How did I end up with all these parrots?

;D It all started out innocent enough. I always enjoyed going to the local PetSmart to shop for cat toys (I had three at the time - they're at Grandma's (my mom's) house now). Of course, I'd always wander down the bird aisle to admire them.

Then, one day, a beautiful Sun Conure arrived. He was the funniest & most friendly and playful bird I'd ever laid eyes on. NTM gorgeous! Since the PetSmart store was just around the corner from my house I began making more regular visits to check up him. We got to know each other & it came to the point where he recognized me when I came to visit and would pitch a screaming fit when I left.

This went on for approximately six months. I had asked one of the sales people at the store if I could have a parrot with three cats (about two months or so after I first saw him) and the answer was a firm "NO!". Further - "that little bird would never have a chance if those cats got ahold of him!". That's why it took me six months to make a decision.

Well, when I finally did decide to bring him home with me I discovered that he had stolen the hearts of every single person who worked there and was actually considered their store mascot! (So that's why they didn't want me to have him! Hmmm.)

I got him home and he was my constant companion. We did everything together & I loved having him around. So much so - I started thinking it would be nice for him to have a companion (I was working and felt guilty about leaving him alone all day).

That's when I got a frantic call from my mom who had found out about a parrot for sale. It was ridiculously cheap and the people selling him had to get rid of him quickly because they had to move out of their place the next weekend.

I decided to pack Sammi up & take a trip down to Florida (I was living in Atlanta at the time) and check it out. Well, we got to their place and it turned out to be a rundown trailer out in the boonies. The reason they had to move - eviction. They brought out Petey and he looked terrible. I don't think they had ever given him a bath, shower, or even a good spraying down. His feathers were ragged and he was not a happy camper at all. He had no training whatsoever - not even "step up". I was quite leary and had almost made up my mind to pass up on getting him - even though it was a good deal. They wanted $250 cash.

What sealed the deal is when the guy showed me how to "discipline" Petey - he walked over to the perch and gave Petey a good, hard flick on the beak with his finger while yelling "bad bird!" (even though he wasn't being bad). I pulled out my wallet, gave them the cash and got out of there as quickly as possible.

Boy, was I ever surprised after a week of showers and spraying to see how beautiful and vibrant his feather colors were.

Naturally, I wanted to give my newfound friends the best care I could - so I started subscribing to Bird Talk magazine. I read as much as I could and learned a *lot* about parrots. I was intrigued by how beautiful and smart and personable they were. They were the best pets I'd ever had! They even talked to me! How cool is that?

I kept going back to the PetSmart to let everyone know how well Sammi was doing & regaled them with stories of how we would whistle to each other and how he learned how to "locate click" instead of screaming for attention.

Then one day it happened - they had a baby CAG that was just adorable. Just weaned, could hardly stand on the perch (we all know how awkard they are at that age) and had the most beautiful array of feather colors - deep, dark gray to almost white with those stunning red tail feathers. I knew almost immediately that I'd likely be adding another to the flock. Sure enough, I thought it over for a couple of weeks and decided that he just had to come home with me.

Zayn was a real handful at first. Demanding attention, stumbling around his cage, even forgetting how to eat (I had to re-teach him how to eat a few times before he finally caught on). He was a real learning project for me. I'd never raised a baby. We bonded like I've never bonded with any other animal before him.

It was at the vet's office during one of Zayn's regular checkups that I found out about a lady who had a "breeding pair" of Sun Conures for sale. I thought it might be an interesting project to breed some babies. After all, my mom's pastor made some decent money on the side breeding his. I figured I might make enough to make up for all the expense - that food is expensive (especially when 90% of it goes in the garbage can)!

So I made the trip to the breeder lady's house (she had about six pet CAG's & all of them very loquacious). The parrots were beautiful and the price was great - she even threw in a travelling cage for free! - so they came home with me.

I soon found out they weren't a breeding pair. They weren't even bonded. Heck - they didn't even like each other. She just had two Sun's she wanted to get rid of. Bonnie and Clyde fought like gangsters at war with each other. It didn't dawn on me to separate them - I thought they were just agitated because of their relocation.

Until I came home one day and found Clyde dead on the floor of their cage. Bonnie had plucked his eyes out. She was a cold-blooded killer. But Clyde had been aggressive toward her from the beginning. After the grieving was done (on my part) I started feeling sorry for Bonnie. She'd been put in a bad situation and had done what she needed to do to escape it. Maybe she & Sammi would hit it off one day.

And they did. The flock was happy and so was I. Contented as a pea in a pod. But then I went to PetSmart again. And there she was. An Umbrella Cockatoo. So white she appeared angelic.

Gabby and I hit it off immediately. It was - literally - love at first sight. I asked to handle her and as soon as she came out of her cage she spread her wings, fanned her crest and gave me a big squawk! The PetSmart manager (we were friends now) even commented that he'd never seen her do that. As she cuddled in my arms I couldn't believe how silken her feathers felt. And she just loved being handled and pet.

I was smitten. I went back the next day and discovered she was being looked at by a couple who planning to get her as - get this - their first bird. I told the manager that I was thinking of getting her, but their price was just too high. He offered me a ten percent discount (even extended it to all products in the whole store as long as he was manager) and we struck the deal. I lucked out when the cashier rung her up at the ten percent off price and then gave me another ten percent. That helped ease the unexpected blow to my budget (and pay for that expensive cage she lives in).

