"I need to speak to a woman about a bird"
Your job, should you decide to accept it, is to help me to not get another bird, one in particular named Doobie.
When I went to drop off Kappa at the boarder's/local parrot store on Thursday, they had out for playtime a gorgeous (sulfur crested) cockatoo. Note that "gorgeous" is the standard adjective I apply to cockatoos, and does not accurately reflect the fact that his chest is about 50% plucked, including a small scab from one feather follicle right in the middle. The poor thing was piteously continually chanting "I love you" in a sing-song voice at every human being within sight, including me. As I hung Kappa's toys in her temporary cage, I chatted with the women working there about the 'too.
He's presumed male, named Doobie, and originated from that very same store some 14 years ago. (I suspect he was bred elsewhere, but weaned and trained there before sale.) Doobie's original owner unfortunately developed an allergy to him (cockatoos are the dustiest of parrot species) and was no longer able to keep him, so he was sold to a woman. That woman then decided to get a doberman pinscher, and the parrot and dog unsurprisingly didn't get along too well. Doobie was packed off to the woman's mother's place for a while, where he was given no attention (the plucking may have started here, or with the woman) and who knows what diet. The woman at some point decided to surrender Doobie back to the store where he was raised, and did so the Friday before the Hunt (Jan 7 2011).
By the time I got Kappa settled, Doobie was back in his cage, in the back separated from the other birds. He gave me such a forlorn look as I passed, reaching his foot out of the cage towards me, and crooning "I love you," that I stopped to scratch him. Doobie started by grabbing my fingers with his painful talons - clearly not his fault as they were severely overgrown. I pried my fingers away gently, and went to scratch his head through the bars, at which point he grabbed my finger painfully hard with his beak but did not break the skin. I wrenched my finger away with an effort, and tried again. This time I was able to scratch his head, though each time he brought his beak towards my hand I quickly retreated. After a few minutes I did allow him to touch my finger with his beak as it seemed he had tested me and I'd passed. He loooooved having his head scratched, as all cockatoos do. :)
Here's the problem. I really REALLY want a cockatoo someday. As in, since I was something like 8 years old and I met my first 'toos at a parrot store that my dad would occasionally bring me to in Manhattan (Thirty-Third and Bird). Sure I liked the brightly colored macaws, and the greys were intelligent, but it was always the cockatoos and their unconditional love for me that drew me. I know today that unconditional love isn't enough for me in a parrot, but I also know now that cockatoos too are extremely intelligent. This is why I want Doobie.
This is why it is a terrible idea. Cockatoos are the loudest birds in the pet kingdom. As in jet engine loud, and I'm not exaggerating, I'm talking actual objectively measured decibel levels here. I live in an apartment, and expect to continue to do so for the next 5-10 years. T$ would definitely not want a bird this loud. Doobie is sweet and quiet for now (Pam was remarking that he's been eerily quiet for the past week), but once he gets used to the fact that he's safe again, he'll start opening up. (In fact, when I picked up Kappa, he perked up and crooned "I love you" at me for what they said was his first time of the day, and when I left he started yelling for what they said was the first time since he'd gotten there. It was very loud.) Cockatoos are also incredibly destructive. Doobie turned it on himself with the plucking and the scab, but an entirely happy cockatoo will turn it on furniture and walls. Doobie himself may need some rehabilitation - he's had a throat culture so he's moderately healthy, but he hasn't had a vet checkup to confirm that the plucking is behavioral, and even if it is behavioral only, that will take time to stop and may or may not ever heal. (A bird with a bare chest would not do well in a cold house.) Not to mention that I am planning to move in a couple years for grad school, if it lasts a few years I may move again during if I don't like the first place, and then I will move back (or on to a different workplace). This is not good for a bird with a history like Doobie's. I already give Kappa a huge cage, Doobie would need an even huger one and where would I put it? Where would I quarantine him from Kappa? What would Kappa think, how would she handle it? Would they get along?
I feel so bad for the poor thing. I really want to help him, and in many ways I'm the perfect person for him. But I really shouldn't. If I lived by myself there would be a lot less hurdles to my adopting/buying him. It's not entirely clear to me if they'll be selling him, adopting him for a fee, or adopting him for free - the decision seems up to the owner, Edna, though Pam implied that they might be willing to have me adopt him for free since I'm a regular. Pam also said she understands that one needs to be in the right place in their life for a cockatoo. But they're not planning to keep him there forever like they have a couple other birds.
So yeah. Enough rambling. Okay, I think I've got a compromise that will ease my conscience in many respects: if he's still there when I leave for grad school (Fall 2012), I'll see if they would let me adopt/buy him then. That way, if he can find a good forever home other than me, he will. And if he can't, I'll be it without inflicting Doobie upon T$, at least not until we move back together after I graduate.
