My beloved Phoebe is dying...

Well Steve You sure have a way with words you should write a book I'm sure it would be a best seller. Ive been in tears for an hour first with your sad story about Pheobe and then tears of joy for your finding Scobby. I have lost my best bird friend 25 years ago now. I have lots of birds and love them all very much they are like my children. But 25 years ago I lost a Cocateil not much of a bird but she was the sweetest funniest best bird in the world to me. and I will never forget her. I never got another cocateil after her. I couldn't bring myself to owning another one of her speicies. Then last December I opened my door and there in a box was a baby cocatiel with a note in the box with him. It read I have to leave the country and have disposed of all my birds except this one.He was hatch on Oct23 2007 and is curerntly on 3 hand feedings a day he is 4 weeks old. I saw all your beautiful birds in the window and thought this would be a perfect home for this little baby bird. So now I have a baby Cocatiel after 25 years of not owning one I guess God decided it was time I got another one and brought me this one for a Christmas present he is very sweet and he's only 8 months old now he can already say pretty bird and whatca doin and can whistle the whole song baby face. Its still hard to have him around but I wouldn't give him up for love or money.
I'm glad you found another bird to help you through the grief. I wished I had done that when I lost Cuddles but I waited a good five years before I brought any other bird into my home. I now have 7 and my home is full of beautiful bird sounds. I couldn't be happier and I'm very happy for you as well.

Now it two months after I got Scooby my rescue bird. He has made so much progress. He is off of seeds completely and on ZuPreem pellets. (But I give him a few seeds as a treat when he does something nice.) He has learned the Step up, and Step down commands, as the previous owners never taught him that. Now he takes baths, which he never did before. He lets me preen his head, and kisses my fingers and face. He says "Kiss-Kiss" "Good boy" "Gooood" when when I do something nice for him, says "Nite-Nite" when he whats to go to sleep. And of course he loves to say "Peek-a-boo" which I taught him to say after only a few moments. The previous owners never played that game with him. And his laugh is very engaging. Scooby has a real sense of humor.

And I discovered that he loves Country Western music! I never really listened to it much before. And as I was changing the radio stations I went to our local Country Western station to hear one song that I did like. Scooby burst into song, and whistled and talked and just came alive. And he will not do that with any other type of music.

He's a Country Western bird!

And with Scooby I feel that I saved him from a very dire situation. This bird had seen much abuse, having lost two toes, and being quite neglected after her cockatiel companion ( a female ) died.

Scooby is a great Quaker, and has come a long way.

Well there is more to my story of rescuing birds.

I just got a Umbrella Cockatoo. A 5 year old female, this bird has had a rough time. It's previous owner was in the army and got sent over to Iraq. The bird was bonded to him, and was given to a shelter, which in turn gave it to a young couple that soon had a baby. They could not take care of it, and the future for this bird looked very bleak. It had picked its long feathers off to the down feathers. But his crest and neck is full. He has a shape like a turnip. The head is big and full with feathers tapering down to a pointy tail.

But I found that she is real sweet. Never has she bitten me in the two days that I have had her. She was quite stressed going into a new home with a new cage. And she talks.

She woke me up as I slept on the couch near her cage just in case she had a night terror. Then 7 in the morning-- A Cockatoo squawk and a "What's you doin'?"

A nice wake up call. And Scooby in his cage 10 ft away rings his bell, and says, "Nite-Nite" (that means night is over get the covers off)

And when I take the cover off of Gabby's cage she says, "My name is Gabby" And a bunch of other things, too, such as, "Hi!" "Hello" along with a string of phrases that I must to listen to carefully to understand. I need to be with her a bit more to understand her mumblings. But this morning I decided to move her cage, which is on wheels to a spot further from the wall. She was outside hanging on the bars. When it moved too abruptly she said in strikingly clear words:

"OH Shi*!"

I was shocked and stunned. And I said, looking into her deep dark loving eyes, "Gabby, that a birdie NO-NO!"

And then she laughed, along with me and my wife who overheard the whole exchange.

Fortunately, as of yet I have not heard any more 'off the wall words' from her.

But

I love this bird, too.

But Scooby is first. And it is to him that I go first in the morning.

But the Cockatoo "Gabby" is a demanding bird, and it seems that the more attention I give to her the more she wants. So, I have to sort somewhat ignore those deep Cockatoo yearning eyes and not give too much into her demands.

She was pretty much left out by her previous owners, and now I have a Too that I can establish firm limits with, all the while giving her enough mental stimulation to prevent further feather plucking. I use a bird bath spray that supposedly conditions the feathers with preening oil. She like it when I spray it into my hand and rub it in.

