Greet our new featherbaby

[chrono]

You have a whole house full of cuties; 2 dogs, a baby parrot and your SO!

 

[kenny]

kisses to your new baby from Puff, who was found on someone's roof, given to me & now flies through the house screaming "charmingly" when he is not stealing diamonds.

OMG how cute!

You, Me, and Puff need to visit NYC diamond district and get to work.

 

[kenny]

Congrats on your new baby, Kenny! I used to have one, named Jasper. He loved to fly over to me whenever he saw me consuming any liquid from a cup, and he would drink out of my cup. His favorite was coca cola. He would fly over to me whenever the water in the sink was on, because he wanted to "grab" the stream of water. Over. and over. Unfortunately, he was eaten by some stray cat that followed my cat in from his secret window into the house.

I miss him. Seeing yours brings me fond memories.

How horrible we've both lost birds to cats.
Nothing against cats; they're just following ancient instinct.
But watching Puppy's life evaporate right in front of me ... I'll never get over that.
Then there's the guilt/shame of not doing a better job of protecting the bird.

How cute it is when birdie sees something we're doing and gets involved.
To me that's a big reason I'm happy to go through all the learning, hassle and cleaning to have a parrot.
Dogs are certainly intelligent and I love them too, but parrots have certain endearing human qualities that (if everything goes right) can make them great buddys/companions.
It saddens me that this success is enjoyed by very few birds and bird owners ... as evidenced by so many parrots ending up in rescue organizations.

My last bird went BANANAS when I sharpened my kitchen knife on our ceramic rod.
He'd rush over, jump up and down, flap his wings and scream his little green head off.
It's not like he was ever harassed with the rod.
Totally irrational, but hilarious.

I've heard of parrots developing irrational hostility towards inanimate objects, like a shiny toaster.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Kenny, I'm loving the stories and the education we're getting regarding these lovely little feather babies. I had no idea birds made such wonderful pets until I had a co-worker with a budgie. Even then I didn't realize till much later how social they are. I hope you continue to update this thread as your little one grows and learns. There is much more to owning a bird than many of us realized. And it takes a special person to keep one as a pet.

 

[kenny]

I love Bibi! I'm a bird lover too. I can't have any because my husband is quite allergic to them. We had cockatiels decades ago and they were both very obsessed with me. I also had a budgie when I was a child, and a canary too I just remembered. The cockatiels would both bite my husband brutally if he came near me. We didn't have them both at the same time. Maybe one day I can have another small bird, when I can no longer have or look after dogs. I hate to see parrots in pet stores. Mostly I see ones that are being fostered and are up for rescue. They have an adoption process, so not just anyone can buy the bird. I love to talk to them and pet them if allowed. They always come to me, I don't know why.

You are such a good bird and dog parent. Your pets are so lucky.

The birds come to you because they can tell you are a bird person.
We have a magic aura.

I also had a cockatiel, Beaker.
He was a boy for around 10 years, that is till we found an egg in his, I mean her, cage.
Cockatiel is a species with (usually) very different plumage for the genders, so the egg was an embarrassing surprise.

I hope you're able to get another bird some day.
I honestly think birds in good homes with well-informed bird people who meet all a parrot's needs have better lives than those in the wild ... well, minus becoming a parent.

 

[kenny]

Kenny, I'm loving the stories and the education we're getting regarding these lovely little feather babies. I had no idea birds made such wonderful pets until I had a co-worker with a budgie. Even then I didn't realize till much later how social they are. I hope you continue to update this thread as your little one grows and learns. There is much more to owning a bird than many of us realized. And it takes a special person to keep one as a pet.

Thank you.
Sometimes I worry that I'm too 'teachie'.

Actually I think many more people would become those 'special' people if they experience a taste of how good a parrot-friendship can be.
I think I'm a bit of a missionary for birddom.

That's one thing Puppy and I did.
Since he went almost everywhere with me there was literally hundreds of times people would hold a bird for the first time, and got to scratch a bird's bowed head, with the feathers fluffed up inviting a good scritch, for the first time.
It's charming, especially for kids (of course only with the parent present and approving).
It makes sense why birds are 99.9% fear, (they're delicious to many critters) so to encounter a trusting one is endearing.

Last night Bibi got 'his' first student.
(I flipped a coin, and we'll call Bibi a male ... till I get an egg.)
With Bibi on my shoulder I picked up takeout at a hole in the wall restaurant.
A patron at a table commented on the bird and seemed interested.

