Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Have I mentioned how much I love this bird?:) I know that it's been a long time since I've written and a lot has happened, but Clancy has still been absolutely amazing! They honeymoon is ndeed over and she has now decided that my hands are evil and will no longer step up for me if she is sitting on anything, but if she's on the ground, she steps up readily as most birds do. It's going to be a slow dance on this one but I'm sure that we will both work through it.
Over the last week or so, I've been letting Clancy just explore the bird room and I've been finding her in Cooper SIE's cage a lot, so I thought that maybe it was time to see if I could convince her to switch cages. The cage she came with is definitely the smallest cage of all the cages and she's the biggest bird I now have, so I'd like to upgrade her. It's also not powder coated, so it's not easy to clean. Well, Friday night Clancy wandered into Cooper's cage and I closed the door and she didn't seem uncomfortable at all. I wheeled her cage out of the bird room and wheeled an extra cage in to see if this bothered her and we did well. She's now been in her new cage since Friday, May 2nd and I'm pretty sure that she's claimed it as her own. As you can see in the pictures, she runs off the other birds who get close to it!:) She is an absolute doll and while she likes to look tough and will puff up and run after the other birds, she doesn't have it in her to actually do anything! She really is amazing and I can't imagine being more lucky to have been given the chance to add her to my life.
Clancy has been one joy after the other, literally! We received two of her four tests back from the vet. She is not currently shedding Psittachosis and tested negative for PBFD (Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease). I'm still waiting to find out her sex (I do think she is a female though) and to see if she has ever been exposed to Psittachosis, but I'm not worried in the least.
Today was Ms. Clancy's very first vet visit. We took Reggie Lou along to also get a new zinc level on him. I'm not worried that Clancy isn't healthy but it's very important to get a baseline on her while she's healthy so that if she should ever become ill, we can look back at the baseline and see what was normal for her when she was healthy as well. Clancy did very well considering she hates towels. I went ahead and ran two separate tests to rule out Psittachosis (the only disease that can be transferred between birds and humans), a PBFD test, and I decided to have a DNA test done too since we had to draw blood anyway. I'm not worried at all that Clancy isn't healthy but running these tests on her can definitely rule out that there was anything wrong. I'm wishing that I would have done Polyoma as well but maybe we'll catch that one at some other point. My vet said that greys tend to show signs of Polyoma if they have it, unlike many other species who will just shed the disease as adults and never show a single sign.  Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Today, we started off the morning right way with the alarm going off again. She was very active this morning, chattering away and I let her out for a bit again as I got ready. She seems to adjusting very well and I'm so in love with this little girl, it's amazing. It didn't take long at all to fall head over heals for her! Monday morning, I got ready for work and was heartbroken to have to leave Clancy behind. I uncovered her and let her out while I got ready for work and then put her back in her cage and tried to explain that I would be back in a little while and that she'd be ok. She seemed to be fine with me leaving, although I didn't want to go. I spent all day thinking about her and couldn't wait to get home. She was right where I left her when I got home, of course, where else would she have gone? I opened her cage and let her decide if she wanted to come out or not and she didn't for a while. I let all the other birds out and kept checking on her. She finally came out and I brought her into the living room and set her on the Orbit. She was there for a while before Tuchis decided he had to come over and harass her. She stood her ground very well and I'm very pleased. I also got Tuchis to come to me by offering a bit of what I was eating at the time and he left her alone for a while but then had to come back and bother her again.
The routine now seems to be put all the birds to bed but Clancy then bring Clancy into my bedroom for bed and chat with her for a while and then cover her for the evening. When I went out to get her last night, she found her way up to the top of the circle swing in the living room. The absolute highest point she could have gotten to. I thought I might have a problem coaxing her onto my hand from there, but nope, she did a solid step-up even from that height. I think she's starting to feel more comfortable as she's exploring more and isn't as nervous about all the play toys and gyms and their movements when she steps on them. I put her in her cage and we chatted a bit more and I finally decided to cover her. She has a cover that was made for her cage and has a kind of little "V" opening in the front so she isn't completely covered. She spent the next 20 minutes at the bottom of the cage peeking out at me and telling me it was time to go to bed and that she loved me! She's such a sweet, sweet bird! Sunday morning I woke to being serenaded! Clancy apparently likes to sing Row Row Row Your Boat, Happy Birthday, and Jingle Bells! She did a lot more talking and I decided I'd bring Tuchis into the bedroom to see what he thought. I put him in a wire travel cage at first and they just beeped a bit. I finally let Tuchis out because he was being such a pain in the cage. He immediately wanted attention from me so I held him and scritched him, etc and then put him on top of the travel cage. He did decide to find his way to Clancy's cage and hung out on the open door for a while. I watched carefully, but nothing really interesting happened. We finally moved the party out to the living room and Tuchis got ahead of himself and tried to dive bomb Clancy while I had her on my hand. Tuchis went back to his cage after that little maneuver! Clancy and I just spent the rest of the evening in the living room where I tried to convince her that walking around on the playgyms and eating out there was ok.
