I am currently in the process of having a nervous breakdown.

I am wordy by nature, so please don't blame me if this goes all over the place. I'm *beside* myself just at the moment!

OK, so things were getting gradually better with Rosetta. I was keeping the out-of-cage sessions short and she was responding by not being quite so OTT. She had actually begun to listen to me on a few occasions, so I'd been calling to her and offering a treat when she flew to me.

This is the single most important thing you will ever teach your bird! Please remember that as I tell my tale.

We'd had a bit of a cold snap (unusual for October in Australia), but it ended with a bang and we had a real sizzler on Wednesday. It was hot and stuffy in the house, so we put Rosetta out on the deck next to the Beaks, thinking she'd enjoy the chance to have fresh air and something to look at.

Fine.

I digress to say that 'setta's cage is the old one our Dommie used to live in. It has a single large door in front that swings outward and down. It clips up by virtue of a projection of curled wire that locks with the cage bars above it when you push hard. Years ago, our Madge (Alexandrine) found that she could *easily* open the door simply by biting and applying pressure in a skewed direction.

Now, this was pretty clever for a bird with a brain the size of a bird's, but imagine my amazement when 'setta learned to do the exact same thing! (NB. Dommie never did - we assumed because his bill wasn't strong enough). Late one night, I was busily doing some homework when a big white birdie landed on my shoulder and commenced to chomp my earring! She'd opened the door, even with her little corella-bill!

Well! Hubby provided a big-mother carabiner with which we carefully snibbed the cage shut and that was that...

... until today.

(Am I successfully building apprehension? I hope so! This was an unutterably apprehensive situation!!!)

I was working. At two o'clock, I thought I'd pause and get a bite to eat. As usual, I popped out to give each of the birds a corner of my (wholemeal multigrain) crusts. Everyone was happy, albeit a bit steamy, what with the weather and all. I finished my lunch and worked on. At half-past three, my son (Matt) went outside to give everyone a bit of egg carton to chomp on. He rushed back inside and croaked 'Setta's not in her cage! She's gone!'

We all piled out to see and, sure enough, she had somehow moved the big-mother carabiner, opened the door-lock and squidged herself out of the inch-and-a-half opening! She was GONE!!!

Only those who have lost a bird can know the heart-sickness that follows such a discovery. You rake the skies with your eyes, hoping against hope for a sighting of a big white bird. You scan all the trees and listen, calling desperately. We'd only had Rosetta for three weeks. Our place wasn't 'home' for her yet and we were only just becoming 'her' people. Would she come to us if we found her?

Well, of course she would! After half-an-hour's desperate searching and calling, she flew down out of our very own gum tree (where she had been amazingly camouflaged) and landed on Matt's head. He startled and she flew off to land in Mum's magnolia tree. She sat there for another good half-hour, surgically snipping all the new buds off the branches and coating herself with orange-coloured magnolia-goo (she looks like a cast member from Sweeney Todd atm).

Finally, a gust of wind dislodged her and she swung upside-down from her branch. Unable to right herself, she flew down to land on Matt's shoulder from where I neatly scooped her up and carried her inside. As I type this, she's bounding up and down on her boing and bellowing like a mad thing, utterly pleased with herself and probably reliving her exciting adventure.

A person should NOT have to experience that awful, heart-sinking feeling! The situation was almost identical to the time our Barney (Alexandrine) escaped. It was a windy day with random gusts coming irregularly and plenty of wild birds flying this way and that across the sky. Just like Barney, 'setta looked meaningfully down at us as if she had every intention of coming to our call - and then she'd turn away and eat the blessed tree as if I'd never even given her the healthiest, most expensive pellets I could find for her! Then she came down on a gust of wind instead of lifting up on it. That was the difference: just that one tiny detail.

It could have been so different and we were so incredibly lucky. There were wild corellas out there and 'setta called to them a few times. I convinced myself she'd join them if they flew over, but thankfully she came instead to Matt's call. We have her safe at home simply because she had learned a bit of recall training.

PS. I'd been in the middle of a timed online maths exam when 'setta went missing. I believe I have scored somewhere close to zero. Don't care! 'Setta's home!

Wow, that was an adventure indeed!


