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Post by heatherg on Sept 12, 2022 23:28:10 GMT -5
I had Willow on my hand and shoulder as I went to get the mail in my apartment building today. He was flipping his wings and screeching/growling like a little pterodactyl. I tried to comfort him but he wouldn’t settle down.
Then I noticed a laundry cart with a 6 foot tall hanging bar across the top. My neighbor had checked that out and it was about ten feet away. Willow was letting me know that there was a scary and dangerous laundry cart in the room.
I wonder why laundry carts are so upsetting? They are a big metal basket on wheels with a hanging bar across the top (like a basket handle). Maybe it is that they’re shiny and on wheels and above my head? Willow has never been eaten by a laundry cart so I don’t know why he hates them so much.
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 13, 2022 19:36:54 GMT -5
When a parrot reacts that way it can be hard to know just what they're thinking. The first time I took Ralph to visit our friend/former neighbor at a nursing home, Ralph reacted to wheelchairs the same way Willow reacted to the laundry cart. The next time we visited Ralph was completely indifferent to them. I'm still not sure what was going through his mind either time other than that he somehow decided that wheelchairs weren't so scary or threatening after all.
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Post by Caseysmom on Sept 13, 2022 20:13:07 GMT -5
Yup, Casey does the warning call for lots of things. Just carrying a ladder or a big object up from the basement will getting a warning alarm, a stranger outside in the neighbour’s driveway or someone cutting grass two doors down also gets a big reaction They are great supervisors and like to tell you when anything is out of place
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Post by heatherg on Sept 13, 2022 23:11:12 GMT -5
Ladder trucks blocks away get the alarm call. But Willow is mostly ok with wheelchairs as there are many disabled people in my building. (He was not ok with them at first.).
Willow has been occasionally alarm-calling at SOMETHING in my bedroom. I haven’t figured out what it is. A couple of months ago I moved my Discworld novels to the shelf above my bed and one of the stacks was leaning…he stared at that and growled until I fixed it.
My apartment is cluttered so Willow must be smart to remember what’s new and what isn’t!
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Post by cnyguy on Sept 14, 2022 19:59:42 GMT -5
There are a few things that will set off one of Ralph's alarm calls. He doesn't like the color orange and most anything bright orange will get an alarm call. It can be someone on TV or walking outside wearing bright orange clothing. A truck with a flashing light on it (any color light) deserves an alarm call; the Water Authority truck that comes through every month to remotely read the water meters usually gets an alarm call. Up until recently, people running shown on TV would also set off a QP alarm call. When I first got him, Ralph objected to cardboard boxes and they caused alarm calls but he eventually got over his aversion to cardboard boxes. New or unfamiliar things usually don't bother him though.
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Post by heatherg on Sept 15, 2022 0:38:10 GMT -5
I don’t think Willow had much handling or many toys before my home so he must be slowly introduced to new toys. He seems to be scared of artificially bright colors. I think he likes natural brown toys the best: like pinecones, paper bagels, etc.
An old lady in my building just dropped off some toys and supplies from her birds. One of these is a brightly-dyed popsicle stick hanging chew toy, which to me looks like loads of fun. But W is reluctant to touch it. I praise him when I see him touch or chew his ‘newish’ toys, like a kitty jingle bell ball.
I lived with Lucy for so many years; she was very outgoing so I keep ‘expecting’ Willow to charge into interactions and he will often hide. It makes me sad. I am hoping he is just quiet and not frightened all the time. I think he might be happier if he was always in the same room gazing at me but that wouldn’t be fair to Jasper.
I hope to get some pics of Willow with the flowers outdoors before they freeze off in a month. I gave him an orange nasturtium blossom to eat and was surprised that he immediately bit off the nectar-holding reservoir of the blossom. I thought he’d like the peppery taste but I guess he wanted some sweet flower syrup.
There’s a street fair this weekend but I have a bug or cold of some sort so I’m guessing I can’t take Willow. Lucy and I went to this block party several years and she got some fame and met lots of people and birds. I’m sure she was in many photos of the block party! So I’m disappointed that I think I can’t go. Darn covid isolation rules! Maybe if I test negative with a rapid test Willow and I can go to the block party. Lucy and I danced to some fun bands there and I found she enjoyed the rollicking tunes of the Reptile Palace Orchestra and Yid Vicious. I could take a little blue bird instead of a green bird, for a change.
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Post by biteybird on Sept 24, 2022 6:31:53 GMT -5
The above posts made me chuckle, as our Bonnie grumbles at pretty much anything. It doesn't matter if she's seen it before.
Example: our Dyson stick vacuum cleaner. It hangs on the wall and she has seen it every day for years. She is fine with it if we don't pick it up, but as soon as we do that it gets the alarm call.
