Join the adventures of two playful parrots and their amazing mom.
Published on January 7, 2020
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We are Skippy and Scookie, two Congo African Grey parrots that were born in Peoria, Arizona in 2008. Ironically, mom was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1900 and something. We thought it would be awesome to build a website and start a blog from our perspective for all of you. Sit back and make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the ride!
See you Later!
Skippy and Scookie
Back in 2002 mom moved from Central Illinois to Chandler, Arizona with some good friends of hers. Her friends got an African Grey parrot from an aunt. His name was Shadow, and he was an Awesome bird. He loved to talk, laugh and go for car rides with mom and her friend. Tragically in 2007, Shadow passed away from Teflon poisoning. That's a subject Scookie and I will cover later in a post by itself. Important note right now, birds are susceptible to a respiratory condition called "teflon toxicity" or "PTFE poisoning/toxicosis."
Mom said the house was so quiet, that she went to the Internet to search for a new feathered friend. She found a post on Craigslists from Custom Creatures Pet Shop in Peoria, Arizona and one of our baby pics. She was in love and they came to get just one of us, but they ended up taking both of us home. That was the Best Day of our Lives!
We were around three to four weeks old, and mom never cared for young birds like us before. We had to be syringe fed formula five times a day for a while. Mom had to use a thermometer to make sure our formula was hot enough. It had to be between 103 and 108 degrees Fahrenheit. It had to be that temp, because it was crucial for healthy weight gain for Scookie and me. Our crop had to be empty at least once each day. If mom failed to allow that, it could have resulted in sour crop and bacterial infections. Those two are the most common problems seen in babies being fed by a syringe. Other problems that could arise down the road are malnutrition, pneumonia caused by aspirating on the formula and health or behavioral problems caused by early weaning. We think they did an awesome job! We also had to be put on a heating blanket to keep us warm, since we were out in the real world. Mom used to take us everywhere with her after we moved in. She carried us around in a basket with a blanket inside. I remember lying on mom’s chest covered up to my neck taking naps.
Mom introduced us to a television! Man, oh man Do we Love those! Our very first show we watched, and still ask mom if we can watch is American Idol! We love the music, the singing, and we dance to it all! Scookie thinks he can sing better than I do, but I beg to differ! One of these days, I’ll put some videos up and let you all decide!
We hope you all like it here!
Skippy and Scookie
We would like to let you all know, that we will be covering some basic topics about our species to get everyone up to speed about African Grey parrots. We are not a veterinarian by no means, but we just want to cover some things mom has been through with us or read about.
First off, there are two different types of African Grey parrots. Congo African grey (CAG) parrots have shiny black beaks and bright red tail feathers, while the Timneh African grey (TAG) parrots have horn colored mandibles and tail feathers of deep maroon. Congo African grey parrots are about a third larger than Timnehs.
Click here to see the… TAG
Click here to see the… CAG
We are Congo African Grey parrots. And we both have been DNA tested to be brothers.
We are smart birds. We have a vocabulary out of this world and we actually listen to you, to understand what you are saying. A lot of people say we have a mind of a five year old human, and a temper of a two year old. And that is not a lie!
Skippy and Scookie
As African Grey owners we need to be aware of hazards and toxins in our homes. Just as with a child, you need to “bird-proof” the house and always know where your parrot is. We as owners have the responsibility to make sure our Greys are safe and not exposed to harmful chemicals and items that could potentially be dangerous for them.
Birds in general have the most efficient respiratory system in the animal world. Amazingly, they can efficiently remove oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream. Because of this efficiency and their small size, birds are more sensitive to airborne toxins.
Below are potential household dangers for African Greys and birds in general.
Water can be a big hazard also such as an open toilet, washing up bowl/sink, saucepan full of food/water, bath tubs, fish tanks…An African grey that is allowed to fly around the house could easily fall into any of these and can drown as they can not swim treat them as a toddler and keep all hazards out of the way so they don’t get hurt or die.
