A Parrot's Opinion

Sometimes in my capacity as a professional parrot I am asked to give my opinion on things pertaining to parrots. Recently, the Purina Company kindly sent me a bag of their new parrot food and asked me to write about it in my blog. They gave me the food, but the opinions expressed here are, as always, my own. We parrots may like to "parrot" things we hear, but I promise you my opinions are not "parroted" (in that sense of the term). Anyhow, I received a bag of Garden Recipe parrot food, for parrots and large conures (that's me!). I was very excited when I saw my person opening the bag as I knew it contained something tasty for me. I can recognize a bag of parrot food a mile away. I should explain that this is not the type of food I normally eat. My person feeds me pellets, fruit, and table food, so I am used to eating all kinds of people food, and I love it. But I am always up for checking out something new. I was excited to see what kind of new food the bag contained. It is a mixture of things, including pumpkin seeds, peanuts, dried fruit, dried corn, pellets, and things that look like Cheerios. And sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds! My absolute favorite thing in the world to eat. I set to work right away picking out the sunflower seeds and eating them. When I had finished them all, I kept picking through the rest of the pile looking for more sunflower seeds and was very disappointed not to find anymore. So I just flew up to my person's shoulder and sat there forlornly. After eating the sunflower seeds, the rest of the mix just didn't interest me. Now, I know my tastes aren't the same as other parrots'. If you are a parrot who likes dried fruit (I never touch the stuff), dried corn, or those things that look like Cheerios, you'll find plenty to interest you in the Garden Recipe mix. Personally, I like pellets and even enjoy the occasional pumpkin seed, but if there are sunflower seeds around, why would I eat anything else? My person says that's why she doesn't feed me this type of mix. You want my opinion? I think that's mean. I don't mind if all that other stuff is there as long as I get to eat the sunflower seeds. But my person says I can only have those as an occasional treat. Humph! So I guess I'll be sticking to my usual diet and will only be seeing the Garden Recipe at treat time. I'll look forward to that.

Autumn

The first week of October is almost over, so I guess it really is autumn. Around here, that means that the summer chewing frenzy is long over and we're now well into molting season. The bottom of my cage is covered with little down feathers, and my body is covered with lots of pin feathers (the new feathers growing in). It certainly is an itchy experience! However, my person gives me frequent baths, and that helps. Autumn means winter is just around the corner and soon we'll be settling into a cozy season of listening to the furnace rumble and roar (the poor furnace was sick again a few weeks ago and had to have some surgery, but it seems to be feeling much better now, thank goodness), eating wild berry jam on toast, and watching the snow fall. I sure hope all my down feathers will have grown back by then!

The Latest Parrot Poetry

Ode to a Sunflower Seed
by Shadow

If you feel you have a need
For something tasty on which to feed,
I recommend a sunflower seed.

This tiny morsel fulfills all wishes
For something that's not only delicious
But also filled with things nutritious.
Sunflower seed!

Parrot Wisdom

I've been around for a while now -- 15 years on my last hatchday -- and I think it's time I shared some of what I've learned over the years. So, for all you younger parrots out there, here are some bits of wisdom to help you through life:
-- Whenever your person goes away, she always comes back.
-- You can count on finding fresh food in your food dish every day.
-- If you want to let your person know that you need or want something, a few nips usually does the trick. But don't nip too hard or your person will get mad.
-- People like to be preened.
-- Don't bother looking behind the mirror for the other bird; there's nobody there.
-- If you squawk pathetically while your wings are being cut, your person probably won't make you go through that again.
-- The tastiest books are the ones your person doesn't want you to chew.
-- The walnuts are kept on the top shelf in the refrigerator.
-- Squawk often and loud.
 OK, I think I've covered the most important points. If anyone else has any bits of parrot wisdom to add, let us know in the comments.

Treat!

Don't you just love treats? I think "treat"is my absolute all time favorite word. Every time my person says it, I get so excited. I rush over to my food dish and wait for her to drop the tasty seed ball in. Then I grab it and start munching. Yum! It's so exciting to get a treat. I get one every day, but the excitement never goes away. Every time I get a treat feels like the first time, and every treat tastes just as good, if not better, than the last. Treat time is definitely the best time of day. Don't you agree?

Watching

OK, I seriously don't get this. My person got up early this morning and went out to meet a bunch of people in some park somewhere so she could walk around in the wet grass with them and watch. . . birds! Meanwhile, I -- that's me, a bird -- am sitting all alone at home in my cage. Huh? What's the matter that she can't stay home and watch me? I'm a bird. I wonder how she would feel if I got up early and left her alone in the house so I could go somewhere with a bunch of other birds to watch people. I bet she wouldn't like it at all. People. There's just no understanding them.

The Meaning of Life

Sometimes I just don't understand people. They sit around whining: "Why I am here?" "What's the meaning of life?" "What's it all about?" The answer is obvious. Ask any parrot. What's it all about? Chewing, of course. And the good thing is, there's so much of it to do. There are pencils to chew and chopsticks and popsicle sticks and old telephone books and old paperbacks that would be headed for the recycling bin if you weren't there to chew them. And when you've chewed you way through all those things, there's your person's collection of expensive colored drawing pencils, not to mention her stack of books that she hasn't read yet, as well as a house full of furniture (the antique pieces are especially tasty). So quit your whining and get chewing. I guarantee it'll help you feel a lot better.