FoxersArtist
07-24-2008, 03:57 AM
"One and Only" is a term I use to describe what happens when bird and human find each other in an extra, extra special relationship where there is no doubt that they were made for one another. Some of us here also refer to this as their "secret favorite" or their "secret, secret favorite" when there are multiple secret favorites. (So if Peggy is my one and only, does that make andy my secret favorite? :D) Peggy Sue is my one and only of the parroted kind, and though she drives me nutty sometimes, she seems to have as tight of a hold on my heart as my own flesh and blood. I could glue some feathers onto my children and I would have one little brood of momma love.
Before I go any further, here is a little back history about our sweet (and salty) orange wing amazon, PJ. His original history is unknown to me but he spent 4 years previous to coming home with me living his life out with another OW and they were both "shop" birds. I did not pick PJ and PJ did not pick me. They belonged to a bird store in ABQ and the owner fancied them and so, kept them from being sold. They loved to watch TV in the afternoons and though they were a bit crabby, everyone seemed to admirer them. Some years ago, the store was broken into and PJ's mate, Freedom, along with 13 other parrots were stolen and never found. PJ seemed tense after the break-in and had tons of anxiety being in the shop, especially after his girlfriend had been taken right before his eyes. I heard the news and because the store owner is a good friend of mine I decided to take our entire tax refund down to the store to buy a bird to help her financially in her time of crisis. I had planned on buying an older bird, maybe one with issues that was hard to sell. I could help rehab it and find a good home later as I did with my other fosters. Needless to say, PJ needed to get out of there so home he went.
PJ has always been a funny bird. He can't make up his mind about what he likes or wants, but perhaps that's just the amazon in him. He never really hit it off with us (no flying sparks though he did barf on andy's head in the car once) but he seemed content to just be a perch potato and get a few headrubs here or there upon his request. PJ never really hit it off with anyone else so we just assumed he was meant to stay.
Periodically I become worried that PJ is unhappy with us and then he does something to convince me otherwise. All of the birds we have added to our own flock are birds which, at some point in our relationships with them, have shown that they just could not be happier without us. We took a gamble on those birds we purchased as babies (as does anyone who buys an immature parrot, in my humble opinion) and we have always vowed that if our parrots could be happier with a different person, who are we to hold them back? All of our birds have expressed this magical bond with us at some point except...PJ. But he's just a crabby old amazon who gets a twig up his butt some days...maybe he just got one of those dud sparkers that just wont light. Give him a hand full of almonds and his world is golden and magical, at least for five minutes.
That actually reminds me...really and truly, there are 3 things in life that seem to light PJ's fire. Almonds is the first but by far not the greatest. A good, wet spray bath! This bird is a walking umbrella in a rainstorm. He would do a full blown shower dance if he found himself underneath a leaky cieling tile. The telephone. Kill him dead and send him straight to heaven with a dial tone. We have teased for years that the telephone is PJ's girlfriend. Put it up to his ear and he will coo at it while preening himself wildly. Sometimes he gets so excited by his electronic friend that he will fall off his perch because he is so absorbed in the moment. It's too bad we have not been able to adopt him out to the telephone company.
Ok, getting off track here, sorry. Someone came over today to meet the birds. I had PJ inside because I was in the middle of cleaning his play perch. LOOK OUT! SPARKS! PJ was dancing on his perch, lifting his wings and fluffing. I noticed that my amazon was being "odd" and thought perhaps a fly had been invading his bubble or something. Maybe he found a stray almond.
I took our guest over to meet popeye and popeye loved her! What a hit. Then I took her over to meet peggy sue. Peggy put on a full show plus some little extras. Then out into the aviary. The Bat gave her a snuggle and Benny boy gave her kisses. Hobbit did the hobbit headbob and refused to go back into her cage. Is this lady really cool or are my birds just extra happy today? When we came back inside (with Hobbit whose stubborn ways worked in her favor) PJ flew off the play perch he was stationed at and started hobbling toward this lady. I put him back but he danced unrelentingly until I gave in and went to get him. I put him on her knee just for fun, thinking, ok big guy, be the center of attention for a few minutes and then get on with your crabby old self. She reached down to pet him and he did his hawk head impression, bowed his head and let her give him a head rub for 45 minutes! Traitor! You try to bite me after a 5 minute headrub and I even massage your stinky feet! And then it got worse. PJ sat, cooing at her, talking to her in his itty bitty operator voice...squinty eyed and beak grindy. He was cooing at her! Traitor, traitor, traitor! Ma'am it was so nice to see you. You can give me my amazon back now and go on your way. She was totally infatuated with him and wouldn't take her eye off him the entire evening. I felt like a third wheel on a hot date. she insisted that she loved them all. I wonder why.
After tonights events, part of me was quite amused to see such a different side of my bird. The other part was not at all amused (at all, at all, at all!!!) because he liked someone much, much, better than me and it wasn't a dial tone. I had never actually sobered up and thought seriously about the idea of not having PJ even though I have toyed around with placing him in the past when he has seemed unhappy. when I was able to really consider the possibility I felt so sick to my stomach I thought I might throw up.
Was PJ just being a fickle little amazon? I asked the lady to come back so we could see what happened next time, and perhaps the time after that. In fact, maybe she should just move in for a while. I had no intensions of PJ slipping into the catagory of "foster" and glared at him across the table tonight as I pouted over a bowl of gluten free pasta. He spent the rest of his evening preening happily, flinging little floaty feathers into the air like a giddy pony, flirting with his reflection in the window.
