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Visitor # |  Have you ever walked up to a baby bird looked into that birds eyes and he/she actually looks back as if saying "Yes, I am here for you." ?  This is how I met my Dusky Conure "Taco". Taco was in a large play area (large enough that if the babies wanted to get away from people, they could) with his clutch mate, and a half moon Conure, and a green cheek Conure. I had visited this pet store frequently to by seed for my Cockatiel ("Tango") and Finches. It's a small family owned place and I've seen how wonderfully they care for all their animals, I liked them from the start.
They had parrots from time to time, usually bought from local breeders. I probably spent too much time in there just playing with some of the baby parrots but you know how it is with babies, you just have to hold them and cuddle them. My Taco was one of these babies. He was still being weaned by the store owners and not for sale when I met him. He was the first to come over to me.. He climbed right up arm and perched quietly on my shoulder, occasionally nuzzling my ear and chewing my hair. I fell in love instantly. I knew I had to take him home with me, being only 14 at the time I had a much for difficult task of talking my parents into letting me have him.. By the time he was finishing weaning my parents had some to their senses and they put money down him for me. Shortly afterwards the Petstore owners called us to come pick out which Conure mine was. Apparently someone else was going to be in the next day to pick up one of the Duskys and the owner wanted to know if I had picked one out. I am so glad he called, if he hadn't, I may have lost Taco. The young Duskys looked alike but I had no problem picking Taco out and we took him home that night. Taco, tho still very young and not always steady on his feet, quickly learned he had to work a little to live with me. I have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, diagnosed when I was only a year old, and am severely crippled. Getting around has always been very hard for me and my weakened hands and arms, due to several surgeries to correct joint deformities, have little to no strength. I also can not bed down to the floor to pick up anything, let alone a bird. Taco picked up on my restrictions right away and just started climbing up my leg to get from the floor to me. We have kept his wings clipped from the start so when he does glide down to the ground, he is on his own to come back to me. I was insistent that my parents and brother not pick him up when his was on the floor, this was something Taco needed to learn to do, and he did. Unlike most Conures, Taco has always been rather quiet. He does have about a 30 min yelling fest each night when he's put to bed but other than that he's very timid and quiet. Taco says very little. He does however giggle, and say "Go Potty" when he needs to do that. He also mumbles out "Good Bird" and "You're so Sweet. Give me a kiss!"(He tends to yell the word "Kiss" - we're not sure why) which is followed by "Thank you" once he's had his little kiss. Taco does enjoy dancing, he clicks along with the beat and bobs his head up and down which we always find funny and he giggles long with us..  The only hurtles we had to over come with him were the 'teething' stage and my Cockatiel Tango. I haven't met a young parrot yet that didn't go through at least some form of teething. This is where they are testing their beak strength and building muscle for cracking open seeds. Taco chewed on everything, and because he spent so much time on my shoulder, he shirts took the most damage. He did bite us a few times and it hurt, it really hurt. My hands and sore enough on their own, Tacos help was not needed. Thankfully this stage didn't last long and he hasn't bit me since expect when startled.
Tango on the other hand has been a problem.. Taco and Tango feel they must compete for my attention and I can't take my eyes off them. Taco has never hurt Tango but he has threatened him. I don't usually let them both out at the same time now.. Each bird is given person attention away from the other, peace and order has been restored. When DevNull, my hand tame finch, came along the threats from Taco started again. He's very possessive of me, so I do keep him away from the others, allowing him personal time with me. Thankfully Tango and DevNull just ignore each other. All of my birds are very special to me. My finches were my first birds, given to me when I was around 8. Tango my Cockatiel is simply a love and he's friendly with all people. He's so much fun when we have company over, everyone likes to sit and whistle with him. Taco is a one person bird, he's my baby and he always will be. DevNull would have died when she was tossed repeatedly from the nest, so I raised her from a tiny blob to the beautiful little lady that she is now. She still doesn't realize she's a bird. My birds have adapted to my needs and I have adapted to theirs.. We are a very happy little flock.. Article © Myra Markley 2001 |
