Lost Parrot Tells Veterinarian His address

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a humorous story about a parrot in Japan that spoke to a veterinarian, providing its name and address. Participants share their thoughts on parrot behavior, ownership experiences, and the emotional connections they have with their birds. The scope includes personal anecdotes, reflections on pet care, and considerations about the ethics of keeping birds as pets.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Personal anecdotes

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants find the story of the parrot amusing and express a desire to own similar birds, such as Congo Greys.
  • Others reflect on the emotional bond they had with their own parrots, sharing memories of their behaviors and interactions.
  • Concerns about the ethical implications of keeping birds in cages are raised, with some participants feeling guilty about confinement.
  • Several participants discuss their experiences with training and bonding with their birds, noting that trust affects a bird's willingness to stay close.
  • Questions about the differences in behavior between smaller birds like parakeets and larger birds like macaws and conures are posed.
  • Some participants share techniques for clipping wings and managing bird behavior, emphasizing the importance of trust and comfort.
  • There are anecdotes about specific birds, including a cockatoo that imitated sounds and had a close relationship with its owner.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a fondness for birds and express similar concerns about their care, but there are differing views on the ethics of keeping birds in captivity and the best practices for training and bonding.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions include personal experiences that may not apply universally, and there are varying opinions on the appropriate living conditions for pet birds.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in pet ownership, particularly bird enthusiasts, and those considering adopting parrots or similar birds may find the shared experiences and insights valuable.

edward
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This was in Japan, if the bird was a U.S. citizen it could run for congress.:biggrin:


"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356850,00.html
 
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Now that's funny. That article just makes me want to get a Congo Grey even more.
 
Thats really cute! Funny that he wouldn't spill the beans to the cops.
 
hypatia said:
Thats really cute! Funny that he wouldn't spill the beans to the cops.

The story said it took a couple days for him to start talking to the vet, so maybe he was just scared at first and being quiet. Once he got comfy, he started chatting away I guess.
 
Parrots can be flexible, but they usually need bonding-time. Not Allie, though. I stopped in at a pet shop just to look at the animals and they had taken in a blue-crowned conure, who was perched on top of her cage. She started whistling and squawking as soon as she saw me, and ran to the closest corner of the cage and leaned out at me. The young lady that ran the shop told me what a friendly bird Allie was and came over to have her perch on her hand and Allie bit her. She still kept leaning toward me, so throwing caution to the wind, I held out my hand and Allie jumped on, ran up my sleeve, and perched on my shoulder rubbing her head into my hair. Luckily, Allie wasn't too pricey because she HAD to go home with me.
 
I couldn't have a bird as a pet. I've had birds before, and have always felt guilty for keeping them in a cage... maybe if I owned a mansion where i could have them in a giant cage where they can fly around like some zoos do... but I wouldn't keep a bird like a parrot, who belongs in a jungle filled with trees where they can fly around freely, in a tiny box-sized cage.
 
moe darklight said:
I couldn't have a bird as a pet. I've had birds before, and have always felt guilty for keeping them in a cage... maybe if I owned a mansion where i could have them in a giant cage where they can fly around like some zoos do... but I wouldn't keep a bird like a parrot, who belongs in a jungle filled with trees where they can fly around freely, in a tiny box-sized cage.
The first thing that I trained Allie to do (with plenty of dried chili peppers as treats) is to lean forward and spread her wings when I said "Allie, WINGS!" That way I could clip her flight feathers. She had been traumatized some time earlier by someone who manhandled her when clipping and she would get very scared and defensive about clipping (and conures can bite hard!), but she liked our little "Wings" routine because I would scratch her head and feed her chilies. Clipped, she would not get hurt if she jumped down from her cage or perch, but could not fly around the house. I built her a nice climbing-tree out of a dead sapling I found out back, and drilled holes and inserted dowels in it so she could easily climb back up and jump to her cage if she wanted. I never kept her caged, except at night. When it was bed-time, I'd wave a nice chili and say "Allie, cage" and she'd jump right in and I would put a cloth cover over the cage for the night.
 
Makes me miss my parrot.

We didn't have an entire "forest" to provide for this blue-gold macaw that my dad had to buy from this one place (didn't seem like they were treating him right), but we did treat it right.

I remember he was trained to say "hello there," "hello," "mama~!."

I miss it calling for me (saying mama! - lol) and then saying hello upon my arrival.

I also loved walking around the block with it perched on my shoulder. That macaw always tried to kiss (open beat with tongue out) me if I were near, like a dog trying to lick its owner's face.

then I went to school... (sold it to people who take REALLY good care of macaws and birds in general though)
 
hypatia said:
Thats really cute! Funny that he wouldn't spill the beans to the cops.