( I love your storytelling btw; forget about math, just go with the alpha-stuff and become an even more famous writer)


I think it is padlock-time...
(my first grey also did the escape-artist-impression a lot, padlocks were the only way to keep him in untill we got another cage that was too strong for him)
In case of emergency (or lost key) you can allways get to the bird the via the bottom of the cage (they almost always slide out completely).

Oh, GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!

Just about the only thing the Rb has NOT done to me over the years is escape to the outdoors... and in his (our) younger days, I gave him some opportunities!

Thank goodness that stinker is BACK.

I love your story-telling, too. That expression about 'raking the skies' with your eyes really got to me.

I bet that the horrible feeling upon realizing a bird is gone is only matched in power by the thrill of recovery, and having the little wanderer back in hand.

GaleriaGila, you are oh-so-correct! My heart's still pounding these five hours later! Truly, this bird is so darned recalcitrant, oppositional and downright defiant, I just *knew* she was gone forever. It was only those lessons in recall that saved the day.

Mind you, coming when called is the *only* thing naughty 'setta will do at the moment. It's all I can do to keep her strident bellowing below ear-splitting level and keeping her sitting quietly on my hand. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!

However, she's doing better every day. I can feel it. Each day, she pays a tiny bit more attention and waits a tiny bit longer before she goes off her scone. This gives me heart to keep going.

Mind you, 'setta is all blood-stained up her front from the scratches she inflicts on my flesh! She'd be good company for Alice Cooper right now. LOL! Thankfully, I can laugh at last!

The thing is, 'setta has only lived with us just over a couple of weeks. She hasn't really bonded properly yet and had absolutely no reason to fly down to Matt beyond whatever good vibes she's taken from him. We were so very lucky! Please, everyone, teach your bird to come to his/her name!

Christa, the first thing I did after I realised I wasn't about to die of a heart-attack was to check out new cages. Dommie's cage is far too small for an active girl like 'setta, so I'm going to order the biggest, fattest, lockingest cage I can afford. And yes, there will be padlocks!

(PS. My Matt is autistic and so he tends to - um - descend upon certain things and make them into Laws of Nature. One of his special 'things' is locking doors. That means every door he ever passes through *will* be locked immediately he shows up on its other side. This can be quite awkward for many reasons, but largely we just laugh at it. Another of his 'things' is washing the animals' dishes. That means he hovers over them while they eat and then snatches away the dishes before the poor cats and dog ever get a chance to lick the bottom. But by gum they are clean when next the animals eat! Matt scours them in detergent and boiling water and dries them tenderly, ready for tomorrow-night's tea.

His most insistent 'thing' is locking his bird cages. He has a dizzying array of high-tensile cables and padlocks with which he binds up each cage of an evening, locking each one while uttering soothing words of 'goodnight' to his babies and assuring them that no disreputable fellow will gain entry and steal them away.

Yes, he does actually say 'disreputable fellow' because someone told him that was a translation for 'bastard' (he won't say that). And yes, someone did once sneak in and steal all his babies, leaving one lonely peachface behind. If I ever found out who that filthy individual was, I would turn 'setta on him and then spray him in lemon juice!!!

Anyway, suffice it to say that Matt takes cage security as his personal resonsibility and is agonising over 'setta's escape. None of us ever dreamed she would find her way out, but she did. Lesson learned.

And now, back to the Raising of Rosetta...

So glad this story had a happy ended! Will be neat to see how thestory if Rosetta developes over Time, as you said you are only two weeks in!

Well, at least you got a cardiac-workout in!!! Those ever-so-tiny "bird-brains" are quite deceiving in their mental capacities, aren't they? It is absolutely amazing what birds can not only figure-out on their own, but what they can actually perceive and understand the concept of. That's what amazing to me about most bird's intelligence levels. Yes, you can easily train a dog to come to you when you call them, and they'll follow that command every time you give it to them. However, they have no idea what they are actually doing, let alone why they are doing it. Whereas a parrot can sit outside in a tree, free as, well, "a bird", knowing that they can leave any time they want to, but instead they stay in the tree, close to their home and in which they can see their home, and are actually both feeling and understanding their "anticipation" of their owner bringing them a treat if and when they call to them to come back home. There are very few living creatures who possess this level of intelligence that allows them to actually understand concepts and logical reasoning. And this is both a fortunate and unfortunate attribute, as this metal ability is also the main cause of the Feather-Destructive Behaviors and Self-Mutilation that bored and mentally under-stimulated pet parrots fall-trap to...

