Karigan
New member
- Jul 3, 2011
- 682
- 0
- Parrots
- Kitoko: Female Senegal Parrot, born 2002
Talia: Female CAG, born 2008
Mateo: Female CAG, born 2008
With all my birds finally DNA Tested and properly identified, I felt that it was finally time to formally introduce my family!
Shall we start with the Non-fids?
Arthur: 7 year old male tabby
Arthur's just... Arthur. He's our king and he knows it. I've never seen him lie down normally, but he'll just stop walking and fall over on his side wherever he happens to be. He's a big boy and broadly built, so when he wants attention he'll headbutt you until he gets it. It's never enough to have the cat door open; he'll insist that you open whichever door is closest to his destination, and he'll follow you for a walk around the neighborhood if you catch him on a sunny day.
My husband caters to him far too much as he was originally his cat, and has gone so far as to lift the computer chair from the floor, put it on the desk, and open the blinds so that he can bask in the sun while leaving them down enough for the light not to hit his eyes. Arthur of course now expects that this kind of behaviour is normal and acts accordingly.
Bitty, AKA Itty Bitty Pretty Kitty One: Female Muted Calico, 6 years old.
Bitty I had from a kitten when her mother got unexpectedly pregnant. When she was young she would snuggle on my shoulder when we watched TV, but because she was in the same house as her mother she nursed for four months. This only stopped because before we could get her mom fixed, she gave birth again, four months after the last batch was born! Bitty was confused, and at first thought she was still a part of the litter and nursed along with the new kittens. We put a stop to this and soon she became the nanny instead, always with the kittens caring and cleaning for them when mom got up. She's still a suck to this day, and you can't sit down without finding her on your lap.
2 Months
Four month old Nanny Bitty
Bitty today
The Fids!
Kitoko: Female Senegal Parrot hatched 2002, Obtained July 4, 2011
She was our first parrot, but she wasn't what we originally were looking for. Ivory and I were skimming CL when we saw an ad for a Hyacinth macaw. Knowing a little about the species I began to research parrots, as they seemed like an alternative to the puppy Ivory wouldn't let me have. The Hy was a scam, and we knew that it wouldn't have been a good first time bird anyway so I began to look for a more reasonable choice. I came across a sennie for sale in town that had recently moved up from Peachland and the owners after two months decided they were too busy for her. We went and saw her, the owners explaining that she would only step up onto a shoulder sometimes and was fairly untouchable. She had a great cage though and looked healthy so we decided to take her home. We named her before we even got her, calling her Kitoko which meant beautiful in an African dialect.
It was a process, but over the course of a year she made massive improvements! At first she would only step up on a shoulder, then a socked foot at the bast of her cage, and then after six months our hands. She has been such an easy bird! She's fairly quiet aside from contact calls and the last half hour before Ivory gets home from work, and she's cheap on toys because all she want to do is shred paper. She doesn't throw her food and has the odd moody day but hasn't gotten hormonal on us yet. I've taken her to teach children about parrot ownership and she gets a little stressed but takes it like a champ! As a first bird, we couldn't have made a better choice.
Don't touch my box!
Smile!
Talia and Mateo: Females hatched 2008, acquired October 1, 2012
We were minding our own business when we got a text message from Ivory's brother, "Guess what I just got you?" followed by a picture of two greys. "You said you wanted one right?".
...
Sure, in about five years when we got a bigger place, not this 1200 sqft house we have now with three pets already but okay, you've already bought them. Oh, we have to travel up to Fort St. John to get them? Sure, that's only 13 hours away; we'll just come up on a weekend so Ivory doesn't have to miss work.
...So after a 40 hr trip we came home with two new companions. I still to this day refer to them as my unexpected pregnancy with twins. When we met them they were isolated in a bird room that had two toys hanging from an open cage. They could wander around the house, but only did so when they were curious as to a routine change. The owners never bathed them, so they smelled sweet and powdery, and were very ragged but obviously in good health. They explained that they never had time in four years to handle them and so they were very untamed, but could probably be worked with. They were told that one was male and one was female, and that the more assertive one was the girl, but that was only a guess. Their names were Gabby and Peanut, and Ivory's brother Gabriel tried to force us to to change their names as part of the 'deal', but I couldn't abide having a bird with his name with the history he has with the family. After we agreed to take them he explained that this was not just a late wedding gift, but if he was able to find the birds new homes he would be allowed to claim the bird room as his own. Nice.
