Lend Me A Bird

"I will lend to you for a while, a bird", God said.
For you to love him while he lives and to mourn for him when he is dead.

Maybe for twelve or fourteen years, or maybe for two or three.
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?

He'll bring his charms to gladden you and should his stay be brief,
You'll always have his memories as solace for your grief.

I cannot promise that he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught below I want this bird to learn.

I've looked the whole world over in search of teachers true.
And from the folks that crowd life's land, I have chosen you.

Now will you give him all your love; nor think the labor vain;
Nor hate me when I come to take my lovely bird again?

I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord, thy will be done,
for all the joys this bird will bring, the risk of grief we'll run."

Will you shelter him with tenderness?
Will you love him while you may?
And for the happiness you'll know forever grateful stay?

But should I call him back much sooner than you've planned;
Please brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.

If, by your love, you've managed, my wishes to achieve,
In memory of him you've loved; be thankful; do not grieve.

Cherish every moment of your feathered charge.
He filled your home with songs of joy the time he was alive.
Let not his passing take from you those memories to enjoy.

"I will lend to you, a Bird", God said, and teach you all you have to do.
And when I call him back to heaven, you will know he loved you too.

(Author Unknown)

Thank you Nicki!

March 28, 2008

What a good girl she is!!! For those who don’t know her, Babe was a bit “challenging” while at the Rescue. She did not like most women and would not hesitate to bite one if the opportunity presented itself. And, sometimes, she would make her own opportunity. With the exception of a few of the men, Babe really was not the sort of bird that you would go over and pet, much less pick up. And, truthfully, Babe really never liked ME at all. She would go out of her way to show me that, if I came too close, I would be sorry. But – now? Honestly, Babe is the best-behaved bird in our house!

She never gets off her cage, so she is allowed total freedom to be in or on top as she wishes. She never bites and LOVES to cuddle and play. She steps up willingly and enjoys one-on-one time with me. She regularly spends time on my shoulder, a privilege only granted to birds that I completely trust.

How did this happen? Time and patience. When Babe first came to live with us I really could not get near her. I was the one who fed and watered her everyday but never approached her or tried to touch her, etc. Ever day, in the early evening I would go into the room her cage was in and sit down in a chair. I would stay in there for about 20-30 minutes and just talk to her. At first, she just looked at me, but after a couple of weeks, she began to talk back. She would tell me that she was a good girl… and ask me “what’s the matter?”

After a couple of weeks of that, she began to allow me to come closer to her, and occasionally pet her on the foot. We then progressed to the head… woohoo!! I was ecstatic!! Then – the back. But – I was always very tentative with her, because, well, you know how hard Amazons can bite….

If I would give her my arm for a step up (carefully layered in sweatshirts, of course) she would take a swipe at it, never really bite it, but it was certainly enough to scare me off. One day, after we were both comfortable with me petting her, I got a bit closer to allow her to put her head on my shoulder… she climbed on!! I was both very happy and very scared. I was not sure what she was going to do. She sat on my shoulder and looked at me like “ok, where are we going to go?” So – I began (very carefully, LOL) walking around the house with her, talking to her, looking out windows, etc. After our time together, I would bend down by her cage and she would climb back on.

After about a week of this, she began stepping up willingly, pretty much anytime I asked. She enjoyed spending time with me, sitting on my shoulder as I worked or did household stuff. She extended me a bit of trust, I extended her a bit, she extended a bit more, I extended a bit more. Little by little, we began to trust one another.

One Sunday afternoon I was sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper. Babe was on my shoulder and began biting my neck (no pressure whatsoever exerted on her part, but I was still scared… since she had never done this). She kept doing it, than climbed down the back of the couch, so she was between me and the cushions. I turned around to look at her, she was lying on her back. I was like “Oh my gosh, I’ve killed her!!” I gently nudged her onto her feet, she rolled right back over and began to grab at my fingers and laugh. She wanted to PLAY??? I was really not sure how to play with an Amazon, but…. Turns out, the light bites on the neck mean… “I want to play!”

From that day on, Babe has been a complete doll. Never bites, loves to hang out and play or just sit quietly on her perch in my office while I work. She is a joy to foster and incredibly entertaining.