Household plants can also be very toxic to your African Grey that are found around the house. These include Daffodil and Iris bulbs ,Poison ivy, Dieffenbachia, Tulip, Philodendron, Sanseveria (or Mother-in-law-tongue), Christmas cactus, Poinsettia, Oleander a couple to look out for around Christmas that you may bring into your home are, Holly berries and Mistletoe. Safe plants that are very common in the house are Spider plants. Also most ferns are safe for parrots, best rule to follow is if your unsure do not let your parrot near the plant better to be safe than sorry! This is just a very small list of toxic and safe plants and you will find many more to add to the list.
Chemical pesticides and insecticides such as Flea Bombs, Fertilizers, Fungicides. Cleaning solvents, Aerosol Sprays of any kind, Air Fresheners, Carpet Fresheners, Oven Cleaners, Furniture Polish, Tub & Tile Cleaners, Cleaning Supplies, Bleach and Ammonia fumes, Oil-based Paint and paint product fumes to name a few. If you are re-painting a room make sure you take the parrot out of the room and don’t bring them back in until the room has been aired and the smell of the fumes has gone completely. The same applies to Spray-on Deodorants, Hair Spray, Perfumes/aftershaves, do not have your parrot in the bathroom if you are spraying any product and anything that gives off fumes can cause problems for your parrot, and sometimes it can even kill your parrot, so keep everything away and keep rooms well aired that you are using sprays or bleach in and keep your parrot as far away as possible.
Cigarette, Cigar, and Pipe smoke, Marijuana smoke, Nicotine on hands and clothing, any smoke and fumes can be dangerous to parrots. If you have Nicotine on your hands this can cause contact dermatitis, especially foot problems which would get the most contact with the nicotine on your clothes or hands. Ingesting tobacco products or Marijuana can make birds sick, so if you have to smoke make sure you do it outside or in a well ventilated room as far away from the parrot as possible.
Plug-in Air Fresheners can be toxic to your parrot as they give off vapors from the oils which can be toxic to your parrot or even fatal. Scented Candles, Incense, Potpourri also have the same effect and is best to be avoided.
Burning rubber or plastic and non-stick cooking utensils are all dangerous to parrots as they give off deadly fumes.
Non stick pans like Teflon T-fall and other non-stick coating used in Cookware, Bread Makers, Stove Drip Pans, Irons, Ironing Board Covers and other household appliances like hair dryers, irons/curlers all become deadly to parrots when they get over heated as they can give off fumes which are toxic and can be fatal to birds. You are best to stick to the normal non stick cookware. It might mean a little more work in cleaning them, but much safer for your feathered friend.
Electrical cords need to be away from parrots as they love to chew everything in their reach and a cable is just as much fun as one of their toys in the cage.
Other pets in the house such as Cats and Dogs should be watched with your parrot and NOT left alone with your parrot at any time as they could cause your parrot serious injury or even death.
Windows, patio doors are dangerous in a couple of ways. Your parrot could fly into them and do themselves serious injury and it can even be fatal as they do not see them and think they can fly through them. If they are left open, your parrot can fly away and be at all sorts of danger from the big outside world. Keep windows and doors closed or your parrot away when they are open.
Above are just some of the things i can think of that may help you, but that is no way a full complete list and should only be referred to as a small guide to dangerous items. You will find many more in books and on websites. You should always have close by, the number of a local Avian vet to you and directions on how to get there and a small towel, a pet carrier to take your parrot there in case you have to rush your bird to the vet, Being proactive, you can get there much quicker!
Skippy and Scookie
We were first fed formula when we came home with mom about five times a day for the first few months.
Mom introduced us to some warm oatmeal. She added cinnamon to it and boy was that delicious! Scookie ate that so fast that when he finally came up for some air, it looked like he took himself an oatmeal bath!
Mom introduced us to just plain dry Cheerios. Little round wheels we thought were for throwing! We were so proud of ourselves when we threw every one of them on the floor and emptied our bowls, and watched mom pick them all up. They were actually soft and pretty good once we figured out they were to eat, instead of playing catch with them!
