#AfricanGrey – Page 4

Snow Day

It has been snowing for well over 40 hours now, and the snow is still coming down. Yesterday and this morning as I work at my desk, all my furry friends are keeping me company. Cali’s open crate is right next to my desk.

When Cali doesn’t have to fight the cats for a spot in the crate, that’s where she will hang out while I’m working.

Logan and Puck often like to snuggle up in or on top of the dog crate. Puck also spends a lot of time on time of the dragon tank as he LOVES her heat lamps. Today, the two cats are hanging out at the extra desk next to mine, just watching everything that is going on.

From this spot, Puck and Logan can watch everything going on around them. They have a view of Hector, Wena the dragon, and me!

Speaking of the Dragon, she’s happily hanging out in her hammock, enjoying her heat lamp, oblivious to the heinous weather going on outside. Smart lizard!

And then there is the one and only Hector D. Byrd. While I’m working, Hector spends her time strutting around, chewing up boxes, and chasing the cats. She also likes to chat at me, especially if I happen to get on the phone.

Unfortunately, Little Bean hasn’t realized that he needs to leave Hector alone yet, so I have to be super careful. I’m working on teaching Hector to “Go Home” which means to go back to her cage. It’s really handy when the cat is being too playful and I can tell Hector to “Go Home” and she heads back out of harms way on her own. Again, I’m always within a couple of feet of them, making sure everyone stays safe.

I keep a folded up towel on one side of my desk, and Bean spends a lot of time there. Yesterday, every time I sat down at my desk, Bean would come over, meow at me, then attempt to climb up my leg. I’d scoop him up and settle him on his towel where he will cuddle up and sleep as long as I’m sitting at my desk. Today, Bean has decided to snuggle up on the chair behind me.

I really love having him snuggle up in the corner of my desk. It’s nice to be able to reach over and pat him, but it’s also nice to not have him stepping on my keyboard!

Stay warm everyone. Hopefully this snow will end soon!

Friends

My worries about Puck and Bean not getting along are over. I think this photo says it all. Puck seems so happy to have a buddy. Logan is much older, and never really bonded with Puck. The best I can say is that they tolerate each other, which is pretty much how Logan is with Bean as well.

Puck and Bean are actually buddies. They love to wrestle together and they love when I have an extra box to leave out for them to climb and play with. I haven’t been able to get a video yet, but one cat will be in the box, one will be on top or on the side, and they will just pounce on each other over and over again.

Hector has always been obsessed with cardboard. She always has a supply of boxes in or near her cage. Lately, she has been strolling across the floor and getting into the pile of spare boxes I keep. Last night, she decided she wanted the box the cats were playing with. She strolled over, looked at the cats, and went into the box and started chewing it up. I saw Puck zip away from the box, and Bean was sitting just outside of it. I was wondering if Hector would feel trapped and get upset, so I was keeping a very close eye on things. When Hector was done adding some ventilation to the box, she looked at Bean, chirped and strutted back to her cage. Bean just moved right out of her way, smart kitty already seems to know that Hector rules this roost!

About 5:30 this morning, I woke up to the sound of running cats. Bean and Puck has decided that was a good time for a wrestling match. While I’m really happy the cats are getting along, I’d prefer if they could pick another time or location for their escapades.

But look at that little face, even though I’m not a morning person, I can’t stay mad for long. At this moment, the little guy is curled up around the back of my neck while I’m typing. He’s so soft and warm, an excellent neck warmer!

What’s Hector D. Byrd Up to Now?

We often call our cat, Puck, Pucky-Boo-Boo, or even just Boo-Boo. I have no idea where it came from, but it stuck. Right at this moment, my beautiful grey parrot is marching around on the floor calling “Hector Boo Boo, Hector Boo Boo” She must be jealous or something, we have never called her “Hector Boo-Boo!”

She’s very proud of herself, when I laughed at her, she started laughing too! Of course soon after she headed back to her box construction, well destuction project.

Hector D. Byrd Arrives

If you haven’t read Hector Part 1, it’s just a little background on my history with birds. The important thing to know is that my husband talked me out of rescuing a little Lovebird because he knew it would just fuel my fire for a bigger parrot. He figured we should skip the little parrot part and just get the bird I actually wanted. I appreciated that!

The other important thing to know is that Hector is a girl. Both sexes of African Greys look the same, so the only way to tell the difference is with a blood test, or if the bird lays eggs. Hector was named before she laid her first egg, but she’s quite proud of her name, and didn’t want it changed.

Silly me thought it would be hard finding the right bird to add to our house. I start doing some research on bird rescues to see what was out there. My husband thought he was being funny and posted to Twitter about his decision to talk me out of a Lovebird and into an African Grey. The post was something about how he thought he might regret the decision, but it seemed like the right choice at the time. Be careful what you wish for!

The universe has a funny way of reacting to things some times, and the husband’s Tweet lead to a friend joking about how we should adopt the old Ambrosia Software parrot, Hector. Next thing you know, the guy that took Hector in when Ambrosia no longer wanted an office parrot was reaching out to my husband. John Magnus Champlin, from Ambrosia, had been working with Hector for a few years, and gave her a great start on moving from being an office ornament to actually figuring out how to be a pet. While John loved and cared for Hector, he also felt that he wasn’t a “bird guy” and hoped to find her a forever home someday.

My husband Dave runs The Mac Observer, Inc., a website about all things Apple. John loved the idea that Hector could move to another Tech home after being the Ambrosia mascot. So at 21 years old, Hector moved from New York to New Hampshire and became the new mascot for The Mac Observer.

John is a super caring guy, and insisted on driving Hector to us to help ease her transition. On the drive, John stopped for gas. It was a nice day, so he took Hector’s carrier out of the car for a little air. John says, “If I remember right they recognized the Ambrosia logo stickers and some other Apple related thing on my car and it spawned a conversation. They didn’t realize I was associated with the company. When they saw the bird and realized it was actually *the* Captain Hector it blew some minds.”

And Hector made her way to New Hampshire. She loves my husband, she loves my son, me? she tolerates. I’m the one who researches parrot diet, makes her homemade food with organic grains and fresh veggies, buys her toys, cleans her cage, and gives her the most attention, but she loves the boys. It’s OK, she mostly doesn’t bite me, and I love her.

When Hector first came to us, she rarely wanted to leave her cage although she would climb up on top to hang out and liked having her cage door open. She was super nervous about anything new. If I bought a new toy, I had to hang it across the room for a couple of days, then slowly bring it closer to her cage. After a week, I could usually hang the new toy on the outside of her cage and then move it in after another couple of days. She is not a bird that likes change.

After five years with us, I’m happy to report that Hector is much more comfortable here, finally! She doesn’t really fly even though she could, but she loves to climb down from her cage and stroll around the house. She chases the cats and looks for anything cardboard to chew up. While she has always talked and whistled, she is talking more than ever lately. I think she has finally realized that we are her forever people and she doesn’t have to move again. Maybe she’ll even learn to like me some day!