Parker Is Perfect…There Must be Something Wrong
March 6, 2010 by Patricia Sund
Yesterday was a chilly, chilly day for south Florida. When I took Mattie out yesterday morning it was probably only about 40 degrees outside. Laughable for those of you in the frigid parts of the world, but nevertheless, this is cold for the “Northernmost Outpost of the Caribbean.” This isn’t exactly Canada you know. (Except when the tourists come. Then it might as well be Montreal.) Believe me, I understand your pain. I lived in Minneapolis for twelve years before going to New York with the Airline. My experience there however, did not exactly measure up to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” It was more like “Northern Exposure” but not nearly as entertaining.
I brought Mattie back upstairs, uncovered the birds, “bombed” them (They all poop on cue.) and fed them breakfast. While they were eating, I tidied up the living room, vacuumed, and spot cleaned the floor before settling down to do some writing.
Normally, Parker finishes his breakfast before Pepper and Nyla and he begins looking around to see what he can get into. He’ll hop on over to Nyla’s house and mess around on the top. Nyla practically has a stroke when he does this. She gets a little upset because she likes her house and I’m sure she’s not the least bit interested in Parker messing around with her stuff and pooping in there. If anyone is going to poop in her house it’s Nyla. While this is going on, Pepper is minding her own business and busily dives into her food like it was her last meal.
This is the way it usually is. However yesterday, Parker was quiet, polite and almost a perfect gentleman. A few whistles. clicks and some “Whoo-ooooo,” now and again, but for the most part the little boisterous guy with a stack of CDs for a mouth was subdued, quiet even. He was a lovely bird when he was growing up; a sweet little guy who adored attention and he was very polite. A real sweetie:
How could you not find this little creature with the skis for feet to be anything but captivating? I’ll admit, baby parrots kind of have that “dinosaur” look going on, but nevertheless, a baby is a baby:
Then, he grew up and went from being a baby to being a bird. Somewhere along the line he became a parrot:
So you can understand how this “I’m a perfect little parrot.” jazz was making me suspicious yesterday. Hmmmm….this is not the little hellion I have grown to love. Could it be the chilly weather? Was he not feeling well? (Sure, he acts like a perfect parrot and it has to be because he’s coming down with something.) I was stumped. Perplexed. Then it hit me:
He’s acting normal again after two months of being in breeding condition. My birds are normally pretty quiet little dudes. They don’t scream, throw hissy fits and act like little brats. Well, most of the time. When it’s “The Season,” all bets are off. But yesterday I simply basked in the knowledge that I have my old Parker back. At least until next season…
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Posted in Memo to Parker and Pepper, Patricia Sund | Tagged Bird Blogs, blogging about parrots, Parrot Blog, Parrot Blogs, Parrot Nation, Patricia Sund, taking care of parrots | 10 Comments
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Patricia Sund
Thank you for letting me know there is light at the end of the hellion tunnel
My three greys and any other bird I have that is of breeding age have been brats with a capital “B” for a couple of months now.
Soon come Mon! It’ll all be better in a little while. Trust me. And you will be so happy, like me, you’ll think there is something wrong. It’s like smashing your head against a wall; it feels so good when it stops!
love it! that is a GREAT pic of you and Parker (hat one)
Thanks Sandy! I always liked that one. I did have a big zit on my face when it was taken, but I “photoshopped” it out. God what a headlight it was!
” poop on cue”…..bet that is a bit of training that has to be introduced quite early ?. Your articles do make me smile , thanks.
Dennis, it wasn’t difficult at all. And two of my birds I adopted at a later age, and they both do it as well as Parker, although Pepper prefers “target practice” on a paper plate.
I, too, have an African grey. Or, I should say, he has me! He just turned 25 weeks and I think I (finally??) got him off the hand feeding formula. But that picture of your baby with the food all over his face sure did bring back a lot of great memories since we brought Scout home. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jenni!
Whew! You had me going for a minute there. At first I thought I read that Scout was 25! And still on hand feeding formula! Then I reread it and you wrote weeks not years.
You are so welcome and the best to you and Scout. Come back and visit again when you have a chance.
Thank you!
Patricia
I have been owned by parrots for over 20 years. I enjoy your Memos to Parker and Pepper, and I have subscribed to Bird Talk for over 21 years. I wanted to share a subject idea for you. I have two greys, Alex and Trooper. Alex is a Timneh and is an import, and Tropper is a rescue. I change their cage daily and also cover the grid with paper to provide an area of play and also to protect the grid itself from debris. Alex has recently in the last months, taken great pleasure in dive bombing me with kami kazi typed flight patterns while I am in the process of wiping down the grid to remove food particles, down feathers, and bird poop that somehow manage to escape the layer of protective newspaper. Alex takes great pleasure in these elaborate flight patterns heard in the glee of the his laughter. He does not realize the importance on my cleaning endeavors or chooses to ignore it. Anyway, you get the idea.
Reality: His cage mate, Trooper, was a rescue from a smoking home, who has missing ceres (open cavity), which was a result of a neglected sinus infection or an injury from an also rescued Blue and Gold Macaw (Pirate) as per my bird vet. I try to keep the aviary room as clean as possible for Trooper, who is doing very well.
Keep up the good work!
Sue of Clearwater, FL
Great idea! I can always use some ideas to incorporate into a column. Thank you and I thank you for your kind words about the column!