Marley & Me
No, I'm not talking about the book. I've never read it. I'm not talking about the movie either. I haven't seen it. I'm not even talking about a dog. I am, however, talking about a pet - specifically an American Dilute Conure.
Conures are a type of medium sized parrot, coming in all of the different colors that parrots are known for. An American Dilute is, well, what it sounds like - a mutt. However, these "mutt" conures are very beautiful. They have the rich olive green back, wings and throat of the green-cheeked variety mixed with the prominent yellows and reds of the yellow-sided and "pineapple" breeds. They even have a beautiful navy that reflects turquoise on the tips of their wings.
Tuesday night, Xero and I ran into one of our neighbors and hot tub buddies while we were out running errands. We got to talking a little bit and, while I still have no idea how it came up, we got on the subject of birds. Sherry (our neighbor) is a pet lover. She has two dogs, a cat, a bunch of finches and an American Dilute Conure (though she mistook him for a green-cheeked conure). The problem was that she had so many pets, she wasn't able to give the conure the sort of attention that the larger tropical birds require. To magnify this problem, she couldn't even keep him inside because of the cat and her work schedule... So the poor bird was left out on the porch without any company save the finches.
Now, for those of you who don't know much about the needs of larger tropical birds, a bit of explanation. These are extraordinarily social creatures. They are flock birds in the wild, and when placed in captivity as a pet, they transfer their need for a flock on to the humans keeping them. Such a bird should be in the center point of activity in the household - such as the living room - and needs to be physically handled and talked to at least once a day. When these sort of birds don't get that, they fall into depressions and begin ripping out their feathers and can eventually degrade so far in their health that they will literally die of loneliness.
Well, Sherry's bird had started ripping out his feathers and she was looking to put him in a new home where he would be able to get the sort of attention and care he needed. As we talked on Tuesday, she offered him to us after learning that we had taken in another rescue bird (Bebe, our deranged and psychotic parakeet). At first, we were a bit wary. We knew this conure wouldn't be coming with all of the emotional trauma that Bebe had, but still... The last thing we wanted was a second bird that we could not handle without bleeding for it (literally, Bebe bites anything and everything that comes near her). Finally, we agreed to go over to her apartment and meet the bird.
I fell in love instantly. He was well trained, a very affectionate cuddler and seemed to have a great personality. Once that bird was on my finger, I knew that I was going to be taking him home. I got Xero to hold him for a bit as well - and mind you, my husband was a bit wary considering the only bird he's had extensive interaction with was Bebe... Who bit his fingers, hands, legs (don't ask) and even his face - and he agreed that I could keep the conure.
I'll also note at this time that the conure was named "Millie" at the time. Notice how I keep referring to the bird as "he"? Now look at that name again... Sherry had mistaken the bird’s gender. Needless to say I didn't much like the idea of continuing to call a male bird "Millie" and so we decided upon the name Marley - after Bob Marley because the bird’s colorings reminded me of a Bob Marley poster.
The first night we had him in our apartment was a bit iffy. I'll admit getting a bit nervous that maybe we hadn't made the right choice, even as I reminded myself that moving to a new house with new people was an unnerving experience for a bird. He spent the majority of the evening on top of his cage - a rare treat to even be out at all - and the few times that I tried to handle him, he bit me. Mind you, he didn't bite hard enough to draw blood (and he has the beak to be able to, I assure you!) but he did leave some pretty hefty indentations in my skin. I let it slide since I knew how unnerved he was, but my concern grew when he began charging me every time I tried to raise my hand towards him.
The next evening, things went much smoother. He tried to bite me once when I was ordering him onto my finger and, I fell back into my old bird-training habits and thwacked him on the beak for it. He blinked up at me several times in surprise. When I held my finger out for him again and gave the command, he perched without a complaint. He spent the rest of the evening on my shoulder or perched nearby wherever I was - he even watched Wall-e with Xero and me.
Today makes the third day that we've had him and I couldn’t ask for a better bird. Even as I'm typing this, he's on my shoulder alternating between picking at my shirt and hair and nuzzling up against my neck. He's started giving me kisses rather than trying to even do warning bites and is quickly turning into my constant companion while I'm at home. I'm hoping to get a bird-leash for him soon so that I can start taking him grocery shopping with me like I used to do with my cockatiel, Rocky!
Right now, Marley looks a mess, though. He has a large bald spot on his chest/stomach and both legs have been stripped of feathers. The feathers on his wings and tail all are in sad shape. Their tattered and the color is greatly faded. I'm hoping within the next couple of months that his feathers will fully regrow, regain their vivid colors and flush back out. He's certainly getting enough attention to pull him out of his depression now!
