She has such a sweet personality, although I am the only one that can handle her. I almost wish she wasn't so gorgeous. I'd love to have her outside more or take her places with me like I did my Gray or Cockatoo, but she would attract so much attention, not all of it positive. I am very protective of my sweet baby girl. She's been through enough, she had to be given up by her first owner at age 15 and stayed at the avian rescue place for several months before we took her home. Parrots are extremely sensitive and emotional creatures, with the intelligence of a young child. Am I tugging at your heartstrings here....?
So we'd like to complete our little nest (Sorry, could NOT resist) with another parrot. (Just ONE MORE. We KNOW where this has gone before - in my previous life I had four...wait, five! at one time. Some were fosters, two were rescues, but still...too many parrots. All talking in different voices, making different dog barks and cat meows, all trying to out-do each other...Claude used to remark that the house sounded like a locked psychiatric facility. I had to agree. But hey, it was fun! Even if Claude didn't quite think so, and looked upon my avian hobby as an expensive way to keep me relatively happy. Smile, Claude.) So yes, a feathered friend that Ruby would enjoy as company, not competition; one that my husband Jack could handle, since Ruby only has eyes for me and reserves that large biting beak of hers for Jack. We contacted a reputable bird rescue near here, and although they had no African Gray parrots available at the time, I filled out the extensive adoption application and faxed it in. We were approved, and life went on.
I actually forgot about filling out that application, and was taken by surprise when I received a phone call a few months later. A week later, Figaro was ensconced in isolation upstairs. He spent the first week glowering at me and trying to bite me every time I went to change his water or give him food. This bird came with several warnings: (Rescue and foster birds usually do.)
1) He hates women.
2) He might bite.
3) He might have behavior problems.
BUT....he also came with a long list of positives. African Grays are probably the most intelligent parrot out there, and this bird had an enormous vocabulary. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was also bi-lingual. I speak a little Spanish, and could understand some of what he said in his native tongue. He also had a nice repertoire of songs he would sing in different voices, his favorite being "Happy Birthday to You" which he would sing several (many, MANY) times in a row, changing it up to "Happy Birthday to Me". "Me,me, MEEEEEEEEEE." Oooh yay, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, in the cage to the right!
This little guy was cute, and since Congo Grays all look pretty much the same, my heart melted when I first saw him. Just like Quela! My attitude is "Love conquers all" so I reached in to skritch his little head, and I promptly got bit. HARD. (Smile, Claude.) Ok, I won't try to touch you or get you out of your cage for a while, Figaro. Especially since your flight feathers are fully grown out, and you're not really ours, either! I have a very good friend who lost a beloved Gray that way. Fortunately, that bird is in Southern California where the weather is temperate in the winter, and we're in Central Texas where it was 17 degrees a few weeks ago. (Which I personally adore for a winter temperature, although these little Texas cupcakes - women AND men alike - all complain about it.)
I decided to concentrate on getting him onto a good diet, since he came with a plethora of horrible food. His previous owners were well-meaning, but poorly informed as to what parrots need for proper nutrition. Salted peanuts and salted sunflower seeds, artificially colored pellets...I wasn't sure if they fed him any fresh fruit or vegetables, but he was about to get them every day. In spite of his poor diet, he looked fat and happy, but I thought perhaps he might feel better and be even happier if he was eating better. Due to being bonded with the man of the house in his previous life, and having to be given up for health reasons, the wife had been taking care of him and Figaro hated her, bit her, and the feeling was probably mutual. Hence the warning that he hated women. True that - he loved Jack's presence. He would sidle up to the cage and coo at him, flirt with him, listen attentively to him....you playah! I'M the parrot person around here, don't you know that? Both of you, stop that now!!
The wife, in desperation to keep from being bitten by Figgy, bribed him with candy. He came to my house with a little bag of sesame candy in his little suitcase, and the minute he saw it or heard the crinkle of a wrapper, he'd start jonesing for his fix. Sugar is one of the very worst things for parrots, as it makes them prone to fungal infections. This bird was ADDICTED. His eyes would bug out and he'd run back and forth on his perch, saying "Want some? Want some? Want some!!?" over and over. I'd break off a tiny piece, out of compassion for the detoxing addict, and he'd focus on his fix and leave me alone while I changed his food and water. Sigh. How to get him off his drug of choice?
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