would be for any parrot caretaker, it was upsetting for me not to be able to help him more. I could rarely even take him to another room, or even outside in a carrier, something he did very much seem to enjoy, as he loves sitting in the sun. I really had to catch him on a very good day to do much with him. And living with that can be hard, you have to remind yourself often you are not a failure, and just keep trying everyday. While Linus might have seemed like a"difficult" parrot, much too hard for a first time caretaker, in actuality, anxiety aside, he was quite easy to tame and make friends with. That is why I say what you need most when taking on a rehome is patience and some good parrot books to help you through, not necessarily a degree in parrot wrangling. 

He is even brave enough to admit his well-loved 

cage cover is bright pink with monkey faces. 

And after all that, I now have a little buddy- happy, calm, and a (sometimes annoying) attention hog!

If you have questions about behavior problems.....

You might want to ask Lara Joseph! I really love the post she did today helping out a woman that wrote her about her trouble with her young macaw. Anyone that has even glanced at any of my other posts knows that I could go on and on and on and on for ages about behavior and training. I know you just read that sentence and  changed the word "behavior" to "absolutely anything in the world" but that is not true! Besides which, I am talking about behavior now, and will not be going on and on, since I think Lara said it all perfectly. And if you have a parrot, or are thinking about getting a parrot, or have had multiple parrots for many many years, I highly recommend you head over to Lara's blog and read not just today's incredible post, but also the rest of her blog!

And just in case you somehow missed all the links I peppered that short paragraph with, I will give you one more chance to get there- larajoseph.wordpress.com

One-line Problems? So Passe

I am sure everyone has heard about the dreaded hormones with parrots. Most of you will even have researched about the dreaded hormone issue. Many of you have likely personally experienced the dreaded hormone issue. The question is, should any "angry", "antsy", "annoying" or "not-my-sweet-little-cuddle-bunches-darling-prince-sparkles-love-of-my-life" behavior automatically be considered hormones?

Firstly, branding behavior as hormones can be just as much a problem as branding behavior, as, oh say, just a broken parrot. Why? Because once a behavior is branded (i.e, one-lined), it is often considered consciously or not to be solved, when there may actually be both a reason for the behavior and something that can be done about it.- although that will usually involve changing your own behavior, so consider yourself forewarned.

Take this as an example:
Let's say you got an adorable male amazon, perhaps even an adorable double yellow headed male amazon as a baby. You have had him for a of couple years, and little Joe is now becoming a mature parrot, about the age hormones can start to be a problem. One day he bites you, totally out of the blue, and is no longer very cooperative about getting out of his cage. He starts yelling a lot soon after, and tearing around his cage like a madman (or bird) so you know at this point that the problem is hormones, so famously a problem in the "hot three" amazon males, and you will have to give him lots of toys and wait it out, being patient with him, moderating his daylight hours, etc., right?

Well how about another look at this story:
Since you brought Joe home as an adorable little baby, he has let you do anything with him. You never really trained him to step-up, and always just reached in and stuck you hand under his feet whenever you wanted to get him out; you used the same method to move him from any area to another. Joe is a sweet guy, and seems to love doing just about anything. Occasionally he is not quite as willing as other times, but you know he loves being with you as much as you love being with him, so you get him to do whatever you want anyway- like get out of his cage when he is busy playing, because you want to take him in the shower with you.

Everything is going so well, and you so adore little Joe, that as the years go by, you do not notice the subtle signals Joe is giving you that he would rather not be [essentially] forced to mold his schedule to yours, or that he might rather finish playing before coming out, or perhaps is tired of having most or all of his choices made for him- which is something most humans dislike, as well. First he just leans back when you go to pick him up, or grips his perch more, then he tries moving away from your hand, looking away from your hand, trying everything he can to tell you politely that he is not interested, perhaps even "play attacking" your hand. You mean well, that is quite true, and Joe I am sure knows this, but he cannot seem to get through to you that he would like a two-way relationship!