Now that I have two rescues, I have to watch them closely. I do not what jealousy to become part of my relationship with both. And I certainly do not want them to get too close to each other. Fortunately, neither can fly, Gabby because she has self clipped her own wings, and Scooby because he was a caged bird and refuses to fly, even though I am sure he can. But I won't take the risk to have Scooby out at the same time that the other is out.

Scooby really loves me, and he is also very demanding. I love his greeting call when I open the door.

And now there is another call to the home, a much much louder one.

WOW ! Cockatoo's can be REAL LOUD!

Fortunately (for now) Gabby is only loud after Scooby starts squawking as I open the door, and in the morning, and evening before going to bed.

But all this said, when I look at the box that contains the ashes of my beloved Phoebe, I still cry.

God, I love her. It is amazing how deep a bond can become with such a small bird.

Steve.

P.S. I need to get some video clips up of these two rescues, Scooby and Gabby.

Two is enough.

And should Gabby be too much of a "Too" for me to handle there is another that I know that is much more experienced with larger birds than me that willing to take her on. But I think after these two days, that Gabby will be fine with me. After what she has been through, I want to bring her back to a good long and happy life.

Steve

It's good to hear that all is well with you.I'm patiently waiting for that book that I see you writing someday.Though I have some issues with reading your posts keep me focused enough to read.Welmome home Gabby ,and Scooby it looks like your going to have to really watch yourself around Gabby.

I too just suffered a loss on 7/25 of my Sydney my Harlequin Macaw she was 11 years old and it was 2 months shy of losing my friend her previous owner.
She was with me for 3 1/2 years.Anyway I still haven't been able to bring myself to pick her up and say goodbye.Death is tough!

Well it's good to see your still around and doing okay.Are you having a little MBS-Multiple Bird Syndrome?

See you around and take care.

Marcia

Marcia,

Since I got Gabby, I have actually seen an improvement in Scooby. He is much more likely to step up without any enticement. He really wants to be close. And he is my first after Phoebe rescue bird.

Gabby is second. She is very uncertain of where she is now. But she is very gentle. She does not step up as I think she has never learned it (though she might be holding back due to being with us strangers).

This uncertainty on her part gives me much more control over how much time I will allocate to her. Being disabled, I work only 4 hrs a day, so the birds are not left alone for long, and I keep my 36" TV on for them to keep them entertained. I will not let the two get any closer to each other than 10 ft. I need to find a security lock to keep Gabby in when I am gone though. And I keep a watchful eye on her when she is outside clutching to the side of her cage. It is an odd habit that she has had for a long time. She does not what to do anything else except watch what is going on. She is really very nice, and it would have been a shame to have her in a shelter with who knows what kinds of animals around her.

After what she has been through, it is amazing she is as nice as she is.

Will she be "Too" much for me? A few weeks will tell. But there is another person with much more experience that would take Gabby should she try my limits.

She woke me up this morning at 7 AM with "Gabby is up!" repeating it several times to get me to uncover her cage. And Scooby was up in his covered cage saying "Nite-Nite" over and over, too-- His way of saying that nighttime was over.

Steve

P. S. When I can get my wife to hold the camera I will have her take some videos of their antics. I will post in a different forum, too.

Steve

Yes they are mostly likely to watch each other and learn especially since Gabby already steps up Scooby just might copy her.I too just took in a 10 year old Umbrella Cockatoo named Henry along with a 5 year old CAG named Rocco 3 weeks ago. Coockatoos are a lot a work and I hope you can handle it.Gabby seems like a wonderful girl and I'm glad you saved her from being stuck in a pound somewhere.You've done a good thing.Now what about our book?You tell stories so well we're looking for it in hardcopy or paperback that is if you have some time.You do have a way with your word and you may have missed your calling.I too am disabled but I continue to do animal rescue and take in rehomes.But we are running out of space and hubby has mentioned throwing out the furniture which I'll have no part of.Well until next time talk to you later.

Marcia

To all, another long post...

I learned so much with Phoebe. And all that I have learned from her I now pass on to these two wonderful birds that are now part of my family.

Here are some videos of my two new rescues after my beloved Phoebe passed away in my hands.

Meet Gabby in her debut to Little Richard's "Tuti Fruiti" on YouTube:
YouTube - Gabby to "Tuti-Fruiti"

I did not know that she liked old time rock and roll till I put the CD in and played it. She never made the moves back an forth with her beak before I introduced her to the music, and obviously she loves it. When I play it, and and also classic Chuck Berry she goes wild. Once she gets out of her timid phase, and becomes more adjusted to me my family and her playpen with perch on top... She will be a real performer. Music is a great way to make Cockatoos real happy.