Perhaps he didn't want to be accused of being a stool pigeon:smile:
 
  • #10
We have a lot of mild weather here in AZ, that is when it isn't hot as heck.

My neighbor built an outdoor aviary for his wife's parrots that was accessible through a window of the house. It also had an outdoor entry for people. It was really a terrific set up. They had all kinds of plants growing in it.
 
  • #11
BryanP said:
Makes me miss my parrot.

We didn't have an entire "forest" to provide for this blue-gold macaw that my dad had to buy from this one place (didn't seem like they were treating him right), but we did treat it right.

I remember he was trained to say "hello there," "hello," "mama~!."

I miss it calling for me (saying mama! - lol) and then saying hello upon my arrival.

I also loved walking around the block with it perched on my shoulder. That macaw always tried to kiss (open beat with tongue out) me if I were near, like a dog trying to lick its owner's face.

then I went to school... (sold it to people who take REALLY good care of macaws and birds in general though)

Did you keep it's wings clipped where it couldn't fly far, or did it just not want to fly away?
 
  • #12
B. Elliott said:
Did you keep it's wings clipped where it couldn't fly far, or did it just not want to fly away?

yeah just clipped the flying wings when they got long

but the bird never flew away from me

im guessing the bird was tamed well before i got it... its just that the conditions it was being kept in was worsening so i took charge of it
 
  • #13
BryanP said:
yeah just clipped the flying wings when they got long

but the bird never flew away from me

im guessing the bird was tamed well before i got it... its just that the conditions it was being kept in was worsening so i took charge of it

I see. I was just wondering because over the past few years I've thought about getting a Congo Grey, and i'd like to take him/her outside as much as possible... if it wouldn't try to fly away at the drop of a hat. I've raised a few parakeets over the years and didn't know if they acted much differently than larger birds.
 
  • #14
i've been able to tame a few others as well...including two conures (half-moon and jenday) , and a green-yellow amazon (also a proficient speaker)...

the more they trust you (i mean just to be safe, just clip the flying wings, its not hard and i never really had problems with "accidently cutting" something) they less prone they are tofly away randomly

they're not able to get very far at all if you clip the wings

my macaw was tame enough to be brought out in public without having it becoming frightened
 
  • #15
Hmm. Clipping the wings on parakeets wasn't too bad... except for the one time I clipped just a tad too close and nipped a blood vessel... I felt so bad. The parakeets you can just grasp in one hand and cut with the other. How do you clip them on a larger bird? Or better yet, how do you get him in a position to let you clip them? lol.
 
  • #16
One of my exes had an umbrella cockatoo. Big white bird. I adored Vanilla (the bird). We had a huge cage for him. We basically just sectioned off a hunk of the living room for the bird to have his own space. Mostly he was only in it when we had to go out without him, (he came a lot of places with us) for his afternoon naps, and to go to bed at night. Otherwise, he hung out on top of the cage or generally wandering around.

Vanilla was a tame as could be. He wouldn't talk, but he'd imitate other animals. He was especially good at meowing like a cat. He fooled cats into believing he was cat quite regularly. (Meaning, the cat would hear a cat meow and come running to see what was in his/her house, and get met by a big white bird who loved cats like mad.) We got Vanilla his own cat. But that's a different story.

We clipped his flight feathers, no problem. I took him shopping with me and traveling when I went on the road. At places that let us, we took Vanilla into restaurants and got a dish of mashed potatoes for him. He loved mashed potatoes. And corn on the cob. And pomegranates. He'd sit on my lap in the evening while I watched television, and I'd rub his head, face, chest, and back. He'd snuggle in and make cooing noises and stay there endlessly.

Mind, when he had temper tantrums, he could screech like nothing I've ever heard. And jeez was he persistent.

But so, meow, bark, coo, sure, but talk or even whistle? Not a chance. That bird wouldn't have ever been able to tell anyone how to get him home.

Edited to add: Vanilla was so tame, we could get him to hold out his wing just by rubbing a finger against his body under his wing while he was standing on his perch, and we'd clip the middle feathers that way.
 
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  • #17
B. Elliott said:
Hmm. Clipping the wings on parakeets wasn't too bad... except for the one time I clipped just a tad too close and nipped a blood vessel... I felt so bad. The parakeets you can just grasp in one hand and cut with the other. How do you clip them on a larger bird? Or better yet, how do you get him in a position to let you clip them? lol.

honestly, all i had to do was have it perch on my dad's arm

i'd just pull the wing open and cut it and it wouldn't do anything

i'd have the first-aid powder ready *just incase* but for the most part, it didn't really do anything

same for the amazon

the jenday conure and half-moon on the other hand (much smaller birds), i had to have someone hold tightly since they aren't as tamed
 

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