We're about 9 months in, and the story has changed. I'm now leaning toward rehoming Bea.
She has done nothing wrong and for all intents and purposes is what I would call 'a good bird'. She doesn't bite me, she can be transferred by hand from cage to perch, and she is not aggressive. We have rehabilitated (or helped her rediscover) all the appropriate behaviors of a well-mannered companion parrot: bathing, eating whatever she is fed, following a routine, and even getting in the carrier to go get her nails trimmed. She knows several tricks and enjoys learning.
She is not unduly loud, yet has a wide and hilarious vocabulary. She takes food gently and cares not at all about the dog or the other bird. She can get cage territorial in the evening if my husband comes in during our reading time, but she doesn't mind him during the day or when she's on her playstand. I wouldn't call her a man's bird, but she doesn't attack him.
So why rehome her? I don't think she is the right fit for me. I think I am too demanding. I like training and interacting. I've always taken my birds on adventures. I think my past birds conditioned me to believe that all birds can be adventurous, hands-on companions. Even though I've heard everybody else say that 'birds are prey animals...go slow... etc etc', my experience has always been that birds are affectionate and fun.
Bea moves away from me when I approach the cage. She will let me taxi her to the playstand and back. She will take food and she will train. But she will not let me touch her, and she still turns her back on me (as an almost default-like behavior). She is definitely happiest when we have her in the room with us, but we demand nothing of her. She likes playing with her toys and climbing, so she isn't what I'd call a perch potato. She is just not interested in interacting with us.
Two different students visit every week and their moms (one is a blond and one is brunette) cause her to light up like a Christmas tree. She rushes over to visit, she talks to them, she fans her tail and climbs along the cage to chase them. She is so excited to see them!
Then I visit her - turns her back or does nothing.
Concurrently with all this, I've been continuing to visit the sanctuary where she lived for a year. I socialize the birds and help out. There is an Amazon there who has been there for 8 years. I've been visiting with him since shortly after adopting Bea. He really likes me. He climbs from the wayyyyyyy back of his enclosure where he sits and comes right up to my corner, pushes his head down and asks for scratches. I just returned from visiting him. I scratched his head for 20 unbroken minutes when I first arrived.
Then we unlocked the enclosure and I got to love on him with my hand inside. I can't believe he's still there. When I asked how such a sweet bird could be there for so long, the manager told me he is slow to warm up to people and doesn't really come down to engage with anybody.
Except me and a particular volunteer.
When I'm there, he has the 'soft eye' that a parrot has when they are at ease and welcoming touch or your presence. He radiates comfort in my presence and seeks me out. I think I can accurately say that he 'likes me'. Bea will get the 'soft eye', but only when she is sitting on her perch without me near her.
Several other medium and large sized birds have found homes since I brought Bea home to live with me. By keeping her here, I am limiting her exposure to a family or person that might be the perfect fit.
I will post on the adoption page so people can find her, but I'm in no rush. I will be asking an adoption fee so that she goes to a good home. If I can't find the right fit, I will likely return her to the sanctuary where a future owner can be vetted by the park manager. If the other Amazon responds favorably in the next stages of adoption (e.g. visiting out of cage, handling, meeting husband, etc), he will probably be coming home with us.
I've been thinking about this for awhile and hoping that she would open up to us. But knowing there is another bird who so clearly enjoys my presence while she does not...it's hard to keep hoping.
I suppose I'm posting because I feel sad, hopeful, and conflicted all at once. If anybody would understand the difficulty in making decisions about companion birds, it's the people in this community.
Lastly, I know there is no guarantee that the other Amazon will be the perfect fit either. If we're starting at a place of mutual affection, however, I think we can build the other skills and habits.
She has done nothing wrong and for all intents and purposes is what I would call 'a good bird'. She doesn't bite me, she can be transferred by hand from cage to perch, and she is not aggressive. We have rehabilitated (or helped her rediscover) all the appropriate behaviors of a well-mannered companion parrot: bathing, eating whatever she is fed, following a routine, and even getting in the carrier to go get her nails trimmed. She knows several tricks and enjoys learning.
She is not unduly loud, yet has a wide and hilarious vocabulary. She takes food gently and cares not at all about the dog or the other bird. She can get cage territorial in the evening if my husband comes in during our reading time, but she doesn't mind him during the day or when she's on her playstand. I wouldn't call her a man's bird, but she doesn't attack him.
So why rehome her? I don't think she is the right fit for me. I think I am too demanding. I like training and interacting. I've always taken my birds on adventures. I think my past birds conditioned me to believe that all birds can be adventurous, hands-on companions. Even though I've heard everybody else say that 'birds are prey animals...go slow... etc etc', my experience has always been that birds are affectionate and fun.
Bea moves away from me when I approach the cage. She will let me taxi her to the playstand and back. She will take food and she will train. But she will not let me touch her, and she still turns her back on me (as an almost default-like behavior). She is definitely happiest when we have her in the room with us, but we demand nothing of her. She likes playing with her toys and climbing, so she isn't what I'd call a perch potato. She is just not interested in interacting with us.
Two different students visit every week and their moms (one is a blond and one is brunette) cause her to light up like a Christmas tree. She rushes over to visit, she talks to them, she fans her tail and climbs along the cage to chase them. She is so excited to see them!
Then I visit her - turns her back or does nothing.
Concurrently with all this, I've been continuing to visit the sanctuary where she lived for a year. I socialize the birds and help out. There is an Amazon there who has been there for 8 years. I've been visiting with him since shortly after adopting Bea. He really likes me. He climbs from the wayyyyyyy back of his enclosure where he sits and comes right up to my corner, pushes his head down and asks for scratches. I just returned from visiting him. I scratched his head for 20 unbroken minutes when I first arrived.
Then we unlocked the enclosure and I got to love on him with my hand inside. I can't believe he's still there. When I asked how such a sweet bird could be there for so long, the manager told me he is slow to warm up to people and doesn't really come down to engage with anybody.
Except me and a particular volunteer.
When I'm there, he has the 'soft eye' that a parrot has when they are at ease and welcoming touch or your presence. He radiates comfort in my presence and seeks me out. I think I can accurately say that he 'likes me'. Bea will get the 'soft eye', but only when she is sitting on her perch without me near her.
Several other medium and large sized birds have found homes since I brought Bea home to live with me. By keeping her here, I am limiting her exposure to a family or person that might be the perfect fit.
I will post on the adoption page so people can find her, but I'm in no rush. I will be asking an adoption fee so that she goes to a good home. If I can't find the right fit, I will likely return her to the sanctuary where a future owner can be vetted by the park manager. If the other Amazon responds favorably in the next stages of adoption (e.g. visiting out of cage, handling, meeting husband, etc), he will probably be coming home with us.
I've been thinking about this for awhile and hoping that she would open up to us. But knowing there is another bird who so clearly enjoys my presence while she does not...it's hard to keep hoping.
I suppose I'm posting because I feel sad, hopeful, and conflicted all at once. If anybody would understand the difficulty in making decisions about companion birds, it's the people in this community.
Lastly, I know there is no guarantee that the other Amazon will be the perfect fit either. If we're starting at a place of mutual affection, however, I think we can build the other skills and habits.