Here's a couple of pictures of healthy American Dilute Conures. I'm going to try to take some pictures of Marley tomorrow - if so, I'll post them this weekend.
Conures are a type of medium sized parrot, coming in all of the different colors that parrots are known for. An American Dilute is, well, what it sounds like - a mutt. However, these "mutt" conures are very beautiful. They have the rich olive green back, wings and throat of the green-cheeked variety mixed with the prominent yellows and reds of the yellow-sided and "pineapple" breeds. They even have a beautiful navy that reflects turquoise on the tips of their wings.
Tuesday night, Xero and I ran into one of our neighbors and hot tub buddies while we were out running errands. We got to talking a little bit and, while I still have no idea how it came up, we got on the subject of birds. Sherry (our neighbor) is a pet lover. She has two dogs, a cat, a bunch of finches and an American Dilute Conure (though she mistook him for a green-cheeked conure). The problem was that she had so many pets, she wasn't able to give the conure the sort of attention that the larger tropical birds require. To magnify this problem, she couldn't even keep him inside because of the cat and her work schedule... So the poor bird was left out on the porch without any company save the finches.
Now, for those of you who don't know much about the needs of larger tropical birds, a bit of explanation. These are extraordinarily social creatures. They are flock birds in the wild, and when placed in captivity as a pet, they transfer their need for a flock on to the humans keeping them. Such a bird should be in the center point of activity in the household - such as the living room - and needs to be physically handled and talked to at least once a day. When these sort of birds don't get that, they fall into depressions and begin ripping out their feathers and can eventually degrade so far in their health that they will literally die of loneliness.
Well, Sherry's bird had started ripping out his feathers and she was looking to put him in a new home where he would be able to get the sort of attention and care he needed. As we talked on Tuesday, she offered him to us after learning that we had taken in another rescue bird (Bebe, our deranged and psychotic parakeet). At first, we were a bit wary. We knew this conure wouldn't be coming with all of the emotional trauma that Bebe had, but still... The last thing we wanted was a second bird that we could not handle without bleeding for it (literally, Bebe bites anything and everything that comes near her). Finally, we agreed to go over to her apartment and meet the bird.
I fell in love instantly. He was well trained, a very affectionate cuddler and seemed to have a great personality. Once that bird was on my finger, I knew that I was going to be taking him home. I got Xero to hold him for a bit as well - and mind you, my husband was a bit wary considering the only bird he's had extensive interaction with was Bebe... Who bit his fingers, hands, legs (don't ask) and even his face - and he agreed that I could keep the conure.
I'll also note at this time that the conure was named "Millie" at the time. Notice how I keep referring to the bird as "he"? Now look at that name again... Sherry had mistaken the bird’s gender. Needless to say I didn't much like the idea of continuing to call a male bird "Millie" and so we decided upon the name Marley - after Bob Marley because the bird’s colorings reminded me of a Bob Marley poster.
The first night we had him in our apartment was a bit iffy. I'll admit getting a bit nervous that maybe we hadn't made the right choice, even as I reminded myself that moving to a new house with new people was an unnerving experience for a bird. He spent the majority of the evening on top of his cage - a rare treat to even be out at all - and the few times that I tried to handle him, he bit me. Mind you, he didn't bite hard enough to draw blood (and he has the beak to be able to, I assure you!) but he did leave some pretty hefty indentations in my skin. I let it slide since I knew how unnerved he was, but my concern grew when he began charging me every time I tried to raise my hand towards him.
The next evening, things went much smoother. He tried to bite me once when I was ordering him onto my finger and, I fell back into my old bird-training habits and thwacked him on the beak for it. He blinked up at me several times in surprise. When I held my finger out for him again and gave the command, he perched without a complaint. He spent the rest of the evening on my shoulder or perched nearby wherever I was - he even watched Wall-e with Xero and me.
Today makes the third day that we've had him and I couldn’t ask for a better bird. Even as I'm typing this, he's on my shoulder alternating between picking at my shirt and hair and nuzzling up against my neck. He's started giving me kisses rather than trying to even do warning bites and is quickly turning into my constant companion while I'm at home. I'm hoping to get a bird-leash for him soon so that I can start taking him grocery shopping with me like I used to do with my cockatiel, Rocky!
Right now, Marley looks a mess, though. He has a large bald spot on his chest/stomach and both legs have been stripped of feathers. The feathers on his wings and tail all are in sad shape. Their tattered and the color is greatly faded. I'm hoping within the next couple of months that his feathers will fully regrow, regain their vivid colors and flush back out. He's certainly getting enough attention to pull him out of his depression now!
Here's a couple of pictures of healthy American Dilute Conures. I'm going to try to take some pictures of Marley tomorrow - if so, I'll post them this weekend.