I mentioned in my last post that Kosmo will do the Funky Chicken if you applaud him. Well, it seems it goes far beyond that. This tattered little bird DANCES – I mean really dances; like cuts-a-rug! The only thing is, you need to dance with him. I found this out the other night. Luckily, I had friends over who recorded this phenomenon while Kosmo and I kicked up our heels.
You will notice that I am not on the recording – this was at my insistence, not Kosmo’s, he would have been happy to share the spotlight.
Another bloody mystery! Did someone teach this bird to dance, or is he just a good mimic? But he won’t mimic speech (believe me, I’ve tried.)
So…
Kosmo can’t/won’t fly
Kosmo can’t/won’t talk
But…
Kosmo will raise hell with a little encouragement from Michael Jackson and a willing partner.
Kosmo is indeed a mystery. I have asked for background on him, but so far I’ve only been given some details regarding certain medical issues. These are fairly evident i.e. feather plucking and self-mutilation. I suspect that antidotal details are unknown or, for reasons of confidentiality, they are withheld until I officially adopt him. That’s right, Kosmo is my foster bird at present, although it is understood that my intention is to adopt him. This foster period allows both Kosmo and I some wiggle room.
I’ve included some pictures of him that show where he’s still missing feathers. There is also a patch between his wings and lesions on his legs that you can’t see. However, his current condition is supposedly a big improvement. You can tell where feathers are growing back in: white little tuffs – this is the down that will make up his undercoat. I don’t know if he’s still plucking anymore (it’s hard to distinguish from regular preening), I don’t think so because I haven’t found a lot of feathers lying around.
Looking at him, you can’t help questioning why he would do this to himself. Also, at 12 years old (yes, he’s actually 12 not 11) why doesn’t he talk or fly (he has flight feathers.) This stirs up all kinds of speculation: Was he wild caught? (God forbid!) Was he locked in his cage with hardly any interaction? Was he starved or mistreated and now suffering from brain or emotional damage? Or, was he dearly loved, but given up for some unknown, unescapable reason and because of this, has become what he is…not that I’m even entirely sure what that might be.
I have learned a few things:
He loves water, but prefers the showers to baths (not unexpected given the free-dive incident!)
He is afraid of most of the toys I’ve bought for him, but has absolutely no fear of the vacuum cleaner.
He doesn’t want to poop on me, and while sitting on my shoulder, will reach over and nip my ear to let me know he needs down to do his business.
He does a happy dance by bopping up and down every time I clap my hands. Avid applause gets him doing a pretty good rendition of the Funky Chicken.
If I urge him off my finger on to someone else’s, he will warily go and slowly, he will warm up to that person (this isn’t normal for Quakers that are known as being “one person birds.”)
He is, as I was told, a very sweet bird, one that deserves a chance to be happy again.
I may never know why he started to hurt himself, or what happened over those 12 years, but that’s OK. I guess Kosmo, like us all, is also entitled to a few secrets.
I, like Kosmo, also like baths (although I tend to splash about less.) I often brought my other parrot, Charlie, into the bathroom with me when I took a bath or shower so he could benefit from the steam (parrots, after all, are from tropical and humid climates.) Regular baths, exposure to humidity, and misting, all help birds to keep their feathers in good condition, especially when molting.
Charlie loved to sit on my head or my book (I like to read in the tub.) Usually, he would chew away at the pages of my book while I tried to read, so now most of my library now looks like it has been exposed to mice. These are the things you need to deal with when you have birds.
Anyway, I thought I’d keep this tradition going with Kosmo. However, I decided it would be safer to keep him on the towel rack and not on me. You see, Kosmo has not flown or even showed any inclination to fly. It is possible that, whatever happened in his past, Kosmo has lost the instinct or knowhow to fly (but I could be wrong – time will tell.)
So I ran my bath, brought Kosmo into the bathroom, put him on the towel rack and climbed into the tub with my book (The Martian – so good! Highly recommend it.) Kosmo was fine, but then he started screeching at an ear-piercing volume (damn those bathroom acoustics) as he leaned down, stretching himself towards me. Either he wanted the water or he wanted me, and he didn’t look like he was going to let up. The towel rack is beside the bathtub, so I reached my hand over and he climbed on.
Kosmo refused to dismount onto my head. So I put a facecloth on my chest and he stepped down onto it. He was fascinated with the water, tasting it, splashing it with his beak. Kosmo thought this was great! So I relaxed and settled into this new experience.
Everything was fine until Kosmo, without any warning, put one foot on my arm, hoisted his other foot around, and fearlessly stepped into “open water.” Naturally, he immediately sunk to the bottom of the tub (not all birds are buoyant, especially those lacking feathers.)
