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My
passion for Militaries began almost a year ago with a small
advertisement in my local bird club’s newsletter. A Military macaw
needed a new home. It was twelve years old and had been locked in its
cage and not handled for the past eighteen months. Pretty standard story
– macaw was bought for boy, boy grew up and went to university, and
mom was left to care for a creature she knew little about and which
obviously terrified her.
I
managed to persuade my long-suffering husband to go take a peek at this
bird, reassuring him that we probably wouldn’t like the bird anyway.
Militaries are supposed to be dull, unexciting birds, we’d heard. On
the strange off-chance that we might like the bird, perhaps this bird
would fall in love with Hubby and then he would have a bird all to
himself. My husband suitably sewn-up into this tangled web of fibs, we
set off.
The
first time I set eyes on Spike, he took my breath away. Perched,
indignantly atop his cage and looking down at us, he was nothing short
of stunning. I went over to say hello, then he bit me. I learnt then and
there how much a macaw bite can hurt.
The
parents of the boy who owned the bird knew little about handling them,
so Spike had not been out his cage for a long time. The bird had been
fed on wild bird seed, and some human food, a diet which caused feathers
to grow out crooked around his shoulders and belly. Unfortunately, Spike
had been very effectively taught to bite by people poking fingers into
the cage and then pulling back screaming when the bird moved to bite.
The other son, who was at home when we visited, was able to handle the
bird by allowing it to run up his arm to his shoulder. But then the
mother attempted to remove Spike from the boy’s shoulder by hitting
the bird with a stick to knock it off. Having said all of this, the
owners were doing their best and at they did have the good sense to find
a knowledgeable new home for their beautiful bird.
Once
we had seen the bird, I tried to find out as much as I could about
Militaries, mainly via the Internet. I asked people in chat-rooms for
information on Militaries and the following is, in essence, what I was
told: They bite more than other macaws, they are very highly strung and
get excited far too easily, oh, and they bite a lot. Other people I
spoke to were shocked that we were considering adopting a bird that we
hadn’t even been able to handle.
Well,
our gut and heart feelings were that Spike was a beautiful person, not
only to look at, but inside too. We knew that a change of environment
would give us a “window of opportunity” in which to modify the
bird’s behavior. So, one Friday afternoon in February, we took the
plunge and brought home a screaming bird in a small cage that the owners
had managed to “catch” him in.
The
first day was hell. My husband had blood oozing from fresh bite marks
covering his hands and arms. Every time he put his arm out, Spike took a
chunk of flesh. The owners had told us he liked meat, but we didn’t
realize they meant the flesh of humans!
The
first battle was to teach Spike that we were to take him out of his
cage, he was not to be allowed to just climb out whenever he wanted to
and sit on the top. It took us most of that first day just to
communicate this. But we did get there.
Well,
it was fast approaching Monday morning and Brian would be away at work.
I would have to handle this wild monster on my own. So I thought I’d
better practice getting my share of injuries before he left me.
Brian
put Spike in the spare room, I whipped around the door and closed it
quick. Spike was on the floor. I gingerly approached and offered my arm,
like a lamb to the slaughter. I felt his weight as he climbed on and
opened my eyes to see a happy, smiling macaw on my arm. So far so good,
but I wasn’t about to get excited too soon.
Tentatively
I placed the bird on the back of a chair and asked him to step-up again.
I closed my eyes and squirmed, just waiting for the searing pain. He did
it again. He stepped up on my arm. No problems!
Since
that day Spike has been my bird. She (yes, he turned out to be she)
chose me to be her human companion, and she has never bitten me since
that very first visit. She is the sweetest, cuddliest most adorable bird
I have ever known. She has a simple, childlike quality that makes me
just want to squeeze her tight. I believe Spike would be happy if she
could be permanently grafted onto my left breast so that she could be
closest to my heart.
My
husband’s hands and arms are long since healed. Six months after she
arrived, Spike would step-up and allow Daddy to carry her around. She
does not ask to be cuddled by him, but she is very civil with him. She
knows he loves her, even though he isn’t her favorite person in the
world. |
