I always wanted a bird ever since I was young. I became fascinated with parrots in High School ever since I heard a story about one of my neighbors and their African Grey, Pooky. (Pooky was a clumsy bird when she was little, always falling off her perch, so she'd be calmed down with an "It's alright, Pooky, it's okay." A much older bird now, she was hanging out in the sun room when she caught the attention of a passing hawk. Her family heard a loud "BANG!" and wandered in to see Pooky pacing back and forth on the windowsill calming herself down, "It's alright, Pooky, it's okay. *Whew* It's alright, Pooky, it's okay!")
This weekend, I was in the pet store to purchase cat litter (I have two cats) and took a look at the birds first like I usually do. The last bird I looked at stole my heart away, she was hanging upside-down from the top of her cage and chirping happily at me when I walked by. When I went to walk away she tried to follow (still upside-down) and kept chirping. I came back and she snuggled up next to the side of her cage and just looked at me intelligently until I sadly pulled myself away to get what I came for.
One of the women who worked there stopped me in the cat section and asked if I needed any help. It turns out she was the resident "bird" expert on duty that day, so I took it as a sign.
So now I have the privileged of sharing my household with Sunshine the Pineapple Green Cheek Conure as well.
She's an absolute joy. I'll confess I've only had her since Saturday (so this would be day 3 now) but she's already a part of the household and has already made it clear how she feels about me. She loves to cuddle up close to me, and in spite of her current habit of biting (she's three months old) she's been careful not to hurt me and seems more interested in "licking" me. I'll let her sit on my shoulder now as she's lost her fascination with biting my earlobe already (although she's got a strange fascination with sticking her beak inside my ear).
The cats have also adjusted to her existence much better than I had expected. She and Peaches occasionally have friendly conversations, and Sunshine consistently bites Cream's paws in warning when she feels Cream is violating her personal space (which typically means there's a cat toe peeking through the bars).
I have been taking plenty of pictures, yesterday and today. I'll have to post them at some point.
I'm here on the forum for starters because while I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject, there's no substitute for a forum when it comes time to questions, and I want to make sure I provide Sunshine with the best home possible, because she really is my Sunshine already. <3
This weekend, I was in the pet store to purchase cat litter (I have two cats) and took a look at the birds first like I usually do. The last bird I looked at stole my heart away, she was hanging upside-down from the top of her cage and chirping happily at me when I walked by. When I went to walk away she tried to follow (still upside-down) and kept chirping. I came back and she snuggled up next to the side of her cage and just looked at me intelligently until I sadly pulled myself away to get what I came for.
One of the women who worked there stopped me in the cat section and asked if I needed any help. It turns out she was the resident "bird" expert on duty that day, so I took it as a sign.
So now I have the privileged of sharing my household with Sunshine the Pineapple Green Cheek Conure as well.
She's an absolute joy. I'll confess I've only had her since Saturday (so this would be day 3 now) but she's already a part of the household and has already made it clear how she feels about me. She loves to cuddle up close to me, and in spite of her current habit of biting (she's three months old) she's been careful not to hurt me and seems more interested in "licking" me. I'll let her sit on my shoulder now as she's lost her fascination with biting my earlobe already (although she's got a strange fascination with sticking her beak inside my ear).
The cats have also adjusted to her existence much better than I had expected. She and Peaches occasionally have friendly conversations, and Sunshine consistently bites Cream's paws in warning when she feels Cream is violating her personal space (which typically means there's a cat toe peeking through the bars).
I have been taking plenty of pictures, yesterday and today. I'll have to post them at some point.
I'm here on the forum for starters because while I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject, there's no substitute for a forum when it comes time to questions, and I want to make sure I provide Sunshine with the best home possible, because she really is my Sunshine already. <3
