Shortly
after bringing Jozey, our blue and gold macaw, home I started watching
my granddaughter on a daily basis, while my daughter and her husband worked.
Stephanie
was a baby (8 months old) and she thought the parrots were her animated
playmates. Living next door, she spent time with us and her feathered
playmates often, but when she had to be here on a daily 8 - 10 hour basis
our routine soon changed. We all adjusted...some better than others, but
then the day arrived when the cute little baby was walking all over the
place.
Smoki,
our timneh african grey, was the first to lash out at Stephanie every
chance she got. Greys are known for being a one person parrot, but up until
then she never tried to bite or reach out deliberately at Stephanie. I
think Smoki thought she was taking up more of my time than necessary and
now with her walking, Stephanie was coming close to her territory.
Smoki's
insecurity made it apparent that Stephanie was not welcome period!
Smoki would not tolerate Stephanie and soon became so jealous of our other
grandchildren she would go out of her way to bite them.
Then
one day Jozey realized he had a voice...and a *big* one at that! He used
it often and was very proud of each sound that escaped from his inter bowels!!
Miss Fluffy (our goffin cockatoo) was his teacher and although she was
nervous with his authority, you could see she was proud of her student.
From
the beginning we new Jozey would be vocal and we enjoyed the sounds, words,
mimics and the occasional hollers that would alert us of her presence.
We had no problem with this. It was his natural instinct to
vocalize and we understood. When Fluffy started with her constant
screaming sessions Jozey quickly followed. He was mimicking her and
this is when the problem escalated.
Jozey
was on a nonstop vocal marathon, like a dog howling at the moon. He loved
Stephanie so much I'm sure he didn't realize he was hurting her ears. :(
As Jozey became more and more vocal, my hubby purchased me a set of earplugs,
but this couldn't help Stephanie. The brutal fact of reality could not
be overlooked.
Things
may have changed in our home, but not in our hearts. We did everything
possible to change, rearrange, and literally turn our lives upside down,
but it was only delaying the situation. After several months of painful
decisions we realized we needed to find good homes for Smoki and Jozey.
It
was a horrible time for all of us. It is still extremely painful
to think about. When I see pictures, of their species, it is a constant
reminder of when they were here and how lonely it is without them. If you
have *never* had a parrot I don't believe you can totally understand this.
Our
love and painful decision is what prompted me to start this web site. I
wanted people to meet all of our feathered family and to share their experiences.
Our
feathered children never went without attention or fresh fruits and veggies.
They were a part of our family, receiving one on one attention right up
until the day we said our good-byes. We were not tired of them nor did
we stop loving them. In fact our love for them is what helped to make the
final decision.
In
"parrot years" they were still babies with sweet dispositions. I was confident
they would adjust to new surroundings in a loving home.
From
time to time I changed the furniture, pictures, TV and cages around in
our home so the parrots didn't get bored or stressed out with change. I
felt this helped when we went out-of-town because they adapted well with
the sitters, without stress. Knowing all of this helped to build my confidence
for their well being and acceptance to physical changes.
This
text only touches on some of the pain that was shared in our
family. It doesn't include the months of family separation of feelings,
anxiety and desperation, for the loss of a loved one, in this case two
of them.
People
can be extremely harsh and outspoken without knowing the reason or the
pain of making this decision. Some thought I should not allow my grandchildren
to visit our home, while others thought my husband, of 35 years should
divorce me and take "all" the parrots with him.
No,
I didn't stop my grandchildren from coming to our home and no my hubby
did not divorce me. But I'm curious if someone thought by breaking up the
foundation of our family would keep our parrots happy? It was the foundation
of our family that gave our parrots their love and security. And to all
those who thought the harsh statements were correct, I know my parrots
and their love for us was just as strong and they themselves would not
have wanted to put this burden on us.
They
were beautiful healthy parrots and if I had looked into their eyes, which
I did, and asked for their help. I'm convinced they would have told me
how they would always remember the love and the time we took out of our
lives to spend with them. Making sure they had everything they needed for
their health and welfare and above all making them feel as a part of our
family, as they were and always will be in our hearts! They would
miss us, but they would be confident we would find them a good loving home,
but they would not want to spend anytime with the people who spoke so harshly,
because if they could so easily give up their grandchildren or husband
they didn't know the meaning of love in the first place.
The
elation of bringing them into our heart and home will never equal
the pain of saying good-bye. For any of us.
