Skeeter the Red Bellied Parrot

[KimberlyAnn]

I had a cat that loved the sound of his own voice. He would go in the bathroom and "sing" while standing in the bathtub. He would point his head up high and howl. If he knew you were watching, he would immediately get embarrassed and start grooming his fur.

My poor neighbors thought he was injured the first time they heard it. They came rushing to me when I got home and said that it sounded like my cat was dying in our downstairs bathroom all day. Scared me! But no...things were normal when I walked in. Lol He just needed to let his voice ring out.

[Pajarita]

No, cats don't appreciate human song

Pajarita, I agree with your comment for most cats, but I did have one that would run the length of the house to sit at my feet while I played the harp.

Corsair is fascinated with the harps as well-maybe because she can SEE how to play it, and it works when she plucks a string as well. She hasn't started playing tunes on it yet, though.

Ahhh, but human voices don't sound like a harp (mine doesn't even sound very musical -LOL)

[marie83]

Any creature would run, fly, climb or slither a mile if I tried singing....... that said I did try singing to harlie when I was trying to tame her. She didnt look overly impressed, she much prefers to be told gently how pretty and what a good girl she is- but who doesnt like compliments lol.

[Weka]

Heh, all these birds and their singing humans.

Just thought I'd report that as of today we're still running into a few snags with Skeeter's training: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=11889&p=80964#p80964 Any thoughts or suggestions would be more than welcome...


Best,

Weka

[KimberlyAnn]

How is Skeeter doing?

[Weka]

Hi all --

Just an update on Skeeter (egads! I'd no idea I'd been away from the forum for so long).

After ten months of settling in and getting to know one another, I've decided he is both the bestest and yet most neurotic bird I've ever known.

Bestest things:

--He isn't a "cuddlebug" in the usual sense, but he LOVES gentle head scritches and will press his head against mine, sometimes attempting to preen my hair.

--He is sooooo smart! He figures out new puzzle toys almost right away, and understands more of what we're saying than he lets on. It's almost scary.

-- He can talk in four different voices (male human, female human, "falsetto" and "robot") and he has begun impersonating my husband and the bluejays and sparrows in the backyard. So far he has said the following in English: "Manny!" (or alternatively, Mommy!") "Hi!" "Hey!" "Are you hungry?" "Whatcha doing?" "Good boy." "Skeeter's a good boy" "Are you scared?" "Scared!" "Love you." "Boo-boo" "Babe" "Baby" " "Shut up!" (only said this once, to someone he didn't know) as well as many, many noises, beeps, whistles, and mutterings.

--He enjoys camping and traveling out-of-doors in general.

--His flying abilities have improved considerably. When I first got him, he could barely get off the ground and got winded. Now he can zip around the house like a little gray falcon, coming to me when I call.

--He really loves taking apart pea pods and especially adores fresh apples, asparagus and scrambled egg.

--He now goes to the potty in designated areas and is very tidy in general

--His summer plumage is BEAUTIFUL! I love how it's all shiny and how his wings now have orange epaulets.

--He seems to enjoy being in the bathroom when it's steamed up from baths/showers. This is when he talks and sings the most. Sometimes we have a duet!


Most neurotic things:

--He still has quite a few phobias: the dark, dogs barking, construction noises, and most inexplicably, white pieces of paper. He will FREAK out if a piece of mail or a teabag wrapper comes within ten feet of him. Also, he despises anything I wear on my head.

--Every great now and then, he will still do a "raptor dinosaur lunge" at me if I'm changing his food or water dish. He has gotten a little better about this, though.

-- To date, he's not bit me hard at all, just a couple mild nips, but all summer long he had a death wish for Mr. Weka. I think it's a testament to how much my husband loves me in that he now has several scars from Skeeter's razor-sharp beak, and hasn't asked me to re-home him. We've tried everything, but to no avail. I'm still hoping that a change in diet (less protein) and shorter photo-period will ease his red-bellied fierceness as we head into winter...



Thanks again to everyone here for all the initial help I got when we were transitioning into being his new guardians. It's not easy, bringing in such an intelligent being into one's home, but so far it's been more than rewarding.


--W

[Pajarita]

Great news on Skeeter! And such a kind husband... He is a keeper for sure! But tell him not to give up hope, my Zoey (female Senegal) has stopped attacking him (took 2.5 years but she finally 'forgave' him for breathing in the same space I do ) On the other hand, Isis (female redbellied) likes him better than me!

[Weka]

Hi, Pajarita! Yeah, he's a keeper for sure.

I just saw that you now have a she red-bellied in the family. Congrats! I'd be interested in picking your brain on what you've noticed so far about this species that's different from other parrots or even other pois.

Skeeter's fears are quite pronounced at times, and I've been told that it might have something to do with red-bellies being a "tasty" species (Ha.) My thoughts are that red-bellies don't hang out in large flocks in the wild and have to be more alert, hence a heightened "fear or flight" response that can go haywire in our very unnatural home settings. Or maybe it's just that Skeeter is, in my husband's words, "a psychonaut."


--W

[Pajarita]

Actually, Isis is perfect. She doesn't scream, pluck or bite; she is a good eater and enlarging the range of produce all the time (she ate only raw nuts and green beans in her previous home); she is not terribly messy or destructive; flies like a little Red Baron making U turns in a space maybe 4 inches wide, flies up and down the stairs from the first floor to the attic, taking the turns like a jet test pilot; she is not afraid of anything or anybody but she also has no issues with any other animal in the house and goes back into her cage on her own when it's time. The only two things I need to be careful about are: 1) she likes to go first anywhere so I have to be always vigilant of not opening doors to the outside because she will fly out (and I know this because she actually did once), and 2) she has decided that the ONLY bowl worth using for her early morning baths is the large dog's water bowl and no other will do so I have to pick it up from the floor, hide it and put a second, identical one I bought especially for her with cold water in the middle of the kitchen table or she will go to ground right in front of the dogs and cats and start bathing in theirs.

Aside from that, I find her behaviors very, very similar to the senegals: she chews 'gum' all the time and scratches her neck and head exactly like Zoey, she likes to chew on the same things, etc - the only thing that is completely different is her vocalizations.

[Weka]

Aw, sounds like Isis is a real sweetie!

How old is she, and how long have you had her? And how does she get along with the other birds/people in your "flock"?

Skeets has been super sweet the last couple weeks. Not sure if it's a seasonal thing, or that the nearby construction noises have lessened, or that there's less scrambled egg in his diet, or that I've been spending a little more quality one-on-one time with him...or all of the above. But he's been a lot more cuddly and making soft happy noises instead of his "CLAAAACK!" calls and fright spells. Almost like a different bird.

I'm suspicious....


-W