I live with a scarlet macaw. I adopted him from my friend Josef about 8 years ago. He was considered a difficult bird. He had been passed on from owner to owner in the first 9 years of his life. He was living at Josef's exotic animal farm and was feared by all except Josef. For several months I observed him from a distance as the other volunteers would move him to/from his outdoor quarters each day we worked at Dragon Slayers. One of these observations was
Gandi giving a nasty bite to lady who was moving him: nasty in his attitude and nasty in the damage it did. Whoa. Still, as I watched him I began to notice an interesting personality. Josef really liked the bird and could do anything with him. With Josef's coaching I began to move
Gandi; first using a perch and then allowing him to step onto my arm. The best advice Josef gave me for interacting with
Gandi (or any animal) is "It's not what he wants, it's what you want". And so I took the big step of buying
Gandi and bringing him home. In the picture above he is coaching me at my PC with Indiana Jones for company. However, I almost never let him onto my shoulder anymore. He does bite and he could promptly take a hunk out of my cheek. Now he gets onto my arm, then onto his portable perch to move from room to room, or to our chair in front of the TV, where he will sit on my lap for hours. He is pretty much always with me when I'm in the house; kitchen, studio, shower, TV, library. He sleeps in his cage with a cover over it. He also has an outdoor cage where he likes to spend warm days.
He and
Satine had fun together. They would play hide and seek and could get nose to nose without anyone getting hurt.
Here is
Gandi herding Indiana Jones.
Here he is assisting me in the kitchen. The date says late November, but I see my Christmas tree in the background so I'm sure this is incorrect. I don't put up my Christmas decorations
that early. I wait until December 1st. HA!
I live with a scarlet macaw. I adopted him from my friend Josef about 8 years ago. He was considered a difficult bird. He had been passed on from owner to owner in the first 9 years of his life. He was living at Josef's exotic animal farm and was feared by all except Josef. For several months I observed him from a distance as the other volunteers would move him to/from his outdoor quarters each day we worked at Dragon Slayers. One of these observations was Gandi giving a nasty bite to lady who was moving him: nasty in his attitude and nasty in the damage it did. Whoa. Still, as I watched him I began to notice an interesting personality. Josef really liked the bird and could do anything with him. With Josef's coaching I began to move Gandi; first using a perch and then allowing him to step onto my arm. The best advice Josef gave me for interacting with Gandi (or any animal) is "It's not what he wants, it's what you want". And so I took the big step of buying Gandi and bringing him home. In the picture above he is coaching me at my PC with Indiana Jones for company. However, I almost never let him onto my shoulder anymore. He does bite and he could promptly take a hunk out of my cheek. Now he gets onto my arm, then onto his portable perch to move from room to room, or to our chair in front of the TV, where he will sit on my lap for hours. He is pretty much always with me when I'm in the house; kitchen, studio, shower, TV, library. He sleeps in his cage with a cover over it. He also has an outdoor cage where he likes to spend warm days.
He and Satine had fun together. They would play hide and seek and could get nose to nose without anyone getting hurt.
Here is Gandi herding Indiana Jones.
Here he is assisting me in the kitchen. The date says late November, but I see my Christmas tree in the background so I'm sure this is incorrect. I don't put up my Christmas decorations that early. I wait until December 1st. HA!
3 comments:
Well I don't wait either!! LOL!! Half my Christmas decorations are up already!! And I love Ghandi. He is beautiful! Looks like the perfect union!
Hugs
SueAnn
What a beauty he is! I hear that parrots are pets for life! We have some neighbors who have a flock of them, and let one of their big blue ones out into the trees every afternoon. He occassionally flies over the neighborhood, but always comes back! I've been lucky enough to find a couple of his feathers...
U.
Oooohh!!! What gorgeous plumage. Does he ever shed? I'd snap those babies up and start crafting. I might even sneak a few plucks. He would come to fear me and my glue gun!
You are a SAINT for adopting a bird with 'special needs'. My old ex (with the goats) also had a huge African parrot. Granted, my ex was NOT a good bird owner, but that parrot hated EVERYONE. I saw him snap a broomstick in half one time, and stayed far away from him. He just made me too nervous.
It's adorable that he plays hide and seek with the cat.
I LURVE that Dresden coach below. Good GRIEF that's beautiful. I love the 'pop up' quality of it. Wouldn't that be gorgeous 'rolling' across your mantle?
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