So – what does Babe need in a permanent home? Firstly, a person who is willing to commit the time that it takes to build trust with her. Because once she bonds, she bonds very strongly and becomes an extremely gentle girl. She is perfectly to content to spend the day quietly either in or on top of her cage, with cartoons for company. So, someone who works full-time would be fine for her. During the evening she loves to spend family time, eating dinner, playing and being petted. She does not mind in the least other birds…. EXCEPT for other Amazons. She does not like them and will get aggressive. Otherwise, she does not mind big or small birds and never exhibits any agression towards them, even if one lands on her cage. She is quiet, so would be fine living in an apartment.

Babe is an excellent companion and has a lot of love to give to a special person. She just needs someone who is willing to commit to their relationship. I promise, once committed, Babe is truly an amazing girl.

Yahoo group: Birds-in-the-Midwest

Thu Aug 7, 2008 1:56 pm (PDT)

I am going to send some general information regarding birds through the group, feel free to send them on to your friends that have birds; hopefully we can increase knowledge about our pets so that the owners can improve things in their own homes for their feathered children.

Ginger

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Probably the most common reason for people giving up their parrot is being bitten. Parrots bite, period! If you acquire a parrot of any size, from parakeet to macaw, you are going to be bitten. Not once, not twice, but many, many times over the lifespan of the bird. Birds bite in a couple of different ways and for a whole myriad of reasons.

Just because a bird laid it's beak on you doesn't mean it bit you. Birds employ 4 forms of "biting". The first form of bite is not really a bite at all. Birds in the wild will commonly grab a branch in their beak to test it for strength before stepping on it. They also use their beak to steady themselves as they climb or move from branch to branch. To the uninitiated, this can appear to be an attempt to bite and the instinctive reaction is to pull away. Unfortunately, this is often seen by the bird as a game of chase and can lead to over-excitement and a real bite.

The second form is called beaking in which the bird gently gnaws and tongues you fingers, hands and arms using the side edges of the beak instead of the pointed tips. Remember the section on parrots being natural chewers? Well, they will chew on you as well. This is a form of social interaction on the part of the bird and is often considered acceptable. However, it can easily get out of control.

The third form of bite is really more of a good pinch administered with the tips of the beak. A parrot most often does this to get your attention or to warn you of approaching danger (usually a member of your household). Not serious, but definitely irritating and painful. If there is not a welt, it wasn't a pinch.

The fourth form of bite is a bite, and you'll know it when you get one. As a rule of thumb, if you are not bleeding or missing body parts, it wasn't a bite. Over time I have been bitten on the neck, face, stomach, feet, ankles inside the thigh and many, many times on the arms and hands as shown below.

A real bite can easily mean a trip to the emergency room or even a hospital stay. Bites by medium or large sized parrots have frequently caused lacerations requiring stitches, disfigurement requiring cosmetic surgery (usually lips, ears or cheeks bitten through or off), broken bones in the fingers, hand or wrist, and even amputation of fingers when they are too badly crushed. As you can see, being bitten by a parrot is no laughing matter.

Birds bite for any number of reasons. Fear, anger, hunger, jealousy, having a bad day, defending territory, it doesn't like you, or it just plain feels like it. I hear the phrase "and then he just bit me for no reason at all", all the time. While this would seem to lend credibility to the last reason, nothing could be more distant from the truth. There is always a reason, it's just not always apparent. The instinctive reaction from the unknowing new owner is to distance themselves from the bird or lock it away in isolation. This only compounds the problem and leads to frustration for both the owner and the bird which, in turn just leads to more bites. It's a downward spiral from there. Ultimately, the unhappy parrot owner ends up with what they perceive to be an uncontrollable and dangerous bird which almost always means a one-way ticket to a rescue for the parrot.

To sum it up, if you can not accept the fact that you are going to get bitten from time to time, and that sometimes these bites can leave serious wounds requiring stitches or even surgery, then you should definitely think long and hard before buying a parrot, particularly a medium or large sized one. If you are not willing to do your home work and learn about the body language that would warn you of a bite and how to avoid it, then you are very likely going to be one unhappy parrot owner.