An interesting experience to say the least. I have no idea what to think or how to react. I am sure that I will think long and hard about it and PJ will have more opportunities to show his true colors. The bigger part of me is arguing that he is my bird dang it, and you can't have him. The smaller part of me is arguing that we do not make up the minds of our parrots. Whichever side wins (and I am really rooting for the selfish side right at the moment) I am sure PJ will just go on being PJ.
What do you think?
-Anna
Before I go any further, here is a little back history about our sweet (and salty) orange wing amazon, PJ. His original history is unknown to me but he spent 4 years previous to coming home with me living his life out with another OW and they were both "shop" birds. I did not pick PJ and PJ did not pick me. They belonged to a bird store in ABQ and the owner fancied them and so, kept them from being sold. They loved to watch TV in the afternoons and though they were a bit crabby, everyone seemed to admirer them. Some years ago, the store was broken into and PJ's mate, Freedom, along with 13 other parrots were stolen and never found. PJ seemed tense after the break-in and had tons of anxiety being in the shop, especially after his girlfriend had been taken right before his eyes. I heard the news and because the store owner is a good friend of mine I decided to take our entire tax refund down to the store to buy a bird to help her financially in her time of crisis. I had planned on buying an older bird, maybe one with issues that was hard to sell. I could help rehab it and find a good home later as I did with my other fosters. Needless to say, PJ needed to get out of there so home he went.
PJ has always been a funny bird. He can't make up his mind about what he likes or wants, but perhaps that's just the amazon in him. He never really hit it off with us (no flying sparks though he did barf on andy's head in the car once) but he seemed content to just be a perch potato and get a few headrubs here or there upon his request. PJ never really hit it off with anyone else so we just assumed he was meant to stay.
Periodically I become worried that PJ is unhappy with us and then he does something to convince me otherwise. All of the birds we have added to our own flock are birds which, at some point in our relationships with them, have shown that they just could not be happier without us. We took a gamble on those birds we purchased as babies (as does anyone who buys an immature parrot, in my humble opinion) and we have always vowed that if our parrots could be happier with a different person, who are we to hold them back? All of our birds have expressed this magical bond with us at some point except...PJ. But he's just a crabby old amazon who gets a twig up his butt some days...maybe he just got one of those dud sparkers that just wont light. Give him a hand full of almonds and his world is golden and magical, at least for five minutes.
That actually reminds me...really and truly, there are 3 things in life that seem to light PJ's fire. Almonds is the first but by far not the greatest. A good, wet spray bath! This bird is a walking umbrella in a rainstorm. He would do a full blown shower dance if he found himself underneath a leaky cieling tile. The telephone. Kill him dead and send him straight to heaven with a dial tone. We have teased for years that the telephone is PJ's girlfriend. Put it up to his ear and he will coo at it while preening himself wildly. Sometimes he gets so excited by his electronic friend that he will fall off his perch because he is so absorbed in the moment. It's too bad we have not been able to adopt him out to the telephone company.
Ok, getting off track here, sorry. Someone came over today to meet the birds. I had PJ inside because I was in the middle of cleaning his play perch. LOOK OUT! SPARKS! PJ was dancing on his perch, lifting his wings and fluffing. I noticed that my amazon was being "odd" and thought perhaps a fly had been invading his bubble or something. Maybe he found a stray almond.
I took our guest over to meet popeye and popeye loved her! What a hit. Then I took her over to meet peggy sue. Peggy put on a full show plus some little extras. Then out into the aviary. The Bat gave her a snuggle and Benny boy gave her kisses. Hobbit did the hobbit headbob and refused to go back into her cage. Is this lady really cool or are my birds just extra happy today? When we came back inside (with Hobbit whose stubborn ways worked in her favor) PJ flew off the play perch he was stationed at and started hobbling toward this lady. I put him back but he danced unrelentingly until I gave in and went to get him. I put him on her knee just for fun, thinking, ok big guy, be the center of attention for a few minutes and then get on with your crabby old self. She reached down to pet him and he did his hawk head impression, bowed his head and let her give him a head rub for 45 minutes! Traitor! You try to bite me after a 5 minute headrub and I even massage your stinky feet! And then it got worse. PJ sat, cooing at her, talking to her in his itty bitty operator voice...squinty eyed and beak grindy. He was cooing at her! Traitor, traitor, traitor! Ma'am it was so nice to see you. You can give me my amazon back now and go on your way. She was totally infatuated with him and wouldn't take her eye off him the entire evening. I felt like a third wheel on a hot date. she insisted that she loved them all. I wonder why.
After tonights events, part of me was quite amused to see such a different side of my bird. The other part was not at all amused (at all, at all, at all!!!) because he liked someone much, much, better than me and it wasn't a dial tone. I had never actually sobered up and thought seriously about the idea of not having PJ even though I have toyed around with placing him in the past when he has seemed unhappy. when I was able to really consider the possibility I felt so sick to my stomach I thought I might throw up.
Was PJ just being a fickle little amazon? I asked the lady to come back so we could see what happened next time, and perhaps the time after that. In fact, maybe she should just move in for a while. I had no intensions of PJ slipping into the catagory of "foster" and glared at him across the table tonight as I pouted over a bowl of gluten free pasta. He spent the rest of his evening preening happily, flinging little floaty feathers into the air like a giddy pony, flirting with his reflection in the window.
An interesting experience to say the least. I have no idea what to think or how to react. I am sure that I will think long and hard about it and PJ will have more opportunities to show his true colors. The bigger part of me is arguing that he is my bird dang it, and you can't have him. The smaller part of me is arguing that we do not make up the minds of our parrots. Whichever side wins (and I am really rooting for the selfish side right at the moment) I am sure PJ will just go on being PJ.
What do you think?
-Anna