Joe finally reaches the point that he is so irritated with you that he bites your hand as he sees it coming in to get him again. And this time, you respond! You take your hand out, and go away! Yay! Joe is so happy to have a communication method now, and knows that biting will work although nothing else does. So he starts biting to communicate his messages, and you needless to say are not able to get him out of the cage very often. Being in the cage more, however, is no fun, so Joe gets "cage fever" and starts screaming more, and seems so antsy inside his cage, tired of the same little box.


The Point?
This example is made up, but actually fairly common. Yes, it is full of behavior branding, but that is to get the point across- very difficult to tell a story from the parrot's hypothetical point of view without it! Not all parrots will become raging balls of hormones when they mature. But pretty much, they will all change. Joe may or may not become a raging ball of hormones at some point, but in this story, he is not so much hormonal as he is simply an adult trying to state his rights and decide on his place in the world.

From a behavior standpoint, even with what you are sure are hormones (like a female laying eggs and building nests, or a male feeding everything) you need to resist the urge to brand the behavior. Look at the behavior as you would any other, as there are often still things you can do to make life easier and more pleasant for all. Formal training of some kind will always help. It redirects their attention to something else, something rewarding, and allows you to interact with them in a safe way- you can even train parrots that are not safe to let out of the cage. Things like target training, or taking an object and dropping it in a bucket, etc, are all trainable with bars in between you and your parrot.

Most importantly, while every one needs to be aware of how hormones can affect your parrot, and therefore your life, and aware of the fact that all parrots will change in some way as they become an adult, you should not let that knowledge prevent you from finding solutions to the problem currently at hand.

Please and Thank You

With help from Linus

What qualifies as a well-behaved parrot is always going to vary from person to person. And how to achieve whatever your definition of a well-behaved parrot is will also vary widely. I am not going to get in to that fray in this post, after all, I intend this to be a short(ish) one. So instead, I will focus on a simple way to get a little closer to that goal.

And just a note, this post applies only to parrots that in general very much appreciate interacting with humans and will actively seek it out from you or another human. It does not apply to those that have not learned to love human companionship yet, and especially not to those that are distrustful of humans.


Whenever you go to interact in any way with your parrot, stop first and see what they are doing, ie, their behavior. If you want to encourage that behavior, such as playing alone, then go ahead and greet your parrot and continue with whatever you planned to do. More important than ignoring the bad is praising the good. Even for birds that have no glaring issues this is extremely important. How else will they know what you want? Even more than talking and doing tricks, a parrot that plays well on its own, is not overly loud, is friendly, and eats a varied diet is highly desired. So why just praise the talking and tricks? Praise the little stuff, since a parrot that does not wave on cue can still live in harmony with you, but a parrot that does not play? Not so much.

Going further, whenever I can, I will ask for a behavior before giving attention or food. In fact, many of you likely already do this by asking your parrot to step-up. Any time you request a simple behavior which they already can do before giving them what they want, ie attention, is a step in the right direction. Not only does this empower your parrot by allowing them the opportunity to shine (or not, if they choose), but it also gets both you and your parrot in the training mode. If you have a parrot that does not really like new toys, and you get them to beak a toy before picking them up, then the toy soon becomes associated with you and fun. Just as important, the idea that certain behaviors are rewarded is instilled at the same time, so if you choose several little things you can do throughout the day, your parrot will not only learn them, but also be on the lookout for new ones.


And last bit of advice on this subject? If you ask for said behavior (assuming they do indeed know the behavior), like step-up or as per my example beak the toy, and it is not given, you need to walk away. Really. Just walk away. I know you want to play with them, but you will send mixed messages by going ahead with that now. Once a behavior is asked for, if the request is refused, then giving in will weaken that request greatly. If you are consistent, you will very quickly find the only time you are refused is when your parrot genuinely does not want to play. And that means you now have two-way communication. In the words of that infamous ad campaign....... priceless.

Be gentle now, quakers!