However, the take-away for you and your family from Rosetta's little adventure into the Outback, besides your new-found love of padlocks, is your realization of just how deeply you love this white, feathery ball of never-ending energy. I could sense just how frustrated you were after reading your past few posts regarding Rosetta's never-ending energy reserves, and her constant motion and need to just "go-go-go" every second of the day. I remember thinking to myself that you were going through the typical "What have I gotten myself into?" period that many parrot owners go through during the first few weeks after bringing home a new, feathery family member, especially when that new feathery family member is a big, white Cockatoo baby who has a good year before they start to grow-out of their "baby stage".

So, as I always try to force myself to find any and all silver-linings in the tragedies or near-tragedies that have happened throughout my life, you just found a HUGE silver-lining; you just got your first glimpse of how you would truly feel if Rosetta was suddenly gone and no-longer a part of your family. You were just given a gift that only a very small portion of the pet-owning population ever gets, as in most-every similar situation that other bird owners have been in, they don't ever get to bring their birds back home, let alone as quickly as you did.

So from this point forward, every single time that Rosetta pushes you to the point of total and complete exhaustion, frustration, and hair-pulling, simply take a few minutes to shut your eyes and take yourself back to that moment when you confirmed that she was no-longer inside of her cage, that she was lost to the outside world, and that you would most-likely never see her again. Then open your eyes back-up, look at Rosetta, and feel that rush of love that you have for her, as well as the knowledge of just how lucky you are to still have her as a part of your family.

Trish, do I recall you considered and rejected the name of "Houdini?" So glad this story has a good ending!

Love your stories, they paint distinct mental images! I am not surprised Rosetta manages egress from the cage. My closely-related Goffins are similarly talented, to the point of having replaced all cages and allowing most of them unlimited freedom in a dedicated room. Three of the five are never caged, yet they enjoy opening the food and water dishes for sport. (compartments are accessed by smooth rotary dials, mastered in a heartbeat) The fourth is in a durable cage in another part of the house, while the fifth is in an indoor flight cage with a Citron.

Not only are these small toos escape artists, they gleefully flit from cage to cage and eagerly set other birds free.

I haven't seen many birds as willful and dogged as small white toos! They are a marvel of nature!!

WOW!! I' would have plain ol' freaked out..period!

Fortunately ( in a way) Amy can't/doesn't know/doesn't care to fly. BB on the other hand is very good at it. I haven't even attempted to try and do recall training with him. I'm sure he'd be an excellent candidate with it though,coz 90% of the time he'll fly to me if I just raise my hand and say "c'mon BB"


so glad there was a happy ending to all of that Trish !


Jim

How amazing that she stayed close! She loves you! I would recall train her for sure.


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EllenD, I think that's the loveliest post I've ever seen here at parrotforums! Thank you!

You're absolutely correct, of course. I remember walking away from the cage and peering up into the trees just *wishing* I could have turned the clock back and had those padlocks in place before 'setta got the chance to scarper. Thankfully, she's safe with us and we can proceed as before. Well, not quite as before. As you say, the realisation of how it would feel to lose her has suddenly doubled my patience and halved my frustration. You're a wise woman!

As I type this, 'setta's in her cage behind me working out on her boing and bellowing to the Beaks outside. LOL! She really is gorgeous. <3

I *did* reject Houdini as a name! Didn't want a self-fulfilling prophecy, did I? LOLOL!

There's a bit of a subscript to the story (which fits exactly with what you say about small white cockies). When the dust had settled, along with everyone's blood pressure, we realised the big-mother carabiner hadn't been opened at all. No. What little Madam had done was to carefully work at one of the coop-cup hatches and snap it undone. She actually squidged herself out through an opening about two inches by three inches!

I wouldn't have believed it possible, only the kids and I were sitting having the big post mortem after the event (Ellie was brushing my hair) and she did it again, right before our eyes. Next thing, I had that small white cocky totally wrapped in my (very long, very thick) hair! You have no idea! Between 'setta's squawks and mine, the whole neighbourhood must've thought I was doing murder. Sigh. It cost me a bit of hair, but 'setta got her playtime and I got a nice firm plait and all's well that ended well.