I walked over and chatted.
He showed even more interest so I sat down with him.
I asked if he'd like to hold the bird.
Yes.
It went great.
Bibi was the perfect gentleman.
Besides answering a zillion questions and clearing up misconceptions he got to hold a parrot and scratch its head.
This may seem trivial, but to many people the surprise experience with an undamaged companion parrot is magical.
He asked what it cost.
$225 for this hand-fed baby directly from the breeder.
He was surprised, and thought all parrots were in the thousands.

People often say, you have a very special bird or I'm a very special person.
I correct them ... I believe every parrot and every person can have this ... if all the humans in contact with the bird get trained and ensure that everything goes just right.

 

[december-fire]

Kenny and Madelise,

I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Puppy and Jasper.

 

[december-fire]

Kenny,

BiBi is such a cutie!

He's lucky to be part of your family. You're such an informed, responsible and caring pet owner. If only other pet owners took their responsibility so seriously.

Thank you for sharing with us the happy news of Bibi's arrival!

Like others, I look forward to updates about BiBi!

I'm sure he'll bring you lots of joy and amusement.

 

[december-fire]

Dancing Fire,

Your amazon parrot is beautiful!

 

[december-fire]

Jimmianne,

Puff is a sweetie!

Its wonderful of you to provide Puff with a loving home.

And diamonds!

Wow, better not tell the other parrots that Puff gets diamonds while they settle for wood, cardboard and bells.

 

[packrat]

Ohhh I would've loved to hold Bibi! I always figured a bird would peck at me. I don't think it's teachy-I like to hear about things I don't know about.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Oh Kenny, you're definitely not too teachie. I think this thread has been an eye opener and utter joy for many of us. You'll have start a thread or a blog called "The Adventures of Bibi".

Kenny and Madelise - how absolutely awful for the both of you to experience such a devastating loss. I can't even let my brain go there. The closest I've come is seeing my little poodle in the mouth of a standard poodle. She was fine thanks to the quick actions of my husband.

 

[maccers]

I love your family! Please post more pictures when you have time.

I knew very little about parrots until this thread. Obviously, this thread just scratches the surface but it's very interesting. I find the idea of bird ownership intimidating. My impression is they require much more care and expertise compared to dog ownership. Could be bc I had dogs and cats growing up but no birds.

 

[kenny]

I knew very little about parrots until this thread.
Obviously, this thread just scratches the surface but it's very interesting.

I find the idea of bird ownership intimidating.
My impression is they require much more care and expertise compared to dog ownership.

Many people keep birds in a cage to look at.
The bird gets seed and water.
That's it.
Zero relationship.

I'm spreading the word about a bird experience that is the ACA, CBI, HOF, Eightstar, AVC and Octavia of bird experiences.

Possible for everyone, but known by few.

 

[kenny]

Ohhh I would've loved to hold Bibi! I always figured a bird would peck at me. I don't think it's teachy-I like to hear about things I don't know about.

Ah yes ... biting ... the bane of bird contact.
No way around it, birds bite.
But biting can be minimized/mitigated.

The #1 reason birds bite is fear, not aggression.
Reduce fear and you reduce biting.

The universe is not nice to birds; they're delicious.
It's fight or flight ... but what if they can't fly?
Birds that can't fly away must defend themselves with what they have, their beak.

You may not mean harm, but evolution has taught birds to not take that chance.
Trusting birds became lunch and didn't get to have babies.
Millions of years of evolution has rewarded suspicious untrusting birds with offspring.
Deeply untrusting birds is what we're left with today.

A hand-fed chick directly from a good breeder has not learned as much fear, so it will be less prone to biting.
Notice I didn't say it will never bite.

Ways to lessen the biting response:
Don't surprise a bird; that's what prey does.
Don't invite a bite.
Prey approach a bird silently; don't do that.
Talk to the bird soothingly as you slowly approach.
Watch it's body language.
If it retreats, stands up tall, or pulls its feathers in tight you're approaching too fast.
Maybe proceeding at another time would be better.
As with a dog, show the bird both sides of your hand, slowly, and not too close.
Unlike dogs, birds don't need to sniff you first.

Eye level is huge. (more about that later)
Get down so your eyes are at the same level as the bird's.
Don't stare; that's what prey does.
Look away occasionally.

When finally getting your hand near the bird your hand should not be above the bird.
That's threatening.
Slightly below is better, around the level of its lower chest.

Likely the bird will touch you with its beak when you get close enough.
It's probably NOT trying to bite. (It may if it has had bad experiences with humans [I don't blame it])
Birds don't have hands so they use their beaks to check things out, much like we use our hands.
"Is that branch stable enough for me to step on? I don't feel like falling down so let me check it out first with my beak."

