He seemed to be afraid of falling and it was impacting on his sleeping patterns. I noticed that he was sleeping on his favourite dipped perch but every few minutes would suddenly shake himself and grab the bars in front of him. I stuck him under video surveillance, so that I could see how he would act without me around. This worked for a while, but I became concerned that he wasn’t moving around his cage as much as he used to. This often meant putting thinner perches for him to grab with his beak (like a rail). I made sure that there was always something he could grab to haul himself along or steady himself on a perch. Horizontal bars instead of vertical bars really made a difference as he could climb around and swing himself onto different perches. Effectively he'd sit in the part that was U-shaped.įor the first 6 months, I put him in a cage with perches with dips in them so that he could rest more easily in the dips.

No wonder he was vicious and hated fast moving children!Ĭocky Boy showed a preference for perches that had a dip in them. To me it was obvious that even the slightest touch from me caused him pain. He had liver issues, he was seriously malnourished and he had one of the worst cases of osteoarthritis that I have ever seen. 60 years is a long time to be with someone and it’s not like anyone explained to the parrot why his companion suddenly disappeared. He used to grab it with his beak and swing on it. (Apparently the granddaughter found herself in the hospital with her finger nearly ripped off.) His only toy was a dog choker collar, which hung on the side of the cage. He was outside in a rusty cage because he was too dangerous to have near children. There were no perches in his cage because he would always fall off. They had him on a diet of sunflower seeds and peanuts because “that’s what he asked for”. He was “vicious” and “bloodthirsty” according to the girl’s mother. This was made worse because he wasn’t the cute cuddly parrot they’d seen with their grandfather. However, ideally you want to be spending at least 100 for a parakeet. These people loved animals, but were more inclined to play with a dog than a parrot. You can get a small, low end bird cage starting at around 70 if you want something cheap. In theory, this should have been fine as he went to an animal friendly family. The granddaughter of the grumpy old man inherited him. There’s the polite “Wanna peanut?” as if he’s offering you one, although I can’t say he’s happy to share treats! Then there’s the ruder demands of which the politest version is: “Give me a damn peanut NOW!!!!!!!!!!” He talks about peanuts so much that he actually answers to the nickname “Peanuts”. There is no doubt that his diet was fairly rich in peanuts and sunflower seeds. I got quite a shock the day he tried to intercept my cup of coffee yelling: “I just want my coffee thanks!!!” (Also said in a croaky old man’s voice). It’s safe to say he ate breakfast with this man almost everyday and that he was quite accustomed to getting his share.

Setting up a parakeet cage