PeanutButterJellyTime
New member
Hey everybody!
I'm very happy to have found this place I am the new owner of my father's Citron Cockatoo female. We've owned Peanut for about 17 years now and she is just the best bird ever, she's my first parrot but not my father's who has owned a pair of B&G Macaws, 4 amazons. My father hasn't been well for the past 2 years so with a heavy heart he rehomed everyone but Peanut who the family has always had a very special bond with. It was decided I would take Peanut as she has always had my heart and I've had hers.
So Peanut is unlike any bird I've ever known. She's fairly quiet, very, very curious and fearless and super, super gentle. In fact despite handling all the time from the young and old Peanut had NEVER once bitten. We got her when she was 10 and we were visiting Ocean Shores and she flew to us from her owner's shoulder. They explained she was looking for a home since her owner had to move out of the US and we took her in right away. The only thing they told us was she was very, very friendly and loved everyone always had been and enjoyed free flight and she'd never bitten. They were right, Peanut has never met a person or animal she didn't like. I took Peanut to an avian vet last year, Dr Shafer, one of the best out there and she let us know from Peanut's band she was a wild caught baby and looked great for a 27 year old bird, Peanut got her nails clipped and blood drawn just to make sure she was well and everything checked out.
So fast forward to this year, I'm worried about the newest development with Peanut, I recently lost my rental home and am staying with my father until my new home is ready in August. My stepsister and her 6 children also came down from Georgia to live here and are also temporarily staying. I've noticed they are not well mannered kids and are kind of wild and mischievous, I caught one of them one day poking Peanut with a toy sword, Peanut screamed and I made sure to explain again the rules about the bird and also tell my father and my stepsister to reinforce as this is not acceptable. I'm a dog groomer and at my shop 5 days a week (I had a pet sitter at my other place to come check on Peanut daily and play with her midafternoon) so I was counting on some support of this rule of no handling Peanut without myself or my father around, no poking, prodding or shaking of the cage, I don't feel like this is being enforced.
Yesterday for the first time ever, I came in ready to take my girl out for some one on one as I usually do when I arrive home and she bit me! I was so shocked I jerked back. I've been bitten before by parrots as it comes with the territory with big birds but Peanut has never EVER, EVER so much as nipped, it was only a good pinch that stung but I feel terrible that she was frightened enough to come to doing this. This is a bird with a rock solid confidence and gentleness I've never experienced in handling parrots before I've heard the place that boards her once a year call her one of a kind in her spirit and am constantly offered thousands for my sweet old gal (she's with me for life). She's become fidgety when she sees the kids and Peanut has always loved kids and she no longer wants anything to do with my dad. 27 years without a bite or nip and now I'm afraid her spirit is really in turmoil with the chaos no one seems to care about controlling these kids, can anyone give me any advice on how to fix this or should I not even worry? We are stuck here till August and I'm just worried, I know it's probably not a huge deal to most parrot parents as it is to be expected parrots bite and bite nasty sometimes and we've been blessed with an extraordinary girl but 27 years and I'm just worried about the mental state of my happy girl. Thoughts? Advice?
Thanks in advance
I'm very happy to have found this place I am the new owner of my father's Citron Cockatoo female. We've owned Peanut for about 17 years now and she is just the best bird ever, she's my first parrot but not my father's who has owned a pair of B&G Macaws, 4 amazons. My father hasn't been well for the past 2 years so with a heavy heart he rehomed everyone but Peanut who the family has always had a very special bond with. It was decided I would take Peanut as she has always had my heart and I've had hers.
So Peanut is unlike any bird I've ever known. She's fairly quiet, very, very curious and fearless and super, super gentle. In fact despite handling all the time from the young and old Peanut had NEVER once bitten. We got her when she was 10 and we were visiting Ocean Shores and she flew to us from her owner's shoulder. They explained she was looking for a home since her owner had to move out of the US and we took her in right away. The only thing they told us was she was very, very friendly and loved everyone always had been and enjoyed free flight and she'd never bitten. They were right, Peanut has never met a person or animal she didn't like. I took Peanut to an avian vet last year, Dr Shafer, one of the best out there and she let us know from Peanut's band she was a wild caught baby and looked great for a 27 year old bird, Peanut got her nails clipped and blood drawn just to make sure she was well and everything checked out.
So fast forward to this year, I'm worried about the newest development with Peanut, I recently lost my rental home and am staying with my father until my new home is ready in August. My stepsister and her 6 children also came down from Georgia to live here and are also temporarily staying. I've noticed they are not well mannered kids and are kind of wild and mischievous, I caught one of them one day poking Peanut with a toy sword, Peanut screamed and I made sure to explain again the rules about the bird and also tell my father and my stepsister to reinforce as this is not acceptable. I'm a dog groomer and at my shop 5 days a week (I had a pet sitter at my other place to come check on Peanut daily and play with her midafternoon) so I was counting on some support of this rule of no handling Peanut without myself or my father around, no poking, prodding or shaking of the cage, I don't feel like this is being enforced.
Yesterday for the first time ever, I came in ready to take my girl out for some one on one as I usually do when I arrive home and she bit me! I was so shocked I jerked back. I've been bitten before by parrots as it comes with the territory with big birds but Peanut has never EVER, EVER so much as nipped, it was only a good pinch that stung but I feel terrible that she was frightened enough to come to doing this. This is a bird with a rock solid confidence and gentleness I've never experienced in handling parrots before I've heard the place that boards her once a year call her one of a kind in her spirit and am constantly offered thousands for my sweet old gal (she's with me for life). She's become fidgety when she sees the kids and Peanut has always loved kids and she no longer wants anything to do with my dad. 27 years without a bite or nip and now I'm afraid her spirit is really in turmoil with the chaos no one seems to care about controlling these kids, can anyone give me any advice on how to fix this or should I not even worry? We are stuck here till August and I'm just worried, I know it's probably not a huge deal to most parrot parents as it is to be expected parrots bite and bite nasty sometimes and we've been blessed with an extraordinary girl but 27 years and I'm just worried about the mental state of my happy girl. Thoughts? Advice?
Thanks in advance
