He was our first parrot. He was approximately 1 1/2 years old when he came to us and was tragically taken from us too soon, around 3 1/2 - 4 years old. He was a very gently soul and loved everyone. Many non-bird people fell in love with him and he definitely started our "love affair" with parrots. I wanted to dedicate a page to him and our other parrots and pets, our fids (feathered/furry kids). W
e currently have 6 parrots. Calypso's first friend, the 2nd of the "crew" is a cherry-head conure who came with the name Skullcap or Skully, and it stuck, we just couldn't come up with a fitting name. He was 5 or 6 years old and we are at least his 4th home but his forever home. He came home with us less than a week after Calypso but he is still not a very trusting fid. Next came Alex, a Congo African Grey. He was also about 5 or 6 years old and he came along maybe a year later. The next of the crew is another Congo African Grey. He was very loved by his previous owner but with a small house and a 2 year old, they just didn't have the time for him they would have liked. When they got him, he had recently had a butchered wing clip and had plucked most of the feathers out on his chest. He was diagnosed with low calcium levels and put on a calcium supplement. When he came to us, he still didn't not have many feathers to speak of and was still pulling them out as they came in. We eventually tried an elizabethan collar and his feathers eventually came back, which we weren't sure was possible. If he gets the e-collar off, though, he starts pulling out his feathers. I had really hoped that once the feathers returned, he would stop plucking. I theorized that the butchered wing clip along with the hypocalcemia triggered the plucking (greys are very sensitive). I had hoped that the feathers coming in were just irritating and once they came in, he would no longer pluck. We have decided that once he gets the current e-collar off, if he still wants to pluck, we will just let him. He seems to be a happy bird with or without the collar and the collar has not been causing him any problems but it just does not seem like the best way to live. Sometime after Joe was rehomed with us, Calypso became caught in a string of his "house" while we were both at work and was found deceased when we came home. It hammered the point home to CHECK YOUR BIRD'S TOYS VERY CAREFULLY FOR ANY LOOSE STRINGS OR WIRES, THEY CAN BE VERY HAZARDOUS TO YOUR BIRD. We did not realize at the time that he had ripped his "house" up enough to have loose strings that he could become caught. We should have had another 30+ years with our fine, feathered friend. :-( The next member of Calypso's Crew is Paulie, a Blue and Gold Macaw. Paulie's name was Blue when he came to us, but he didn't really respond to that name and it was unoriginal (then again, Paulie isn't very original either). He seemed very responsive to names that started with the letter "P", so we racked our brains to come up with an appropriate "P" name (I really wanted to call him Perry, like Perry the Platypus on Phineas and Ferb lmao). The tv show Orange County Choppers was still quite popular at the time, so we settled on the name Paulie. Paulie was about 3 years old when we bought him. We are still working on his trust issues. He was a very friendly guy when his previous owners got him from an elderly lady but they were afraid of him, so he wasn't handled very often and when he did get out-of-cage time, the kids ran across the room to get as far away from him as possible. Our poor baby was, therefore, not very well socialized when we got him and quite cage aggressive. He'll do just about anything for a nut though!! Rosie, the Red-Lored Amazon was rehomed with us 3 Christmases ago, she is probably around 10 or 15 now. Rosie is a sweet bird but shy when you first meet "her". Mojo is the most recent addition. He is a Quaker Parrot of definite unknown age. "He" was a stray bird that was turned into the Monon Vet Clinic and he lived as a clinic bird for a few years, when they decided he would prefer a home with other birds, He has been with us for about 1 year. He's a cuddlebug, not as much as Calypso, but moreso than the other birds. He loves my sister and she is the only one who is able to touch him when he is inside his cage. Once he is out, he's a sweet little guy. Calypso, SkullCap, Joe, Alex, and Paulie are all DNA sexed males. Rosie is presumed to be a girl and Mojo, a boy. However until we get the DNA testing done, we won't know for sure. Part of Calypso's crew also includes 2 cats, Sandy, a blue-point siamese (deceased) and Bailey, a tuxedo domestic short hair. Sandy was our 1st pet after we were married, she was about 10 when passed away due to suspected cancer. Bailey came home from the Vet Tech Institute at the International Business College in Ft. Wayne as a 7 month old "teenager" the following Christmas. Calypso was predated by 2 gerbils, 2 hedgehogs, a guinea pig, and multiple fish. I hope you enjoy following the antics of, mostly, our feathered kids (but the furry ones will definitely get some screen time). :-) :-)