My quakers are not always the, erm, nicest, finger-wise, anyway. Frank, for his own personal reasons, is very unpredictable, but Lola is fairly normal, a bit grouchy with her age, and she always was cage territorial, but it should be made clear she is not in the same category as Frank! Either way, the point remains the same- how do you redirect their energy when you need them to do something and they are not in the mood? There are many methods, spoken about in length in books and online, mostly focusing on having certain behaviors so well trained that you can always fall back on them. Stick training, for instance, or a trick, such as a wave, to distract them. And while I do have to go through some of Frank s repertoire of tricks every couple of minutes when I am interacting with him to keep him engaged and in a good mood, I have one specific routine I do whenever I need to get either one in a good mood so I can move on to whatever the necessary task may be.

Both Frank and Lola love giving kisses. I had Frank first, though, so I developed this with him. I gave Frank kisses all the time when we were interacting (ie, during highly positive moments) and this eventually turned into a bit of a trick. I ask him to give me a kiss, and either offer my finger or my forehead (above the hairline- he cannot do much beak damage there) and he leans forward, touches me with his beak, and makes a kissing sound. He often initiates it himself now by asking the question. This became, and still is, above and beyond his very favorite thing in the whole world, loved more than anything else, food, head scritches, singing, clapping, anything. In fact, I now use it as a reward training other tricks! More importantly, though, because this routine is so highly valued by Frank, I can use it to get him out of a depression or break an attack rampage, or get him away from something he should not be chewing on. He really loves it that much! I have now added another version of the kiss game, so when he shakes my finger, I tell him to be a gentleman, and he leans down and gives my finger a kiss while still holding it. Sometimes he gets a bit carried away, though, and becomes positively French (or Italian?) giving me many kisses up and down my finger! Hard to believe he is the same bird that can be so unpredictable and rather dangerous.

Lola, like many parrots, also came knowing a kiss sound. Hers was different from Frank, and she loves getting lots of little whispering kisses in a row, to which she responds by bouncing her head from side to side, looking at you with first one eye and then the other, while imitating you with her own kisses. She still loves this, it is one of our special things to do together. However, through Frank, she learned the kiss game, and now loves it (almost) as much as he does. I can not say whether it would convince her to stop chewing on an electrical cord, since she is so well behaved anyway, but it does get her to stop protecting her cage or Frank so vigorously so I can pick either one up or mess with their cage!

As you can well imagine, the kiss game has huge cuteness factor. I mean, is their anything cuter than a little green fluff ball leaning over and giving you a big kiss? Yes, my friends there is- a little green fluff ball asking his beloved (other) little green fluff ball if she would like a kiss, before leaning over a giving her one. That certainly takes the cake!

If you could no longer keep your parrot, would she become a rescue?

I am a sure all of you have been told, or have told someone, that adopting a bird means assigning yourself a job or frustration, irritation, and perhaps heartache. After all, birds in  need of new homes are *almost* all terribly,  how shall I put this, messed up? Right? Sure, there are a very very few that are not, but for the most part, a bird needing a new home is a bird with lots of baggage. Perhaps they cannot ever be turned around. Just think of what they have been through, living out their life in a home besides your own!

Ok, so maybe that was a bit heavy on sarcasm. What can I say, it is a strong streak in my personality. However, I think you do get the point. If not, here is another way to look at it.

At some point, most of us will have to find a new home for our larger parrots, if not our smaller ones, as well. They can live a very, very long time, and may very well outlive us. This is ignoring any other life circumstances that may force us to consider the unthinkable, as you never know what life will throw at you. However, the point is, if you needed to find one or all of your parrots a new home, would you want the potential new caretakers to consider your birds as rescues that must be full of baggage? Perhaps they prefer a different diet for their parrots, or prefer a different type of toy. Do you think your birds are going to cause a lot of trouble for their new home? Or do you think they will adjust to the new life and new people, and continue on being their sweet (or not so sweet  as the case may be) little selves?

Perhaps you know someone else that has a parrot, or many parrots. If they could no longer keep them, would you consider their parrots to be rescues, full of baggage?

