Cry Baby and Colonel's page

Colonel is a Quaker Parrot that my daughter gave me for Mother's Day of 2006.  He is a rescue bird, that had been HORRIBLY traumatized in his previous home.  He and another Quaker were kept in a small parakeet cage, till one night his owners simply left their trailer home, in the middle of the night - and the birds along with it.  The birds had to fight over the remaining food and water, and unfortunately for Colonel, he had to watch his cage mate die.  A kind hearted neighbor realized that the birds were still there, and called the authorities who entered the trailer and rescued the surviving bird.  To this day, Colonel does not trust anyone, and is understandably mean to anyone foolhardy enough (like me) to put a hand in his cage.  For Christmas, my wonderful husband Bud, gave me a 7 year old male mushball of a Cockatoo named "Cry Baby".  Cry Baby decided immediately that he is my bird.  It is my hope that by watching he and I, Colonel might slowly start to realize that I truly mean him no harm, and only want to love him as well.  This pic is of Cry Baby on his first day home.

Colonel - my Quaker.  You can see his missing feather areas on his upper right chest and the inside edges of his wings.  This is much better than when I first got him for Mother's Day 2006.

April 9, 2007  Cry Baby just seems to keep getting better and better all of the time, or nearly all the time.  Last week he and I had a few battles - with him biting and me scolding him for it.  Finally he hit my breaking point for the day and I thumped the end of his beak with a firm "NO!".  He promptly hollered back at me, and I in turn at him again.  As I turned and left the room without another word, you can imagine how silly I felt - arguing with a U2!  The worst part is he sat in his cage hollering at me for several minutes, stopping after each "sentence" to see if I was going to answer, and when he heard nothing, he resumed hollering.  In retrospect, it was hysterical to me.  The next morning when I got him out though, he walked up my arm and then put his face down against my chest as if saying he was sorry, so of course I melted and gave him a kiss on the beak and everything was fine again.  Cry Baby always wants some of whatever I have, so of course he wanted to drink out of my sports bottle, too!

Colonel's story took a very unexpected turn last year.  He absolutely refused to have anything to do with anyone, other than to literally maul them - even though he watched Cry Baby's progress and should have seen that I had no intention of ever hurting him - even after he would "attack".  I had resigned myself to the fact that he was never going to come around.  So tearfully, my hubby and I took him to a breeder we know - who said  he could give him to someone else that had an enormous display of Quakers, where he would fit right in with the flock in the huge cage he maintained in an large office building in Chicago, Illinois.  During the change of owners, somehow he escaped and flew off.  The breeder had offered me a very young pastel Parrotlet to be Cry Baby's companion.  So I began from scratch with "Mickey", and loved him to pieces.  I had to teach him not to bite, to step up and Cry Baby taught him to talk.  (We learned the next day that Colonel had flown about 2 blocks away and landed in a tree, where he perched watching some children playing in a sandbox in their yard.  He was hungry (not having eaten for over a day) and began eyeing up some snacks that the children had brought outside.  They offered him some and he flew down to take it, and next thing you know he had wandered up onto a boy's arm, and rode into his house on the boy's shoulder!!  His parents knew our breeder friend, Bill, and called him.  When Bill learned that Colonel was actually being very nice to the kids, he told them to keep him!  Colonel seems very happy in his new home, though we have heard that the children are the only ones who can handle him - he bites the parents like he did us. 

Mickey was a very sweet natured little fellow, who enjoyed spending his days playing on his swing and singing like mad.  He  learned to talk from Cry Baby, and they jabbered back and forth non-stop.  Unfortuntely, while we were on vacation, (a full 3 day drive from home) Mickey was singing and swinging, and for some reason fell off his perch, and departed for birdie heaven.  We had no way of knowing for certain what had happened, but our vet guessed that he probably choked on a seed.  That was a very painful call to get.  By the time we got home, Cry Baby had begun pulling out feathers on  his leg, and calling out in the most pitiful voice I have ever heard him use,"Baby Bird?" and looking where Mickey's cage had been.  It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was depressed and lonesome.  So we went back to Bill's shop in search of a new companion for him.

Enter Gigi!

   Gigi, when we brought her home as a 6 month old baby.  She had been around U2's and thinks that is what she is.  She loves to snuggle and to give kisses, she whistles like crazy, but isn't talking yet.  Darn it! 

Then I got the rest of my avian family....yep, another U2!! 

Here comes Jules....

  Yes, I have lost my mind - well at least my heart to these goofy birds!  My house is not large enough to accomodate any more cages, so this is the most I can have, but what a group!!  Jules is now 5 years old, and was owned by a very nice lady who doted on him, but unfortunately developed severe allergies, and had to give him up.  He is a very charming bird, if a bit rough since the change of addresses.  I can see his personality trying to break through, but he has been through a lot recently.  Once he is accustomed to my ways (and I to his) and his new home, I think he is going to be just fine.  Already, he wants to give me a kiss every night when I am shutting things down for the night. (April 4, 2009) I have had Jules now for 15 months, and he no longer wants a kiss every night-even though he asks "Gimme kiss?" many times during the course of the day.  He has several times grabbed my ear, and tried to give me a few new piercings before letting go.  Now he is trying to mimic Cry Baby's behavior - wanting the same reaction I believe.  Cry Baby has developed the game of "Nibbles" he plays with me a lot of the time - Jules tries to play, but wow! is  he ROUGH!!  I have to admit though, that a stern reprimand "No" will normally stop him.  Jules refuses to step up onto anyone's arm, instead wanting to climb out of his cage onto the door and then is content to be bodily picked up and held.  While I am holding him, he loves to wander up and down my arm, stopping every other trip or so, to give me a kiss or 2.  His progress has not been as fast as Cry Baby's, but is definitely making progress.  He has the crazier personality of the 2 by far.  The more people he has to entertain, the happier he seems to be. 

Cry Baby has learned to make a "deposit" on command before he can come out of his cage.  I get more stunned looks when we have friends over and I give him the command and he does it, just so he can come out to play.  He will walk up my arm and then lay down on his side and wiggle his way over onto his back and lay there playing "dead birdie".  I often grab his beak and shake it gently, just to get him to start playing "nibbles" with me.  He has developed into the sweetest bird I could ever ask for!

Gigi has decided that she is my husband's bird.  She has yet to bite him- even though I wish I could claim the same thing.  She hangs upside down from his fingers and then wants to play with her toys while she is doing it.  In December she began actually saying a few words, instead of just imitating sounds.  Some of her very first words were to the Toos, saying very firmly, "No SCREAM!" and soon she was saying it in my voice. LOL  She scolds our dogs when they start barking, and if I tell her to be quiet, she will frequently respond by telling me to shut up.

Last weekend, I brought home the final addition to my bird family - a beautiful 6 month old hand fed and raised sunshine yellow Cockatiel with bright orange "cheeks", that I have named "Sunny".  So far he is adjusting to his new home (sitting right beside Cry Baby's cage and chattering with him) but is not real sure about being held yet.  Sunny will come and sit on my hand and play with his toys and press on my fingers with his beak, but I don't dare try to take my hand and him out of the cage.  I will be patient with him though, and I am sure he will continue to adjust and happily.