Scar was given to me in 1996 by owners that didn't want a parrot anymore. He was 5 years old when he came to live with me. The former owners just figured him for a girl, hence the Scarlett name. I had him tested about a year later (just a simple blood test) and found out he was a boy. I feel incredibly lucky to have this bird in my life! Scar is not loud, doesn't destroy things and lays in my arms like a baby. He ALWAYS says hello when the phone rings, but is not a big talker over all.
Spooner Umbrella cockatoo
Spooner came to me in 1997 at 7 weeks old and looked like an exploding q-tip!! He was on 4 feedings a day, went to work with me in a big green tupperware container and always had his stuffed teddy bear by his side. Boy, did we go through a lot of cloth and paper towels, because baby birds poop a whole lot!! As a baby we would spend the evenings with him on a big blanket in the living room with his collection of toy s and food items. In my experience, cockatoos require much more physical and emotional care. Cockatoo’s are little mechanical engineers... loving to take things apart and figure them out (as in “how to get out of my cage”). The only thing he says is "wub oooo" which means love you!!!
Sassy Citron Cockatoo
Sassy is one of the first birds I got. She came home after having been weened in 1992. She likes to say “Whee-bee!” while rising up her shoulders and flinging her bright yellow head crest forward. Marnie learned to say “Whee” from Sassy. Sassy doesn’t say anything else, but giggles, and loves to ham it up in front of the camera or a crowd. Imagine the time I took Sassy to a classroom of 4th graders, who I told to raise their arms and say “Whee-bee”. She reacted with her Whee-bee dance, and this went on and on until I saw that Sassy was getting tired from too much Whee-beeing. Sassy began to pluck at her feathers when our other Cockatoo came into the fold. Other than this we are unsure why Sassy would pluck.
Elliot Green Indian Ring-neck
We rescued Elliot when she was split from his Blue Fronted Amazon cage-mate. This made Elliot depressed, unfortunately my other birds did not get along well with Elliot, and when I brough Marnie home, it was hoped they would get along well, but they do not at all! But now Chessa and Elliot get along well and are cage-mates. Elliot is not a talker at all, unlike Marnie, and makes typical parrot screeching sounds. Elliots bright green coloring is the natural coloring as found in the wild. The ring-neck breed has been mutate to include other colorings, such as Marnie’s blue feathers, besides other colors.
Yago Macaw, blue and gold
To the best of my knowledge Yago was probably born around 1995. What I know about him is that his previous owners had rescued him from another state and had 3 other parrots who lived with him. He had had a broken leg (it was surgically fixed) but then had gotten a broken wing (most likely due to his poor balance because of his leg did not heal perfectly). His owners were going to put him down but we asked if we could take him. My husband is a veterinarian, so we took care of him and now he is best friends with my other macaw, Scar. We have to move very slowly when he perches onto our arm because he can't hang on very well. This bird is loud!!!! Sometimes he sounds like a donkey braying, or that he is shouting out “Rat! Rat!”. But we love our 'Yagie boy'. He's a great eater and loves new things in his cage. He has been with us since 2002.
Mr. Pretty Bird Cockatiel, cinnamon
Mr. Pretty Bird can be heard whistling parts of the theme song to the Andy Griffith show. He was 1 year old when I got him in 1996. He had belonged to a young family who were adopting children and did not have time to care for Mr. Pretty Bird properly. He was given his name by their little daughter. They had little kittens when he came into their family and know how to meow!
Chessa Congo African Grey
Chessa was born in 1982, and we got him in 1994. His previous owner didn’t want to care for him anylonger. She had kept him in a very small cage with no toys, nothing to do and he was rarely let out. He plucked his feathers. She was going to put him down. It took a long time before Chessa would step up on my hand. He still does not allow anyone to put their hand over her head. Now Chessa has a huge cage, a great diet and lots of toys. His feathers have grown back in, and generally does not pluck them much any more. Chessa is a great whistler and says “I’m the king of the wild frontier.”