Three years ago, I joined a college program, zookeeping. In it, I skipped 1-2 classes every day (I got high school credit, and twice as much as I would have if I stayed at highschool) and took a class on zookeeping instead. 2 days a week, that class was at the zoo. We worked in the outreach area, where guests get to interact with the animals there and help care for them. I cleaned cages, prepared diets and made toys for a variety of animals, from tarantulas to an owl, all while involving guests as much as possible. At the time, I never had a bird.
Mister was a male eclectus, the only parrot there. He had an entire roof to play on (toys and perches all around the rafters on the 100 'x30' building) and slept in a closet. The cage was small (when I got my first bird, a cockatiel, I accidentally bought the exact same cage for her) but he rarely was in there.
Mr was a recovering plucker. He is about 25 years old. I liked him, but He did not like me. He didn't like much of anyone really. Only one guy in the whole zoo could hold him. He screamed at me when I changed out his toys (once a day) and dropped food cups on my head. I once asked if he could be my "defining moment" (a reward for showing proficiency in the ccomplete care of a group of animals, we get to interact with an animal of our choice) and was told no, that I would be bitten. I would've been happy having someone show me a few tricks of his! Something about that "mean" bird who screamed at me and dropped cups on my head seemed very appealing to me. So, for two years, (year two I gor my first cockatiel) i said "hey mister" Every time I saw him (halfway through year two, he started repeating it back to any staff who said it to him), and talked to him frequently. I made his Food, cleaned his bowls, and changed his toys. He is still my favorite animal in the zoo.
And now I have a cockatoo!
Mister was a male eclectus, the only parrot there. He had an entire roof to play on (toys and perches all around the rafters on the 100 'x30' building) and slept in a closet. The cage was small (when I got my first bird, a cockatiel, I accidentally bought the exact same cage for her) but he rarely was in there.
Mr was a recovering plucker. He is about 25 years old. I liked him, but He did not like me. He didn't like much of anyone really. Only one guy in the whole zoo could hold him. He screamed at me when I changed out his toys (once a day) and dropped food cups on my head. I once asked if he could be my "defining moment" (a reward for showing proficiency in the ccomplete care of a group of animals, we get to interact with an animal of our choice) and was told no, that I would be bitten. I would've been happy having someone show me a few tricks of his! Something about that "mean" bird who screamed at me and dropped cups on my head seemed very appealing to me. So, for two years, (year two I gor my first cockatiel) i said "hey mister" Every time I saw him (halfway through year two, he started repeating it back to any staff who said it to him), and talked to him frequently. I made his Food, cleaned his bowls, and changed his toys. He is still my favorite animal in the zoo.
And now I have a cockatoo!
If you had not, you might not have had Dexter and might not be on AA!
