sunshine finally!
I have lost track of how long it's been since the sun shone into our house. Well in fact it's not really shining in because it's so low the neighboring house blocks it. But to see blue skies and bright light outside is a real treat ll the same. I should send Timmy up to the attic for sunshine. I will, and will return to writing after.
there now, tiny dog with his tiny feet is upstairs in the tiny loft basking in the sunshine coming through the tiny window. He has a tiny chew stick. The attic sticks up just high enough to catch sun all winter long but it's been weeks since the sky was clear.
I have sam beside me in the kitchen, cage and all. I roll him out for company because I think he feels too isolated out in the living room alone. He's a lousy pet but an interesting person well worthy of kindness even in the face of his emotional storms. He deserves it for what we humans have done to him!
For anyone not knowing the details, Sam is a parrot who was imported from the african jungle last century. African greys can live as long as humans so he could be the same age as me! We really haven't any way to know his age but from tracing his original band number, and it was the kind used on mature birds after capture, he appears to have been captured and enslaved in 1982. So he's already close to 40, most likely. That being said, the band may have been used many years later after it was sold in '82 so he might not be that old. However, since he was open banded with an importer's band, it's fair to say he went through that horrible experience whether in 1980 or later in that decade. I believe it wasn't till '84 or '86 that we stopped doing that, and we really haven't, actually. these days you need to get special permission to bring in a wild caught exotic bird to canada, but they're still being captured and exported on a quota system, and there are still countries that import for the pet trade. So Sam could be much younger. It's not likely, though. He displays the depth of emotional and behavioural damage of a wild caught bird tossed around in the pet trade and never finding humans who know how to care for a parrot. He's improving with us, learning joy and peace and some trust, but he still can't be trusted not to act purely from malicious intent and that's a shame. I understand where the malice comes from and how naturally it comes so I don't hate on him over it, but I still have to be practical and he's generally stuck inside his cage because of it. A guy this long0liived won't learn fast either. I don't pay attention to the time frame, it takes as long as it takes annd I've got my budget price parrot and he's got his forever home.
there now, tiny dog with his tiny feet is upstairs in the tiny loft basking in the sunshine coming through the tiny window. He has a tiny chew stick. The attic sticks up just high enough to catch sun all winter long but it's been weeks since the sky was clear.
I have sam beside me in the kitchen, cage and all. I roll him out for company because I think he feels too isolated out in the living room alone. He's a lousy pet but an interesting person well worthy of kindness even in the face of his emotional storms. He deserves it for what we humans have done to him!
For anyone not knowing the details, Sam is a parrot who was imported from the african jungle last century. African greys can live as long as humans so he could be the same age as me! We really haven't any way to know his age but from tracing his original band number, and it was the kind used on mature birds after capture, he appears to have been captured and enslaved in 1982. So he's already close to 40, most likely. That being said, the band may have been used many years later after it was sold in '82 so he might not be that old. However, since he was open banded with an importer's band, it's fair to say he went through that horrible experience whether in 1980 or later in that decade. I believe it wasn't till '84 or '86 that we stopped doing that, and we really haven't, actually. these days you need to get special permission to bring in a wild caught exotic bird to canada, but they're still being captured and exported on a quota system, and there are still countries that import for the pet trade. So Sam could be much younger. It's not likely, though. He displays the depth of emotional and behavioural damage of a wild caught bird tossed around in the pet trade and never finding humans who know how to care for a parrot. He's improving with us, learning joy and peace and some trust, but he still can't be trusted not to act purely from malicious intent and that's a shame. I understand where the malice comes from and how naturally it comes so I don't hate on him over it, but I still have to be practical and he's generally stuck inside his cage because of it. A guy this long0liived won't learn fast either. I don't pay attention to the time frame, it takes as long as it takes annd I've got my budget price parrot and he's got his forever home.