Parrots are very, very resilient animals and that should never be forgotten. It can be discussed innumerable times how cockatoos are so sensitive, and ekkies always pluck, and conures are nippy, and the little guys, budgies, tiels, etc., do not like change (and please do not think I agree with all these stereotypes) but the bottom line is that parrots, all species and sizes, really can have quite a lot thrown at them and still come out on top. A little time and a little understanding, nothing major, goes a long way. Being perfect has nothing to do with it. All parrot caretakers make mistakes and will do something not to be, ehem, behaviorally admired at some point. Just relax, take a deep breath, apologize (I mean that now!) and move on. Start over from the beginning if need be, but just relax. Like people, parrots get it. And they know if you are truly trying to listen and respond accordingly.

Even from the very worst situations, parrots can rebound and amaze you no end. You got a parrot because they are such amazing creatures, so please, don't take that same credit away from those that need a new home. They really are the same as your own.

My camera still isn't letting me have my pictures

And although that piece of news is not really related to anything, it annoys me no end!

So instead of going on for hours about my evil camera (which I could, at this point, believe me!) I thought perhaps I would give some updates.

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Claudia, after laying her third egg, sat on the two she still had for several days, and then rolled one out to the middle of the cage, left the other in the nest, and proceeded to almost (emphasis on that word) totally ignore them. I tried moving the one egg still in the "nest" out a few inches from it, just to see if she would then leave it alone, but no. She rolled it back into the nest, and began sitting on it dutifully. A few days later, she rolled the egg in the middle of the cage back into her nest and began sitting on that one as well! I have candled them all by now, and none are fertile, so I am safe there. I just now have to wait until she is done. Since the last egg was laid on Dec. 29, counting 30 days or so from there would give us all about two more weeks to go. I know Chester can't wait for that day to come!

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The two budgies I am fostering are doing amazing. They both are taming up wonderfully!

Oscar, the yellow one, though he is still easily frightened, and still has a lingering fear of hands, has come to love head scritches and back rubs. Really! He is such a sweet little budgie.

Luna, the blue one, is also doing really well. One night, I accidentally left the cage door improperly latched, so when Luna jumped on it sometime between when I put them to bed and when I fed them, it swung open and presumably flung her into the room. By the next morning, she had crawled out of the room into the hallway, where I found her sitting on the floor. Surprisingly, with a little coaxing, she got up on my covered hand, and stayed on it for a while, before climbing up to my shoulder and snuggling in my hair. Since then, she will happily jump out onto my hand and go riding around the house, either on my arm or shoulder.

I hope to list them soon, to find them a wonderful permanent home. The one thing they are still having trouble with is switching their diet, stubborn little guys. For a week or so, they were actually eating my mash, but then, when I ran out of that mash and mixed up a new one, they refused it. I am not sure what about the new one they greatly dislike, but it is certainly something! The only other things I have had luck with so far are grits (but not the shredded veggies in them) and sprouts. I really like to switch the diet before rehoming them, so that is really all I am waiting for.

More Budgies!

Yes, more fosters. I got these budgies a little over a month ago. They have a sad, but all to typical for budgies, history.

Oscar, the yellow and green pied one, was found in a dumpster. The people decided to take him home for their kids, and so bought a cage, and another budgie, Luna, the pale blue/grey one. After having them a bit, they got tired of them, and gave them to the grandparents. The grandparents thought they were too loud, and so put them in the garage. A neighbor, that had an amazon, saw them in there, and asked if she could take them. As the neighbor did not want them, I was called. I did ask a friend to keep them through quarantine, and after that, I took them.

Oscar had toe nails so long there were curling up on his toes, and constantly getting caught everywhere. Neither one could fly very well, so I clipped their wings as well, for their own safety. I find it easier to teach a bird to fly after they are tame. Oscar also had a open band, (that I am trying to trace) so I removed that to prevent it from getting caught on something.

Luna is not tame at all, as is typical of many petstore budgies. After being chased around, transported all over the country, chased more, and finally sold to be abused, taming them is not easy, but certainly possible with time and patience. Luna does have the most beautiful feathers, though. They just look so soft, and they are such a delicate, shifting, grey-blue.

Oscar, I believe, though, was a very tame, people bonded bird at one time. For one thing, he had a band, so that would imply a smaller breeder. For another, he is very interested in people, though rather afraid of them, and does not like being with Luna. I have not had him around my other birds, so I can not say if it is only Luna, or if he is not overly interested in any other birds. He is quickly coming around, or as quickly as any abused, but once tame parrot, so I have a lot of hope for finding him a great home.

