Bird Brain :-)

TT,

I've got two cockatoos. One Umbrella, the other a Muluccan. They are afraid of nothing. Don't worry about cats (cats are not that stupid to take on a large parrot), the dog might hurt the bird accidently while playing.

But, you have to really know that big birds ARE NOT the type of pet that you can just leave for a few days by itself. They need and want attention.

maybe you should first read everything you can about them then decide.

Bob

 

They looked identical... to you. Scary. I don't wanna know how that happened.

 

"Mark, the Sun Conure is an active, louder bird. they are very active and "monkeys", their near constant volume levels are not to my liking.
Mark, what are you desiring in a parrot? Details please"


Steven-
Thanks for the info.
I have had many exotic animals and rasied some birds.
I've never had a parrot, I wanted a smaller bird and I just liked the bright orange & yellow colors of the Sun Conure. But I can see, that it would not be a good pet for me.

 

Steve,
Your advice is the same I was indoctrinated with when I picked up my little Grey. I know I am stuck with these guys for life. Didn't mean to give the wrong impression.
In the case of the Blue Front, he was a neglected and abused bird at the age of 13 when I picked him up. I thought I could save him, which I did to a point. He would not allow himself to be picked up with a bare hand, only with a stick. That told a story in itself. Towards the end he would hop up any time and really got vocal when we went for a quick ride in the 240Z. He had these other people pretty buffaloe'd. I think in time he would have turned out pretty good.

In the case of my Grey, I picked her up from a breeder when she was down to 4 feedings a day. She pretty much thinks I'm her mother and she thinks she is a human. Very funny and playful.

In the case of the Ecclectus, she was purchased as a chick by a co-worker for his 7 year old daughter's birthday! I thought to myself, " A 1500.00 bird for a 7 year old? Why not start with a Cockatiel at least?"
Five years later they want to get rid of her because they don't 'have time'. The bird was kept in a dark corner in a small cage, usually covered up. She also flips out when she sees a broom. We know what that means! Currently she is very nice easy going bird in a big cage near a window. An amazing change. The only problem with this bird is after dark. Her instincts take over and she doesn't want anyone near the cage. She growls like a cat and rams the bars when I walk by. Probably got teased a bit in her earlier years.

I am partial to the Grey birds for their thoughtful way of reacting to people and things around them but I also like the roudy flambouyant Amazons.

Do you have any other shots of Billie?

DJ

 

Too funny!
I love the destruction of the T/P roll. 'Just doing whats best for the betterment of birdkind'
Beautiful bird.
DJ

 

My Grey is real good with spaghetti noodles. Fun aren't they?
I take her on trips to town shopping. Women usually stop to talk. OOO's and aaaaaaahhh's etc...............
DJ

 

Good point! Now if I could pull the same stunt I would have it made!
DJ

 

Norwegian Blue
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

My g/f's mother has a 17 year old Kestrel that she adopted about 15 years ago. What's weird is that Kestrels are only supposed to live for like 9 years or so in capitivity.

The bird's name is Rudy, and he's cool as hell. I love bird's of prey, so I was jazzed when my g/f told me about her mom's bird. He's very imprinted, and was when she adopted him, and he will never be suited for the wild again. He quite tame, but he *is* a falcon and acts like it a lot. He responds to her voice and loves her a lot. He's like a little kid who follows his mom around. If I go into her room, where he has free reign, he puffs up and looks at me funny. He's only let me hold him once without trying to rip the meat from my fingers, but he will always perchon her hand.

It's illegal as hell to keep a bird of prey as a pet, and she knows this. The main reason why she adopted him is because he was imprinted and would never be "wild" again or suitable for release, and she didn't want him falling into the wrong hands. He was in pretty bad shape when she adopted him from what I hear - no feathers and had been fed on cat food. He now eats freshly killed mice - I don't even think he can kill his own mice.

Considering he has lived for 17 years now, she does a great job of taking care of him.

It is pretty damn nifty....

