Pickles The Parrot Returns: My Continued Adventures with a Bird Brain by Georgi Abbott Page B

Pickles gave up first
but not without a fight. He jumped out from under the bag and right
on top of it. Finally, Neil had to get the snack bowl of pine nuts
to bribe him off and as Pickles went for the snacks, Neil picked up
the bag. After Pickles had a couple of snacks, Neil told him to get back up and at first, Pickles just
stood at Neil’s feet looking up, waaay up, wings splayed, glaring
at Neil but finally stomped over to his cage and climbed back up to
the top to pout again. “Neil” he said with disappointment and Neil
seemed to think he even shook his head slowly in disgust. I
wouldn’t doubt it.
    Almost every toy comes with a warning about
not leaving birds unattended with them. Whether you buy or make a
toy, there are always risks with any of them. It’s a hard rule to
follow. I mean, why do we buy our birds toys? Because everything
we’ve learned is about the importance of playing, chewing for beak
conditioning, foraging, enrichment – everything to keep a bird from
getting bored and maintaining good mental health. And when are most
birds bored? They’re bored when they don’t have toys or stuff to
chew on, they’re not getting attention or we’re not around to
entertain them.
    There’s almost always somebody home with
Pickles but what about people who work, or go out a lot? What if
you have to leave the room? Are we going to remove every single toy
each time? For us, that would be a major job both coming and going
– especially since Pickles is not caged when we leave. It just
can’t be done with us. We know the risks and try to make everything
as safe as possible – cutting off loose strings and threads, making
sure ropes and chains aren’t long enough to strangle himself, and
always checking chain links to make sure they’re tight enough so
they don’t catch a nail or beak tip. And still, sometimes things
can happen.
    In nine years, Pickles has only once been in
danger with a toy. We were sitting on the couch when Pickles
started screaming and we immediately jumped up to see what was
wrong. It was difficult to tell because he was half holding on to
the bars at the top of his cage and half holding on to a hanging
toy. Neil put his hands in to cup him and keep him from flailing
around and ended up getting some nasty bites until he could manage
to unfasten the toy from the bars and pull them both out together.
By the time he got Pickles out, he and the toy had separated – if
in fact, they ever were stuck together. We don’t know what happened
but we tightened everything up anyway. I don’t know what would have
happened if we weren’t home; he might have been seriously injured,
or he may have got loose on his own. Maybe he wasn’t even stuck,
perhaps he was just playing and we mistook the screams for fright.
So yes, we are always aware and concerned but there’s only so much
you can do. Its like having kids – it’s impossible to protect them
at all times.
    When it comes right down to it, toys aren’t
all that important to Pickles – other than his talon toys at night
and his bells – as he ages, his toy playing becomes more and more
infrequent. Nowadays, he prefers hanging out on ropes, swings,
boings or his fun factory.

Chapter 7
Just Hangin’ Around

    “ When you get a new branch
on your playstand, make sure there's room for a Flap
& Flip all the way around it.  Otherwise it's just called
a Face Plant.”
    “ When mommy leaves me
on the kitchen counter and says "Be right back", then she
should be right back.  If she isn't, she shouldn't be
surprised to find her yucky cookie in the soapy dish
water.”
    “ I had to help mommy with
the laundry. Chores, chores, chores.  There was
a pile of dirty laundry on the table next to the chest freezer
where I was supervising.  When she had her back turned, I
sorted it for her and punctured nice little decorative holes in
some of the towels.  My work here is done.”
    “ I was hanging upside down
on my perch and I thought whoa,