Fluffy was (and still is)
all baby. I think this is a major trait of all cockatoos. She
would be happiest if we would just Velcro her to the front of our shirt,
being quite content to be attached 24 hours a day.
She is filled with so much energy it's
almost impossible to contain her to any play area. Even though we
keep all feathers trimmed, Fluffy's lightweight body allows her
a little more flying ability than the other birds. Her jumping capabilities
allows her a tremendous advantage over the others. If
you get anywhere near the play area you have a shoulder guest. So
our human family members and guests have learned to dodge the play
area in the kitchen. She is definitely a little imp but she is a
very friendly one. You just can't help but love her.
Our time was now very full caring for
all our babies. Fluffy was spoon fed her monkey biscuit every night
before bedtime. Smoki ate her biscuit from a bowl, but every
now and then if she felt slighted I fed her with her old spoon.
Charlie and Sydney were not really interested.
One night we decided to add a little
bit of peanut butter to each of the biscuits. This addition sparked
the interest of all the babies so from that night on
they received their protein in the form or peanut butter.
After dinner it was cleanup time.
The babies all loved this time of playful disturbances. Smoki would
sing a few bars of anything she knew followed by all the familiar sounds
of the house. Charlie would scream with a few quack quacks thrown
in as a change of pace. Fluffy on the other hand wanted more hands
on experience. She would jump, crawl or leap on to the back of Jerry's
pants holding on for dear life as he swept the floors. More than
once she challenged the broom for her place on his shirt and lucky for
her Jerry always caught the broom.
Yes Fluffy is our little imp, but also
in her defensive, she has never once chewed on anything that was
not a toy. On the other hand I have souvenirs on several pieces of
furniture from the other babies. Thank goodness I had my wits about
me not to put any of them near any furniture that would cause mass panic
if marred by their beaks.
During the next couple of years all
the babies thrived in a harmonious environment. That sentence right
there should alert you that we were living in total denial.
The babies were growing up, wanting more and more individual attention.
As they matured we became their mates and they wanted to spend that extra
special time with us on a one on one basis. We did spend more time
individually but we also built them a larger play area with more toys.
We also added new foods for them to try.
Smoki and I still spent our time watching
television and cuddling in the kitchen. Jerry took Fluffy and Charlie upstairs,
as usual. Fluffy and Charlie got along much better than Smoki and
Fluffy. I think partly because Charlie was a little less demanding
of Jerry's attention. Fluffy was much more demanding of Jerry's attention
or anyone else's attention that may be in the room.
As an infant Fluffy was very close
to both Jacob and my grand daughter Stephanie. For pictures
of Stephanie and Jacob with Fluffy click photos.
Jacob and Fluffy soon became the best of buddies. She would yell
for him as soon as she heard his car turning up the street. Look
out ears if he ignores her. Even a little attention is better
than none when it comes to the needs of a spoiled bonded bird. Jacob
always
goes
to Fluffy when he gets home from school.
He loves on her, lets her hang on his
shirt as he eats a snack and then up they go to his room for a couple of
hours. During this time he has taught her several tricks that required
her to be totally confident in his love and ability. One is having
her lay on her back. This alone is not a normal concept for a bird.
Birds will sometimes move to their backs to play, but are not comfortable
being placed on their back outside of their control. If your baby
allows this he/she is secure with your relationship especially if it's
a mature bird.
Except for our cockatiels, Fluffy was
the only one of our babies that I felt comfortable allowing around the
younger grandchildren. Even with that they were always supervised and in
close contact.
Fluffy was only 3 months old when Stephanie,
my granddaughter was born. Fluffy watched over Stephanie as
if she were her mother. She went out of her way
to be near the baby. If Stephanie cried or was a little fussy Fluffy
jumped around her play area squealing until the sounds ceased. Of
course, if she was able to get to the vicinity of the baby she was
even happier. She got her face as close to Stephanie as possible
trying to comfort her cries, which usually worked because Stephanie found
Fluffy to be a very animated play toy.
As infants they were both very close,
but when Fluffy started to mature and Stephanie became more mobile I was
a little more apprehensive with their closeness. Fluffy has never
attempted to bite Stephanie, but if there is one thing I have learned about
the personalities of parrots...they can be predictably unpredictable.
Even out of love you can be bitten,
if they feel you are in danger or being threatened. To us humans
it's a strange concept to think of injuring someone to warn them of possible
trouble. In other words imagine driving down the street when you
see a car that could possibly
run into the car ahead of you,
no guarantee's only a possibility. Your concern
for that driver and his vehicle prompts you to do the only thing you know
how to do to get his attention.....you run into his vehicle.
I'm sure you will receive much more attention than you bargained for....as
does the bird that bites his owner out of protection and concern.
But regardless, the warning was
sounded...the car could be repaired..the loss of a small child's fingers
could not. That is why it's very important, as owners, to realize
even the sweetest of the flock has the potential of biting someone.
Our beautiful little white ball of
fur is no longer the pristine porcelain doll. Her feathers
are more of a dirty grey. :(( Dr. Hall believes
this is due to the oils in Jacob's hands. When he loves
on Fluffy her feathers pick up the oil. We've tried having him wash
his hands every time before he holds her but it just hasn't worked.
She doesn't seem to care what color she is as long as she's being held.
She knows she's beautiful to us.
In the springtime young hearts turn
to love, in our case they turned to birds. This time it was me that
carried the spark for a new baby. Not just any baby. I was ready
for my macaw. We had the sweet loving birds that turned somersaults
on your fingers, clutched to your shirt, flew to your shoulders,
and sang lullabies. Now it was time for "King" the large dog
figure of our feathered friends.
