DeLatTres: The Parrots Corner
[note from Donde: I was searching for fellow members from my own personal Quake 2 CTF clan from back in the day, which we had called [rcp] for Clan “Rare Cat Poop.” By following a link from AcmeCTF.com forum, I found this website which I believe belonged to former [rcp]er 3some aka Threesome. The parrot pages were well written and had me hooked, so I had to repost.]
Life With Our Feathered Friends.
Quaker Parrots and Telephones Don’t work and play
well with each other! The phone looses!
Note #5, and counting!
I have learned a very valuable lesson this evening. I have
learned that my little Quaker has chosen my left shoulder
as her little private place in the world.
I was sitting at the computer, with my little parrot on my shoulder
as always. The telephone rang, and as I answered it, she grew rather
noisy, so I moved her to her play set that is beside my desk. Well,
that didn’t last very long at all! She had a mission, and I had no idea
what it was! But, she was on a mission to get back to me, so I picked
her up, and put her right back on her play set. She again, made a
bee-line right back to me.
Well, I thought that was sweet, but I was on the phone. She grew
louder and louder with displeasure, and I could tell she was going
to bust if I didn’t try to figure out what was the matter here?
It didn’t make any sense at first, but I thought she didn’t like the
sounds she could hear coming out of the phone? I thought that
was a good guess…. That wasn’t it, not by a long shot!!!
She managed to reach my shoulder finally, and I thought she would
be happy there, WRONG!!! She bit the living daylights out of me,
then proceeded to try and tear that “Evil” phone apart a piece at
a time! Well needless to say, I asked the other person on the phone
to hold on a few seconds, as I removed this “Feathered Tasmanian
Devil” from the side of my head, and away from the phone!!! Well,
she got a little time out session for a few minutes until I could finish
the phone call.
That evil noisy thing had to go in her mind! It was on HER “my”
shoulder and the evil thing wouldn’t go away!!! I must admit, she
is a rather determined little thing and with absolutely no fear!
My cordless phone is now missing a few button covers, “the rubber pads
over the keys”. But all in all, I think I will live. The phone needs to be
on the watch the next time the thing rings when she is near by!!!
I never felt that good and bad at the same time in reference to a parrot
before. I felt good that she is that attached to me, but I also felt kinda
bad, and sore, from the bites I got on my left cheek just under my eye!
She didn’t break the skin, but there were multiple “multiple = half
dozen or more in this case!” “Pinch” markings all over the left side
of my face!
Well, the little monster is back on my shoulder and she is snuggling
up to my neck below my ear. Her little place in the world, and I
can live with that. As long as there is no phone in site!!!
So, the “key” here, “I think anyways”, Don’t ever assume that a bite
was done in meanness right off the bat, most of the time, there is a
reason for it, it just takes a few moments to work it out and think it
through. She didn’t want to hurt me, she simply wanted the “Evil black
box making noises on my left shoulder to go far away, and fast!!!”
I will just have to remember in the future to not answer the phone
when she is in range of my head from now on!
Wanna know the Score???
Shapoopie = nearing 80 points
Jeff = -5 points if I am lucky!
the phone? = missing buttons!
Just another helpful tip/note of why the ball of feathers may attack
your head when the phone is up there, and talking to you too… I
know I will have to go to another room from now on… Easier on
the phones that way, not to mention a little easier on me as well!!!
~ Jeff D ~
https://web.archive.org/web/20030809134229/http://www.delattres.com:80/parrots/note5.html
The Parrots Corner: The Wrecking Crew
Please allow me to introduce our feathered wrecking crew!
Let’s start with the biggest ham, and work our way down.
This is Shapoopie. Ok, it is a
“Our webmaster was caught playing with the new puppy
again instead of finishing this website!!! Geezzz!”
Amazon. He was able to touch my heart
in ways I never thought possible for a
bird to do. Alex was an Angel sent from
heaven, and I will never forget him.
Please, when considering to become an exotic avian owner, please try to find all the information you can on the kind of bird you want. And what ever you do DON’T BUY A BIRD FOR IT’S LOOKS! Buying a bird because of what it looks like is like buying a book because it has a pretty cover! NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER! & NEVER BUY A BIRD FOR IT’S FEATHERS! Please direct all email in regards to this site to our webmaster.
THEY ARE NOT TROPHIES!
THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE
YOU PURCHASE OR ADOPT A
FEATHERED PERSON!!!
~ Jeff D ~
https://web.archive.org/web/20040927230100/http://www.theparrotscorner.com:80/
Exotic Avian Ownership Info, by Jeff
“First thing I feel I need to say, is that I am very protective, and very caring with the feathered people that I share my life with. Remember, most exotic birds live 40+ years and up, and since I am only in my 30’s now, it would appear that they will be sharing a lot of time with me and other humans. I personally would rather have friends than an angry pair of bolt cutters chasing me down the hall way just because I forgot to pay them a little attention. So, yes, I am very passionate when it comes to all my family members, feathered, furry, fishy, or even hairy and two legged.”
I have some time invested in sharing my life with these wonderful creatures both as family and flock members. I know I don’t have any degrees, or certifications for the time I have shared with these feathered angels, but, I personally believe the
birds see us in their world as flock members, and that there is certainly a pecking order for all within this flock, feathered, and non-feathered. I try to maintain the highest point in this order that I can. But, I don’t always succeed in this which usually means I get “Pinched” for thinking that I was otherwise at or even near the top of the pecking order.
