Rhode Island Parrot Rescue

[liz]

"The grey whisperer". That is funny.

It could be the beard. Myrtle is so social that she will fly to any man who comes in the house be it a friend or a stranger. To her something is wrong with black people and she won't go near them.

When Myrtle learned to step up I took her to my mom's room. Mom was hurt that she would not go to her but she didn't even trust me at that time. I set my mom's hair on pink plastic curlers that clip on. Myrtle could not resist. She unclipped and removed every curler from mom' head. Mom was laughing the whole time.

[Pajarita]

Most likely the reason is that those birds have already chosen another human in the rescue. But, how many grays do they have? You've only mentioned one, I think. And yes, you are right, some birds don't do well at all in a rescue... actually, and although it depends on the rescue itself, most birds don't do well in them. Nobody of their own, not really, and not enough time out of cage...

[Navre]

We currently have 6 greys, one Timneah Grey.

[Pajarita]

And are the 'whisperer' to all of them? I always wonder why grays end up in rescues... I've had six and all of them were 'easy' birds.

[Navre]

And are the 'whisperer' to all of them? I always wonder why grays end up in rescues... I've had six and all of them were 'easy' birds.

I know that Nick came in with the greenwing "Shane." They were owned by an old woman who either went into a nursing home or passed away. I guess Haley was with an older couple who had had the bird left with them by their son. I don't really know the story on the others.
Hope is a super sweet 16 or 17 year old. Ashes is the biggest CAG I have ever seen. He is about 21, very serene and quiet.
Echo looks like she plucks, but she actually flew into fly paper at her previous home. I don't know it that's the incident that lead to her being surrendered, but her feathers are coming back in.

I can handle all the females like you've seen me handling Haley. Ashes is male, I think, and he steps up for me but doesn't really like to lie in my hand. Ashes bit me once after a visit with a potential adopter. He had behaved really well for her. She hadn't touched him, but she had fed him out of her hand. Once she left I was about to move him back to the main room and he bit me. Not hard, just hard enough to let me know that he wanted the pretty lady back and I was a poor substitute.

Nick wants to visit the lady Greys when he is out of his cage, and he pretends to get ornery when I prevent him from climbing on their cages. He makes a big show of "biting" me but there is no pressure. I even said to him the other day, Are you going to bite me? I don't believe you! And the he lets me pick him up.
I have made the mistake, however, of telling another volunteer that Nick was just bluffing. The guy ended up getting bitten. The same thing happened with Marvin the Mealy Amazon. Marvin is always grabbing my hand with his beak (her beak, if I had to guess). I told another worker that Marvin wasn't going to bite him, and Marvin bit him.

[Wolf]

I learned very quickly from Kookooloo that although she only actually bites me if I have a remote or phone in my hand and has never bitten me for any other reason that she does not hesitate to bite the snot out of anyone else that gets near enough.

[Pajarita]

Ahhhh, well, you've learned the first rule of parrot handling: don't ever tell anybody that this or that parrot doesn't bite - they all do!

[Navre]

Haley went to her forever home today. I have mixed feelings about this. And by mixed I mean that I know I should be happy about this, but I'm very upset.

[Wolf]

So Haley is the Grey that you have been wanting?

[Pajarita]

It's perfectly normal for you to feel this way. Volunteering and fostering are wonderful things to do but they are real hard on the humans because every body who does it, loves animals and gets real attached to the ones under his care but I am sure that, upset aside, you know that this was the best thing for him. Everybirdy deserves a human of its own and, as much as you loved him and he loved you, you were not 'it'.