A Ring Around The Collar

I loved animals my entire life but never had birds. My grandmother always had parakeets but they were always in a back room and since I was only at her house once a year, because we lived so far away, I was just never around them.

I don’t even remember what brought it up but Gordon mentioned one day that he had a parakeet when he was growing up and really liked it. Soon after that, I decided to surprise him with Tweetie, a little yellow parakeet.

The day I went to the pet store to choose the bird for Gordon, I started watching the parrots. I became very intrigued and left the store that day with a new interest in learning more about them. I decided to visit a pet store in town that specialized in parrots. That’s where I met Katie, a Severe Macaw. I purchased her, the cage and all the necessities. Unfortunately, many pet stores are in business to make a profit and not for the welfare of the animal and this store wasn’t any different. They sent me home with this medium sized parrot with no instructions on how to properly care for or handle her. So our first experience with parrots ended with us finding her a new home because we just didn’t know what we were doing.

A few years later I was working with a lady that bred and raised cockatiels. She used to tell me stories about how her little girl would play with these birds. My interest in birds was once again peaked and we decided to give it another try. We purchased a beautiful Lutino Cockatiel from her and named it Ceaser, I guess because we had a greyhound named Julius at that time.

Ceaser was a precious little bird and after a few months we decided to add a second cockatiel. We purchased a normal grey cockatiel and named him Arthur but called him Artie. It turned out to be a male and quite a good little talker and whistler.

This time my friend helped us with the proper way to handle and care for birds and it was a wonderful experience. I would go to the store each month and purchase a bird magazine. I read it from cover to cover trying to absorb all the knowledge I could about proper bird care. While reading one of these magazines one day, I came across an article about African Grey parrots and it was all over, I had to have one.

My husband decided to get me a Congo African Grey parrot for Christmas that year. So in December, 1993, Angel, my sweet little female African Grey, came to live with us.

As their name implies, these birds originated in Africa and have a tendency to be a little skittish. That’s probably because they are ground feeders in the wild and have to be able to take flight in a moments notice if trouble approaches. And since Africa is known for it’s wild animal population that are quick to approach, these birds have to be a step ahead.

Angel was only two weeks old when I first met her. She had some grey fuzz on her but no feathers. We had done our homework this time and found that it was best to purchase a parrot directly from the breeder, which I did. I went to visit her once a week at the breeder’s house, watching her grow and building a bond between us which we still have to this day.

She can be a little cantankerous and definitely prefers woman but really only likes me. She is like a puppy dog with me although if she doesn’t get her way, I will get a little nip from her.

Tweetie, Ceaser and Artie have since passed away so Angel is the only one of the original birds that we still have. Since African Grey parrots can live 60-80 years, I’m sure she will be here for many more years. In fact, she may outlive me. At least I certainly hope so.

After we had Angel for a while, we were given the opportunity to purchase the entire cockatiel breeding stock of a local breeder. We made the purchase and with their help and many hours of reading and research, we started our little breeding business.

We found out that we had a special knack for working with and handling parrots and people started calling us to work with their birds to try and tame them. We became very busy in the bird world. We were active in the local bird club and devoted a good portion of our time to birds. We wanted people to be educated in the proper care and handling of birds so they wouldn’t have the same experience we did with our first bird.

We were very successful and we had baby birds everywhere. We were worried we wouldn’t be able to sell all of them but never had any problems. In fact we had such sweet, healthy birds, the word spread fast and our reputation grew. I usually had a waiting list for our birds. We ventured out and started acquiring and breeding a few other breeds such as Lovebirds, Quakers, Conures, Pionus, Timneh and Congo African Grey parrots. Before we knew it, we had over a hundred birds and our business was going strong.

Then I one morning I woke up with my left arm numb and in horrible pain. I ended up having surgery on my neck. I had some complications and could no longer care for all those birds. We sold all of our breeders and kept only our pets and birds we had acquired because people no longer wanted them. We still have quite a few birds but compared to what we used to have it doesn’t seem like many.

We also have Adam, a male Congo African Grey parrot. We got Adam when he was just a few weeks old and he’s about 12 now. He prefers Gordon but will also let me handle him. He has a very large vocabulary and is very smart. He is also the one responsible for nipping the butts of quite a few of our foster greyhounds over the years, making them scared of the birds.

Adam sounds just like me when he talks but can also talk in my husband’s voice. African Greys are known for being able to talk in more than one voice. He can even talk in the same voice as some of the other parrots sometimes making me think it was them and not him. Gordon & I have gone to see what the other one needs on many occasions only to find out that it was Adam doing the calling, not the other spouse.

I taught him to wave night, night and he waves at me every night before bedtime. He is a lot of fun.

Another bird that prefers Gordon is John Pierre, our Red Lored Amazon. Amazon’s originated in South America and they are beautiful, colorful birds. We acquired him because after owning him for twelve years, his owners no longer wanted him. Although he is a great bird, he hates me because he is jealous of my relationship with Gordon. Gordon is his preferred person and he is gentle as a lamb with him. Therefore I have to be very careful around him because he will bite me if given a chance. Since this breed has a lifespan of 60-80 years, I’ll be avoiding his bites for a long time to come.

John Pierre talks a little bit but most of his words are hard to understand. We do know that the previous owners used to yell at him sometimes because he mimics them from time to time. He and the Pionus get along great and when they are out of their cage, can usually be found sitting together. When I did some research on these two breeds I found that in the wild, these two breeds spend a lot of time in the same places so I guess they come by their friendship naturally.

