Mischac (Bob) and Noodles

[Eupher]

Some of y'all may be aware that Mrs E and I have parrots. We have two of our own, but we're gluttons for punishment, so we've been fostering Mischac (temporarily renamed 'Bob').

Bob is a double yellowhead Amazon and he packs a mean wallop. My hands and arms are a mass of scars from bites. While he doesn't bite all the time, he bites most of the time. So I basically wrap a towel around my hand/arm before I pick him up, but in the event I forget or don't think about it, he whaps me again and I will sport yet another scar. Or not - sometimes he just doesn't bite.

At any rate, Bob went to the Kansas City avian vet for a checkup. We were thinking he was having some grip issues, but he evidently has been given a clean bill of health and he actually has someone who is interested in adopting him!

This is great news because he was largely cage-bound for some 10+ years we were told. As he hates men, his previous owner just learned never to interact with him and as a result, he was stuck in a cage for those many years -- not good for a social critter like a parrot.

Bob gets along very well with women, so as long as his new owner is female, there shouldn't be any problems. We worked hard to get him to be less fearful and while he still hates men, that's okay. His new home should be much happier.

Our next foster parrot is a green-cheeked Amazon called Noodles. She's about 40-50 years old and is fairly friendly, but we're told she's not a cuddler.

I don't know of many Amazon parrots that are cuddlers. I will NEVER allow one on my shoulder or near my face. It's a good way to wind up with a punctured lip/face/nose.

I don't have a photo of Bob on Photobucket yet, but here's a representative photo of a double yellowhead and a greencheek - both are Amazon parrots.

BTW, the fanned tail is a display mechanism that is basically a warning. If you get too close, I will bite the hell out of you! (I generally ignore those warnings, for the simple reason that a parrot is simply not going to terrorize me.) 

[BlueStateSaint]

Pretty birds, but I'll stick with Oreo (our cat).

[NHSparky]

Check it out!  Green chicken!!!

[thundley4]

Check it out!  Green chicken ptarmigan!!!

 

[BEG]

I had a cockatiel once when I was 16. It crapped all over the place and was a mean little f*cker, never agin.

[longview]

Good for you and Mrs. E!

A nurse at work had an Amazon parrot that was mean.  My kids took turns housesitting for her.  If they needed to do something to that caged bird or to his cage they called me.  I know nothing about birds, but would figure out how to get whatever done without physically hurting it.  I'm sure I didn't help his attitude, though.

When she left the state, she gave the parrot to her successor.  This lady knows about and loves birds. 

Within a couple days she could handle him safely.  He is a completely different character.  I'm glad he doesn't hold grudges and is fairly friendly toward guests, including me.

I had no idea they could have so much personality and seem affectionate.  No way would I get one.  But, that experience was really interesting.

[Eupher]

The first bird we fostered, back in about 2002 or so, was a Blue-fronted Amazon named "Baby." Then, as now, we were members of a bird club that had a rescue function and as fosters, we were called on to physically go to places to pick up these birds from some truly disgusting and wretched conditions.

Baby, for an indeterminate number of years, didn't even have a cage. She had a playtop on which she perched. She sat in a smoke-filled room for years subsisting on nothing but Kraft macaroni and cheese. The previous owner swore up and down that was all the bird would eat.

That was nonsense, of course. Baby ate a regular parrot diet which consists of lots of fruits, vegetables, and vegetable protein. Some nuts (not much, due to the fat content). In time, her feathering came back to a perfect condition and she was very happy to eventually be adopted by a woman with whom we still stay in contact.

Baby talked a bit and did a smoker's cough. She cackled like an old lady's laugh. She was gentle and not at all the aggressive, fearful critter that Bob was. Bob truly hated men, and that's the way that kind of thing goes.

Sadly, Baby died about 2 years ago. She might've been about 25 years old (couldn't know for sure). I'm reasonably sure her living conditions when she was younger shortened her life, but we know she was a happy camper in the last few years of her life.

[longview]

^^^ I'd swear that bird is smiling!

I had no idea that parrots like fruit, etc.  The kids fed the one they cared for what the likewise ignorant owner told them to.  Some mix of seed.

The new owner has shown me the variety that her birds like.  Getting fruits and vegetables where we live can be a challenge.  Amazingly, even very small towns are participating in the Bountiful Baskets offerings, so she gets a basket from them every month.  This new gal has gotten a few other people in the area interested in, and owning large birds.  She loves this and works with the owners and their pets.

Very interesting.

[Eupher]

^^^ I'd swear that bird is smiling!

I had no idea that parrots like fruit, etc.  The kids fed the one they cared for what the likewise ignorant owner told them to.  Some mix of seed.

The new owner has shown me the variety that her birds like.  Getting fruits and vegetables where we live can be a challenge.  Amazingly, even very small towns are participating in the Bountiful Baskets offerings, so she gets a basket from them every month.  This new gal has gotten a few other people in the area interested in, and owning large birds.  She loves this and works with the owners and their pets.

Very interesting.

Our birds get a diet that consists of basically 3 things:

1.  A mixture of different vegetables - green leafy (usually kale), zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, sweet peppers (no seeds), apple. These get pulse-chopped in a food processor a couple of spins, just enough to get pieces about 1/4".

2.  "Perch mix" which is a cooked mixture of field corn (off the cob); dried navy beans, black-eyed peas, navy beans; crushed eggshells; a cinnamon stick; sweet potato; regular oatmeal (not the instant); fine pasta; raisins; frozen peas. The recipe cooks this mixture just a bit, leaving a lot of crunch to everything.

3.  a half teaspoon of quinoa and flax seed.

All that goes in their bowl in the morning and they do a pretty good job chowing down.

Once a week, they (and the dogs) get some scrambled egg with more of that veggie mixture thrown in.

And at lunchtime every day the birds get an almond in the shell and an unsalted peanut as a snack.

Freakin' birds eat better than I do. 

[Eupher]

Forgot to add:

Birds can eat limited quantities of chicken and fish. Red meat isn't too good, though our African grey will snag as much of that as you let her.

Birds are lactose intolerant, but a bit of cheese once in awhile is good. I read somewhere that there isn't much lactose in cheese - it's been converted or removed during the cheese-making process, but I dunno. They love a 1/4" chunk of cheddar once in awhile.

Chicken bones. They go after the marrow.