They are both Very loud. Much louder than even chatty Peter, because they never seem to get tired. It is very pretty, though, as long as you do not expect to hear yourself over it! I do worry abut finding a home for them with that, since it is very hard to convince someone that a tiny tiny budgie really can be loud. It all varies on perception, what the person considers to be annoying, and how much it will bother them. I guess I will just cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe a video during evening chorus....

As they were not getting along (Oscar had a very bad scar on his wing, among regular arguments) I decided to separate them shortly after I got them. Oscar was much happier with this, the change in his demeanor was incredible. Luna seems perhaps a little lonely, so I am not sure what I can do about that, other than try to give him any attention he might like, and look for an aviary for him, perhaps.

As well as being loud, they are both very active, joyful, and playful, lots of fun to watch. Oscar just loves exploring everything, chewing and tapping all the different surfaces, textures, and colors. Luna loves hopping around and playing with every one's favorite bead boing, but really, his favorite activity is singing!

I want to find them both a home where they can get everything they need, nice large cages (I feel so sorry for them in the little spare ones I had), plenty of toys, healthy food, and for Luna, other birds, for Oscar, human attention. Who wouldn't want an adorable little budgie?

The two of them together, when they shared a cage.
Sorry the pic is not the best.

Luna, a little worried about the camera.

Oscar, on his "mini tree".

Schroeder, preparing to go home

I have had Schroeder for about 5 months now. When I got him, he had extremely dry skin and feathers, to the point it sounded like someone crushing paper every time he ruffled his feathers. Because of this, he had a slight feather barbering problem on his chest. He also was not tame, with an overgrown beak, and was extremely underweight. He was very afraid of humans, especially hands, and spent most of his time sitting in the back of his cage, never playing with anything.

I do not know much of his history. The owner I got him from had rehomed many birds, taking on more than she could handle. She was therefore rehoming most of them, including Schroeder. I know nothing of his history other than that. I can say, though from his phobia of older, skinny men, and shaky males voices, that obviously someone fitting that description had abused him in the past.

After he adjusted to me, while he was still in quarantine, I started taming him. The first step was getting him to take his favorite treat, almonds, from my hand, coming forward to the front of the cage to get them. Then, I started letting him out of the cage, and giving him almond slivers. After that, I started placing the almond sliver on my (covered with sweatshirt) arm, and having him take them off. I moved the almond farther and farther down my arm, so he had to eventually put one foot, and then both, and then walk down my arm to get to his treat. After he would readily do that, I started moving my arm, very slightly, while he was on it. Once that was no biggy for him, I tried moving it more and more, until I could get him on my arm, and pull my arm away and then put him back in his cage (where there was another treat, besides the one he already had gotten, waiting in his dish). After that, I started taking him from his cage to playgyms around the house, and later just taking him around with me.

He has gotten pretty tame doing this, and absolutely loves attention. He just can't get enough. If you are slow enough, and can get your hand up to his head, he also loves head scritches, and will relax so far he falls over (and then wakes up quite upset!) He is also getting used to riding around the house on my arm or shoulder. I am now trying to get him stick trained, as well, using the same technique.

I tried various different toys to get him to play, all different kinds and sizes. The one that finally broke the ice was very simple, as they usually are, just an old fashioned clothespin, the kind with no spring. He loves those, and after he got used to playing with that, he started playing hard with bells, plastic chain, other wood, his planet pleasure toys (a huge favorite) and of course other foot toys. Between all the chewing he now does, and his almond shells, his beak is now a much better length!

To help his dry skin and barbering, I made sure he got some seed and grains every day, for the essential fatty acids, as well as baths. Fortunately, he loves being sprayed with a fine mist.

