Howdy from Vermont

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

Hi!

I joined last November, but only became active in the forum recently. I adopted a middle-aged Patagonian Conure from Feathered Hearts Rescue last year, and the adjustment to having her in our home and lives has beeb occasionally challenging and mostly enjoyable.

A couple of adorable things about Lucky, who is genetically sexed female:

- If I laugh a real, hearty laugh, she laughs too.
- She doesn't have clear language, but said "I love you" the first day I had her home from the rescue.
- She doesn't respond to food reinforcement, praise, "punishment" or anything but whether or not she gets to be near me. So when she goes after the cat, I put her on her least favorite boing and leave immediately.
- She is utterly indifferent to my partner Matt's Alex. "Baby" owns the airspace and Lucky owns the floor, and they're happy to have their own domains.
- Lucky was unclipped but had low muscle tone when she came home with us. We are committed to allowing flight in our house, and we've been working on teaching her to fly.
-She's made huge strides in trying new, healthy foods (she's a former seed addict) and being more active and less dependent. She still has to be convinced to eat new foods.

Looking forward to many enjoyable conversations with you all!

 

[Jeans]

Welcome! I take joy in seeing a rescued fid! I know most people would rather a baby but clearly you two have a wonderful relationship.


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[RavensGryf]

Hi, welcome back ! We have a few other Patigonian owners here as well.

 

[Flboy]

Awesome and welcome!

 

[Blancaej]

Welcome & Congrats from one Vermonter to another! Did I understand you correctly? Does your partner have an Alex as in Alexandrine?? Not to change the subject, but if that's the case, where did he adopt him. I would like to adopt one next year and am having trouble finding a breeder.

Lucky is adorable and seems to be adjusting well. I'm so glad he found you!

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[Nicky76]

Welcome and well done for taking on a rescue [emoji4]
We've got an old Patagonian called Archie who was bought from a shop but was a rescue as he was in a state. He's doing great now [emoji122]

Lucky is a very pretty girl


Animals are like little angels sent to earth to teach us how to love

 

[GraciesMom]

Welcome!
Can't wait to hear stories about baby & Lucky who is beautiful !!
Would love to see baby too )

I love when they mimic the laughing it just tickles me pink

 

[Allee]

Lucky is a real beauty! Congratulations and thank you for adopting an older bird! Looking forward to hearing more about Lucky and Baby!

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

Hi,

He does have an Alexandrine. "Baby" is also a rescue - she came from a rescue in Massachusetts having been abandoned on their doorstep in a bare travel cage. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the rescue. She had no history and has some intense attitude that may have come from neglect and mistreatment. So I'm afraid we don't know any breeders.

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

If that's Archie in your avatar, I'm here to tell you that Lucky loves that same style of toy! She came not knowing how to play with toys. It was heartbreaking but hilarious to demonstrate chewing on a toy for her to give her the idea that she's allowed to chew on things. I have to imagine she lived with someone who cuddled her a lot, but left her in a mostly bare cage. She is now a cardboard box shredder bar-none. Good thing my sweetie has Amazon Prime. We have a steady stream of boxes entering the house. We let her play in bags and boxes to express her "burrowing parrot" side.

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

Welcome! I take joy in seeing a rescued fid! I know most people would rather a baby but clearly you two have a wonderful relationship.


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Would most people rather have a baby? I think I'm lucky that someone else dealt with her teen years, and I get to have a weird but mature adult. Then again, I also choose cats over kittens and middle-aged dogs over puppies. I guess I like that calmer relationship.

I was introduced to parrots by my partner, who had Baby when we met. Then we watched Parrot Confidential and it confirmed for me that if I wanted a parrot who liked me like Baby likes him, I should rescue one of the multitudes of homeless birds. We went to the rescue to meet an Amazon who was there, but came home with this birdy.

Lucky, the night she came home: She molted those sad, grubby feathers and looks like a whole new shiny, glossy bird now:

Baby the Alexandrine- always..."helping"

Typical bird-scritchin':

 

[Blancaej]

Hi,

He does have an Alexandrine. "Baby" is also a rescue - she came from a rescue in Massachusetts having been abandoned on their doorstep in a bare travel cage. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the rescue. She had no history and has some intense attitude that may have come from neglect and mistreatment. So I'm afraid we don't know any breeders.

