Settling in I sought information wherever I could find it, from books, magazines and talking to people experienced in parrot keeping. I learnt about correct feeding, housing, health care and positive reinforcement. It all made a lot of sense.
I attached apple wood branches from the top of Polly’s cage to the picture rail, opened the roof bars and waited. Very gingerly, she would climb out and spread her wings. After some time, Polly would preen my hair and in return enjoy a full head massage. To encourage Polly to return to her cage, I would entice her with a small piece of cheese. After the initial settling-in period, I bought a much larger cage, one that would fit through the doorway so that Polly could join us in the lounge in the evenings. She loves to watch the television, especially wildlife programmes. This cage does not have seed catchers around the base, but sheets of perspex. Polly was rather anxious about moving house. The food pots and all her wordly possessions were placed inside the new cage. The doors were removed and the cages placed together. Polly would not climb into the new cage until I had darkened
08 BIRD SCENE
her old one by covering it with a sheet. This prompted her to scurry into her new home and she has never looked back since. My next purchase was a large wooden playstand which I attached to her cage with apple wood branches. Polly would climb out but it took her many weeks before she approached the stand. Nowadays, she will fly out from her cage onto the stand. Still very wary of hands, I taught her to step onto a hand-held perch and fly to me when asked, using small food treats. I carried her around the house on the perch to get her used to different situations but she flew and clung nervously to my back. Needless to say, this particular exercise has not been repeated.
A big decision After Polly had been living with myself and my husband Keith, for about a year, I began to consider whether to get another parrot. Would Polly be jealous? Would the birds get along together? Would I favour the new, possibly more tame addition? What species should I buy? I asked myself these questions for many months. In the Autumn of that year, I visited Loro Parque in Tenerife and saw the largest collection of parrots that I had ever seen. I studied their behaviour and took note of their characteristics. The following Spring I visited the Tropical Bird Gardens at Desford in Leicestershire. This is an amazing place where, amongst the large aviaries, some parrots fly freely. Many were pet birds that now enjoy being handled and meeting the public. These can be found outside in the courtyard on trees and perches. One can hold
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