About 2 months ago, I listed him on Petfinder. After a month, I heard from Schroeder's soon to be new Mommy. I have been talking to her since then. As she is up near D.C., I suggested Phoenix Landing, since that would make it easier for her. Although she was very happy to see them, and immediately filled out a volunteer application, she had always wanted a Pionus, and really wanted to adopt Schroeder. She was very excited about the seminars, though, (who wouldn't be? They are so well done, very informative, and tons of fun) and has gone to two so far. She had her home visit this weekend, so after she gets everything all set up for him there, Schroeder will be going home! I will really miss him, he is such a special bird, but I know he will be very happy in his new home, getting spoiled.

Who doesn't love that look?

Ok, where is the almond??

Schroeder, waiting for me to finish snapping shots and play with him.

Chester, Solomn Island Eclectus

When I got Chester, I really thought he would never be a very "tame" bird, and would certainly never want human attention. He hated other birds, with a great passion, and was terrified of people, and spent all of his time sitting listlessly in his cage. He did not like being looked at, or having anyone near him. When you were in the room with him, he would not do anything. He of course would never take treats. His feathers, the ones he had not plucked, were very dark and greasy, and very unhealthy looking. When I later saw him open his wing, it was pitiful to see the bones under his bare skin, with the occasional fatty deposit. His joints were all huge and swollen, and rather yellow. He had a great deal of trouble balancing, and slept with his head tipped forward, resting on the cage bars. He also had a nervous, and constant, habit of flipping his head upside down, repeatedly, over and over. I suppose this is how he dealt with living in that little cage for so many years.

I do not know a great deal of his history, perhaps a bit more than I know with some rescues, but I have been able to read between the lines by observing his behavior. For instance, he was never quiet at night. I had him in a almost totally dark room, that was very quiet, and yet he always came alive at night. It would wake me up, and I would come stand outside the door, listening to him move around, yelling, chattering, playing with the two new toys I had managed to introduce to him. I have heard of other birds that are known to have been kept in basement or closets for long periods of time, and they also did not seem to care about darkness, or know the difference between day and night. I assume at sometime he was kept in a dark area for a while, likely a closet, as he has shown a great fear of closets.

Chester was caught loose when he flew into a lady's yard in Pennsylvania. As that lady did not want him, she gave him to her neighbors. I am not sure whether they already had a bird at that time or whether Chester was their first. They kept him for 7 years before moving down to Va. They had several excuses for wanting to get rid of him, but I believe the most accurate was that he was loud, and hated the wife.

When I got him, he was in a little 18" by 18" cage, with one very dirty concrete perch and one old wooden toy. He had been fed only sunflower seeds and some chopped "dried fruit bird treats" (the fruit part is still up for consideration.) According to the couple, they were a "bird haven" and had rescued Chester and their two other birds (that they kept) from some other horrible life. It is funny how perceptions differ.

Anyway, Chester was, as I said before, not tame at all. He was totally cage bound, as well. For the first week, I simply spent hours sitting in the room, far away from him, on the floor with my back to him. The second week, after a major break through when he actually ate his breakfast with me in the room, I started leaving the cage door open. It took another week before he considered coming out of the cage. Once he came out on top, and really seemed more comfortable having me in the room, I started slowly sitting closer and closer to the cage. The third break through was when he started taking treats off my shoulder, which was followed in a couple of days with his starting occasionally to accept treats from my hand. He soon started calling for me, as well, and would run out of his cage whenever I came into the room. He still never left his cage, always keeping at least one foot holding onto some part of it. He would try to get as close as possible to my head and face, as that was the only part of me he did not seem overly afraid of.

This continued until the end of quarantine, when I moved him into my bedroom right next to my bed. Then I started to get real progress. He slowly overcame his fear of me and of leaving his cage, and would venture onto the bed as I was lying there. The first time he ventured onto my chest was really remarkable, and from there the progress was amazing. After having him sit on me, I tried sitting up with him on my shoulder and putting him immediately on his cage and giving him treats and praise, and then I stayed sitting a little longer before putting him back on his cage. Then I tried standing before going to the cage, then walking away from the cage and then back, etc., until I could go out of the room and take him to other places in the house. This took a very long time, but it was really worth it. Sometime during all this, he learned to say my name, Meg, and would call it over and over after I left him.