Well thank you! I have looked for Alex's that need homes and they are hard to come by up here. So after adopting 3 of my 4 birds from other homes I decided to go the baby root this time! I have a few in mind but thought I would at least ask. Thank you for getting back to me on that!

 

[Jeans]

She is very cute! Yeah most people I know in my area who show interest in birds would rather have a baby. As a general rule I would rather adopt animals who are older because I honestly don't support the amount of breeding that goes on with just about every animal!

The only animals I get as babies are rats because of their short lifespan. Getting an older one does not give you enough time to get to know each other!

I love all of my animals the same and most were "second-hand". People just love the thrill of a baby animal and raising it!




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[Firstgoatsnowthis]

Well thank you! I have looked for Alex's that need homes and they are hard to come by up here. So after adopting 3 of my 4 birds from other homes I decided to go the baby root this time! I have a few in mind but thought I would at least ask. Thank you for getting back to me on that!

It is true that they are definitely fewer Alexandrines available here, and I'm sorry I came off as a little bit rescue-or-bust. There are some new-hatched Indian Ringnecks at the pet supply store we go to in South Burlington that I know of. They are Lutino and very friendly. Not Alexes but the next best thing?

Baby's band indicates she came from Florida. Lucky is unbanded- no age or origin for her!

 

[Nicky76]

If that's Archie in your avatar, I'm here to tell you that Lucky loves that same style of toy! She came not knowing how to play with toys. It was heartbreaking but hilarious to demonstrate chewing on a toy for her to give her the idea that she's allowed to chew on things. I have to imagine she lived with someone who cuddled her a lot, but left her in a mostly bare cage. She is now a cardboard box shredder bar-none. Good thing my sweetie has Amazon Prime. We have a steady stream of boxes entering the house. We let her play in bags and boxes to express her "burrowing parrot" side.

Archie was the same no idea how to play but he's a busy boy now. His current favourite past time is to break small wooden balls and blocks into tiny pieces!

He would take treats off us but having head scratches and being soppy is something that he's decided he loves over the last few months [emoji6]




Animals are like little angels sent to earth to teach us how to love

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

Lucky has been a mushy lovebird right from the start. Teaching her to entertain and comfort herself is one of our main goals for her. Does Archie talk? Lucky says "Hello" but treats it like her call and her song. "I Love You" sounds like "iruvrrroo" and that's about it for "speech". I'm not disappointed and I'm not trying to teach words, but I'm curious.

I'd love a pic of Archie (though I suppose they probably look the same!).

 

[Blancaej]

Well thank you! I have looked for Alex's that need homes and they are hard to come by up here. So after adopting 3 of my 4 birds from other homes I decided to go the baby root this time! I have a few in mind but thought I would at least ask. Thank you for getting back to me on that!

It is true that they are definitely fewer Alexandrines available here, and I'm sorry I came off as a little bit rescue-or-bust. There are some new-hatched Indian Ringnecks at the pet supply store we go to in South Burlington that I know of. They are Lutino and very friendly. Not Alexes but the next best thing?

Baby's band indicates she came from Florida. Lucky is unbanded- no age or origin for her!

You did not come off as rescue or bust at all. I was just stating I had looked for a rescue for awhile because I like going the rescue route.

I am excited about getting a baby for a change though.

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[Nicky76]

Archie doesn't say any words but he has lots of different noises that mean something to him - we've worked out what some of them mean but the rest is him just chatting rubbish haha.

https://flic.kr/p/KFm3oq


Animals are like little angels sent to earth to teach us how to love

 

[Firstgoatsnowthis]

I will have to watch your video when I'm not at work. I forgot to add that Lucky does a great impression of crows, but she uses the crow-warning sound to tell us when loud vehicles go by. She apparently has something against ATVs and some motorcycles, because we'll get "Caw! Caw CAW! in response.

I feel like I learn something new about her every day. Today, I learned that she loves pancakes. Obviously, that needs to be a rare treat, but she LOVED the little pancake tidbit with a touch of syrup this morning.

 

[Scott]

What a great story of rescue! Lucky is indeed lucky to have landed at your home. Love her rich collage of colors!