Gabby and I became fast friends. She's very easy-going and not at all possesive like most cockatoos can be. She loves it when she's getting attention and has fun playing by herself or with the other guys when she's not. I've never been acquainted with an animal this lovable and laid back.

All was good with the flock. I'd finally settled on the fact that I wouldn't be breeding them and that I had enough to keep me entertained and definitely enough to clean up after.

Until that day I was on EBay & came across an ad for a pair of B&G macaws. That's weird - I thought - EBay doesn't accept listing for animals. And they don't. Except for the 12 minutes that listing was available.

Luckily I had printed it off and shot the guy an email. He had a local buyer but wanted them to go to someone who wouldn't split them up and resell them for a profit (his asking price was *extemely* reasonable & included the cage). So we made a deal and I drove up to Ohio to pick them up. Neither was hand trained (even though Sid was hand raised & weaned by the owner) and although they were flighted birds they weren't allowed to fly (since they lived in a mobile home - they basically sat in a cage & watched CNN all day). I found out that these were his first parrots and was very disappointed to find out that he wasn't very good at taking care of them - when I got the cage home I found the catch pan was corroded from droppings and the bowls had slime lines around them from the water standing & rotting too long.

But they seemed to be nice enough birds. I figured with a lot of love and training they'd turn out OK. And I was right. Sid remains somewhat shy to this day - I can't help but wonder if he was "disciplined" at some point - and Maggie has turned into an honest-to-goodness people freak. She loves all the attention she can get and hardly ever attempts to bite any more.

Wow! I can't believe it! I've got - let's see - seven parrots now! It seems like a lot, but they're a very manageable group. They all get along - it seems like they enjoy each other's company - and sometimes they even talk to each other.

You'd think that many parrots in one place would be an overwhelming amount of work, but it's not. It seems the workload is incremetal - with each additional bird adding not that much more chores.

But seven. That's definitely enough. No more trips to PetSmart for me. No sir, er - ma'am. At the PetSmart I have a guaranteed 10% discount for life. OK, maybe for food. Parrot food. On the bird aisle.

And I definitely need food! So it's off to the PetSmart for food. So I'm getting food - maybe a couple more toys - when I hear a wolf whistle followed by a loud "come here!". It's more like - "comear!". But still. My curiosity has been piqued.

I go over and see what appears to be a Blue-Fronted Amazon. Fairly young, too. And already talking. Hmmm. But it's a bird food only trip. Yessiree bob. No more parrots.

So I go home and start looking at Petey. He looks just like that other parrot. They told me he was a Blue-Fronted Amazon. So I start looking on the web for more info. Could it possibly be they're a match. It would be so nice for Petey to have a cage buddy.

Uh-oh. Here we go again. Looks like it's time for another trip to PetSmart & a talk with the manager about this newcomer.

Turns out she's not a Blue-Front, but an Orange Wing Amazon. Darn. That means she's not the same breed as Petey. Dunno if I want to spend that much - and she was expensive - on another parrot. Oh well.

But the wheels are turning. Something just didn't seem right. They both looked to have the exact same features. So I did more research on the internet. Turns out that Blue-Fronts have a cream colored beak & the Orange-Wings have a blackish-grey beak. Hmmm. Petey has a blackish-grey beak. Maybe he's not a Blue-Front.

Sure enough. They're a match. Time for some negotiations at the PetSmart. Turns out that the home office is holding the line on exotic pet prices. Nothing can be done about it.

Except - maybe - how about a free cage?

Nope. Already got one. How about $300 worth of free toys?

And the deal was done. Petey had a cage mate and I had a beautiful talking (yes, talking!) baby OW Amazon.

Boy, could she talk! Hey baby! Watcha doin'? Comear! Those are her favorites. Did I say "her"? Hmmm. I just assumed she was a she. And that "he" was a he, for that matter. Guess I'll have to have them sexed one of these days.

Finally, a complete flock! Everybody's got someone - Petey has Piper, Sid Parrot has Maggie Hatcher, Sammi's got Bonnie, Gabby's got me, and Zayn has - well, he's got me too. Hmmm.

Filed that one away until just a few weeks ago when I innocently noticed a Pet Safari sign & thought it would be interesting to stroll through to see what this "Safari" was all about.

And there in the window - a beautiful baby CAG. That's when the file manager in my brained retrieved the Zayn file. Wouldn't it be nice if he had a partner too? So I went in and played with the CAG. She was a little shy - but what baby CAG isn't? I asked how old she was - not sure, but around 8 mos was the answer. Asked the price and found it to be a little high - "but we're flexible, she's on consignment from the breeder and we've had her since she was weened".

The wheels started turning. I could come up with a reasonable offer. Besides - what kind of self-respecting parrot wants to spend their life in the window at a pet shop?

So the offer was made and accepted. Gracie had finally found a home and a flock. Hopefully - one day - a mate also.

There you have it. Nine parrots - all happy and we're done counting. That's it, final, no more. Never.

Unless....

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to share your stories!