My 3 1/2 year old Timneh African Grey parrot, d'Artagnan, is my baby. Did I mention that he is 3 1/2 ? He also acts like he is a toddler, because in essence, he is. This species of bird can easily reach the age of 50, and even up to 70, depending on his health and care taking. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), his mental age will never surpass about 5. He is an attention hog. And he speaks. English. He says the standard parrot stuff.... "hello" "Hellllloooooo" and he says other stuff. Incessantly. "What are you doing?" "What do you want?" "Pick me UP!" "PICK ME UP UP UP" "No BITING!" He says his own name.. I think he thinks it is my name, too. He says, "Want some?" (His version of begging for table food), and "Sinbad! NO SCREAMING! I'll spank your butt!" (Sinbad is my DH's yellow collared macaw.) He will even mimic Sinbad's scream, and then say, "NO SCREAMING!" This is but a sample of d'Artagnan's antics.
Sounds cute, huh? He is very cute, and I love him to pieces. Just want you to know, if you are considering adding a long lived bird species to your family, that they require as much attention as a human toddler, and they are toddlers for their entire lives. You will probably have to will your pet to someone who will properly care for them, because chances are, they will outlive you, especially if you adopt them well into your adult years.
No comments:
Post a Comment