Expect the bird to touch your hand with its beak, so offer canter of the back of your wrist with your fingers making a fist so your skin is tight.
The back of your fist is too big for the bird to get a grip with its beak ... unless we're taking about one of those huge parrots like a macaw.

If you offer a finger you're inviting a bite.
If you offer the tender sensitive skin on the side of a fingernail you are practically ordering the bird to bite.

More later.

 

[azstonie]

No, Kenny, not too teachie, wonderfully informing and birds are so interesting!!! Love all your posts. Bibi is a terrific name, love it

 

[missy]

Kenny, Bibi is a beautiful baby and the name you and your SO gave him is perfect.
I love that you are teaching us about birds. I know almost nothing about them and now I want to know more so thank you!

More pics and info pretty please?

 

[CJ2008]

Yes, I too am loving learning more about birds!

I know someone who owns a bird and all they do is let it out a few times a day if at all.

I'll see if I can send them some of these posts.

What is your advice if someone owns a bird and a cat (they recently got a cat) - would like to prevent a tragedy if possible. And I hope there's some things they can do to make the life for the bird more of a life.

(and I *love* the name Bibi!)

 

[arkieb1]

The suspense would get to me, have you seen the DNA places that can tell you the gender of your bird;

http://www.dnasexing.com/

Possibly when you clip some of the feathers if you get one with a bit of blood you could send it off to find out.

One of my sister in laws best friends breeds hand raised parrots (mostly the large ones) and she runs a parrot boarding hotel, and goes to schools and hospitals to give talks/performances with her own parrots who are like children to her;

http://michelesfeatheredhotel.com/about-me

Her facebook link is on there so if you are interested in looking at pics of larger types of baby parrots, and I noticed she has two Green Cheek Conures as well.

 

[kenny]

Thanks azstonie, missy & CJ2008.

CJ2008, you ask, "What is your advice if someone owns a bird and a cat (they recently got a cat) - would like to prevent a tragedy if possible. And I hope there's some things they can do to make the life for the bird more of a life."

Obviously, but sometimes overlooked, a bird with clipped wings is in MUCH more danger of death by cat.
There are many dangers in a home, mentioned above, to a bird that can fly.
But IMO overall they pale in comparison to the danger a cat poses to a flightless bird.

Puppy, who had clipped wings, was killed by a cat in a parking lot when I exited my car with Puppy on my shirt.
If he could fly he'd be alive today, although of course I could never have taken him out of the house to be part of my life ... which he loved.

There is a controversy ...
I've heard even a small bite from a cat can kill a bird because something in cat saliva is poisonous to birds.
However this is only a concern if there is a puncture wound.
If a cat licks something and then your bird licks/chews/swallows it don't worry.
The birds digestive tract and immune system can protect the bird from cat saliva.
It's just when cat saliva directly enters the bird's bloodstreem that it calls for an emergency visit to the vet.

But I'm only regurgitating what I've read on the Internet, so I'd definitely recommend your friend ask her/his vet.
Oh, and bird owners should find an avian vet; they specialize in birds.

 

[kenny]

About dogs and cats with birds.
Again we humans are all into equality, niceness, and family harmony so it's easy to forget these now-tame critters have been hunter and hunted for millions of years.
DNA and genetics are powerful things.

Your dog or cat may be the most docile butterball in the world with many years of compatibility with the bird.
(Oh my sweet Fluffy would NEVER hurt a bird ... )
Still, tragedy can strike when ancient instinct take over in a cat or dog ... especially likely when a dog or cat is eating.
Even if not eating I would not leave a bird out and alone with a dog or cat unless I'm supervising.

You'll read many stories and see many Youtube videos of birds getting along with dogs and cats.
Don't let this fool you; it IS a risk.
Obviously many get along just fine with no incident, but dogs and cats vary too.
I think it is a mistake to put too much trust in your judgement of your animals.

Our dogs are afraid of birds.
Puppy dominated and intimidated them.
Again this is okay since it is just that instinctive pecking order thing that parrots and dogs live by.
Sorry, I have no experience with cats & birds.

So far Bibi has exhibited no dominance towards the dogs, but he's just a baby.
Bibi wants to walk over and check out the dogs, but they are wary.
I do permit a bit of supervised proximity, maybe two feet.
Perhaps I'm making a mistake and should just let them 'duke it out'.
But after losing Puppy I'm perhaps overly cautious.

I'm actually happy our dogs give Bibi wide berth.
It would be cute if they were all 3 cuddly and kissy kissy.
While heartwarming, it would however increase the risk to the bird.