Surprisingly, a lot of people are unaware that us parrots eat better than you humans do. I mean that we can eat regular “people” food like you guys. We do not get our nutrition from just seeds or pellets. We, like you, have our favorite foods. We love Kale and we know most of you don’t. We love corn and carrots up in this house too!
There are some foods that we cannot have. I will mention some, but don’t hold us accountable for not listing Everything we shouldn’t eat. Please do a very thorough search for stuff that is a big fat NO for parrots or birds in general.
We cannot have any type of chocolate, because of the caffeine, which is a methylxanthine.
Onions that are either cooked, raw or dehydrated contain sulfur compounds that can cause red blood cells to rupture and lead to anemia.
The skin and pit of avocados have been known to cause cardiac distress and eventual heart failure. Do like mom does adopt a “better safe than sorry” attitude toward them. Keep guacamole and other avocado products as far away us birds as possible.
Mushrooms are a type of fungus and have been known to cause digestive upset.
Uncooked beans contain a poison called hemagglutinin which is very toxic to us.
These are just a few foods off the top of my feathered head I can remember right now.
Skippy and Scookie
When we were little and lived in Arizona, mom loved to take us outside and on car rides with her. Mom bought us clothes and she even found us a carseat!
Mom bought a tuxedo flightsuit for me, and it even came with a top hat and tails! She bought some rainbow ones and sold color ones as well. The suits themselves fit around us like your one piece swimsuit fits you, except all the way up the back of ours is a velcro strip. With that velcro, some suits come with a leash and a velcro strip that attaches to our suit. You humans need to continually put a flightsuit on us, or we get where we do not like them as much. You would have to introduce them all over again. Which takes a lot of patience from all of us.
Scookie won a contest years ago and got him a free flightsuit! Mom always says he has ADD, because he is a wired little soul. I love him to death though.
During car rides, technically, we should be in a cage. Mom knows the dangers for us and we loved the ride. We actually use that carseat to set on and watch television! American Idol is our Favorite! Our aunt Rhonda bought us Seasons 1 - 4 on DVD for Christmas one year and we still watch it!
Skippy and Scookie
On April 30th, 2015 mom and all of us furbabies (us boys, and our brother cats, Spivey, Arizona, and Charlie) left Chandler, Arizona headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to move in with grandma and help take care of her.
Mom had a 2002 Kia Sportage full from front to back, and a 6 X 12 boxed trailer from U Haul jammed packed as well. She had so much of our stuff, that she couldn’t even lay her seat back to sleep. We were in one of our night-night cages in the front passenger seat. We had to leave some stuff behind, because all of it wouldn’t fit. Our flight cage, our other night-night cage, and mom left stuff of hers behind too.
Mom was going to stop at those big truck stops along the way for all of us to rest, since a lot of places don’t allow animals or charge extra for us. Our first night was in Northeast Arizona. Once we got into New Mexico, the check engine light came on, and mom got nervous. Mom found a big truck mechanic place and stopped in to see if someone could help and see why the light was on. Thankfully, the nice people there helped mom out and determined we just needed a new air filter. They did not carry anything besides stuff for semi’s, and told mom to go down the interstate a couple miles to a town where they had an AutoZone. It was raining pretty bad, but mom got it changed and we were on our way again. We hit a handful of storms on our way to Michigan.
We hardly heard anything from the three cats the whole trip! We think they caught up on their sleep. Arizona showed himself a few times, but Spivey and Charlie boy stayed out of sight. We could hear them eating, but that was about all. We kept mom company the whole trip. We sang our ABC’s and counted with her. We think she was scared doing that 2000 mile trip on her own though.
It took us five days to drive across the country. Mom’s SUV pulling the trailer wouldn’t go any faster than 25-30 miles per hour uphill. Could you imagine all the hills we seen! We finally got onto M35 in Michigan, which was pretty much a straight shot to grandma’s. Aunt Rhonda had us balloons out welcoming us all home when we got there. It was our first time meeting any of mom’s family. Boy was that Fun! We were all glad to be home and safe!
Skippy and Scookie
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