My gang...

No dogs I'm afraid and I don't get on too well with cats, but these are my inmates:



This is Rocky the Cockatoo. He's been with me for 23 years and may well be around long after I'm gone. He was trapped in the forests of Ambon in Indonesia and I discovered him in a local pet shop, where he reacted to any attention by being ferocious and seriously threatening. That beak can slice through a brazil nut shell like a hot knife through butter, so everyone was terrified of him. It took a few years to gain his trust, though he's now one of the most stupidly affectionate creatures you could imagine. He only started talking 5 or 6 years ago and his vocabulary is very limited. That said the range of ear shattering yells, screams, squeaks and cackles is anything but. Rocky is a great engineer and escapologist. He re-engineers anything that he can get his beak around and wil undo screws, nuts and catches with astonishing speed. He 're-engineered' a fire surround some years ago forcing me to replace it.

Then there's Coco:



Unlike Rocky, she was bred in captivity and hand reared so she doesn't really consider herself to be a bird. I've had Coco for 10 years and she talks incessantly, picking up phrases, noises and new words on a daily basis. She holds lengthy conversations with me even when I'm not really paying attention and sits close to my desk where she watches and comments upon things on the computer screen. She is definitely aware of the meaning of some words and phrases and invariably uses them appropriately. She can also use expletives at inappropriate and embarrassing moments causing shocked silence. Then she chuckles heartily, says "Oh dear" and turns her back.

 

I could do with Coco around here to liven things up sometimes!! My kind of bird! :D

 

Rocky and Coco are just so beautiful. We used to have budgies when I was young and they would sit on their perches, swearing away. When the cat jumped up on the cage, Fred would shout 'get down Duffy' and then bounce up and down on his perch saying 's**tbag s**tbag s**tbag'He would come out for a fly and have us in stitches with his antics!
I am sure your two give you many hours of fun and you should be very proud of yourself for patiently encouraging Rocky to trust again

 

Wow, DaveP, what beauts you have there. To have Rocky for so long is amazing and Coco is just the right poppet to have at a party! Must remember to speak to her when I'm speaking to you as well ...


Hello, Coco, hope you're fine this evening. Is your Poppy behaving himself ... what's he up to at the moment? Might get some secret information here ... :D :D :D

 

Somehow Dave, I thought you'd have exotic pets aswell. They both must give you hours of fun.
I'd always be wary of a pet that could out live me.

 

That's why I wouldn't have a tortoise :D
A nice couple of birds you have there Dave, they usually have such characters.

 

Hey, our cats could do it .... or my pair of kits even! :D :D

 

Yes Pete, it's a hell of a responsibility and no small amount of worry. Coco could easily live for another 60 years or more and Rocky belongs to a family of stupendously long lived parrots. Cockatoos are probably the longest lived of all birds with life spans of 80 - 100 years and more. The oldest recorded Cockatoo in captivity was 120 years old when he died.

Rocky will probably have to go to the zoo when I pop my clogs - I don't think he would easily settle with anyone I can think of. He used to come out into the garden with me and occasionally flew up onto the roof to yell at the seagulls. One day several crows circled round to investigate the noise and he was outnumbered. He suddenly took to the air and dive-bombed back down to me, both feet outstretched and crashed into my chest. I've still got the scars as his claws (nearly half an inch long and decidedly talon-like) sliced through my T Shirt and into me. He's refused to go outside or fly since, even though he gets every opportunity.

Love the story about Fred the budgie Marge. Coco understands my frustration when my puter decides to crash. Now if the screen goes blank "Oh Bo**ox, not a again!" rings out before I manage to say anything. Trouble is that the last time mother came to visit, she came into my office to talk to Coco. I switched off the puter as mother leaned towards Coco's stand. The screen went blank and ... no prizes for guessing what happened next

Coco teases Rocky mercilessly. Rocky has several very loud but rather plaintive calls which precede a crescendo of maniacal yelling. Coco imitates this to get him started and once he kicks off, she yells out "Hey Rockeee ... shaddup! Ooh too noisy! Stoopid bird!" She then laughs and shakes. I then laugh and she laughs louder and so it goes on. Rocky yells, she laughs and I'm falling about helplessly. The place is a madhouse.

 

It sounds wonderful, Dave, and I'm sure you have great enjoyment out of it.

I never knew Cockatoos could live that long ... it would seriously make me think about having one if I knew that in advance! It's like (in my case) if your cats lived to such an age ... it doesn't bear thinking about!

Have you made arrangements, so to speak ... not being rude and intruding?

 

It is and it's impossible to feel alone with so much activity going on for much of the day. They are very rewarding, but potentially destructive so they cannot be left to their own devices for long.

Too many people think it's a great idea to buy these birds without realising the immense responsibility that comes with ownership. Sadly they are often viewed as status symbol, when in fact it is like taking on a needs-intensive 6 year old for the rest of your life. They can't be dismissed when they become inconvenient and their requirements in terms of attention, diet, exercise etc are very high and constant.

MY family and friends know that Rocky must be very carefully homed because he cannot be suddenly stuck in an aviary. He will not tolerate other birds' company so cannot have a community environment. Coco is more or less spoken for and in any case, she is eminently sociable and would settle easily in a good home.

 

Dave, does that mean you can't leave them for any length of time ie holidays, away days etc ?

 

Marge & Dave your "bird" antics are so funny i'm still giggling as i write this- Brilliant :D

 

Erm yes, I was half hoping you weren't going to spot that. They can't be 'farmed out', which means someone has to always be here. Dogs can often be holidayed in kennels while cats never seem to care too much as long as they are fed. Unfortunately the birds must have someone about for much of the day and that someone must at least be familiar to them.

Moving them to unfamiliar surroundings needs to be kept to a minimum. Otherwise a sulk can quickly turn into severe stress that can lead to illness. There's no such thing as a sick parrot - only dying ones and healthy ones. Luckily I have a few friends who are just about acceptable to them and who are prepared to moved in if I need to be away.

I keep my absences to a minimum. It just comes with the territory, which is why I always try very hard to dissuade folks from buying parrots without taking a very, very long time to consider the consequences. Personally I find the rewards outweight the inconveniences - until Rocky (Cockatoo) decides that half of the morning must be spent yelling and cackling as he does today.

 

Dave, your fine-feathered friends are fortunate to have someone as dedicated as you.

However, I must disagree with

As a cat owner for 38 years, this is quite the opposite to what I have encountered with all of mine. Whilst on holidays, some have refused to eat, only enough to keep them going, and this was in their own home environment. We tried a cattery once about 26-27 years ago and our poor moggy came out with fleas ... never again!

 

Hi Dave, Your birds sound great. I am a great fan of parrots and have to agree with you about taking on any of these birds without a lot of consideration.
My daughter has a young [18months] sun conure who is great fun, and seems to have the intelligence of a toddler. Although he can't actually talk [yet?] he has intonations and syllables down to a T, and always uses phrases appropriately. His latest naughty trick is to fly down to the floor and march towards Pickles the dog in threatening pose [wings out, beak gaping] then launch back to his perch shouting 'BAD BIRD, BAD BIRD'- much to Pickles' consternation.
We thought he would have a high squeaky voice like a budgie, but he has a baritone voice which is funny in such a small bird!
Here is a mobile phone picture of him reclining with my daughter-

They are lucky in that Fawkes likes me and will happily stay with me for a few days if they want to go away.