I am horrible at making short posts, so I apologize in advance if this gets lengthy! This is pretty much my original post from "the other place", with a few edits:
In the later part of July of 2009, we adopted a 14 year old YNA, Delilah. We found her listed on Craigslist, along with 4 other birds, and thought we would just "go meet her". Ha! My 16 year old daughter, my mother and I all drove the 20 minute drive to go meet her, and fell in love with her immediately. We weren't much impressed with her owner, as he didn't have anything nice to say about her. It seems she didn't care for men very much, and he made it clear he didn't care for her either. My mother asked if she could get her out of the cage, and he gave fair warning that she would bite and he would not be held responsible. Sooo, she opened up the cage, slowly put her hand in and asked Delilah if she wanted to come out. Delilah hopped up on her hand and came out and let out the loudest laugh I have ever heard, and it was a laugh as if she was saying "I am soooo out of here ya jerk!". Mom put her on her cage and Delilah said "Ohhhh you're a gooooood guuuuurl!". That was it, she was ours. She wouldn't be spending another night in a home that didn't like her. We put her in the carrier and she let out a pitiful, mournful cry, OhhhhhhHoHoHoHoOhhhhh. We sang to her all the way home and reassured her she would never have to worry about being loved again.
The owner sent a cage home with us, but once I got it inside, I realized how bad of shape it was in. It was never meant for a parrot, as it had weak bars that a cockatoo had snapped off in several places. Delilah could stick her head out of the top of it where there were bars missing! The next day we went and bought a different cage for her, but she didn't like it at all, it was pitiful to see her so unhappy in it. She never wanted to be in the cage, only out on the door. One evening, she wanted on my arm, so I extended it for her, she started to climb on and the door shifted a bit and she nailed me a good one. She was biting so hard on my wrist that my fingers started to go numb. I was crying out "Oh Delilah Baby! That hurts, you have to let go!". Well, she ended up flying to the floor and let out that pitful cry, as if she thought she was in trouble. Once I got my senses back and could speak, I reassured her she was ok, I was ok, it's all ok! My daughter picked her up and put her back on her cage for me. Poor Delilah, she was putting that birdie foot out to be picked up again, and I just couldn't. I was in so much pain and so shocked at what had happened that I was too afraid to pick her up again. The next day, she was out of her cage again, and my mother had to leave for an appointment. She had Delilah step up so she could put her in the cage, and Delilah nailed her on the hand. Two bites in two days, not good. My mother had to go for a CT Scan that day, and unfortunately ended up being admitted to the hospital with "a lot of blood clots" in her lungs. She was in the hospital for 5 days and is now on blood thinners and can't even think about picking up Delilah for at least 6 months because of the risk of being bitten. Poor Delilah, she had only been with us for 4 days before mom disappeared for a week, I can't imagine what she was thinking.
Soooo, I e-mailed the previous owner and asked if he would sell the cage she was in at his house, and maybe that would make her a bit happier. He agreed to sell it for an amount a bit more than the cage was worth, but we thought if that would make Delilah happy, to have her house back, then it was worth whatever it took. We were right! Delilah saw me wheeling the cage into the house and out she came from her cage and onto her old home she went in no time at all! She got in her cage and inspected her perches, her toys, her dishes and the bars. She was so happy to have her house back! Since then, we have upgraded her cage to a much larger one, and though she wasn't happy about it at first, she adjusted to the new cage within a few days. She has so much more room in her new cage and she can have so many more toys to play with inside and out.
Delilah has a very good vocabulary. She says "hello; buh bye with a southern slang; yells Grandma! and PaaaaPaaaa!; sings Happy Birthday to Me!; sings Old McDonald; says That's Not Fair; whistles and says Here Boy; sings La La La La La La Laaaaaaa before breaking into song; whistles a tune and then says Rock On!; wolf whistles and then says Pretty Bird, Yeah!; says Wanna Bite, Mmmmm Good; Wanna Apple; crows like a rooster; meows like a cat; barks like a puppy; snores; growls like a mean dog and says other things we haven't figured out yet. Of course, she does all of this only when we are not in the same room.
But that's ok, she is sheer entertainment during dinner!
I am confident that Delilah once lived with a family that adored her, because so many of the things she says are so sweet and in such a sweet voice. She has many voices, one is a child, one is an elderly voice, and one seems to be just her own voice. In the mornings, you can hear her sweetly saying "Good morning baby" as we are waking up the other birds. And sometimes when she says hello, it's in the sweetest old lady voice I've ever heard. Her last owner may not have liked her, but her first owner loved her and her forever owners love her!
We are very early into our relationship with Delilah, and earning her trust bit by bit. I haven't picked her up, without a perch, since she bit me. I realized quickly that she needs to adjust and learn to trust us in her own time, not in our time. Head scritches are rare, but treasured moments and sharing a bowl of cereal is our special time together. I know in time, however much time that may be, she will happily take head scritches and step up on my hand without biting. She has all the time she needs, even if it's her lifetime.