When I went to drop off Kappa at the boarder's/local parrot store on Thursday, they had out for playtime a gorgeous (sulfur crested) cockatoo. Note that "gorgeous" is the standard adjective I apply to cockatoos, and does not accurately reflect the fact that his chest is about 50% plucked, including a small scab from one feather follicle right in the middle. The poor thing was piteously continually chanting "I love you" in a sing-song voice at every human being within sight, including me. As I hung Kappa's toys in her temporary cage, I chatted with the women working there about the 'too.
He's presumed male, named Doobie, and originated from that very same store some 14 years ago. (I suspect he was bred elsewhere, but weaned and trained there before sale.) Doobie's original owner unfortunately developed an allergy to him (cockatoos are the dustiest of parrot species) and was no longer able to keep him, so he was sold to a woman. That woman then decided to get a doberman pinscher, and the parrot and dog unsurprisingly didn't get along too well. Doobie was packed off to the woman's mother's place for a while, where he was given no attention (the plucking may have started here, or with the woman) and who knows what diet. The woman at some point decided to surrender Doobie back to the store where he was raised, and did so the Friday before the Hunt (Jan 7 2011).
By the time I got Kappa settled, Doobie was back in his cage, in the back separated from the other birds. He gave me such a forlorn look as I passed, reaching his foot out of the cage towards me, and crooning "I love you," that I stopped to scratch him. Doobie started by grabbing my fingers with his painful talons - clearly not his fault as they were severely overgrown. I pried my fingers away gently, and went to scratch his head through the bars, at which point he grabbed my finger painfully hard with his beak but did not break the skin. I wrenched my finger away with an effort, and tried again. This time I was able to scratch his head, though each time he brought his beak towards my hand I quickly retreated. After a few minutes I did allow him to touch my finger with his beak as it seemed he had tested me and I'd passed. He loooooved having his head scratched, as all cockatoos do. :)
Here's the problem. I really REALLY want a cockatoo someday. As in, since I was something like 8 years old and I met my first 'toos at a parrot store that my dad would occasionally bring me to in Manhattan (Thirty-Third and Bird). Sure I liked the brightly colored macaws, and the greys were intelligent, but it was always the cockatoos and their unconditional love for me that drew me. I know today that unconditional love isn't enough for me in a parrot, but I also know now that cockatoos too are extremely intelligent. This is why I want Doobie.
This is why it is a terrible idea. Cockatoos are the loudest birds in the pet kingdom. As in jet engine loud, and I'm not exaggerating, I'm talking actual objectively measured decibel levels here. I live in an apartment, and expect to continue to do so for the next 5-10 years. T$ would definitely not want a bird this loud. Doobie is sweet and quiet for now (Pam was remarking that he's been eerily quiet for the past week), but once he gets used to the fact that he's safe again, he'll start opening up. (In fact, when I picked up Kappa, he perked up and crooned "I love you" at me for what they said was his first time of the day, and when I left he started yelling for what they said was the first time since he'd gotten there. It was very loud.) Cockatoos are also incredibly destructive. Doobie turned it on himself with the plucking and the scab, but an entirely happy cockatoo will turn it on furniture and walls. Doobie himself may need some rehabilitation - he's had a throat culture so he's moderately healthy, but he hasn't had a vet checkup to confirm that the plucking is behavioral, and even if it is behavioral only, that will take time to stop and may or may not ever heal. (A bird with a bare chest would not do well in a cold house.) Not to mention that I am planning to move in a couple years for grad school, if it lasts a few years I may move again during if I don't like the first place, and then I will move back (or on to a different workplace). This is not good for a bird with a history like Doobie's. I already give Kappa a huge cage, Doobie would need an even huger one and where would I put it? Where would I quarantine him from Kappa? What would Kappa think, how would she handle it? Would they get along?
I feel so bad for the poor thing. I really want to help him, and in many ways I'm the perfect person for him. But I really shouldn't. If I lived by myself there would be a lot less hurdles to my adopting/buying him. It's not entirely clear to me if they'll be selling him, adopting him for a fee, or adopting him for free - the decision seems up to the owner, Edna, though Pam implied that they might be willing to have me adopt him for free since I'm a regular. Pam also said she understands that one needs to be in the right place in their life for a cockatoo. But they're not planning to keep him there forever like they have a couple other birds.
So yeah. Enough rambling. Okay, I think I've got a compromise that will ease my conscience in many respects: if he's still there when I leave for grad school (Fall 2012), I'll see if they would let me adopt/buy him then. That way, if he can find a good forever home other than me, he will. And if he can't, I'll be it without inflicting Doobie upon T$, at least not until we move back together after I graduate.