Adoption Day

I'm Beignet and I've been adopted by a man, a woman, a cat, and I'm suspicious that there might be another parrot in the house. My story is long, the humans only know about me since March of 2004 when police rescued me from an insane hoarding woman's home. She had over sixty birds besides me. I shared a very dirty cage with 20 other parrots. I was so afraid that to pass the time I pulled out all of my feathers. It made me awfully cold. When my feathers were gone I didn't know what to do, so I began pulling on my skin and it broke. I was a mess. I'm really and truely a happy parrot, but I was so sad and afraid in that crowded cage. It was the worst kind of jail, and I hadn't done anything wrong.

One day I heard sirens (I learned how to make that sound that day) and police and some nice women came and looked at all of us and then I could tell that they felt very sad because their faces began to make water from their eyes. They sighed and then began the hard task of trying to calm all of us and take us away from that awful place.

At this point, I was so frightened that I don't remember a lot of what happened. What I do remember is that these two ladies gave me my very own cage. It was like heaven. They gave me my own things to play with and learned that I love to shred paper. My feathers slowly began to grow back as I relaxed. My wound healed up and for the first time for as long as I can remember I felt happy, except for one thing. I wanted - no needed - someone to spend more time with me and to love me. It was nice to see the people all day long, but I needed to feel touch and be close to someone. All of the other birds except one had been adopted. The two women talked and said that they didn't think I could go to a home because I had been so sick when they rescued me. They were afraid that I would hurt myself again, so I wasn't to be adopted, but to live at the hospital.

One day everything changed. A lady came to see the other bird. She told the women that she wanted an older "used" bird, one that needed a special friend. I saw her and my heart lept inside of me. SHE was the one I had been looking for. I did my best to let her see how much I wanted her. The other bird just sat there looking like a bump on a log and since my cage was right next to his, she saw me.....and then came to MY cage and talked to ME! She thought I was wonderful and I felt like dancing. I was at my best behavior and leaned towards her to show her how much I loved her.

The next day the hospital ladies talked a lot about me. The lady who had showed me to the new person told them, "You don't understand! Even though Beignet isn't available for adoption SHE liked the woman. She picked HER out!" Finally they understood what I wanted and they agreed to let the woman take me home after she took classes to know about me. She already had a cat trained to do dog tricks and a Parrotlet that could pick out colors, so they knew she would take good care of me.

The day came for the class and SHE was there. I saw her again and she gave me treats. I tried very hard to behave myself so she would really know I liked her, but this other parrot kept stealing the show. Even with that, she kept her eyes only on me.

Three days later when it was time for breakfast and cage cleaning, I was pushed into a treatment room at the hospital. THERE SHE WAS! It was the lady I picked out. She talked sweetly to me and said the word "home". I didn't understand. She stayed with me for a while and then the hospital lady went to the computer and the nice lady followed. I made my special noises and they didn't notice, and then I CALLED to her. They both held their mouths open and the nice lady came back and talked sweetly again and said "Good" and gave me a treat. After that they put my cage into the lady's car and gave me a beautiful blue blanket. The car drove a long way and then the lady began to say "Home" over and over. A good neighbor helped to carry me and my cage into her house. She lifted up the blanket and I knew in my soul that I had chosen the right person. She was smiling and talking softly and I saw beautiful sun shine and trees and smelled fresh air. This was what she meant. This was HOME.

All of that day we became used to each other. I tried some of my special calls and she liked them a lot. I tried to rattle my cage, but she didn't even notice. Later I said some of my special words like "I love you". She said, "Good Beignet, I love you too!" She gave me my favorite paper to shred and fresh food and water and a new bowl just for fresh fruit and vegetables. She also gave me a new toy. At first I was afraid of it, but she let me get used to it from far away and then moved it closer and closer until I knew it was safe. On the next day she put the toy inside my cage and it is now my favorite toy except for the paper. I am so happy here

By accident I bit her finger today. I was exploring her finger gently and forgot to be gentle. She said "Ouch", then turned her back for a bit and came back and I remembered to be gentle this time. In the evening I asked her to scratch my head and she did. It felt wonderful to be touched with love.

I like her special person man that she calls her husband. He is kind and gentle and he really loves her. When he comes near my cage he always gives me a treat and says "hello". In the morning time he exercises near my cage and I make quiet sounds for him.

I will keep on telling my story on another entry until you have heard all of it. Then my special lady will write more about me.

Beignet's Beginnings

Beignet is an Congo African Grey parrot who was rescued with the help of the police department and animal control. She had been living in a small cage with 20 other African Grey Parrots, in a house with more than 60 birds in similar condition. When she was rescued she had plucked all of her feathers out and had begun to self mutilate her skin. She lived at an Avian Hospital for a year and a half after her rescue before she chose me to live with. This is the beginning of her story. She is making a remarkable recovery and is enjoying living with me and my husband, our other parrot which is a Celestial Parrotlet and our Balinese cat.

African Grey parrots live a very long time, sometimes up to 100 years. For this reason, I wanted to adopt a "used" parrot. I had seen babies and they were so cuddly and swee, but I am not a young person in the beginning of adult life, so I couldn't morally buy a baby. I wanted to live my life with a parrot who would not need a lot of owner changes.

I have a lot of experience training animals and the patience it takes to make them want to do different behaviors. For instance, our cat is trained with basic dog training: sit, lay down, lay down on the side, roll over, stop, no, up. Isabo our Parrotlet can tell colors and talks, though her consonants are unheard to my ears. I can hear the appropriate vowels when she talks. A Parrotlet voice is very high pitched, so it is uncommon to hear what they say. It is quite obvious that Isabo knows what she is saying.

I will attempt to post things that will be of help to others who are rehabilitating parrots, or who want to know different methods of training.

Your comments are welcomed.