A little over three weeks ago I adopted two 
, and it has been anā¦interestingā¦.three weeks.
The back story:
I happened to be in a home I was photographing for an upcoming listing. While in the bonus room above the garage, I thought I heard birds talking. Not having seen any in the home, I didnāt give it much thought until I was wrapping up with photos and asked the agent and homeowner if there was anything else that should be featured. The agent said āThere is the garage. But there is stuff in there and the.ā. āBirds? As in the oneās I heard up in the bonus?ā, I replied. The homeowner, a very nice elderly lady well into her 80ās, replies āYes. Two CAGs.ā Wait, what? Two? Now my interest was piqued. I mentioned that I was looking for a bird and heading to see a breeder (of smaller birds) after my next photo shoot. The agent asks if I want to see them, leads me into the garage, and says āWe have been trying to find a home for them. (The homeowner) canāt take them with her. We tried selling them, but she is very particular who they go to (note - this apparently goes back to her dog breeding days). Would you like them?ā To say I was shocked, doesnāt even come close.
Over the next 15-20 minutes we discussed the birds. From what I learned, the female is 30, while the male is 5. There had been another male around the same age as the female, but he escaped. I think their ages were given incorrectly because since we have had them, the female has laid 5 eggs. My previous experience with birds is that she shouldnāt be laying at her age, plus she is banded. There is a possibility the previous owner had them backwards. It has been somewhat difficult trying to gather records, that would answer these questions I plan on having an aviary vet check them in the next several weeks ā I want them to become more comfortable with their new lifestyle.
Speaking of becoming more comfortable, these two put the fun into funny. My original plan was to have them in my 3rd-floor studio, but I decided they needed more socialization on the first floor. Well, my wifeās office is down there, and they mess with her during her conference calls. One will start with dial tone sounds, phone ringing, reading of a voice mail (from the old machine type we all had sitting by our phones), completing it with the phone disconnecting. These two also chat back and forth in an elderly womanās voice, and laugh much like our grandmotherās would do, while my wife is on her calls. The male growls at our two dogs, in Rottweiler, which he obviously picked up from the previous owner, who was a breeder. Oh, and they also bark like a dog that is close by, right when my wife is on her call, and when our two dogs are sleeping. This of course sends the dogs into a tizzy at the wrong time for my wife. She is threatening to take my studio (which she gave to me in order to get me to move to this house last year), or our oldest sonās room (he is in college) for her office.
Feel free to ask me anything photography related. I have 33+ years shooting professionally. I can answer general gear questions as well, however I am not too familiar with Nikon or Sony, as I exclusively use Canon (I am a member of Canon Professional Services). Eventually, I plan to post images of our two CAGās, once they become more comfortable. Much like my wildlife photography, it will take patience to photograph these two birds.
Doug
, and it has been anā¦interestingā¦.three weeks. The back story:
I happened to be in a home I was photographing for an upcoming listing. While in the bonus room above the garage, I thought I heard birds talking. Not having seen any in the home, I didnāt give it much thought until I was wrapping up with photos and asked the agent and homeowner if there was anything else that should be featured. The agent said āThere is the garage. But there is stuff in there and the.ā. āBirds? As in the oneās I heard up in the bonus?ā, I replied. The homeowner, a very nice elderly lady well into her 80ās, replies āYes. Two CAGs.ā Wait, what? Two? Now my interest was piqued. I mentioned that I was looking for a bird and heading to see a breeder (of smaller birds) after my next photo shoot. The agent asks if I want to see them, leads me into the garage, and says āWe have been trying to find a home for them. (The homeowner) canāt take them with her. We tried selling them, but she is very particular who they go to (note - this apparently goes back to her dog breeding days). Would you like them?ā To say I was shocked, doesnāt even come close.
Over the next 15-20 minutes we discussed the birds. From what I learned, the female is 30, while the male is 5. There had been another male around the same age as the female, but he escaped. I think their ages were given incorrectly because since we have had them, the female has laid 5 eggs. My previous experience with birds is that she shouldnāt be laying at her age, plus she is banded. There is a possibility the previous owner had them backwards. It has been somewhat difficult trying to gather records, that would answer these questions I plan on having an aviary vet check them in the next several weeks ā I want them to become more comfortable with their new lifestyle.
Speaking of becoming more comfortable, these two put the fun into funny. My original plan was to have them in my 3rd-floor studio, but I decided they needed more socialization on the first floor. Well, my wifeās office is down there, and they mess with her during her conference calls. One will start with dial tone sounds, phone ringing, reading of a voice mail (from the old machine type we all had sitting by our phones), completing it with the phone disconnecting. These two also chat back and forth in an elderly womanās voice, and laugh much like our grandmotherās would do, while my wife is on her calls. The male growls at our two dogs, in Rottweiler, which he obviously picked up from the previous owner, who was a breeder. Oh, and they also bark like a dog that is close by, right when my wife is on her call, and when our two dogs are sleeping. This of course sends the dogs into a tizzy at the wrong time for my wife. She is threatening to take my studio (which she gave to me in order to get me to move to this house last year), or our oldest sonās room (he is in college) for her office.
Feel free to ask me anything photography related. I have 33+ years shooting professionally. I can answer general gear questions as well, however I am not too familiar with Nikon or Sony, as I exclusively use Canon (I am a member of Canon Professional Services). Eventually, I plan to post images of our two CAGās, once they become more comfortable. Much like my wildlife photography, it will take patience to photograph these two birds.
Doug
