I
went about my business of the day stopping every now and then to say "Hi"
to Charlie. I feel, out of spite, Sydney (our cockatiel) rode on my shoulders
most of the day. When we passed Charlie's cage she would jump on
the top, run around a few times then back to my shoulder. Charlie
hardly gave her a thought while looking up from her food dish. Sydney
was pretty brave with Charlie behind the bars.
It
was such a pretty day I decided to do laundry. The past few days
of playing with Charlie I managed to get behind in laundry and some household
chores. *grin* After passing by Charlie's cage several times, always
with a quick glance, in her direction. and a hello I stopped
in my tracks. Something was not right when I looked her way.
I slowly turned around to take another look. Charlie was ON TOP of
her cage! How did she do that??? The door was closed and yet
now it was open with her on top of the cage. . Later I found
there wasn't a lock she could not pick open.
There
we were eye to eye level neither moving. I wondered if she was breathing....
I wasn't sure if I was or not. I convinced myself to stay calm (
haha that was funny) hoping not to upset Charlie. All I had to do
was wait until she returned to get something to eat. Then I could
close the door and rig a lock to keep it that way until Jerry got home.
Evidently her appetite for food wasn't as strong as her appetite
for scaring me because she didn't enter her cage.
As she stood vigil on top, dozing off now and then, I returned to the laundry
room.
When
I returned, Charlie was not on top or in her cage...she was gone.
Wouldn't you know another first and I had to be the only one there to share
it!!! I half expected her to come running out to bite
my toes but she didn't. I found her huddled behind my computer table
in the kitchen.
There
was no way I could bring myself to reach my hand out for her but I knew
I had to get her from behind the table. I was afraid she would bite
through a cable line or even worse the phone line. How was I going
to explain a frayed line and a fried bird?? I finally
tricked her into coming out, by holding a peanut in my hand. Of course,
I dropped it as she reached for it then I quickly put the top of her cage
over the top of her. I secured the door leaving the cage there
on the floor until Jerry arrived.
That
day I realized one very important fact. I did not want to be
a hostage in my own home and I did not want a bird that could not socialize.
It wasn't fair to either of us. Charlie went through
a rough journey to reach this point in someone's home and I had overcome my fear
of birds. We owed it to each other to at least try to
have a relationship.
The next few months were rough on both
of us. I had physical scars and I'm sure Charlie had some emotional
ones. Every afternoon I removed Charlie from her cage, with a blanket
around her, putting her on my lap. With the blanket over her head
(so she couldn't see my hands) I gently touched her feet, wings
and back. Her movements let me know where she liked (or would allow)
to be touched. A quick lunge for my fingers was a positive dislike reaction.
Each day it got a little easier as she let me go a little further.
At night Jerry and I sat on the kitchen
floor, facing each other, with our legs spread, feet touching, as
Charlie walked between us. At first she wanted to constantly
bite at us then she seemed to like the attention she was getting.
She was slowly giving in but never giving up. The fight she learned
in the wild was still there and I'm sure will always be there as a reminder
of what use to be.
We put together a large play area in
the kitchen to keep her from becoming cage bound again. If
she wanted her food she couldn't be in her cage or on top of it (except
for seed and pellets). Charlie enjoyed her new life and
surroundings probably for the first time because she knew she was
loved and would be cared for in a forgiving manner. She
knew her boundaries (as we all do) and she was comfortable.
She didn't have to forge for food, worry about illness, be feared
of predators or killed by unforgiving thieves.
Charlie has been with us now almost
twelve years and during that time has really mellowed out. She loves
to be petted (by Jerry especially) but will ruffle up her crown for anyone
to take a few pets, if they get past her bluffing rough exterior.
Her vocabulary is small, but she has
them down pretty well. She seems to add words more often as she ages.
"No Bite" (first words), everyone she likes is greeted with
Hi Boy! Followed quickly with "come up", come here, let me out, and she
loves to add the quack quack to Old McDonald's Farm. I'm still waiting
for the recital of the Gettysburg Address...but what the heck
she is still young.
