Billy: Gold Capped Conure What love and a bond can do!
by Daryl Gagliano
(Colorado)
The Healing Bond
Billy is a 9 year old Gold Capped Conure. His story is “still in the writing” so to speak. We adopted him almost 3 months ago from a parrot welfare, where he shared a cage for 3 years with a bonded pair of Conures, who could only be adopted out together.
We were initially interested in the bonded pair, but when we found out about Billy, we could not adopt just the two, and not the third! Knowing how parrots often get passed around and re-homed, we decided to keep this flock intact. And so Billy’s story in our home begins:
Billy is a SCREAMER!! When we first adopted Billy, it was as though a car/fire alarm was constantly sounding. It was very, very difficult to endure. Gold Caps have a higher pitch to their voices and the sound can just pierce through you.
During the first few weeks after the adoption, we wondered if we hadn’t made a huge mistake by getting in way over our heads! We actually argued over what to do, and were seriously considering returning all three (with a sense of tremendous guilt and failure) due to the screaming, biting, and charging after our Gracie and Kiwi. We asked ourselves, “How can we live like this?” We were encouraged to give it a little more time, and so we did.
Are we sure glad we did! Billy's screaming has improved tremendously since those first few weeks, and each day, he continues to make more progress. Billy also seemed to be a high-strung, nervous little guy. He did not play with toys, but would pace back and forth just screaming.
The only time it seemed as if he would stop screaming, was when we took him into the shower. Billy LOVES water and he loves his showers- especially when taken with Eddie, his “Daddy“. Since showers help to alleviate his agitation, Billy gets showers at least 4x per week.
Another thing we noticed is that he seemed so hyper-vigilant. It occurred to us that maybe he didn’t always get a good night sleep, so we started putting him to bed a little earlier to ensure he got at least 10 - 11 hrs. After just two nights of more sleep, Billy’s screaming started to decrease.
Since we have separate sleep cages for all of our birds that we keep in our bedroom with us, Eddie moved Billy‘s sleep cage next to his side of the bed. This has also made a tremendous difference in Billy’s behavior. He and Eddie are best buddies! Every morning Eddie reaches over to Billy’s cage, unlocks it, and Billy and Eddie snuggle together for a few minutes.
Finally, Billy seems to be connecting! Eddie absolutely adores Billy, and it is clear that Eddie is Billy’s favorite person/bird. Billy will accept me, but only if Eddie is not around! I often tease Eddie that it’s too bad I don’t have a little orange head a green body, so I can get some of that affection and attention given so tenderly to Billy!
But in all seriousness, it really is a beautiful thing to see this bird slowly transform into this intelligent, lively little soul that he was always intended to be!
Through trial-and-error, accidental discovery, and a deep bond between father and fid (feathered kid), Billy is settling down and connecting. What has made the most difference, was paying attention to what he seemed to enjoy, giving him one-on-one time, increasing his sleep time, taking him on weekend breakfast outings (where we can sit outside), and encouraging him to try new things (like stepping up on a swing). We would like to learn clicker training to build Billy’s confidence and stimulate his mind.
Adoption is an incredibly rewarding experience.
However, since often so little is known about a bird’s previous experiences and history, you must be prepared to endure the most trying and stressful of circumstances, and be willing to wait at least 3 months before giving up.
This experience has taught us patience & faith, and has helped us to become more sensitive to all of our birds and the signals they give us as they attempt to communicate with us.
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