Soup!

Don’t you just love soup? There’s nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day, especially when you share it with your person. I like all kinds of soup, but my favorite kinds are the ones that have little seeds floating around in them. My person says they’re caraway seeds or fennel seeds. I don’t care what she calls them, as long as they’re seeds! The other good thing about soup is you can dunk bread in it. That’s so much fun. If you are a parrot, you’ll know what I’m talking about. 

Not Fair

My person feeds the outside birds in the wintertime. I don't have a problem with that in theory, but look what she feeds them:

She fills the whole feeder with sunflower seeds! What's the matter with that, you might ask. Well, the matter is that she never fills my feeder with sunflower seeds. I only get them as a special treat. I wouldn't say that was fair. Would you?

Turkeys!

Look at what I saw outside my window the other day! Turkeys are nice birds, but I sure am glad I'm not a turkey, especially at this time of year. I mean, aside from the fact that I wouldn't want to end up on someone's Thanksgiving dinner table, I just don't see the point of all that wandering around in the snow scavenging for food. We pet parrots are sensible enough to stay inside where it's warm and the food dish is full. 

Training Your Person: The Kitchen

The kitchen is a very interesting part of the house, and not only because it is a good place to take baths. The main reason is that the kitchen is where the food is kept and prepared, so it's very important to train your person to let you spend time there. The first thing you should do when you enter the kitchen is to check out the counter because that's where you're sure to find lots of unnoticed crumbs and other tiny bits of food, and possibly even a few stray seeds. I spend time grazing on the kitchen counter whenever I get a chance. My efforts are always rewarded.

Training Your Person: Baths

If you are a parrot, you love water,  especially bathing in it.  So it's very important to train your person to provide you with frequent bathing opportunities, whether it's a shower under spray bottle or a chance to splash around in a dish. In my case, the best chance for bathing comes every evening. One of my people washes the dishes every night after dinner, and it's my job to help him out by sitting on his shoulder while he washes. If I happen to be in the mood for a bath at this time, which I usually am because, I mean, what parrot can resist the sound of running water, all I have to do is squawk and chirp and flap my wings, and my person gets the message that it's bath time. He knows to set a pan of water on the counter and let me jump in.

I find that frying pans and cookie sheets make excellent bath tubs because they give me plenty of room to spread my wings, but I'm not above bathing in a saucepan or even a water glass if that's all that is available.

It's My Hatch Day!

Twenty-one years ago today I hatched out my egg, and I've been squawking ever since!  Here's photo of me enjoying a special hatch day lunch. Yum! I love cornbread.

Training Your Person: TV

The best perch to watch TV from is the top of your person's head. Actually, it's a good perch for many things -- watching out for predators, keeping an eye on your other person while she's in the kitchen in case she brings out the seed bucket, checking out visitors you haven't met before, and just generally watching what's going on around you. So it's a good idea to train your person or people to get used to you sitting on their heads. One of my people is quite tall so his head makes a very good perch. I usually sit there when we're watching TV. I just love the TV. It makes all kinds of interesting sounds - especially music. Whenever the theme song of a TV show comes on, I squawk and chirp and whoop right along with it. It's so much fun! I recognize the theme songs of all the TV shows we regularly watch. We parrots have a great appreciation for music.

Training Your Person: Snacks

Snacking throughout the day is an important activity for a pet parrot, so it is important to train your person to provide you with snacks as needed. For example, if you happen to come across a bowl of tangerines on the table, you should stand and stare at them.  If that doesn't get your person's attention, then touch a tangerine with your beak. If that doesn't do the trick, then just use your beak to start peeling the tangerine yourself. That way your person will surely understand that it is time to peel the tangerine for you and offer you as many slices as you like.

As every pet parrot knows, the best place to eat a tangerine slice is on you person's shoulder.

Training Your Person: Breakfast

Don't you just love oatmeal? It's my favorite breakfast, especially since my people serve it with sunflower seeds and nuts. Sometimes they add berries, which are also very tasty. As you can see, I have trained my person to share his breakfast with me. Some people are easier to train than others, but you've got to keep working at it. I find that a few ear tugs often help my people understand how I want them to behave, and if that doesn't work, a loud squawk or two usually does the trick. Not always, though, alas. I'm having a bit of trouble with my other person. I have tried to train her to share lunch with me but she usually locks me in my cage instead.