Breakthrough?

I mentioned earlier that I am fostering an Amazon parrot from the Refuge while the building is under construction. Manu seems to prefer men to women in general, but I think he is very content in my home. He has been warming up to me and I was pondering whether I might adopt him altogether. Then we held a volunteer meeting at my house and as soon as Manu saw our director, he was all kisses and cuddles and happy in a way I had never seen him before. I was totally deflated

While he may be content in my home, he will never be that blissfully happy. I began to ask myself a bigger question: is a “good home” is good enough or do we wait and find him “the perfect home” with a guy that he loves as much as he does our director. I still haven’t heard a good answer.

When the bathroom gutted last week, I had to send Kiwi the Grey and Manu the Foster Amazon to board at the Refuge. We had to put them in rather small cages – Kiwi’s was too small for many of her long, hanging toys. And I was worried about them both. The job took six days and they didn’t work on the weekend. I called the Refuge on Saturday to say that I couldn’t pick them up until Tuesday. And I asked how they were doing. Manu was a “complete delight” with our director. And “a little stinker” with every other person that approached him.

So the birds were gone for nine days. I picked them up last night. I walked in and opened the door to the cage where Manu stayed while I went to pick up Kiwi and put her in her carrier. It is always good to give Manu a minute before you try to touch him.

Once she was settled in the carrier, I went back for Manu. He stepped right up.

By “stepped right up”, I mean no coaxing or bribing. No implied threat of toweling. I mean I held my hand out and he stuck his foot in the air and climbed on my hand. And I must have imagined it, but I could swear that he cooed.

So I am all floating into the room with the carrier. He wouldn’t go in or anything, but he didn’t bite me, either. I left him on a perch while I clean up the cages and gathered the toys.

He came back to my house and had his evening snack and watched Kiwi tease the dog like he had never left. Now I don’t know what to think.