 

Great picture Lloyd. The gentleman in the background looks rather wary of the bird. Is there a story to the picture?
DJ

 

As far as the length of time various birds live in the wild versus captivity I read that on the average an African Grey will live about 10 years in the wild, all things considered, and also read that if properly taken care of can live 50 to 60 years but tragically the average age of a Grey in captivity was only 10 to 15 years because of improper care and nutrition.

Like Steve says, read all you can. It improves the experience.
DJ

 

Spasso,

This picture was taken from a Monty Python skit called the "Pet Shop". It has a great line about "pining for the fjords". The dialogue is as follows:

A customer enters a pet shop.
Customer: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.
(The owner does not respond.)
C: 'Ello, Miss?
Owner: What do you mean "miss"?
C: I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!
O: We're closin' for lunch.
C: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
O: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?
C: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
O: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.
C: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
O: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, isn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
C: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
O: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!
C: All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up!
(shouting at the cage)
'Ello, Mister Polly Parrot! I've got a lovely fresh cuttle fish for you if you show...(owner hits the cage)
O: There, he moved!
C: No, he didn't, that was you hitting the cage!
O: I never!!
C: Yes, you did!
O: I never, never did anything...
C: (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO POLLY!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call!
(Takes parrot out of the cage and thumps its head on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)
C: Now that's what I call a dead parrot.
O: No, no.....No, 'e's stunned!
C: STUNNED?!?
O: Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Norwegian Blues stun easily, major.
C: Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.
O: Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.
C: PININ' for the FJORDS?!?!?!? What kind of talk is that?, look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home?
O: The Norwegian Blue prefers kippin' on it's back! Remarkable bird, innit, squire? Lovely plumage!
C: Look, I took the liberty of examining that parrot when I got it home, and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been NAILED there.
(pause)
O: Well, o'course it was nailed there! If I hadn't nailed that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those bars, bent 'em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Feeweeweewee!
C: "VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised!
O: No no! 'E's pining!
C: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
(pause)
O: Well, I'd better replace it, then.
(he takes a quick peek behind the counter)
O: Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots.
C: I see. I see, I get the picture.
O: I got a slug.
(pause)
C: (sweet as sugar) Pray, does it talk?
O: Nnnnot really.
C: WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!?
O: Look, if you go to my brother's pet shop in Bolton, he'll replace the parrot for you.
C: Bolton, eh? Very well.
The customer leaves.
The customer enters the same pet shop. The owner is putting on a false moustache.
C: This is Bolton, is it?
O: (with a fake mustache) No, it's Ipswich.
C: (looking at the camera) That's inter-city rail for you.
The customer goes to the train station.
He addresses a man standing behind a desk marked "Complaints".
C: I wish to complain, British-Railways Person.
Attendant: I DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS JOB, YOU KNOW!!!
C: I beg your pardon...?
A: I'm a qualified brain surgeon! I only do this job because I like being my own boss!
C: Excuse me, this is irrelevant, isn't it?
A: Yeah, well it's not easy to pad these python files out to 200 lines, you know.
C: Well, I wish to complain. I got on the Bolton train and found myself deposited here in Ipswich.
A: No, this is Bolton.
C: (to the camera) The pet shop man's brother was lying!!
A: Can't blame British Rail for that.
C: In that case, I shall return to the pet shop!
He does.
C: I understand this IS Bolton.
O: (still with the fake mustache) Yes?
C: You told me it was Ipswich!
O: ...It was a pun.
C: (pause) A PUN?!?
O: No, no...not a pun...What's that thing that spells the same backwards as forwards?
C: (Long pause) A palindrome...? O: Yeah, that's it!
C: It's not a palindrome! The palindrome of "Bolton" would be "Notlob"!! It don't work!!
O: Well, what do you want?
C: I'm not prepared to pursue my line of inquiry any longer as I think this is getting too silly!

 

Lloyd, That was funny as hell! Can't say that I that I saw that episode. (Thought those guys looked familiar).

Please don't tell me you recited all of that from memory!

I now fully understand why the gentleman in the back has a look of trepidation. Insane! Even nightmarish to think of being involved in an exchange like that.

This bird likes her veggies!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

A young man named Dan received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. Dan tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, Dan was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. Dan shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. Dan, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird, and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, Dan quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto Dan's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

Dan was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"