A few weeks ago, I was going out of town for a few days. I was very busy around the house getting things together and although I had prepared their food for the rest of the day and had their care for the rest of the week handled, I hadn’t spent my usual time with Roxanne, Charlie, and Skittle. I rushed out the door anyways, but I didn’t make it to the end of my street when I had the overwhelming desire to turn back around and spend a few more minutes with my birds before I went without them for a few days. I came back into the house and into the room where they all sat- just kinda looking at me, almost astonished to see me back so soon. I didn’t have much time to spend, but what kind of individual quality time could I possibly give 3 parrots in a 10 minute span?

Living day in and day out with these 3, it is only natural to come to know what specific things will make them the happiest. Charlie (blue and gold macaw) loves playing, chasing and even more playing with toys. I took her our put her on her playstand and proceeded to let her play to her little hearts content while I talked to her and made her feel like she was a big deal! I know for Skittle, like most conures, snuggling and being close is his favorite way to spend time with me, so out of the cage he went and he immediately started into my shirt and snuggled onto my shoulder while he contently grunted.

And then there’s Roxanne the newly adopted grey. With skittle and Charlie I am able to just walk into our bird-room and they are ready to come out and spend time together. But with Roxanne, no matter how many times I may go into the room on any given day, she still needs to see me for a few minutes and get used to me being in the room with her before she will even consider stepping up without trying to bite. So here I am with just a few minutes left to spare so what do I do? Do I approach her rushed anyways and try to spend some sort of time with her for the day even tho I know she will be scared and try to bite? No. I already know how she operates so to make our time worthwhile, I need to make her feel secure. I ended up (with Skittle still in my shirt, and Charlie on the stand) leaning over and gently speaking to Roxanne while giving her some sunflower seeds. I am currently able to have Roxanne step up, but not on an abrupt command like Charlie and Skittle- but I don’t even go there to risk jeopardizing the trust I am building with Roxanne. The clock was ticking and I needed to be on my way. Charlie and Skittle went back into their cages without a fight to stay out and I gave Roxanne one last sunflower seed.

It felt good knowing that in just a small amount of time I could spend time with my parrots. I may feel like I spent more time with Skittle and Charlie because I was able to actually handle them and love on them. But the time I spent just talking and giving seeds to Roxanne is just as good according to Roxanne because as I was walking out of the room to leave I said “Goodbye guys” only to be responded by Roxanne with “Love you more!!”

If anyone would have told me 5 years ago that today I would have amazing but totally unique companionships with 3 different birds, I would have quickly let them know that they were crazy! But the fact is, it is very true and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So. Who am I and how did I get here? My name is Liz. I am 23 years old, living in Raleigh, NC. I am a senior in college with a job, friends, a boyfriend, and just a generally busy life. So where do my parrots fit in? Well, that’s one reason why I am here- to talk about that. I currently have a 3 ½ year old male sun conure (Skittle) , 2 ½ year old female blue and gold macaw (Charlie), and a 10 year old female congo African grey (Roxanne) that I have adopted in the past few months.

The main focus of my writing here will be about Roxanne. You see, I hand-fed and trained my conure and macaw from when both were just over 2 months old. My bonds with Skittle and Charlie are strong, they are some of my best friends! They are by no means perfect angels, but in each of those bonds I have a trust and companionship that comparably, is just non-existent with Roxanne.

When Roxanne came into my home, I realized that on rare occasions she had been outside of her cage for very short periods of time. Roxanne had rarely been handled and by her vocabulary of “OW that hurt!” or “Don’t bite me!” she had no plans of being handled either.

I found this very puzzling since Skittle and Charlie always want to be around the humans of the house playing, cuddling, just whatever to have human interaction. But Roxanne, she is content sitting on one side of her cage all day and not being bothered and is quick to those blood-drawing bites if you have anything BUT the same notion.

So. Here I am living the typical busy life meanwhile trying to maintain and keep the two birds I am bonded with content, as well as, trying to develop a relationship with a 10 year old grouchy bird! What can I do to simultaneously continue fortifying the relationship I have with my bonded birds and grow the relationship I have with Roxanne? These are just 2 of many simple things that I have noticed that help both of those needs along.

1. Give me some LOVE!

Charlie and Skittle love human interaction. First thing in the morning or whenever I get home, they are ready to jump out and into my arms. Roxanne, not so much. If the first thing I do is head straight for Roxanne, she shakes and puffs up larger than a blowfish . As soon as I open her cage door, she poses for a strike. I have found if I go onto to Skittle and Charlie first, give them both a few minutes playing and loving each within sight of Roxanne and then approach Roxanne, she is much more inclined to step-up onto my hand.

I will keep her on my hand for maybe a ¼ of the time I was with my other 2, give her a sunflower seed, and put her back into her cage to reward her for not biting me. I also don’t keep her out as long because the longer she is out, the more nervous she gets. I am definitely taking it slow with her for now.

2. Calling in back-up!

I could not imagine living in a multi-parrot home by myself. The feeding, clean-up, entertainment, and time spent is never-ending. I am sure that there are many out there that succeed quite nicely on their own, but I can admit that I don’t think I could do it right now. I have 4 other family members that I presently live with that enjoy being around the birds. Each of them have some kind of relationship with either Charlie or Skittle.

My boyfriend that does not live here happens to have a great relationship with both of them. So far Roxanne is the most responsive with me. Having others in the home that are able to give time towards Skittle and Charlie not only help them by socializing them, but help Roxanne so she can spend time with me while I earn her trust. With Roxanne seeing the others interact with Charlie and Skittle, it encourages her that us humans are not out to scare or hurt her! I strongly believe that having frequent and different human interaction is not only vital in keeping your own sanity, but it’s also good for the well-being of the bird.

I look forward to writing again and tracking Roxanne’s progress in her new home!