If they could talk the dogs would be saying, "Okay, we get it. You're the boss."
It means there is not a challenge to the pecking order ... which is when the fights happen.

 

[kenny]

The suspense would get to me, have you seen the DNA places that can tell you the gender of your bird;

http://www.dnasexing.com

I totally understand.
I too find myself a bit bothered by not knowing Bibi's gender.
10 years ago it would have bothered me much more and I'd have gotten the DNA blood test for sure ... though it was much more expensive.
I hear DNA testing is now so affordable that surgical testing (actually going into the bird to observe the plumbing) is becoming rare. Good!
Today, with society's acceptance that there are more than two gender-jars everyone simply must be placed into, labeling a person male or female just matters less.

Of course I'm not projecting this multiple-gender topic onto a bird.
I'm just wondering whether this might be why I'm a bit less-bothered by not knowing Bibi's gender.
Does it really matter if Bibi's coin-toss-determined gender assignment by Kenny is wrong?
Probably not since Bibi won't be in a breeding program.

Still, since testing only costs around $20 maybe I'll do it.
Thanks for the link.

One of my sister in laws best friends breeds hand raised parrots (mostly the large ones) and she runs a parrot boarding hotel, and goes to schools and hospitals to give talks/performances with her own parrots who are like children to her;

http://michelesfeatheredhotel.com/about-me

Her facebook link is on there so if you are interested in looking at pics of larger types of baby parrots, and I noticed she has two Green Cheek Conures as well.

How cool your friend runs this parrot 'hotel'.
If I needed that service I'd be happy to find her.

 

[MarionC]

Brilliant idea!
Don't tell anyone, but maybe we should take our feathered diamond lovers to a Las Vegas GTG???

 

[MarionC]

Puff is a lover AND a biter. I love him even though only flirts so he can get close enough to bite lol
Kenny, I'm reading everything you are writing about birds with great interest.

 

[CJ2008]

Thanks kenny.

As much as I love my cats and the girl especially is by far the sweetest most tame and obedient cat I've ever met - I wouldn't trust any cat with a bird unsupervised. And even supervised, my general opinion is that bad things can happen in a second.

I also don't subscribe to the thinking of letting animals duke it out unless in a highly set up, prepared, and supervised situation. Again, for the fear that things can just happen too fast. Especially when one of the animals can eat the other one.

But...in general, I definitely *am* overly cautious.

I will pass on the info you gave me, hopefully something will stick.

 

[kenny]

More on biting.

Believe it or not, there are creatures on this planet that actually love drama more than does PS Kenny.
That creature is a parrot.
They are Drama Mamas!
Yelling, screaming, dancing, going for a walk or a drive in the car ... anything beats sitting alone in a cage!

We are the buttheads who yanked them out of nature for our pleasure, so it's our job to provide for all of our parrot's needs.
Boredom is hazardous to parrots, not just psychologically but physically.
They can mutilate themselves by plucking their own feathers out.
This extreme example is almost certainly NOT photoshop.
Even if it is I've seen birds like this in person.



Getting your bird a companion bird would end the boredom, but then you are WAY less likely to get a good buddy.
New toys, rotating toys, variation of time in and out of the cage and at various bird-safe locations around the house, better-yet time interacting with you even if just sitting on your lap.
Some people leave a radio or TV on when they are not home.
Even just relocating the cage so the bird can see a human in the next room can help.

Make or buy a suction cup pearch so Gonzo can shower with you every day.
They LOVE this!
Then after showering they spend a long time preening, which is good for them physically and mentally.
Don't worry about them getting a cold.
Many parrots live where it rains every day.



Get more for a window in each room you spend time.



Opps ... okay back to biting.
Another reason birds bite is we inadvertently train them to.
When they bite we reward them with drama.
You just yelling OUCH is a rush for the bird.
Boredom results in more biting for the attention that's sure to follow.
This teaches them to be bad.

Okay, but what should you do when your bird does bite?
When a does bird bite, you need to bite your tongue and force yourself to not react in a natural way.
It's best to just calmly put the bird down, or back in the cage, and leave the room for a while.
It will eventually associate biting with the worst thing possible, loosing your attention.

 

[Matata]

There is a controversy ...
I've heard even a small bite from a cat can kill a bird because something in cat saliva is poisonous to birds.
However this is only a concern if there is a puncture wound.

It's Pasteurella, a gram negative bacteria. I dealt with it all the time when I did wildlife rehab.

 

[VRBeauty]

Bibi is a real cutie, Kenny. I hope the three of you have many wonderful years together. And... do keep us posted!