Oranged Winged Amazons, Parrot

I didn't mean to get a parrot.
I never longed for a parrot, never imagined sharing my home with a parrot, never read books or watched programmes about parrots.
I certainly never said "I'd like a parrot for Christmas, please."
No. I clearly remember that what I actually said was that I'd really like a heated propagator for Christmas. You know what I mean. A plastic thing, to grow plants in.

My dream almost ...
...had succeeded in finding a garden centre and was diligently searching for a heated propagator when he was set upon, and seduced, by a shameless tart of a bird with flamboyant dress sense and a loud voice.
"Hello" she rasped, in her most alluring manner.

That happened eight years ago. To this day he can't work out how he ended up in the pet department, spending our life savings. To be fair, she has been faithful to ... more

I didn't mean to get a parrot.
I never longed for a parrot, never imagined sharing my home with a parrot, never read books or watched programmes about parrots.
I certainly never said "I'd like a parrot for Christmas, please."
No. I clearly remember that what I actually said was that I'd really like a heated propagator for Christmas. You know what I mean. A plastic thing, to grow plants in.

My dream almost came true.
My husband, a kind and caring man, had succeeded in finding a garden centre and was diligently searching for a heated propagator when he was set upon, and seduced, by a shameless tart of a bird with flamboyant dress sense and a loud voice.
"Hello" she rasped, in her most alluring manner.

That happened eight years ago. To this day he can't work out how he ended up in the pet department, spending our life savings. To be fair, she has been faithful to him ever since. In fact she can, frankly, be a bit forward in her flirting with him and I think it best to say no more on that subject.

She arrived with luggage.
A huge cage, a bag of parrot food, some basic care instructions and Attitude.
I rushed to the library for parrot books and started to learn.

She was already named "Tequila" when we got her. It suits her because she's certainly exotic to look at.
She's an Amazon parrot. She's mostly pretty shades of green, with red, yellow and blue highlights on her head, wings and tail. When she's dancing about and trying to get attention she is extremely colourful, showing off her orange and red shoulder flashes perfectly.
She was bred in England and has a leg ring to prove it. She probably thinks it's an ankle bracelet. She's that sort of bird.
We were told she was tame, but we soon realised she wasn't tame enough to handle. It didn't take long to gain her trust. Food treats were fed by hand and she soon began to enjoy being handled and started coming out of the cage to play.

She's a great talker.
At first she could only say hello, but in less then two weeks she began to copy sounds and words.
You can never tell what's going to appeal to her. There are phrases that we've been saying to her for years that she never attempts to repeat, and yet she picks up other things right away. She doesn't just say the words. She uses the right voices too. Mostly mine, which I hate!
This led to problems in the past. When my sons were still living at home she used to shout "Tea's ready!" and every one would rush to the kitchen, despite me shouting "No it isn't" just as loudly.
She does my laugh too. That really is embarrassing
Her repertoire includes telephones. We've moved house several times and she picks up a new ringtone in a matter of hours. Once she's got it she never uses the old one again. I now often fail to answer the 'phone because it's easier to assume it's the parrot.
Her latest noises are the squeaky wheel on my wheelbarrow and shouting "Come on then!" if you wave your fist at her.
Every evening she is let out of the cage. She heads straight for my beloved (sorry, Her beloved) and sits on his shoulder to sing or play. She seems to like singing at TV adverts best.
She is free to fly anywhere she wants downstairs, but we always supervise carefully as she gets into trouble when left alone. Have you ever tried to remove an angry parrot that has become firmly wedged into a vegetable rack? No. I thought not.
I love having her around. You can't pass the cage without stopping for a chat. I waste a lot of time that way.

It all sounds a lot of fun, doesn't it?

Most of the time it is, but owning a parrot isn't all fun and games.
For a start, you would need about £700 to buy a bird like Tequila, and another £150 to £200 for a reasonable size cage.
A heavy-duty, lightproof cover will be at least £30. The cover is important, as parrots need 10 to 12 hours of darkness at night.
There will be times when you think your head will come apart if the parrot won't stop screeching. Most parrots have a noisy half hour, but Amazon parrots are notorious for it, and once you hear it you'll understand how extreme the noise can be.
It does vary at different times of year, but giving the parrot the right amount of darkness at night cuts down on the noisy times considerably and seems to keep them far less stressed then just popping the cover on when you go to bed.

The cage takes up a lot of space in our front room, but there's no point in buying a pet if you keep it out of sight. The room also has a reasonably constant temperature.
Parrots don't have to be kept at tropical temperatures, but don't leave them in a very cold room. Avoid sudden changes and never, never leave them in a draught. They chill easily and can die in less than 24 hours.

Finding a vet who is knowledgeable about exotic birds can be difficult. All vets will treat them, but some are better informed then others.
Tequila has always been healthy, but we know several other owners who don't handle their birds and have to pay for simple jobs, like nail clipping.
Tequila's nails stay short. She has a special concrete perch, as well as ordinary wooden ones, in her cage. Birds use the perches to keep their beaks and nails neat. The perch costs about £11 in pet shops.

Other accessories range from 99p, for a plant spray bottle (for misting feathers) up to £50 for big parrot toys.
We have a selection of toys for swinging, climbing and chewing on. We change the toys weekly so she doesn't get bored and she certainly makes use of them.
Parrots have very strong beaks and will destroy most toys eventually, so you need to buy replacements now and again.

Food quality is important. We feed a ready mixed parrot feed that contains sunflower seed, nuts, dried fruits and chillies. It costs £1.29 for a kilo.
Never buy food you can't see. Even the most expensive ready wrapped foods we've tried in the past have been lower quality and even had one or two mouldy nuts inside.
Mould kills birds; so make a point of choosing food that looks clean enough to eat yourself.
We also give Tequila bird grit, in a separate dish. Birds need grit to help digest their food. This also costs £1.29 per kilo, but should last for years. They don't use much.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are popular, especially grapes, bananas and red peppers, also seed and honey treats from the pet shop. She shreds the treat in minutes and plays with the plastic hanger for days.

Clean water is essential. I always check twice a day, as Madam likes to bath in hers. She completely ignores the purpose built parrot bath. The water bowl makes far more mess.
Parrots need water to keep their plumage in good condition so I spray her every day with lukewarm water. She really enjoys this and lifts up her wings to get the underneath done too.

There are some amazing accessories to see on the Internet, most of which I can't imagine buying. You can get a monogrammed cage cover, or harnesses to walk or fly your parrot in. Even a flying suit.
I'm telling the truth. Look for yourself!
Tequila's fairly docile, but I can't see her agreeing to hurtle round the garden on a flying lead. Even if it was the diamante studded one.

Amazon parrots can live for 70 years. She might possibly outlive us.
Our sons are horrified at the thought and have both begged not to inherit.
They've seen the time and money it takes to clean, feed and care for her.
I quite enjoy it all, but there's no doubt a heated propagator would have been simpler!

 

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