Despite all the breakthroughs, he still had a total hatred of all other birds. Claudia, as she had been around other birds her whole life, was actually very excited hearing another ekkie in the house. I tried slowly giving Chester glimpses of her, and then longer and longer ones, and then finally bringing her into the room with him when he was downstairs. She was very good throughout all of this, and seemed to care less that he was screaming at her and doing his very best imitation of an angry gorilla. She continued to go about whatever else she wanted to do with no concern of him. I hated to put them both, well all three of us, through that, but I knew I could not find a home for him with someone that had enough experience to handle him, unless he learned to at least tolerate other birds. He was, at this point, extremely protective of me, and would even go after another person if I seemed at all upset.

I finally decided to just try a risk, and brought Claudia into my bedroom and put her on a chair next to the bed. She was very interested in him, as usual, and began pinning and ruffling her feathers. He also began his usual yelling and territorial pacing. After several day of this, in longer and longer intervals with lots of calming spray the whole time, Claudia flew onto the bed. I was right there, and immediately threw a pillow in between them and picked her up. Chester seemed stunned to think she would go onto his bed. After she flew onto the bed twice more, he calmed down and I could see he was really pretty afraid of her. After she started doing a nesting dance, and doing her best to get his attention, he began to look interested. He would run over to me, look at her, and walk closer and closer to her, before running back to me. She tried several times to get him to feed her, but when she finally got him to accept some food from her, that was it. From then on, he was in love, as was she.

They now have a great time together all day, feeding, preening, foraging, playing together. They both demand plenty of time with me, though, so I consider it the best of both worlds. Chester still has very distinct ideas about putting an end to all the other birds in the room. Fortunately, though I have watched them all closely for any sign that they are stressed with this fact, they seem to care less about him. In fact, I could swear they mock him. I am careful not to let them out together, needless to say.

Chester has progressed even more, and now loves to get on my shoulder/chest, right under my neck, and lie down, with his wings stretched out, and the back of his head rubbing back and forth on my neck. He is even learning to step-up, not only on my shoulder from anywhere, which he already learned, but onto my arm, after watching Claudia do it so many times. Really, he is an incredibly sweet bird, even with all his funny quirks. His plucking is getting better, in fact, is almost gone. I am hoping with the good diet I have finally gotten him on he will soon grow in many new feathers, as he has already gotten a few new ones.

Chester, on his concrete perch (cleaned as well as I could)
he is so attached to it still, I had to put it in his new cage,
at least for a little while.

Chester enjoying the view out the window.

Chester having some relax time with me.

He has never quite lost his repetitive habit of flipping

his head, but it is much better.

Miss Peppermint Patty

Miss Peppermint Patty, also known simply as Miss Patty, came to me as a foster bird in a group of three cockatiels. Being a fan of Peanuts, I decided to name them all for characters in that cartoon. Woodstock was all yellow (not sure whether he was a true lutino or not) except for his orange cheek patches. He was very bumbly, partially due to his very sweet personality, and partially due to his poor feet, that bent and twisted in funny ways, almost as if he could not fully control them. Linus was an almost normal grey, save for a patch of pale yellow on his nape, that was shaped, oddly enough, like a teddy bear. He was very shy, and always trying to be brave, so we named him Linus, hoping that if he found a "blanket", he would be happier, too. Peppermint Patty was a cinnamon Pearl, who also had, and still has, very poor feet, similar to Woodstock's. They also had been in with a lovebird, that was separated from them before I got them, as she was attacking them.

They had been owned by a vet tech, before she left them at that vet's office to get rid of them. She said she had received them all separately from different people, and caged them together in one cage. She left them at the vet's office in a cat carrier, so I do not know what that cage was like. They were wary of people, though Linus was the worst, with his terrible fear of people and hands.

Woodstock was the tamest, and really seemed to love human company. However, he was also the sickest. One week after I got him, despite the best efforts to get good food in him, supplements, and anything that might help, he died of malnutrition. Poor little guy, he was so sweet. I don't know what he had been through in previous homes, but by his condition, I don't think it was very good. Sometimes, working with rescues can be very hard.