We have two Blue Headed Pionus, Oliver and Elliott. Pionus also originated from South America. Oliver was a baby that we raised and although we have never done a DNA test, I now think that Oliver may be a female, but of course I’m not sure. The only way to know the sex of a parrot, except a couple of breeds that are demographically different, is by surgically sexing or DNA testing them. Of course you will also know if you have one that lays an egg. Oliver is very quiet and sweet. This breed is not real thrilled to be held but will let me once in a while.

Elliot was another parrot that we acquired because his previous owner no longer wanted him. He has been DNA tested and is a male. He can talk although his vocabulary isn’t real large. He can also whistle a few songs. He has more personality than Oliver. He loves to bark like the dogs. So between him and AJ, the barking can become very annoying.

Oliver & Elliot are two very beautiful and sweet birds. This breed has a lifespan of 30-40 years so I’m sure they will be here after we are gone.

Caged next to the Pionus are our two Quakers, Kiwi and Willaby. Quaker’s are also found in South America. Kiwi was one of the babies that we bred but when he was young he got a respiratory infection and I wouldn’t sell him until we knew he would be OK. By the time he got a clean bill of health, I was in love with him and we decided to keep him.

We had another Quaker at that time that was my pride and joy, named Greenbean. He had a huge vocabulary and since Kiwi was housed in the same room, he picked up Greenbean’s vocabulary. We were coming home from a trip late one night and Kiwi started going through the entire vocabulary. This was the first time we had ever heard him speak and he hasn’t stopped since. I’ve taught him to play peek-a-boo, knock-knock and even have him potted trained, which always amazes people when we are out. He is very sweet and can be held by anyone. He has always been a favorite with our grandchildren.

After Greenbean died, I was heartbroken and so was Kiwi. Willaby had been another baby that we bred and had sold him to a lady that no longer wanted him so I decided to see if he and Kiwi would get along in the same cage to give Kiwi some much needed company. They did fine together and have now become great friends. It helped Kiwi get over Greenbean’s loss.

Willaby had not been handled by his previous owner like we handle our birds so he isn’t as tame. He turned out to be a “she” when I came home one day and found that she laid an egg. Of course it wasn’t fertile so we just threw it away. Willaby can be kind of a little toot, especially around the cage but as long as Kiwi is happy, that’s all I care about.

I had never had a desire to own a large macaw but after spending many hours at my friend’s house that bred and owned them, one day I decided I wanted one. She had a pair that had an egg that was about to hatch so I told her I wanted it. That’s how we got Annie, our Greenwing Macaw.

We got her when she was just two weeks old and handfed her until she was about five months old which was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. They are quite a handful to feed when they are babies. But it was very rewarding when she turned into this gorgeous big red bird. She is very sweet and will let anyone hold her. My grandsons think it is so cool to get to hold her.

Macaws can be very loud and are not for the faint of heart. They love to chew wood and if not supervised properly, can be destructive. Macaws are found in the rainforest in South America and feed a lot of other creatures from all the food they drop on the ground while eating, so they can also be messy at home. You don’t ever want to leave them out of the cage while you’re gone; of course we NEVER recommend that with any bird. But with a macaw, you may come home to find your dining room table in splinters. They love to play and are very active. They are like having two year olds their entire life.

Our second macaw is Cassie, a beautiful Blue & Gold Macaw. I had always been attracted to them so when I was given the opportunity to get her when she was just a baby, I decided to go for it.

We handfed Cassie also and I was very happy to get her weaned although she wasn’t quite as challenging to feed as Annie had been. Cassie is a pretty good talker and can also play peek-a-boo. I taught her how to wave and she sits and waves at everyone that comes in, which they get a kick out of. We have taken her to bird fairs and people love to come over and watch her wave at them.

She is a little higher strung than Annie so we have to be careful because she will sometimes play a little too rough. We try to calm her down when she gets too excited.

Cassie will also let our grandsons hold her which thrills them to death. They have it all planned out, which one of them will get Annie and which one will get Cassie when we die. That’s a good thing because macaws have a lifespan of 80-100 years so they may be here when our grandsons are old men.

The last two birds that we have are a White-Bellied Caique, Squeakie and a Black-headed Caique, Eekie. Eekie was given to me by a friend that could no longer keep him. I had always liked this bird so I told her I would take him. He has turned out to be quite a handful and I’m probably going to have to find him another home because when he gets out of his cage, he terrorizes all the other birds. Although he’s the smallest bird in the room, he doesn’t seem to care. I’m afraid that one of the larger birds is going to hurt him.

I had always liked Eekie when my friend had him so I decided that I would like to have a Caique. I got Squeaky at a bird fair a few years ago. He is quite a little comedian. He loves to lie on his back and pull himself around the bottom of the cage using his feet on the side of the cage. It is hilarious to watch. Although I finished raising Squeaky, he decided that he prefers my husband although I can still handle him.

Caique’s are VERY high energy birds and are NOT for novice bird owners. They are very challenging and can be very nippy at times. They are considered the clowns of the bird world. They have a lifespan of 25-35 years.

You have now met our entire “family” and as you can see, it is not your ordinary family. It’s not a life for most people but we love it and it is very rewarding.

We try to share our animals to educate people and to allow them to have the experience of meeting and learning about animals that they might not get to see except in a book or on TV. We have taken them to schools, library programs, Boy Scout programs, nursing homes, etc. trying to share them with others. We are hoping that maybe some little boy or girl will remember what we taught them someday and they will take over where we left off.

I hope you enjoyed meeting our “kids” as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you. As you can see, we have a very large family even though there are only two humans living here. They keep us very busy and cost us a fortune but I wouldn't take a million dollars for any of them.