Post by jenn18 on Feb 20, 2024 9:41:43 GMT -7
Got Ella at 12 weeks old last January, so she's been with us a little over a year now and she is 16 months old. My adult daughter came to stay with us for two weeks when we first brought Ella home to help. We were all so excited! My daughter stayed in the basement most of the day working and came up maybe 1 or 2 times a day on a break for 10-15 minutes at a time. She never fed Ella (she was still on baby food from a syringe). I did ALL the caretaking. My daughter was very careful not to bond with Ella and kept the interactions limited. Hello, pet, pet, goodbye. Well for whatever reason Ella chose her. The only thing we can figure out is that she somewhat acted like a mommy bird, came in, checked on her and left. Other than that theory we have no clue how this happened. My daughter feels terrible. She did nothing to encourage it. She lives 4 hours away and rarely sees Ella, every couple of months, but boy what a love-fest. Ella wants so much love, throwing her head back and literally wanting to lay in her arms on her back like a baby. I can touch her and pet her head, but the petting is VERY limited. Ella is glued to my daughter and is so happy when she is here. I feel like I'm tolerated and she's not her happiest unless my daughter is around. It's devastating. Everybody says the primary caretaker is who they will bond with. I did ALL the syringe feeding and other feeding. Nobody else fed her or participated in her caretaking. When my daughter isn't around my husband is the favorite. She sits with him at night on the couch and throws her head back to get pets. Never does this for me. I just don't get it. My husband isn't all that interested in her. He loves her, but she was supposed to be mine. He works a lot and is only home at night, so I spend the entire day with her and do all the feeding and caretaking, but somehow I'm third. How is that possible?!!?! UGH. It's just heartbreaking. I've even thought about giving Ella to my daughter. I love her so much and want her to live her best life, maybe she would be happier. Let me just say she's not mean to me and doesn't bite me. I can pick her up and she flies to stand on my head. The average person looking wouldn't know that she doesn't prefer me. It's the little things that as a bird owner you just know that you aren't the favorite. Okay vent over...lol. Just thought somebody here might understand how sad this is.