Clancy was very dusty and I thought that while introducing her to the rest of the flock, I would also see what she thought of the bathroom and showering in general. I started out with my oldest Ekkie, Cooper because of his very sweet disposition and his love for showers. I set Clancy on the shower perch farthest away from the water and then went and got Cooper. Introductions ensued and then I turned the water on a nice easy spray. Cooper went crazy as usual, dying to get a shower and Clancy just watched, a bit nervous. Then I went and got Tiki Taco and added him to the mix where he and Cooper started to fight and cry about having to *share* the water. They can be just terrible when they shower as each one thinks the other is getting more water! Next came Tuchis TAG and then Petey Patty and finally, the white fluffball, Reggie D2. After everyone was done, I carefully misted into the air so that water would fall on Clancy just to see how she would react...she wasn't too fond of it, so I guess we'll take showering slowly from here on in!:)
Once again, at bed time, Clancy started talking up a storm. Some of the things I remember her saying are: Clancy is a female red tailed African grey parrot who came to join my flock on Friday, March 28, 2008. Her former owner, Ann, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and Ann was looking to find a good home for Clancy. I met Clancy for the first time several months ago and we finally made the decision to transfer her to my care when the weather got warmer.
My friend Barb and I drove to Ann's to pick up Clancy and all her things that Friday and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I cried as we drove away, thinking of how hard this must all be for Ann and also realizing that someday I will probably be in the same position as Ann, finding a new home for the parrots in my life when I am no longer able to care for them any longer. I know that day is most likely going to be a long time from now, or at least hope, but it's hard not to think about it in a situation like this which also makes me want to get some "ducks in a row" for the possibility that my birds will find a good home if something tragic were to happen. I know that we all struggle with this and it's a hard thing to try and plan for. Clancy was very nervous on the ride back to my house. I opened the carrier a bit so she could look out and see us and know what was going on. She did the standard grey beep here and there and has the cutest "Phew" sound she makes, which was also "verbalized". She also laughed every now and then, so we were assuming that, although nervous, she was doing remarkably well on the 40 minute journey to her new home.
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Other than that, Clancy has moved into the bird room with the other birds which was very easy. I thought she might have a hard time with this but it went very, very easily. Clancy is used to a night light and I figured my birds would have a big problem with this, especially my Cockatoo who will scream bloody murder if he thinks anyone is up and having fun without him. So, for the first few nights, I left the bird room ajar and the bathroom light on. Absolutely no problems. I had been meaning to actually go out and buy a night light but just never got around to it and I kept thinking that I wasn't sure if my other birds would do well with one, so I decided to try a night one weekend without light and I was really surprised that Clancy did great!