And then I have posted to YouTube my other bird, a Quaker named Scooby saying Peek-a-boo, a game which I taught him. In this video he had never seen the hand held camera to my face and thought I was playing the game.

YouTube - Peek-a-boo Scooby

Scooby also likes music; Country Western. He also talks very well and very clearly. And now after I added Gabby the 'Too to my home, he willingly steps up to my hand without command and loves to be close to me.

And all the while, Gabby looks on, and is becoming much warmer to me, my wife and daughter, though she has never bitten me or them. But she is reluctant to step up on command. And she does not scream, but in the morning says: "Gabby, Gabby Gabby is up" <squawk> "Gabby is up!" over and over till the covers come off her cage.

I then open the door and she spends the rest of the morning hanging outside, looking around and tearing up the cardboard toys that I have made for her. And she talks, laughs, and mumbles when she hears us talking, as does Scooby the Quaker.

Scooby has taken a keen interest in her, as he is male. He really wants to get close to her. And when I go off to work on my disability job for four hours, I put them both back into their cages and bring them about a foot apart.

They really like that, and my wife says they chatter to each other.

But I fear bringing them in contact, as if there is a conflict, I would be crushed if Scooby fell to Gabby's huge beak.

Gabby is a really nice 'Too. She is so gentle, yet does not demand much attention as of yet. So in this regard, I am better able to set limits with her so as not to get her into the "velcro bird" syndrome. She pretty much preoccupies herself with the special toys that I have made for her.

I found to my surprise that converting them from their lousy seed to pellets was much easier than I thought. On a hunch I bought ZuPreem's "Wild and Spicy" parrot pellets that they immediately devoured. It was great to see them pick up the nuggets with their beaks, dunk them in their water bowls, then chip way eating them all.

I tried some myself, just to see how they tasted. And boy o' boy are they good to my taste as well! No wonder they like them so much. In fact both prefer them over the seeds. And I know that this will greatly aide their overall health.

Both birds have seen abuse.

Scooby, my male Quaker, lost two toes; probably when someone pinched them off when he tried to fly out of someone's hands. It took two months of work to get him to trust me enough to step up. I had to stroke his damaged foot consolingly, saying "What happened to your foot, Scooby... I wish you could tell me... I know it must have hurt you..." At first Scooby would strike out at me when I touched the damaged toes. But then he let me, all the while saying, "Kiss-kiss" and I would peck his beak with my tightened lips.

(Did not what him to pinch a piece of my lips off, like he did with my fingers)

Then one day, about two weeks ago, just before I got Gabby, he made the first step to my fingers, which were quite scarred by him before hand.

Some say I should have used a glove or something to protect my hands, fingers and arms. But I did not think that this would gain his trust. I am glad I went by my instincts and took the bites.

It was a pain, but it payed off.

Now Gabby the 'Too (in a separate cage) is his companion as well. But I have to make it a point to Gabby that Scooby is first bird in the flock. Each day I tend to him and clean his cage first. And Gabby I think has accepted this without jealousy. But in this regard I thought that Scooby would be jealous that I got Gabby, but I do not see evidence of that as of yet.

But it is too early to tell after having Gabby for only a week, and I am careful to give both equal attention.

Gabby has seen some abuse as well. I suspect that one of the previous owners used the water bottle as punishment, so now she fears water. And that is one of the reasons for her feather plucking. But with me spraying the water into my hands and rubbing her down, she does not protest. But if I try to mist her-- She does not like it at all and retreats to her cage, shaking violently.

I feel so bad for her. But I think with some TLC and lots of work I will be able to regain her trust and help her get over the fear of water, which we as bird lovers know, baths are a good thing for them preening and keeping their feathers in complete fullness.

I just love these two birds, and I tell everyone that has an infatuation for these wonderful creatures that they require a great deal of attention. If one works 9-5 or more each day, then do not even consider one as a pet. Get a dog, a cat, a snake or whatever. Any animal other than a very intelligent, and demanding bird.

I think that birds should only be kept by those that are "stay home people"-- That is retired, disabled, or economically set so that they are pretty much home most of the time.

Birds need companionship on a much higher level than what most can ever realize before hand. If not, then birds wind up in shelters, neglected, neurotic, and on the way out.

And that is a sad thing for the bird and the owners, too.

Steve.

P.S. I have written some short stories on other subjects. SciFi, meteorites, and also a 16 year effort on a Civil War novel, called "Scarlet Fields." The latter is done and is yet to be published, and marketed. I am just not ready yet for that yet.

A book on the antics of birds would be a nice venture for sure.