Same with our coffee machine. She has seen and heard a coffee machine EVERY DAY for over 8 years...and continues to carry on whenever it is in use...
OMG, it is too funny.
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Post by biteybird on Oct 8, 2022 5:17:27 GMT -5
So today all I had to do was WALK TOWARDS the Dyson vacuum cleaner and Bonnie started screaming...what a drama queen.
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 8, 2022 19:32:35 GMT -5
Vacuum cleaners seem to be very unpopular among parrots. Not here though. Ralph is fascinated by the retractable cord on the vacuum I've had since before Ralph's arrival. When I finish vacuuming, I have to keep pulling the cord out and letting it snap back in, over and over until Ralph gets tired of watching it. It didn't bother Scooter either. When I was vacuuming, she used it as a chance to run through her repertoire of beeps and boops. George the YCA used the vacuum as a signal that it was time for a bath and would vigorously splash in his water dish with the enthusiasm typical of Amazons. Unfortunately my vacuum recently quit working and I haven't found a satisfactory replacement for it yet. Whatever vacuum I get will have to have a retractable cord though.  |
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Post by Caseysmom on Oct 8, 2022 21:02:38 GMT -5
Lol at Bonnie! Casey doesn’t mind our indoor vacuum but if my husband brings the shop vac upstairs to go outside and clean the car you would think the world is ending in Casey’s mind.
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Post by heatherg on Oct 8, 2022 21:24:18 GMT -5
Vacuum cleaners seem to be very unpopular among parrots. Not here though. Ralph is fascinated by the retractable cord on the vacuum I've had since before Ralph's arrival. When I finish vacuuming, I have to keep pulling the cord out and letting it snap back in, over and over until Ralph gets tired of watching it. It didn't bother Scooter either. When I was vacuuming, she used it as a chance to run through her repertoire of beeps and boops. George the YCA used the vacuum as a signal that it was time for a bath and would vigorously splash in his water dish with the enthusiasm typical of Amazons. Unfortunately my vacuum recently quit working and I haven't found a satisfactory replacement for it yet. Whatever vacuum I get will have to have a retractable cord though. Ralph is a little green weirdo. |
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Post by biteybird on Oct 9, 2022 6:59:12 GMT -5
It’s just too funny, isn’t it?
I mean the QP must have a secret spy network or something - how else could they be so alike in their responses to things in different countries?
When we change something that Bonnie doesn’t approve of it’s like she’s being “murderated” (as we call it, haha).
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 9, 2022 19:34:17 GMT -5
Ralph is a little green weirdo. He would put that a little differently-- Ralph would say that he's a "funny Quaker."  I really needed to vacuum around here before it became possible to grow vegetables in the rugs because of all the dirt. Sweeping them doesn't quite do the job. I remembered that I still have an old Regina Electrikbroom, which is an old-fashioned type of stick vacuum. I hadn't used it for 15 years or more and wasn't even sure it would work. I got it out of my storage locker and brought it upstairs this afternoon, plugged it in and flipped the switch. It works! And it's one vacuum that Ralph does not like. He took one look at it and started in with a Quaker alarm call. I really don't blame him; it's noisy and clumsy to use. After a while Ralph realized that it wasn't out to harm parrots everywhere and the alarm call stopped. He still watched it to make sure it really was safe and kept an eye on it until I put it away. |
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Post by heatherg on Oct 10, 2022 22:23:50 GMT -5
I remembered that phrase (“funny Quaker”) after I typed mine. Neither Ralph nor you should take it personally; my first Quaker and the only one I got to name was named “Gonzo.” Quote from the Muppet Movie: “We picked up a weirdo.”
We have one of those stick vacuums too. I joke that the things that fall to my carpet are going to be the “next generation of the forest understory” and if it were wet in here that’s probably true. Less so now that my birds eat mostly pellets and not mostly seeds.
Willow really likes hot tea with honey.
How is Ralph doing as the sole parrot in the household? I hope you guys are managing ok.
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 11, 2022 19:52:42 GMT -5
Ralph and I are doing OK. Thanks for asking. We both miss Scooter but are adjusting to not having her here with us. While Ralph does miss her, I think he likes not having to share me with another parrot. Over the 12-1/2 years that Ralph has been with me, whenever he's done something peculiar or surprising (which is often), I've told him that he's a funny Quaker. Of course, he learned to say that. I think he actually takes it as a compliment. Maybe Ralph will get used to the old Electrikbroom and won't feel the need to do an alarm call when I use it. I have a feeling that I'll be using it for a while, until I finally find a vacuum that I like and can afford. It didn't do the best job on my small wool rugs but it's better than what sweeping accomplishes, and unlike big upright vacuums, it doesn't try to swallow the rugs. |
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