I personally try to take things slow, but always at a steady, consistent, and at a calm pace. Most parrots are creatures of habit more than anything else. They spend their life for the normal daily routine that you share with them. If there is fear,
and distrust with a parrot and a human, it may be a better idea to simply back away, to show respect for the parrots space. I work to gain a parrots trust in me, rather than bluntly forcing the parrot to conform to my wishes. The parrot has a life,
emotions, and a will of their own. They are very much like little people, that just haven’t gotten too domesticated yet. So their instinct is their primary and foremost way of reacting to new and/or un-nerving situations that they incounter in our households each day. Mother Nature gave these wonderful creatures the instinct to survive without us for this long, I think we should at least respect their instincts like we would want some one to respect our wishes at well.
Here’s an example; It is time to file the claws that are making your arm look like a pin cushion. With our Macaw, Picabo, he just thinks that this is a dumb idea, and we two legged people should take a hike! So, we team up on him. I grab him gently
with a warm dry towel, and Linda files the claws while I am running interference, and getting pinched at the same time! “Trust me, Macaws have a rather impressive bite!” This only takes us a few short minutes, but the feathered one really doesn’t like this at all!
We are in a since forcing our will with the bird, but we are not doing it because we fell the bird needs to learn who the boss is either! We as humans are doing this to keep our arms from getting ripped apart so that our feathered family members can share quality time together. After we are finished, the bird generally holds a grudg for a short while, but he is learning, much like a young human that needs to wash his hair for the first few times. They just don’t wanna do it!!! We know it’s best for them, but they just don’t see it that way just yet!
The receiving end of a good “Pinch” is simply part of life. Just like being rained on, you wont always have an umbrella to keep you dry, you will get rained on once in a while. If you can accept this “Occasional Pinching” as part of life, then should do
will and make a wonderful foster home for wayward exotic birds. But, if you think that you are not supposed to get ”Pinched” by a bird from time to time, then you might want to adopt a puppy or a kitten instead. Exotic birds are not as domesticated as Dogs or Cats, and will rely on instinct far more for that single reason. One can not simply force their will on any other living creature. If you don’t want some body doing this to you, then why would you want to do it to something or somebody else?
The first step in learning how to interact with your feathered family members is learning how to interpret a parrots body language. Their body language speaks out loud and clear sometimes, and is rather difficult if not impossible to understand with others. Watching an exotic bird being handled by its human often makes it look so very simple, and natural to both human and bird. It is like the two are part of one another, and this hides all the little keys, hints, and other signals that the bird offers to its’ human. Always remember, you may own the parrot in our modernized world, but at the same time, the parrot has claimed you as its’ human within its small flock in your house.
Now, the human holding the bird has a great advantage. They can feel the tightness of the parrots claws on his/her hand or arm when the parrot is a little off balance, or the bird is starting to lean in a certain direction which could mean the bird is about to take flight in an attempt to retreat to a safer place. It may also simply mean, that it is time to poop. These are key body language clues that the handler of the bird learns, and knows to watch for so that nobody gets hurt, bird and/or human. Each bird will have different hints, or tells, and even maybe little habits starting to form a pattern which can give subtle clues about what your bird may be wanting, or not wanting
My little Quaker says a quick, but quiet “Uh Oh!” Then she runs behind my head to hide from whatever scared her. In knowing this, gives me the opportunity to talk to her and re-assure her that everything is OK. To a stranger, all the flapping and squawking may look to them like she might be readying her self in an attempt to attack them. But, in my ability to understand my little Quaker, I can assure everyone, including the Quaker, that everything is ok, and the chaos and fear that the little feathered critter was feeling is not so bothersome to her any longer. This one little thing that she does tells me so much, in such a short amount of time, that I can understand and begin to defuse the situation before she ever makes it to the back of my head. There are always going to be times when I may mis-understand her, but, I do try to watch for the little “body language” hints.
~ Jeff D ~
This is the guy you can send all your email at, hateful, or thankful, he
really doesn’t mind much, and is always welcoming new information.
https://web.archive.org/web/20041018212053/http://www.theparrotscorner.com:80/avain_info/
This List gives you a “ROUGH” idea what life is like with Feathered People!
1. The little buttons on the top of ball caps don’t exist
any longer, and buttons on the front of dress shirts
are always bitten in half or missing altogether.
2. Eyeglasses are always bent and your hair always
needs combed, and finding your car keys has
become the world biggest game of “hide-and-go-seek!”
3. Furniture, tables, chairs, what ever you can think
of has been chewed. But, the stuff they can’t reach is
theirs also, they are just saving it for a rainy day.
Thus, fooling you into a false sense of security.
4. When the telephone rings, you hear multiple
“Hello’s, Hi’s and What’s” and you haven’t even
said a word yet.
5. Writing utensils simply are shaped oddly and no
longer work, not to mention the keys on a computers
keyboard are nicely re-arranged and chewed.
6. Oh yes, we mustn’t forget the screaming! And it
always starts at 5 AM and ends around 11 PM.
(A favorite with the neighbors!)
7. Water dishes are always pooped in, food dishes are
always empty with “ALL” the food out on the floor.
NOTE: “The bigger the bird, the bigger the poop!”
8. Guests are “Pinched” and “Pooped” on.
{Sometimes a good thing!} :)
NOTE: “Again, the bigger the bird, the bigger the poop!”
9. “Bath Time” often means the floors, walls and
doors get washed too, not to mention us humans
get bathed also, wether we wanted to or not!
10. And, the one that takes the cake! How’d they
get “THAT” up “THERE” has always puzzled me.
NOTE: “Trust your imagination on this one!”
~ Jeff D ~
https://web.archive.org/web/20050207035411/http://www.theparrotscorner.com:80/top10list.html
Donde Quake 2? 