First thing when we got home was to mist them. They had no idea what was going on, but they needed it so badly that we pressed on. Looking much better but still confused, they would watch me with a queer expression when I sat by them watching TV because they weren't used to long exposure to people and they wanted to know why I was still hanging around. They got used to me and within two weeks I had Tali stepping up on a stick and had began target training the pair. Talia was my husband's pick for a name, (pronounced Tah-lee-ah) since I got to pick the boy name Mateo, which translates to 'gift' in Italian.
After a month of hanging out in the basement with them it was finally time for a vet visit. We don't have an avian vet around, but one man in town was taking birds as patients so we went to him. He handled Kito first and was astounded with how tame she was. There aren't many serious parrot owners in the area and the few who own large birds don't work with them. He said that if he had a bird that he'd want it to be in her condition, which was great! Then it was the twins' turn... putting Kito away we unlatched the cage and Tali crawled out and promptly began to fly around the room, knocking everything off the shelves and screaming madly. We caught her and the vet decalared her in good health, if not a little thin. He checked the wings and she was in perfect feather. Teo came next with less fuss, and he checked him over and approved. He was just about to put him back when I asked to see his wings, since we couldn't handle him well enough to check ourselves. He opened them and I was in tears; they were split and cracked, half of them snapped off. I was afraid he might be sick but the vet sent them for analysis and said everything was fine. I figured out after months of worrying that he'd been hitting his cage with his wings and snapping blood feathers in half, leaving the stumps brittle.
Ten months later, we have a happy, functional household. I just got the results yesterday and it turns out that Teo is a girl which is totally surreal to me. I though about naming him Matea, but can't bring myself to do it. The greys now go out for walks with me, though Talia is very unsure about it still. With Teo I walk her around no problem and then pop her dog bone toy in her mouth, which she promptly steps up onto, flip her on her back so she doesn't make a mess and go to coffee shops. The good girl (note here that this last sentence I've had to change him to her, I'm still getting used to it!) stays on her back even without me holding her and just hangs out till I'm done. I can get them both to step up onto my hand now unless they're on their cage, but we're still miles ahead of where we were less than a year ago!
The girls their first day home. See how ratty they were?
...And a few months later looking so shiny!
Shall we start with the Non-fids?
Arthur: 7 year old male tabby
Arthur's just... Arthur. He's our king and he knows it. I've never seen him lie down normally, but he'll just stop walking and fall over on his side wherever he happens to be. He's a big boy and broadly built, so when he wants attention he'll headbutt you until he gets it. It's never enough to have the cat door open; he'll insist that you open whichever door is closest to his destination, and he'll follow you for a walk around the neighborhood if you catch him on a sunny day.
My husband caters to him far too much as he was originally his cat, and has gone so far as to lift the computer chair from the floor, put it on the desk, and open the blinds so that he can bask in the sun while leaving them down enough for the light not to hit his eyes. Arthur of course now expects that this kind of behaviour is normal and acts accordingly.
Bitty, AKA Itty Bitty Pretty Kitty One: Female Muted Calico, 6 years old.
Bitty I had from a kitten when her mother got unexpectedly pregnant. When she was young she would snuggle on my shoulder when we watched TV, but because she was in the same house as her mother she nursed for four months. This only stopped because before we could get her mom fixed, she gave birth again, four months after the last batch was born! Bitty was confused, and at first thought she was still a part of the litter and nursed along with the new kittens. We put a stop to this and soon she became the nanny instead, always with the kittens caring and cleaning for them when mom got up. She's still a suck to this day, and you can't sit down without finding her on your lap.
2 Months
Four month old Nanny Bitty
Bitty today
The Fids!
Kitoko: Female Senegal Parrot hatched 2002, Obtained July 4, 2011
She was our first parrot, but she wasn't what we originally were looking for. Ivory and I were skimming CL when we saw an ad for a Hyacinth macaw. Knowing a little about the species I began to research parrots, as they seemed like an alternative to the puppy Ivory wouldn't let me have. The Hy was a scam, and we knew that it wouldn't have been a good first time bird anyway so I began to look for a more reasonable choice. I came across a sennie for sale in town that had recently moved up from Peachland and the owners after two months decided they were too busy for her. We went and saw her, the owners explaining that she would only step up onto a shoulder sometimes and was fairly untouchable. She had a great cage though and looked healthy so we decided to take her home. We named her before we even got her, calling her Kitoko which meant beautiful in an African dialect.