In the later part of July of 2009, we adopted a 14 year old YNA, Delilah. We found her listed on Craigslist, along with 4 other birds, and thought we would just "go meet her". Ha! My 16 year old daughter, my mother and I all drove the 20 minute drive to go meet her, and fell in love with her immediately. We weren't much impressed with her owner, as he didn't have anything nice to say about her. It seems she didn't care for men very much, and he made it clear he didn't care for her either. My mother asked if she could get her out of the cage, and he gave fair warning that she would bite and he would not be held responsible. Sooo, she opened up the cage, slowly put her hand in and asked Delilah if she wanted to come out. Delilah hopped up on her hand and came out and let out the loudest laugh I have ever heard, and it was a laugh as if she was saying "I am soooo out of here ya jerk!". Mom put her on her cage and Delilah said "Ohhhh you're a gooooood guuuuurl!". That was it, she was ours. She wouldn't be spending another night in a home that didn't like her. We put her in the carrier and she let out a pitiful, mournful cry, OhhhhhhHoHoHoHoOhhhhh. We sang to her all the way home and reassured her she would never have to worry about being loved again.
The owner sent a cage home with us, but once I got it inside, I realized how bad of shape it was in. It was never meant for a parrot, as it had weak bars that a cockatoo had snapped off in several places. Delilah could stick her head out of the top of it where there were bars missing! The next day we went and bought a different cage for her, but she didn't like it at all, it was pitiful to see her so unhappy in it. She never wanted to be in the cage, only out on the door. One evening, she wanted on my arm, so I extended it for her, she started to climb on and the door shifted a bit and she nailed me a good one. She was biting so hard on my wrist that my fingers started to go numb. I was crying out "Oh Delilah Baby! That hurts, you have to let go!". Well, she ended up flying to the floor and let out that pitful cry, as if she thought she was in trouble. Once I got my senses back and could speak, I reassured her she was ok, I was ok, it's all ok! My daughter picked her up and put her back on her cage for me. Poor Delilah, she was putting that birdie foot out to be picked up again, and I just couldn't. I was in so much pain and so shocked at what had happened that I was too afraid to pick her up again. The next day, she was out of her cage again, and my mother had to leave for an appointment. She had Delilah step up so she could put her in the cage, and Delilah nailed her on the hand. Two bites in two days, not good. My mother had to go for a CT Scan that day, and unfortunately ended up being admitted to the hospital with "a lot of blood clots" in her lungs. She was in the hospital for 5 days and is now on blood thinners and can't even think about picking up Delilah for at least 6 months because of the risk of being bitten. Poor Delilah, she had only been with us for 4 days before mom disappeared for a week, I can't imagine what she was thinking.
Soooo, I e-mailed the previous owner and asked if he would sell the cage she was in at his house, and maybe that would make her a bit happier. He agreed to sell it for an amount a bit more than the cage was worth, but we thought if that would make Delilah happy, to have her house back, then it was worth whatever it took. We were right! Delilah saw me wheeling the cage into the house and out she came from her cage and onto her old home she went in no time at all! She got in her cage and inspected her perches, her toys, her dishes and the bars. She was so happy to have her house back! Since then, we have upgraded her cage to a much larger one, and though she wasn't happy about it at first, she adjusted to the new cage within a few days. She has so much more room in her new cage and she can have so many more toys to play with inside and out.
Delilah has a very good vocabulary. She says "hello; buh bye with a southern slang; yells Grandma! and PaaaaPaaaa!; sings Happy Birthday to Me!; sings Old McDonald; says That's Not Fair; whistles and says Here Boy; sings La La La La La La Laaaaaaa before breaking into song; whistles a tune and then says Rock On!; wolf whistles and then says Pretty Bird, Yeah!; says Wanna Bite, Mmmmm Good; Wanna Apple; crows like a rooster; meows like a cat; barks like a puppy; snores; growls like a mean dog and says other things we haven't figured out yet. Of course, she does all of this only when we are not in the same room.
I am confident that Delilah once lived with a family that adored her, because so many of the things she says are so sweet and in such a sweet voice. She has many voices, one is a child, one is an elderly voice, and one seems to be just her own voice. In the mornings, you can hear her sweetly saying "Good morning baby" as we are waking up the other birds. And sometimes when she says hello, it's in the sweetest old lady voice I've ever heard. Her last owner may not have liked her, but her first owner loved her and her forever owners love her!
We are very early into our relationship with Delilah, and earning her trust bit by bit. I haven't picked her up, without a perch, since she bit me. I realized quickly that she needs to adjust and learn to trust us in her own time, not in our time. Head scritches are rare, but treasured moments and sharing a bowl of cereal is our special time together. I know in time, however much time that may be, she will happily take head scritches and step up on my hand without biting. She has all the time she needs, even if it's her lifetime.
