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Clyde is one of my African Grays. Clyde's owner, a good friend of mine, passed away a few years ago. He had close to 20 birds and after he died, I would go over and help with the birds. Clyde kind of withdrew after Bob died and did not socialize with people. At one point he pulled his tail feathers out and just sat in the corner of the cage.
I took care of Clyde while my friend's wife was out of town and Clyde started to warm up to me. I ended up taking Clyde and Prissie (another African Gray) home. As you can see in these videos, Clyde and I get along just fine.
Clyde's favorite pen!
Prissy the Dancing Machine
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How It All Started
You run into all kinds of things when fixing other peoples computers. I ordered parts and did a home built for a friend of mine back in 2006. Since I can solve just about any computer problem, my friends think I can handle any problem. Anyways, this friend calls me up one day and asks if I want a love bird. I did not know what a love bird was, I thought it was what you call someone that is love sick silly. Anyways, his friend had a love bird and she could not keep it because it was attacking the children. Turns out the little rugrats had been tormenting the bird in the cage. When Mookie got out, Mookie drew blood. Me, being a person who can't say no, said, "Sure, I will take the bird."
So after I get off the phone, I google "love birds". Find out they do better in pairs, but that they also attach to humans when they don't have a mate. After a few bites and a little blood, me and Mookie is getting along fine. I got Mookie on Friday, and by Sunday, Mookies was content to just sit on me. When I went back to work Monday, Mookie was not happy being home alone. As soon as I opened the cage, Mookie flew up on me and bit me in the neck. So, I had to go get Mookie a mate. This is how it started.
Six More to Add to the Flock
I had Mookie and Shasta (a mate I bought for Mookie) for about a year, when a friend asked me to take in some love birds. I did not know they came in so many colors, so naturally, when I saw a blue and yellow love bird, I took the whole flock of 6. The, to my surprise, Mookie started laying eggs. I was told Mookie was a male. A year later and 20 baby love birds, I was pretty sure Mookie wasn't a male.
Moving up to Bigger Challenges
In 2008 years ago, a friend of mine passed away. He had many birds and I helped his wife find homes for some of them. She had one bird, a Quaker, called Cassie, that no one would take. Cassie loved his owner and when Bob passed away, he just turned mean. He would fly after people and bite--I mean really bite. Well, my friend asked me to take Cassie and see what I could do with him. I told her I already had 8 birds, but then Cassie started to quack at me and talk. He seemed to take a liking to me. Either that, or he was just setting me up. Let me tell you, this was the first bird to bite clean through my finger. He was a challenge and I would go to work with bite marks all over my forehead and scabs from the bites healing over.
Eventually, I got Cassie to stop biting--well somewhat--but it took a lot of patience. He was one the most talkative bird and one of the funniest birds I have had. He would play 'peek-a-boo' and tell me when he wanted a drink or bath. The woman I got her from thought I put him on tranquilizers because he would go to anyone after a few months of training. He would still bite sometimes, but did it for entertainment. I would yell, "Owe", and Cassie would laugh. His favorite saying was, "Give me a kiss" and I fall for it and he would give me a kiss and bite my nose. He seemed to enjoy latching onto my nose at my expense and pain. I would yell 'Bad Bird' and he would respond with 'Good Bird.'
Amazon Adventures
The next bird I took in is a Red Lored Amazon in 2009. Rosebud was the sweetest bird, but she is like all amazons, she was tempermental. One minute she wants scratches, and the next minute she is squawking and yelling and wanting to bite. For the most part, she was like a kitten. She liked to cuddle and sit on my chest with her head tucked up under my neck. In the mornings, she would come get in my bed and gently pull my eyelids open when she was ready to eat. She was also the only parrot I ever had that was potty trained and never pooped on me or the furniture.
She started talking, but for the most part, she was very bird vocal and would entertain me all the time. She loved to do noises like whistles and kisses and yell 'Wow' when she was excited. She also liked to crawl in my bed and sleep with me with her head tucked under my chin. In the mornings, I would just pick her up, put down some newspaper by the chair, put her on the chair, and tell her to go potty.
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