Back on track with an introduction to my birds.

Lets jump right back in with how life has been going for me since Sarvey.

Shortly after leaving Sarvey I took a interesting turn in my work with animals. I ended up participating in an internship of sorts working with horses. It was a very short, temporary thing, but I figured varied experience would be a plus on my resume so there was no reason not to get some large animal experience in. The
internship didn't turn out to be quite what I expected though, and it taught me a pretty good lesson about making the best out of opportunities that may not be quite as ideal as you'd hoped, and knowing when to quit. It was definitely my time to quit. I can't really go into it too much to preserve the sanctity of my experience, but it was a challenge, and I've decided that horses are really not my thing.

Another thing I've neglected to mention in my previous blogs is that I've picked up a few birds along the way. Two pigeons and a little Green cheek Conure. The pigeons were surprise rescues, and Conure was something I considered and researched for a year before taking on. So, I may as well introduce the birds.

Matilda

Matilda was my first feathered companion. She came to me as a previously feral (and terrible at it) rescue, and for the first 10 months Our relationship was pretty rocky. She was the first bird I'd ever owned, though I'd worked with pigeons for awhile beforehand, and I was still figuring things out. She didn't like being handled or touched, which I was perfectly fine with, but at the same time she had a tendency to panic when I approached the cage, and I was worried about the implications of such behavior long-term. I ended up deciding that my ultimate goal was to get on her good side.  

I realized early on that she liked music, and her taste was actually pretty good, (Much better than my Conure's). She would sit at the edge of her cage, with the door open and coo happily to songs she liked. Sometimes she'd get brave enough to venture out on to the carpet, and would do a silly little neck wobble each time as if (and forgive the anthropomorphism) she was proud of herself for pushing her boundaries. In reality, I have no idea why she wobbles her neck. She only seems to do it when she's stressed. 

What really got her to come around was food in the end. Pigeons and Dove's are pretty food driven, and Tilda loves her seed. Offering her nothing but food from my hand seemed to tame her pretty fast. Within two days actually. After that she was extraordinarily friendly. Friendly to the point of suspicion. She would run into my hand, and preen it furiously while grunting and flicking her wings. The behavior confused me at first. I eventually settled on the idea that it was some sort of mating behavior, as she also allowed me to start petting her at around this point, as well as 'preen' her pinfeathers. Shortly after that she stepped up for me for the first time. 

Nowadays she's a pretty happy, well-adjusted bird. She still displays the same preening and flicking behavior she did several months ago. I can get her into a harness, and take her for walks (She prefers to ride in the crook of my arm), and she's relatively spoiled. 

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Dominika

First day home

I first encountered Dominika as a naked squeaking little squab with a great big life ahead of her. It became apparent early on that she was having trouble adapting though. She didn't pick up "big bird" food for weeks after the other squabs, and putting her in with accomplished seed pickers didn't seem to give her the right ideas. She never tried to fly either. She was just barely figuring out the seed thing by the time her voice was starting to change. It wasn't until I brought her home shortly after this and she walked off of a table that I realized that she had trouble seeing. All the pieces fell into place. 

Enjoying the rain

When I first brought her home, she was still a lovable little squeaker, sometimes honker as her voice was about halfway through changing. She was great at cuddling, and super sweet. As she matured she started to act more like an adult pigeon and got less and less tolerant of attention. Her vision issues meant I couldn't approach the situation the same way I did with Matilda. So instead I've worked mainly on getting her used to me doing things in certain ways to keep her stress minimal. I still get the occasional bite and twist though. At least pigeon bites aren't so bad. 

Once I've taken her out of the cage she settles down quite a bit though, and she's still a fantastic little bird. Sometimes if she's especially itchy she'll allow me to preen her pinfeathers. I didn't find out for sure that she was female until recently when I'd found she'd laid an egg. She didn't seem interested in sitting on it though, and if I'd had any doubt at all that it was hers the second egg she laid two days later pretty much confirmed it. 

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Kon-Tiki

Kon-Tiki was the only premeditated addition to my birdy family. I picked her up shortly after her wean-date and brought her home after falling in love with pictures of her. I didn't honestly expect my first parrot to be a Green-cheek Conure. I had been looking at Bronze-winged Pionus, and Bourke parakeets, and waiting for one to pop up in my are whether to rescue or through a breeder. Something about Tiki spoke to me though, so I decided it couldn't hurt to go meet her. I did, we totally got along, and I brought her home for good the next week. 

Here, let me put my face on you.

Morning cuddles

Even with all the research I'd done I wasn't prepared for the amount of work and attention she'd need, and I've made so many mistakes along the way. I've learned to love and appreciate her for what she is, and find a more complete understanding of why she does the things she does, and how to cohabitate with her. 

I've done a lot of training with Tiki, both trick training and practical training. She doesn't have the greatest attention span, but she's super treat motivated, so I can milk that quite a bit. She's a fast learner though, and super intelligent if not incredibly moody. 

Birdy brooch

I can't say I don't totally get googly eyes over other parrots still. There are so many amazing species, and I've gotten to meet a ton of individuals including a gorgeous Moluccan king parrot who, though shy, was able to become relatively comfortable with me quickly. Tiki is pretty great at expressing her distaste with me spending time with other birds, especially parrots. One of the few times she'll draw blood these days is if she feels she's having to compete with another parrot for attention. 

Enjoying a safe trip outside

Tiki has proven to become quite cuddly over time, though it's always on her own terms. She's also not really much of a talker. She prefer to make little toots and tweets, and imitate the sound of me breathing on her when she shoves her face up under my nose. She's incredibly demanding, and I get the impression she's pretty certain that she always needs to be either on me, or own whatever I'm trying to use be it a computer, or controller, or anything really. Now that her primaries have grown back in she follows me from room to room as well, and gets pretty upset when I manage to sneak out on her, which typically means browsing reddit just out of her line of sight while I wait for her to stop screaming. 

She can be incredibly frustrating at times, usually for about a week straight, but in the end the benefits outweigh the costs for me. She brings me so much happiness, and I enjoy her companionship. She amuses me with the stupid things she does, or by teaching herself a new trick. But overall, I can see my relationship with her progressing. It's long-winded, and difficult and frustrating, but having to work at it makes me appreciate it that much more.