September 2009
Hello all you Bird and Elephant lovers,
What a morning! Yellow naped Amazon parrots can be quite redoubtable, especially when they do not want you to do what you are doing to them. Emma’s nails just had to be cut. They had gotten so sharp that it hurt just to have him stand on my hand. I thought of a cement perch, which honestly had not worked with him before, but the pet store was out of them in his size. I let him out Saturday and when he came up on my arm it felt like strong needles forcing their way into my skin so I had to do the unthinkable, wrap him in a towel and have Jackie cut his nails......Wow, what a situation.
I took him into the bathroom and closed the door so he couldn’t fly back to his cage and attempted to get a towel around him. You would have thought I was trying to kill him, the way he carried on. I finally was able to hold my hand around his head, under the towel, while Jackie gingerly cut off the pointed tips of his thrashing claws. When she was finished, I unwrapped him. I held him and kissed him and cooed to him and then I put him on his shower perch, which he normally loves. As of now he is standing on the perch with the water running and looking at me with fierce anger and dismay projecting from his amber eyes....I hope I am not in for another Aristophanes episode....see our last newsletter for details.
WELL, Emma does not trust me and it is going to take some time, I believe, for us to get back to having the same relationship we have had. It has been more than a week since the nail cutting episode and it is still somewhat touch and go. He actually flew at my arm to bite me and that is not like Emma. It is getting a little better and as time goes on I hope we get back to being lovey-dovey....but only time will tell. This stinks.
Aristophanes, by the way, has come more back to himself with me since the medicine incident. I, actually, had to dose him again and it wasn’t anywhere nearly as bad as that night in the cage. This allergy thing with him is terrible. He sneezes and suffers if I don’t give him the benedryl, and he freaks out and “suffers” if I do......Quite the dilemma, I am never cutting Emma’s nails again by myself and I wish I had someone who could come in and give Aristophanes his meds, so he could hate them instead of me. Whomever said that keeping a pet bird is easy is a liar.
Zeke, thank God, is OK............I hope he stays that way. I couldn’t deal with having all three of them, periodically, hate me. His thing is flying on me and hanging out with me while I sit in the livingroom and watch TV. It is a sweet and delightful thing until he stands on my shoulder and sounds off. Oy, sometimes I think that he will make me deaf. Luckily, Jackie is an audiologist, in case I end up needing a hearing aid.
Tonight’s meeting should be spectacular. The last time we had Gloria Waslyn, with her Parrots for Peace, she had two macaws and did a great program. Now she has three. I am so sorry I will have to miss this presentation because Jackie and I will be in Cape Cod for a little vacation. Matt will run things for this meeting. He will also give everyone all the information on our upcoming show which is next month. Please devote lots of energy and time to that end. The more we put out, the more we will have and out shows really speak for themselves in their quality and educational value. The show will take place at the Liberty Ambulance Building on October 11th, the Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend. I hope to see everyone there and everyone doing their part to help.
Have a great meeting and I will see everyone next month..................I am praying for some great whale watches, I will share it all with you when we get back......
WRITE ARTICLES ABOUT YOUR BIRDS OR BIRD ISSUES AND FAT MATT WILL PUBLISH THEM IN OUR NEWSLETTER................................PLEASE!
LOVE TO EVERYONE,
RICHIE
What a morning! Yellow naped Amazon parrots can be quite redoubtable, especially when they do not want you to do what you are doing to them. Emma’s nails just had to be cut. They had gotten so sharp that it hurt just to have him stand on my hand. I thought of a cement perch, which honestly had not worked with him before, but the pet store was out of them in his size. I let him out Saturday and when he came up on my arm it felt like strong needles forcing their way into my skin so I had to do the unthinkable, wrap him in a towel and have Jackie cut his nails......Wow, what a situation.
I took him into the bathroom and closed the door so he couldn’t fly back to his cage and attempted to get a towel around him. You would have thought I was trying to kill him, the way he carried on. I finally was able to hold my hand around his head, under the towel, while Jackie gingerly cut off the pointed tips of his thrashing claws. When she was finished, I unwrapped him. I held him and kissed him and cooed to him and then I put him on his shower perch, which he normally loves. As of now he is standing on the perch with the water running and looking at me with fierce anger and dismay projecting from his amber eyes....I hope I am not in for another Aristophanes episode....see our last newsletter for details.
WELL, Emma does not trust me and it is going to take some time, I believe, for us to get back to having the same relationship we have had. It has been more than a week since the nail cutting episode and it is still somewhat touch and go. He actually flew at my arm to bite me and that is not like Emma. It is getting a little better and as time goes on I hope we get back to being lovey-dovey....but only time will tell. This stinks.
Aristophanes, by the way, has come more back to himself with me since the medicine incident. I, actually, had to dose him again and it wasn’t anywhere nearly as bad as that night in the cage. This allergy thing with him is terrible. He sneezes and suffers if I don’t give him the benedryl, and he freaks out and “suffers” if I do......Quite the dilemma, I am never cutting Emma’s nails again by myself and I wish I had someone who could come in and give Aristophanes his meds, so he could hate them instead of me. Whomever said that keeping a pet bird is easy is a liar.
Zeke, thank God, is OK............I hope he stays that way. I couldn’t deal with having all three of them, periodically, hate me. His thing is flying on me and hanging out with me while I sit in the livingroom and watch TV. It is a sweet and delightful thing until he stands on my shoulder and sounds off. Oy, sometimes I think that he will make me deaf. Luckily, Jackie is an audiologist, in case I end up needing a hearing aid.
Tonight’s meeting should be spectacular. The last time we had Gloria Waslyn, with her Parrots for Peace, she had two macaws and did a great program. Now she has three. I am so sorry I will have to miss this presentation because Jackie and I will be in Cape Cod for a little vacation. Matt will run things for this meeting. He will also give everyone all the information on our upcoming show which is next month. Please devote lots of energy and time to that end. The more we put out, the more we will have and out shows really speak for themselves in their quality and educational value. The show will take place at the Liberty Ambulance Building on October 11th, the Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend. I hope to see everyone there and everyone doing their part to help.
Have a great meeting and I will see everyone next month..................I am praying for some great whale watches, I will share it all with you when we get back......
WRITE ARTICLES ABOUT YOUR BIRDS OR BIRD ISSUES AND FAT MATT WILL PUBLISH THEM IN OUR NEWSLETTER................................PLEASE!
LOVE TO EVERYONE,
RICHIE