I recently moved in with a friend and she has a Senegal parrot, about 8 years old (she's told me how old Kiwi is, but I have trouble with my short-term memory.)
Kiwi, the parrot, is an absolute delight. She flirts with me. I chat with her, I give her treats, I keep her water clean, I play music for her (so far, she *really* likes a tango album I have called Tango 3.0 by the Gotan Project), I have a recording of a canary she seems to find interesting, and today I searched YouTube for videos with the sounds of other Senegals, both wild and tame. The YouTube experiment had her riveted. I even took a shower with her, once. She has seemed to really enjoy all this.
I was afraid, at first, of accidentally hurting her. We had several Canaries over the years when I was young. Canaries are fragile creatures. I know how to relate to Canaries and the idea of taking Kiwi out left me feeling nervous. I really was afraid of hurting her.
Now, Kiwi has had a traumatic year. My friend's daughter moved out. Three weeks later my friend's husband died. About this time, I moved back after working on the other side of forever for 12 years. Six months after my friend's husband died, I moved in. I had been visiting regularly, often spending 4 or 5 days (even though I lived about 10 minutes away, by car.)
I've had some serious health issues and I was grateful to be able to move into a lively household (2 cats & Kiwi.)
My friend gradually introduced me to Kiwi outside the cage, teaching me how to let Kiwi ride my hand or my shoulder. This went very well and then one day, for no reason I could clearly identify, Kiwi gave me a deep bite on my ear, it bled fiercely for about an hour and is still scarred. I was emptying the dishwasher and Kiwi *LOVES* to ride on your shoulder and back while you unload the dishwasher. If she hears you emptying the dishwasher and she's still in her cage, she screams and calls out every word and whistle she knows hoping you'll come to your senses and let her "help." One day, several weeks after the first bite, Kiwi's cage door was open and I was emptying the dishwasher, she fluttered to the floor, walked into the kitchen, and climbed my leg to get onto my back for her ride. My friend came into the kitchen, put Kiwi on her shoulder, and took over the task of emptying the dishwasher. This was after an incident where Kiwi had bit down and exposed the tendons in one of my fingers.
After that first bite, almost every time she came to me she would, at first, be friendly and flirty, and then she'd bite. I have several scars on my fingers and I have trouble bending the one finger where she'd exposed tendons, all the way.
Now, I don't carry her. She tries to come over to me, but my friend doesn't allow it. She distracts Kiwi with a game or some loving before she can reach me.
My friend's daughter rescued a puppy in the summer; the puppy ended up with us. He's large, social, and eager. Kiwi has taught both of the cats to fear her (I recently saw Kiwi flutter from her cage to the table to chase one of the cats) but the puppy, who is 45 pounds of teenager, could unintentionally injure or kill Kiwi. So, that's a new stressor in her life; I don't know if she's clear on the danger the puppy represents because she's lived with 2 other dogs prior to this Tigger-energy-charged puppy. But, our caution and tension levels must be being communicated.
Kiwi has learned two words since I moved in 6 months ago. The first one is definitely my "Hi!" which I call out each time I come into the house. The second word sounds very much like the puppy's name the way we say it when he's being a jerk or a teenaged dog that has no clear pack leader.
I really hope to develop a good relationship with Kiwi but I don't want to contribute to the upheaval in her life. I will move out if and when my wife moves here. After my wife emigrates and lands here, I will continue to come and visit, possibly even staying over a few days at a time, again.
Any advice on how I should proceed is welcome. Should I stick with my role of providing entertainment but not physical contact? I love Kiwi. I don't want to hurt her, nor do I want to be hurt by her.
This was a long story for an intro, but I'm a writer by trade so I like to get as much of the whole story as I can.
Thanks for listening!