It was a process, but over the course of a year she made massive improvements! At first she would only step up on a shoulder, then a socked foot at the bast of her cage, and then after six months our hands. She has been such an easy bird! She's fairly quiet aside from contact calls and the last half hour before Ivory gets home from work, and she's cheap on toys because all she want to do is shred paper. She doesn't throw her food and has the odd moody day but hasn't gotten hormonal on us yet. I've taken her to teach children about parrot ownership and she gets a little stressed but takes it like a champ! As a first bird, we couldn't have made a better choice.
Don't touch my box!
Smile!
Talia and Mateo: Females hatched 2008, acquired October 1, 2012
We were minding our own business when we got a text message from Ivory's brother, "Guess what I just got you?" followed by a picture of two greys. "You said you wanted one right?".
...
Sure, in about five years when we got a bigger place, not this 1200 sqft house we have now with three pets already but okay, you've already bought them. Oh, we have to travel up to Fort St. John to get them? Sure, that's only 13 hours away; we'll just come up on a weekend so Ivory doesn't have to miss work.
...So after a 40 hr trip we came home with two new companions. I still to this day refer to them as my unexpected pregnancy with twins. When we met them they were isolated in a bird room that had two toys hanging from an open cage. They could wander around the house, but only did so when they were curious as to a routine change. The owners never bathed them, so they smelled sweet and powdery, and were very ragged but obviously in good health. They explained that they never had time in four years to handle them and so they were very untamed, but could probably be worked with. They were told that one was male and one was female, and that the more assertive one was the girl, but that was only a guess. Their names were Gabby and Peanut, and Ivory's brother Gabriel tried to force us to to change their names as part of the 'deal', but I couldn't abide having a bird with his name with the history he has with the family. After we agreed to take them he explained that this was not just a late wedding gift, but if he was able to find the birds new homes he would be allowed to claim the bird room as his own. Nice.
First thing when we got home was to mist them. They had no idea what was going on, but they needed it so badly that we pressed on. Looking much better but still confused, they would watch me with a queer expression when I sat by them watching TV because they weren't used to long exposure to people and they wanted to know why I was still hanging around. They got used to me and within two weeks I had Tali stepping up on a stick and had began target training the pair. Talia was my husband's pick for a name, (pronounced Tah-lee-ah) since I got to pick the boy name Mateo, which translates to 'gift' in Italian.
After a month of hanging out in the basement with them it was finally time for a vet visit. We don't have an avian vet around, but one man in town was taking birds as patients so we went to him. He handled Kito first and was astounded with how tame she was. There aren't many serious parrot owners in the area and the few who own large birds don't work with them. He said that if he had a bird that he'd want it to be in her condition, which was great! Then it was the twins' turn... putting Kito away we unlatched the cage and Tali crawled out and promptly began to fly around the room, knocking everything off the shelves and screaming madly. We caught her and the vet decalared her in good health, if not a little thin. He checked the wings and she was in perfect feather. Teo came next with less fuss, and he checked him over and approved. He was just about to put him back when I asked to see his wings, since we couldn't handle him well enough to check ourselves. He opened them and I was in tears; they were split and cracked, half of them snapped off. I was afraid he might be sick but the vet sent them for analysis and said everything was fine. I figured out after months of worrying that he'd been hitting his cage with his wings and snapping blood feathers in half, leaving the stumps brittle.
Ten months later, we have a happy, functional household. I just got the results yesterday and it turns out that Teo is a girl which is totally surreal to me. I though about naming him Matea, but can't bring myself to do it. The greys now go out for walks with me, though Talia is very unsure about it still. With Teo I walk her around no problem and then pop her dog bone toy in her mouth, which she promptly steps up onto, flip her on her back so she doesn't make a mess and go to coffee shops. The good girl (note here that this last sentence I've had to change him to her, I'm still getting used to it!) stays on her back even without me holding her and just hangs out till I'm done. I can get them both to step up onto my hand now unless they're on their cage, but we're still miles ahead of where we were less than a year ago!
The girls their first day home. See how ratty they were?
...And a few months later looking so shiny!