Note to other women who like to keep their hair long: do not *ever* have your hair loose when playing with your parrot. Baldness will be imminent in your future! :22_yikes:

That is one super clever girl you have there

Reminds me about what happened with me and my late Amazon Baba back in the 1980s. I had her in the backyard in her cage (her wings were not clipped). One of my friends didn't realize this and opened the cage. She immediately flew into the trees behind our house. We looked for hours but could not find her. I was heartbroken. We put up flyers all over the neighborhood announcing our loss and looking for help. I remember we had some horrific storms a few days later and I could only imagine her out there in the wild. Almost 1 week later we got a knock at our front door. One of my neighbors said Baba was coming down every evening about 6 PM and eating his tomatoes. That evening I went over there with her cage. I wasn't there 2 minutes when Baba came flying down and llanded on my shoulder. She was so happy to go back into her cage. I'm sure she had enough of being out on her own and was just as happy as I that we were back together. Had her another 30 plus happy years after that.

We became parronts to our Quaker Clyde because he was on his own outdoors, and had been for a while. We were never able to locate his former family. Because of that, we are extra super careful about doors. There are at least two between birds and the outdoors all the time. Two of mine are escape artists and I'm even MORE careful about them.

I've heard people call parrots 'escape artists' before, but I would *never* have believed a bird capable of what Rosetta did to escape. I have a new respect for birdie brains, that's for sure!

Rosetta's most recent discovery is that I keep half-a-dozen sunflower seeds in my right hand to reward her when she does something good. Guess who's using her beak like a can opener to get those seeds? No more sunflower till the skin grows back on my fingers. :22_yikes:

LOL- oh that last one happened to me as well they sure know where the good stuff is found! (I now use a tin I even have trouble opening, so they know its useless to try on their own)


Rosetta will keep you on you toes for sure!

Just catching up on Rosetta's adventure, Trish! Wow! Given everything with Barney, that must've had you on the verge of a heart attack for sure! I'm so glad that it all worked out and that your recall work paid off! But she's a clever one, isn't she?

There's nothing like walking into a room and not finding your bird where you would expect. Bixby was our resident escape artist, and would, on occasion, greet me upon coming home from work from the top of his cage. Just chilling. Looking at me with complete nonchalance like this was just normal. Lol!

But I can't even imagine the cardiac shock of that moment amplified a thousand-fold by this happening outside!

So considering that she flew down to him twice, does it seem that Rosetta is leaning toward Matt as her person?

Oh yes, Rosetta seems to have chosen Matt as her go-to-bloke-around-home. Unfortunately, he's a bit afraid of her because she flies into his face and, once, scratched his eyelid. It was an accident, but you try telling an autistic person that 'the chance of that happening again is pretty slim'!

She's really good with me, one-on-one, but seems to go a bit bat-sh*t when there's a third person in the room. I'm trying to figure out what to do to calm her down, but beyond sitting and crooning to her, I got nuthin'. She *needs* to fly until she's exhausted and that seems to work well. Once she's flow out her kinks, I get a narrow window of about ten minutes when we can play and interact. Then, she starts latching onto my hands and looking for treats under my skin. Cage time!

I keep reminding myself that the Beakies were pretty much like this when they first arrived. But then, the Beaks were only babies, while Rosetta's six years old. Tiny steps. Wish me luck, Stephen.

PS. Written anything lately???

Haha! Poor Matt. I could see how a near miss like that might be a bit traumatizing. Hopefully time, and a lack of bird-to-face impacts, will serve to accomplish what your words alone have not.

But in the meantime, it's good that you at least have some form of rapport with her one-on-one. Does she lose her mind no matter who else enters the room? Or only if it's Matt?

Flying until exhaustion is great as a step before working with her. But as for her tendency to seek treats under your skin, perhaps you should take to carrying around a small, bird-safe piece of hard wood or plastic - small enough to fit into the palm of your hand - that you can take out and interpose between her beak and your skin at a moment's notice. Not as a substitute for the timeout, of course, but rather to save you a few pints of the red stuff when her mood turns.

I'd wish you luck, but I know you don't need it my friend.

As for writing, work's had me insanely busy so I haven't written much. I did enter a short story contest with something I'd written years ago, but I'll fill you in on that later.