About five days after I started closing the bird room door and not using a night light with Clancy, there was a ruckus in the bird room early in the morning. I rushed in and was consoling Clancy, immediately thinking it was her who was upset. Well, when I finally came to my senses, I realized that Clancy was fine and it was Tuchis TAG who was terrified. Tuchis has been known to have a few night frights here and there but I've never seen him so scared before. I took him out and calmed him down and just assumed he had a bad dream or something. I put him back in when I felt that he was calm enough to go back and crawled back into bed only to hear him thrashing around yet again shortly. I got back up and ended up letting him sleep the rest of the early morning in a travel cage in my bedroom so I could get some peace! I found out when I finally got up that the Midwest had actually had an earthquake right at the time I had gotten up the first time. I'm surprised that none of the other birds had had a problem with it and I definitely felt nothing. Tuchis always has been a momma's boy but don't tell him I said that!:)
As for Tuchis, he's finally decided that maybe Clancy isn't so bad. When they are both in the bird room, they chat up a storm. I could just sit for hours and listen to them, they absolutely crack me up. Clancy has started to do the ring of the telephone and Tuchis will answer it with a "Hello?" Clancy will do the first half of the wolf whistle and Tuchis will finish it off. They sing together and talk in bird and in human. They are just the cutest. Of course, let Tuchis out of his cage and he's gone, so they don't play together as of yet, but I can always hope!:)
She hasn't been talking nearly as much but her curiousity is incredible. I'm so used to my lazy birds never doing much of anything other than coming to visit me or just kind of hanging out and occasionally playing with a toy. Clancy is starting to get brave enough where she will run around on the playstands and the circle swing and the Orbit and play with anything she can get that beak on. She leaves no toy untouched and rarely sits still. She's taken to flapping upside down on the Orbit as fast as she can go and will come over and sit on the boing next to the couch whenever I have something she thinks is interesting. She loves to play Bat Bird, hanging upside down and seeing what the world looks like from a different perspective and boy does this girl LOVE to flap those wings!
I was asked by a friend the first week if I thought I would like Clancy as much if she didn't talk. I know that lots of people will buy birds just because they are supposed to talk and those of us who have birds will quickly say that this is a very bad reason to get a bird. I have to say that I was enthralled with Clancy's enormous vocabulary but because she's almost in the same room with me, she doesn't tend to use it as much and I can honestly say that it doesn't matter so much to me. She's so beautiful to watch and her playing is exceptional. I'm just head over heels for this grey girl with the bright red tail and feel so blessed to have had the chance to add her to my flock.
Everything went fairly well for the most part. Tuchis ended up back in his cage early in the evening along with Reggie who refuses to stay out of the kitchen regardless of what I put in front of the door to keep him out. So, for a couple of hours, it was just me, Clancy, Cooper, Taco, and Petey. I did give Clancy some fresh food on the playstand and she ate very well. Cooper was over in a flash and just kept watching. I should have done two bowls because then Taco was over, butting his way into the bowl and chasing poor Clancy off. She let him in and I went and got another bowl for the Twins who shared on the hanging playgym while Clancy got back to the food on the regular playstand.
Saturday was a lounge day and Clancy and I spent most of the day sleeping or reading. I currently have her cage in my bedroom away from the other birds. I do not have a separate air space for quarantine but was going to do the best I could. Clancy has been an only bird for the last 18 months though, so I wasn't horribly worried about her not being healthy. Quarantine is still important though as parrots can shed illnesses when stressed that wouldn't otherwise be a problem. I blew it big time on the quarantine later on in the day though as having one parrot in one place and five in another was going to be hard and I finally just decided that it was easier just to introduce everyone...this is not the greatest thing to do of course!
We all spent the rest of the afternoon out in the living room together. I put Clancy on the PVC gym right next to the couch and she hung out there all afternoon and evening, taking a quick break for dinner in her cage. Cooper had a small tantrum and went in the bird room and whined and cried for a bit but finally came back to join us and didn't give Clancy a second thought. Tuchis TAG was very interested in her and kept coming over to investigate but never got too close. Reggie, Petey, and Taco weren't even phased by her and that was pretty much the rest of the day on Saturday.
I have to admit that I was a little worried about adding Clancy to my flock for several reasons but it meant so much to Ann that I couldn't say no. All of my current birds can be easily handled, two of them being purchased directly from their breeder at a fairly young age. My youngest Ekkie didn't come directly from his breeder, but he was less than a year of age when he came into my life and I knew who is breeder was. The only parrot that I do not have any past knowledge of is my Patagonian Conure and she too is fairly easy to handle and steps up readily. So, you can imagine how I might be a little worried that Ann and Clancy had a very nice "hands-off" relationship ever since Clancy decided to bite Ann in the face at three years of age!
Once home, we unloaded everything and then carefully unzipped the carrier and Clancy jumped out and fluttered to the floor. I was a bit nervous but figured that then was as good a time as any to offer up my hand and see if Clancy would chomp me or step up. She surprised both Barb and I by stepping right up and we were both stunned. Of course we had to get pictures immediately and then had to email Ann to let her know how well Clancy was already doing! We got a weight on Clancy the first night, 556 grams...she's a big girl! She also did lots of talking when everything settled down and I put her in her cage for bed.