This is My House

I was raised around dogs all of my life, so I understand that connection between an owner and their four-legged furry baby.

But what if yours had feathers? I ventured into these uncharted waters roughly 10 years ago. They are not your standard house pets. They may look cute but that is a cover-up, they will get on your nerves. They are bossy, yet they can melt your heart with a feathered cuddle or a cute trick. They will always be LOUD, so expect it, yet the silence will scare you.

They are a different breed and it takes a different style of animal care to manage their chaos.

I love my animals and mine are for life. I was never a believer of purchasing anything from a local pet store just because they are or will be a person's vision of the perfect pet, especially birds.

I get it, all you need to do is keep it in a cage and feed it every day. How difficult can that be? They look pretty, they look sweet, but in reality, they are unhappy. My two fell upon my lap by accident, however, we are attached.

They do have boundaries, rules, restrictions, and structure. They may not be caged all day, but they are on a schedule. Like kids, they will throw a tantrum when it is bedtime.

They bond with me daily and I am in control of what they eat. I did not enter this blindly, I did my research. I learned about their diet, their needs, their personalities, and habits. We three respect each other.

I am going to be honest to you, they are loud, so consider yourself warned. If you want quiet, get yourself a goldfish. They will bite you, no matter what. It's a reality, it will happen and it will hurt.

You will piss them off. If the fear of that beak scares you, don't get a bird. Birds aren't dogs and dogs aren't birds. There is a difference and I have had both. I am living this dream and this is my life. This may be my house but these are their rules.

My First Love

Let's take Foster for instance. She is a Green Cheeked Conure and she was my first bird. She is quiet, independent and likes structure. I learned the most from this one. A lot of her injuries were a result of my ignorance.

I found her at my place of employment and she had my heart from day one. We literally were attached at the shoulders. I made the decision to get her wings clipped once and that judgment call became my first learning curve.

This is the most common mistake that a first bird owner will make because this is supposed to keep them safe. I later realized that clipping a bird's wings is like declawing a cat. I took away her right to survive. What once was supposed to be a natural instinct to my bird was now gone and it was my fault.

All she knew was that one day she could fly and the next day she couldn't. My lack of knowledge and ignorance forced her to slam into a coffee table which resulted in her breaking a wing. I felt guilty because all she was trying to do was something that should have came naturally and that was to fly.

I had now taken that right away from her. It wasn't my first mistake, I made a couple more after that and each one resulted in other injuries. She requires a little bit more assistance when I am carrying her from one place to the next because her balance skills are extremely wobbly and her grip is a bit weak. I made poor judgment calls and showed ignorance to proper bird care yet she stills loves me anyway. I will admit that I do go above and beyond to keep this one happy.

NAME: Foster or Punky (My pet name)

LIKES: Being outdoors, camping (She sleeps in a tent), chilling in the hammock, baths in her water dish, water fresh out of the fridge first thing in the morning, coconut water over shaved ice on a hot day, attention, music and dancing

DISLIKES: Bedtime, being ignored, change, her cage and being cooped up indoors

FAVORITE FOODS: Pancakes, blackberries, tomatoes, pasta, raw broccoli, only red quinoa rice and Greek yogurt

Meet the Troublemaker

Don't let this cute face fool you. Poncho is a Jenday Conure and my troublemaker. This little guy was given to me by a past trainer. He thrives on the desire to drive you crazy.

He wants to be the center of attention and will not hesitate to let you know that. He is a one person bird and luckily, I am his one true love. He is bossy and loving, yet destructive and curious at the same time.

What is mine is his and if it looks like I might want it, well, it now belongs to him. If it is on my head, in my hand or heading towards my mouth, he has to come check it out.

I haven't found too much of anything that this inquisitive creature doesn't like, except asparagus. As much as I have tried to get him to like them, they always end up getting tossed across the room. He is the most vocal between the two of them and his scream can pierce an eardrum especially in the morning.

You are not allowed to sleep in. He is up and so should you. He loves to argue. I have learned that the human-bird debates get me nowhere but they do make my heart melt with "cuteness overload."

He focuses on vocal tones so if you get louder, so does he and now enters the head bob backed-up by full fledged sass. It is a bird win/owner lose situation because let's face it, I have resulted to arguing with a feather duster. He is my happy face on a sad day.

NAME: Poncho or Monkey (My pet name)

LIKES: Popsicle sticks, boxes, food, baths, my shoulder, anything that doesn't require a cage, being tickled and rambling about nothing

DISLIKES: Cage, going to bed, cuddling, being touched, being alone and the vacuum

FAVORITE FOODS: Salmon, snap peas, carrots, rice, pasta and oatmeal

As you can see, two different breeds with two different personalities. I got lucky with these two because they do get along and have become inseparable.

One is quiet, independent and reserved while the other is loud, boisterous and bossy. He protects his sister like an older brother should, yet her small, petite body doesn't stop her from putting him in his place.

If I have learned anything from these two, it is patience and to always remain calm. Parrots are trusting animals and they like to hang out with their flock, meaning me.

If by chance, I lose my cool and yell, I have lost their trust. Noise has become a part of my life, it is the silence that I should be afraid of. That's my sign that one of them is up to no good. This is their house and these are their rules. I just pay the rent.