I scooped him up right away and put him back up on the towel rack before getting myself out of the bath. Kosmo was fine, a little stunned and bewildered, but fine. I put him in his cage and he started eating, then went to sit by his heat-lamp to dry off and warm up.
So, I guess the moral to this story is, Kosmo and Charlie are two very different birds and I need to think of Kosmo as an individual with individual traits that will not resemble those of other birds.
Charlie wasn’t crazy about water, so he was always cautious. Kosmo, on the other hand, loves water and is very drawn to it, although he may have more of a healthy respect for it himself now.
I know now that I need to slow down and not rush things too much with Kosmo, especially since I don’t know much about what he’s been through. Just being together, getting to know one another is OK for now.
Kosmo has moved in. It was a struggle to get him into his cage as he desperately wanted to stay on me. Once in, he was basically paralyzed with fear, which I kind of expected, but I wanted him to get used to his space. I sat beside him and just watched TV and he eventually began to relax. Then he found his food!
I was told that Kosmo was something of a “foodie” and despite him being small framed and looking even smaller due to his lack of feathers, he is apparently, “at his optimal weight.” In other words, I’m not supposed to let him gain more than a couple of grams (he is now at 111 grams.)
This is probably because he is older (11) and this breed tends to suffer from a condition called Fatty Liver Disease. This is too bad because I was looking forward to fattening him up. He did eat what I had prepared with great vigour.
Next he found his water bowl and preceded to try and fit his entire body into it. He dangled from the top bars and made a good effort of cramming himself, head first, into the little bowl. This led me to deduce that he might want to take a bath.
I took a typical cereal-size bowl, filled it with temped water and slipped into his cage. Without hesitation Kosmo jumped in and took the most joyful bath I’ve ever witnessed of any bird (or person for that matter!) After 15 minutes he was basically out of water (it had been displaced to my living room floor, sigh.)
My research has indicated that baths are not only good for birds who pluck and self-harm, it can also promote more appropriate grooming. So I guess my floor is going to be cleaner than usual now!
Hope this little video clip works here – it is very, very cute.
*Don’t panic, not skewered birdy! It is a “destroy toy” made of wood that birds like to shred.
Food
Homemade Bird Bread (receipt to come)
Chopped carrots and broccoli
Chopped green pepper with seeds
Pumpkin pieces with seeds
Brown rice
Quinoa
Pear
Millet
Seed & Pellets
Luckily I’m able to use most of Charlie’s old stuff since Kosmo is so small (and featherless), but I may need to change cages once I’ve fatten (and feathered) him up!
I’m rescuing Kosmo and I don’t quite know why. Is it for redemption? Redemption for Stuart, my late husband; Charlie, the parrot I lost 4 months back; Speedy the turtle I killed by mistake when I was 6?
Why am I taking on the care of this poor damaged bird? Don’t I have enough to do, enough stress, enough keeping me up at night? Apparently not. Apparently, I also have to adopt a traumatized Quaker parrot with a “checkered past.”
Kosmo is about 11 or 12 years old (Quakers live to about 30.) I don’t know for sure if he’s a boy or a girl (unless you see evidence of an egg, DNA testing is the only way to sex this type of bird.) Anyway, my vet calls him a boy, so for now, I’m running with that.
Kosmo has issues. He looks like…well, he looks like he got caught in a spin-dryer (one with a couple of loose rocks inside!) He has bald patches and sores all over his body and legs. The feathers on his head and wings are there, but they’re thin. The really scary thing is, apparently, this is a big improvement over how he used to look!
As you may or may not know, parrots pluck their feathers and do other types of self-harm when they are stressed due to abuse, trauma, or even being left alone for long periods without the interaction their species demands.
I went to the vet’s to meet him today. I thought it was to see if I liked him, but I soon realized it was to see if he liked me. I guess he has trust issues (understandable!) Apparently, he either accepts someone, “You’re OK – you may approach,” or rejects them, “I will kill you now!”
Seemingly, I fell under the first category because he came right out of his cage, climbed onto my hand (without severing a finger) and gave me a sideways glance which I believe said, “What did you bring me?” Luckily, I had brought some apple pieces.
After his snack, he climbed up to my shoulder, had a lovely big poop, and then preceded to preen what few feathers he has left. The vet thought this was wonderful since apparently, birds only preen when they are completely relaxed.
So I guess maybe I’m doing this because he chose me; because regardless of what he had been through at the hands’ of some other human, he was still willing to take a chance.
How could I say no?
Yes, it might also have something to do with wanting redemption, but mostly, I think it’s because; well, if it was that easy for him to trust someone again, then maybe there is hope for us all (OK, and by “us all” I mean “me”)
I need time to get ready for his arrival (parrots require a lot of accoutrements,) so I’m picking Kosmo up on Wednesday. I’m excited, wary, and more than a little terrified!
rescuingkosmo 