The following night I could
not wait to tell Jerry the exciting news of the day.
When the phone rang Jozey just finished her night time feeding along with
our few moments of one on one love time and was ready for bed.
I left the bedroom to answer the phone
when I heard this rush of sound coming behind me. To both of our
surprise she flew to me in a straight but awkward manner. In the
small area of the hallway this was not an easy task. Fortunately,
I (the human tree) was there for her to grab onto. It was clear she was
quickly becoming attached to me, even though I tried not to spend
excessive amounts of time with her.
It was also clear that she was going
to be a true creature of habit. In only two days, she learned
immediately after feeding came one on one and then bedtime and she was
not going to allow anything to disrupt this routine. By her response
she taught me a very good lesson! Needless to say, her routine was
adjusted as to not become a ritual but instead a flexible schedule.
The day Jerry returned home he took
Jozey for her vet appointment. Dr. Hall, as I mentioned before, is
terrific with all the birds. They have absolutely no fear of his
presence. He said Jozey was a great baby and not the least
aggressive as some can be even at this young age.
She watched quietly as all the tests
and preparations for the lab were performed. After the tests
her wings were clipped and her nails and beak were trimmed. She was
now ready for the world.
Dr. Hall's only question was our wanting
to refer to Jozey as a "she". He felt Jozey was a male macaw.
This was great news for Jerry. All our birdies were female so a male
macaw would be a nice change of pace as far as Jerry was concerned.
Dr. Hall was proven correct when the
test was taken a couple months later. JozeyJo was our macho male,
but we did not tell him because he thought he was a big lovable puppy dog.
Keeping him under lock for six weeks
was not an easy task. He was not like Smoki and Fluffy. He
wanted, no he needed to be part of the family.
Towards the end of the last week he
was getting very vocal. Sometimes sounding like "help me" came blasting
from the bedroom. I'm sure Smoki and Fluffy were wondering what we
were about to unleash on them this time. Smoki would give out with
her well known "shuttttttt upppppp" if Jozey's vocalizing took her by surprise.
JozeyJo now became Jozey after the outlaw Josey Wales, only because he
was male.
The day finally arrived to release
Jozey into the wild of our living room and kitchen. I carried him
flapping wings and all to the kitchen to meet his feathered family.
To them I guess they thought I captured an eagle from the wild.
Neither of them ever saw a feathered friend of that size or stature.
Smoki, being brave, gave him a look like "wanna go a couple of rounds for
the pecking order"? Then talking to herself she slowly backed away.
Jozey had no desire or worry about
the pecking order. He wanted to love his new feathered family.
He got right in the thick of things with them, trying so hard to
fit in around their play area, but he was just too large. This meant
mom would be rearranging the play area to add larger stronger perches and
toys to accommodate Jozey's definite desire to play.
Jozey caught on to the routine even
sooner than the other babies did when they came out of quarantine.
His idea of a great day was spending time in the early afternoon and evening
rolling on the living room floor. He loved fetching little toys,
rolling them back to me and then chasing them once again. He enjoyed
being active and interacting with humans.
He also loved my granddaughter's presence.
She thought he was her own personal playmate. She threw his toys, for him
to fetch, and laughed as he returned with toys in mouth dropping them at
her feet. Anything he wanted she was quick to get for him.
Between her and Jacob there was not much they didn't do for him or to him
for that matter.
Once the play area was arranged for
optimum performance Jozey decided it was time to clown around for laughs.
He would hang by one foot from his stand while waiting for someone to walk
into the kitchen, then letting out with a very audible "Hi". He also
loved to ride (in the car) sitting on my hubby's shoulder. Making
sure Jerry couldn't forget him, he would gently put his beak in Jerry's
face with a mild "Hi" to follow. He was quite a character.
*Your birds should be in a cage
or other confinement when traveling in any vehicle. This is for the
safety of you and your bird. Jerry on the other hand, being my husband,
rejected my advice. *grin*
Everyday, weather permitting, Jerry
takes the birdies to the park to watch the kid's baseball games.
This year was a little more crowded than normal with Jozey being added
but Jerry didn't want to show partiality leaving one at home. He
arranged and rearranged until a comfortable place for each was found on
his body. He left for the game with Smoki on one shoulder, Fluffy
on the other shoulder, Charlie on his right arm and Jozey taking charge
of his left arm, playing somersault every now and then.
Jozey made sure everyone at the game
didn't leave without first noticing him. As if any of them would
or could not notice him. Jerry was known as the bird man. Everyone
not only noticed but always took the time to stop to visit with a thousands
questions. The birdies all loved their moment in the limelight showing
off their tricks or new sounds.
Then it was back home for cleanup and
night time feedings. The outing always made bedtime much easier.
I think it took a little wind out of their sails spending so much time
showing off.
Once Jozey had his feeding he was ready
for bed and I do mean ready for bed. He walked to his cage, climbed
inside, and waited to be covered. If we didn't get there as quickly
as he liked he would tell us, in his loud vocalization of "Nite Nite".
We were so fortunate to have so many beautiful healthy well mannered
birdies. But then don't we ALL have beautiful well mannered
birdies? *smile*
