Post by siobhan on Feb 25, 2016 12:53:34 GMT -5
I suppose this is hormone related, probably, at the root of it my bizarre work hours and thus the parrots' daily schedule being disrupted beyond recognition.
This week I had a school board meeting to cover that kept me at work until after 10 p.m. Therefore, the birds stayed up until I could get home and tuck them in. They flatly refuse to go to bed until I PUT them to bed. A few days before that endless meeting, the band had a gig and again, the birds stayed up until I got home to put them to bed, because otherwise I'd have had to put them to bed at 3:30 in the afternoon, as I also had to play at a church service preceded by a rehearsal. I left home on Saturday at 3:30 and didn't get home until around 11 or a bit later.
Last night, when I actually got to come home at a decent hour and spend some time with the birds, I was sitting in the Birdcage with Clyde on one hand and Benjy on the other, as usual. Jade was on her cage bobbing her head. Freddie flew over and landed on my knee for a few minutes, then flew off. Johnny took his place and wanted a head scritch, which he has only very recently begun asking for again, after many, many months of being standoffish and untouchable (I think he was angry way back when I brought Greta home and stayed mad). My attention was on Johnny, as I was trying to convince Benjy to sit on my head or leg to free up a hand for Johnny, and Benjy refused. Suddenly, Clyde leaped off my hand onto my chest and grabbed my upper lip and chomped down HARD. I actually saw stars, it hurt so much. I grabbed him around the body (reaction, not thinking, I just had to make it STOP) and he squirmed free and flew to his boing, from which he immediately zoomed back at me again. Johnny took off as soon as the incident began and so did Benjy, so I only had to worry about Clyde, and I went into fetal position to protect my face and keep him from attacking again. He flew to his cage and zoomed at me one more time, and this time he landed on my head, I put my hand up and, miraculously, he stepped up, and I put him in his cage and shut the door. This morning I opened his cage last and didn't pick him up for a morning kiss as usual.
My lip is missing a chunk and my mouth and cheek are swollen. It bled for quite a while. I have a wind ensemble rehearsal at church tonight and we're playing on Sunday morning and I can't play the flute with a sore and swollen lip. I am the only flute player in the ensemble and several pieces depend on the flute part for introductions and such. If you know anything about playing a wind instrument, control of the lips is absolutely imperative. If I can't pucker, I can't play. It might be well enough by Sunday and it might not. I suppose I should be glad I wear glasses or he might have gone for my eyes. I can't for the life of me figure out what set him off. Only seconds before this happened, he was sitting there quite happily imitating a duck and saying "peekaboo."
This week I had a school board meeting to cover that kept me at work until after 10 p.m. Therefore, the birds stayed up until I could get home and tuck them in. They flatly refuse to go to bed until I PUT them to bed. A few days before that endless meeting, the band had a gig and again, the birds stayed up until I got home to put them to bed, because otherwise I'd have had to put them to bed at 3:30 in the afternoon, as I also had to play at a church service preceded by a rehearsal. I left home on Saturday at 3:30 and didn't get home until around 11 or a bit later.
Last night, when I actually got to come home at a decent hour and spend some time with the birds, I was sitting in the Birdcage with Clyde on one hand and Benjy on the other, as usual. Jade was on her cage bobbing her head. Freddie flew over and landed on my knee for a few minutes, then flew off. Johnny took his place and wanted a head scritch, which he has only very recently begun asking for again, after many, many months of being standoffish and untouchable (I think he was angry way back when I brought Greta home and stayed mad). My attention was on Johnny, as I was trying to convince Benjy to sit on my head or leg to free up a hand for Johnny, and Benjy refused. Suddenly, Clyde leaped off my hand onto my chest and grabbed my upper lip and chomped down HARD. I actually saw stars, it hurt so much. I grabbed him around the body (reaction, not thinking, I just had to make it STOP) and he squirmed free and flew to his boing, from which he immediately zoomed back at me again. Johnny took off as soon as the incident began and so did Benjy, so I only had to worry about Clyde, and I went into fetal position to protect my face and keep him from attacking again. He flew to his cage and zoomed at me one more time, and this time he landed on my head, I put my hand up and, miraculously, he stepped up, and I put him in his cage and shut the door. This morning I opened his cage last and didn't pick him up for a morning kiss as usual.
My lip is missing a chunk and my mouth and cheek are swollen. It bled for quite a while. I have a wind ensemble rehearsal at church tonight and we're playing on Sunday morning and I can't play the flute with a sore and swollen lip. I am the only flute player in the ensemble and several pieces depend on the flute part for introductions and such. If you know anything about playing a wind instrument, control of the lips is absolutely imperative. If I can't pucker, I can't play. It might be well enough by Sunday and it might not. I suppose I should be glad I wear glasses or he might have gone for my eyes. I can't for the life of me figure out what set him off. Only seconds before this happened, he was sitting there quite happily imitating a duck and saying "peekaboo."
