We never really know for sure
or how it even happens, but one day your baby parrot not only becomes a
part of the family, but they somehow take over a major part of your life.
One day Jozey was a baby parrot begging for each bite of formula, next
he wanted to play catch on the floor with an old baseball or climb onto
my lap for a kiss. Somewhere between begging and kissing he had taken
over.
Jozey learned to speak (or at least
repeat) almost everything you said to him. I know some was repetitive
but some I know was just plain knowledge of the English language, from
hearing his human family members speak.
He watched intently, from his perch,
each time the fridge was opened. If you removed something he
liked to eat you always got an "ummmmmmmm good" response, if it did
not interest him he ignored you. When you got the "ummmmmm good"
response, if you ignored him you then got a "want some" which he
continued until you shared your goodies.
Jozey loved everything and he used
all his resources to get to the reward. If it meant climbing onto
your chair and poking his head under your arm to reach your plate it was
a job well done. Ha ha this was a funny little procedure, but one
that could get out of hand. This would not be funny if we were having
guests that did not appreciate our big overgrown feathered family member
eating from their plate. So nip it in the bud...immediately.
We did just that without causing embarrassment
or confusion. If Jozey saw our plates to be interesting we gave him
a plate of his own, on his play set. He ate exactly
what we were eating and he ate quietly. What could have been
a problem was solved. Did we cheat and sometimes let him eat at the
table? Of course we did.
Jozey's presence of size and vocalization
demanded attention but nothing could be further from the truth in his nature
or character. He was a curious baby parrot in an adult body.
Jozey's quiet time did not mean him
sitting quietly on your arm or lap for attention. He wanted hands
on playtime on the floor. Getting down to his level I called it.
He loved to chase you then sheepishly fall on his back next to you, feet
in the air cuddling his head into your arms. He was my doggie
birdie no doubt about it.
He wanted to be friends with all the
other babies but they did not know how to take him. Smoki buffaloed
Jozey into thinking he didn't stand a chance of taking over Smoki's play
area. While Fluffy loved the attention she received from this
big blue bird, she quickly became jealous of Jozey and the attention
"he" was receiving.
Jozey also took to our granddaughter
Stephanie. I feel the loss of Steph's total commitment to Fluffy
was Fluffy's biggest disappointment. Stephanie played with
Jozey under our close supervision and never on the floor. Jozey's
floor play, although not aggressive, was a little rough for a small child.
As Jozey grew so did his voice, play
area, ambitions and hunger for more attention. The play area, although
a problem, was not the foremost. It was his voice and the attention
he demanded. Both went hand in hand.
By enlarging his play area and allowing
him to walk around the kitchen floor with his toys or just exploring helped
considerably. But the problem was that my doggie birdie didn't
realize he was not a doggie. He wanted to follow me everywhere,
which is cute and complimentary but not wise. I was afraid
being underfoot he could eventually get injured.
Only under perfect circumstances was
he allowed to follow me outside the play area. Being underfoot did
not seem to cause him problems he loved to be a daredevil. Hanging
by one foot from his perch tray he could get up enough momentum to rock
to the point of almost collapsing the perch down around him while screaming
"HI" each time he swung by.
Over the next several months we worked
with Jozey and his demands. I'm not sure who taught who more, but
soon he realized that his "demands" earned more attention when they were
"requests". You can not change things that come natural to
parrots, but you can modify them a bit.
Macaws, or any parrot for that matter,
are very vocal in the wild, forging for their food or playing with their
family members. This is a natural response to stimuli. Humans
communicate in the same way, but as we mature we tend to speak in a more
rational quiet manner. (in most cases) Parrots, on the other hand,
are going to be two years old forever!
Of course, Jozey was not quiet all
the time, but he did stop screaming for attention when he realized he was
totally ignored. When he was quiet he received a treat and a love
pet under his wing, when he screamed we walked to another room.
As with our other family parrots Jozey
adapted well to his surroundings. They all played well together or
at least tolerated each other's company.
Our home was now complete with all
our feathered friends. There was no reason looking or thinking
about additions, we were a full house. We knew our limitations...or
did we?