After Woodstock died, I continued taming Linus and Miss Patty in the same manner I had tamed the budgies, save for the fact I had to cover my hand with a sock, so Linus would not be as afraid of it. I noticed that Linus and Miss Patty were not really thrilled with each other's company, and were happier when apart. I decided that after quarantine, I would separate them.

When quarantine was over, I allowed Yo-yo to finally meet them. He had been listening to their calls for so long from upstairs, he was really getting desperate. As soon as he was through the doorway, he flew over to their cage, where they were sitting on top, and began whistling and talking to them. First a few chords of Yankee Doodle, then "Whatcha doing", then a few chords of the 1812 Overture, then "Peek-a-boo", and so on. He was soo excited! Linus immediately flew to the top of the curtain rod, and refused to come down, looking nervously at Yo-yo. Miss Patty played coy for a few minutes, but soon let Yo-yo preen her.

As Linus was now away from Miss Patty, I took him into the bird room and put him in his own cage. He soon came out of his shell, and became a very lovable little tiel. He was extremely vocal, and could imitate anything, words, other birds, and sounds, and did so all day long. He also came to love playing. After I had had him a few months, and he was getting pretty tame, even calling for me when I was out of the room, I found him a wonderful new home where he could get all the attention he wanted.

As Miss Patty and Yo-yo had become inseparable, I obviously had to keep her, not that I minded. She is such a sweet girl, and quickly became close friends with Ava. Yo-yo went through a period of not being very tame, and very protective of his new girlfriend, but he soon got over that, and was back to his usual sweet self. Miss Patty, despite my efforts to make friends, does not want to have too much to do with people. She loves spray baths and showers, and will happily eat treats out of your hand and talk to you, but that is about all she is interested in. I am fine with that, as long as they are all happy.

Poor little Woodstock, rest in peace

The three of them together, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, and Linus.

Peppermint Patty, enjoying the window view.

Yo-yo preening Miss Patty

Yo-yo and Miss Patty in the morning.
Yo-yo is actually eyeing the food dish I have

And a cute pic of synchronized preening.

The Socialites - Peter and Ava

After researching and deciding I really would like to rehome a bird, I started checking Petfinder regularly. Peter, a blue budgie, came up in an animal shelter near my doctor, so of course I went to see him. According to the lady at the shelter, he had been caught loose on the seventh floor dorm of a local university. As he was caught loose, they could not adopt him out for another 8 days, so I went home and returned the next week. The night before I returned, someone left a yellow budgie in the night deposit box. (I know, how could you do that?) As Peter (the blue budgie) and Ava (what I named the yellow budgie) were already calling to each other, I took them both.

First we all had several days of adjustment. Mostly them adjusting, I was constantly being awed by everything they did. I sat with them, read to them, watched tv with them, waiting until they seemed pretty comfortable with me. Then I put my hand on the outside of the cage next to their food dish, after feeding them, and stayed very still. They soon became comfortable enough with this to not even hesitate jumping to eat. I then began putting my hand in the cage, with food in my palm, and leaving it in there, just inside the door, for around 15 minutes at a time. After a while, they began to come closer, and then get on my hand to eat. After they would readily jump on my hand for the food, I would try moving it, slowly and gently, back and forth in the cage. Once they would stay on it for that, I began trying to pull my hand out of the cage with them on it. That took longer.

After about a month, Ava was getting pretty tame, so I decided to get them a big cage together. Once they were in a larger cage together, I let them out to play on their playgym, and they could have each other's company when I wasn't there. Plus, since Ava was tame, it became easier to tame Peter. It still took another three months, but on Christmas day, he got on my hand, voluntarily and without prompting or food. What a great present!

Edited to add: After Peter and Ava had a violent, if drawn out, split, they became increasingly unhappy even being in the same house and hearing each other's calls. Peter would get territorial, Ava depressed. I finally decided it was only fair to both of them that I separate them completely, and my parents happily agreed to keep Peter.

The beautiful blue Peter


Gorgeous Ava. She is named for Ava Gardner, and with
those long eye-lash looking feathers, can't you see why?

Peter, enjoying the winter weather outside the window.
He always looks great in black and white.

Ava, having a bath.

And the two of them together.