Jerry & Shirl Johnson's

Fids (feathered kids)

Max, our 8 year old Georgia born Maxmillian Pionus, is a DNA male we adopted 3 years ago. He is a quiet natured bird who is easily handled off his cage, but don't mess with him on or in his cage or he will bite.

Wazoo is our 13 year old adopted male Goffin

Cockatoo, a typically loving cockatoo who is a escape artist, easily undoing quicklinks, nuts and bolts, opening the feed doors on his Kings cage as well as undoing the spring latch and throwing the parts on the floor or tray for his human friends to get down on their hands and knees to find late at night when it is time to go to bed. He has progressed from taking beads off of tied leather strips to retreading them back on the strips so he has something to take off again. He has had a Vitamin A defieciency from the seed and corn diet we received him on a year ago but we hope for improvement with a newly adopted (after months of attempts) pellet diet (he is offered Zupreem large and medium Parrot, Roudybush, and Exact)-- and eats some of all.

This spring loaded locking gate carabiner is one of the few mechanical fasteners that is beyond Waazoo's dexterity to unfasten. Shirl looks on here while Wazoo climbs around.

Que, our handraised 4 year old male Congo African Grey died January 11, 1997 of acute Pulmonary Edema from unknown source. She was at our university's Vet School Small Animal Clinic but could not be saved. My friend and companion is shown opening a Christmas present on my shoulder Christmas morning. A great friend and companion, we enjoyed our time together and I have good memories. My daughter wrote of Que several years ago:

Que...

He's a little bit crazy,

and little bit unstable,

He hates my brother,

and loves my Mother.

He hops up the stairs on his two feet,

He climbs back down them head first

When he loses his balance, he

always hits his head on the same side.

His favorite food is sesame

seed bagels, don't forget the butter

(He also likes sardines)

He doesn't like yellow squash

My Dad lets him eat at the

dinner table, but when he

gets to be too much of a pest

and starts biting toes and

dlimbing up legs...he goes

in his cage.

He has one odd-ball toenail

that is a strange color gray,

I am afraid it

will fall off one day.

He takes showers with my

parents and sometimes sleeps

with them.

He managed to fall in the pool a couple of times; boy, did

my Mom freak!

She should get him swimming

lessions so she doesn't have a

heart attack.

Que is a parrot who

thinks he's a person

Well, so do I

Heather Toledo, 1994

We have a new addition to the household brought home May 24, 1997. Earliest Picture is at 42 days (6 weeks) when we took over hand feeding from the breeder (we have handfed before) Later pictures advance to 8 weeks. She was flying well at 10 weeks and we clipped at 12 weeks. She weighed 481 Grams at 8 weeks, went down to 421 Gm as she got off the ground flying, and is fairly stable at 14 weeks at 431 Gm. She is a probable female Congo African Grey, an alert and active beautiful sweet bird, and shows no stress lines in her feathers. Her name...MisQue.