My naughty Zoey bird

I took this photo this afternoon of my current bird babies. The two tiny ones on the top right are Pacific Parrotlet babies (2 and 3 days old) and the bigger three are Pacific Parrotlet babies (3, 6, and 9 days old, approx.)
Gloria and Wally, Pacific Parrotlets, are caring for the babies. I am so proud of them.

Today I noticed one of the three remaining Parrotlet eggs had a grey color, not a good sign. I candled the egg and realized the baby inside had died. My habit is to open the egg in such a case and figure out what went wrong. The baby was fully formed but seemed to not be able to get out of the shell, or, suffocated trying. I am sad for the loss. There remains two eggs yet to hatch.

Last night I had a horror. I took my Caique Zoey to my local bird club with me. She was funny and cute....enticing others to want to hold and kiss her. But just as I uttered the words: "Careful, she has potential to bite"
Zoey grabbed hold of club member Ginger's bottom lip and clamped down hard.
Ginger had to pry Zoey's beak off her face. The resulting wound was not pleasant at all.

I spoke with Ginger's husband this morning and found that Ginger had gotten 6 stitches last night. OMG! Dave and Ginger were the utmost of good sports about it saying they have birds and know what can happen. I still feel bad that I hadn't said something faster to prevent the injury. I won't be taking Zoey to the bird club again...at least not without a large warning sign.

So last night was very distressing. When Dave and Ginger left our meeting to go to the ER I felt it hard to breath and had an asthma attack later that night in bed. Dave's phone call this morning helped me feel not so horrible. Thank you Dave. Yet I want to do something nice for Ginger for the agony my bird has caused her. I am still thinking of ideas.

If any of you are considering a pet bird, be aware that they are indeed wild animals and all have potential to bite (hard). I have many scars on my fingers to prove this fact. For me the benefits of living with my birds out-weigh the risks. Birds do not bite to be mean, they just get startled or have a rush of wild excitement. One cannot punish a bird, such would be fruitless, except for the occasional "time out" which has been effective in my home.

Right now I am thankful that Ginger has had the medical care she needs.
I am grateful for Dave and Ginger's kindness toward me and my naughty bird.
I am grateful for the baby birds here.
I am grateful for fresh figs.
I am grateful for computers.
I am grateful for a new friend named Phyllis.

GratefulJoy