Contact Sabrina Winters at:

Sabrina Winters, Attorney at Law, PLLC
1572 John J. Delaney Drive, Suite 300
Charlotte, NC 28277
Phone - 704.843.1446
Fax - 704.973.0773

Email - swinters@sabrinawinterslaw.com

Website - www.ncestateplanninginfo.com

One of the first things you're told when you attend classes on parrot care and behavior is to avoid labels.  But isn't it just irresistable to give our feathered darlings nicknames (my Cockatoo is also known as "His Royal Highness, Emperor of the Universe")?  And when you have a bird that might be a bit challenging, we break that rule every time!

Enter Jesse, a Goffin's Cockatoo.  Absolutely adorable.  Cute as a button.  Sweet, enticing voice.  And sometimes "mean as a snake" or "a total con artist."

I have to say, Jesse was the only bird I have met who, given the choice of a nut or chomping a finger, would pick the finger every time -- and, I had the bandaids to prove it.  He also had quite a reputation for luring in the unsuspecting victim by reaching a foot through the bars of his cage, wiggling those little toes and calling out, "Hello!"  Trouble was, if you gave him your finger he would yank it back through the bars and nail you.

So you can understand why we might be forgiven for breaking the "no labels" rule.

We realized that Jesse needed some serious training to make him more adoptable.  Cute only gets you so far.  I started target training with Jess and he picked it up immediately, probably from watching the other birds.  Soon I was moving him all over the cage with the chopstick target.  Since Jesse was territorial about his cage, I really didn't want to stick my hand in there.  Instead I targeted him to the top of the door and started working on the step up command.  Predictably, he lunged for my hand at first, but after several sessions of hard work we got to the point where he was willing to let my hand rest on the door, then step one foot on my hand and finally -- halleluia! -- he stepped up.  He had quite an expression on his face and I'm sure I did, too.

During the next few sessions we worked on waving on command, doing the turnaround and getting away from his cage by going "shopping."  We would move slowly around the store, stopping at the toy wall to ring every bell on every toy.  Then we would look out the front door and wave to people in the parking lot.  To say that Jesse thrived on the attention and hard work is a huge understatement.  It literally changed his life.

I also learned a valuable lesson with Jesse.  While he loved his food rewards, the absolute best thing you could do to treat him was to dance with him at the end of the session.  That bird has some moves!

And now for the really good news - Jesse has found a new home (read the 'Happy Endings' story below). Judy came in and worked with us before taking him home.  She learned how he was trained and how to continue that training.  Judy reported after several days that Jesse was "100 times more wonderful than she ever could have imagined."

How's THAT for a success story?  I guess Jesse has earned another label - GOOD BIRD!   

[Editor note: Positive Reinforcement Training classes are offered free at Parrot University -- next class is March 27. Reserve your seat now, as this class fills up quickly.]

Our resident "trainer" Debbie Foster is behind our Happy Endings story for this month (see Debbie's training article above). Yes, our darling Jesse has found a wonderful new home. Thanks to Debbie's work with him he became a great "stepper upper" and impressed everyone with his turn-arounds and waves. 

Talk about a willing participant!  Jesse could serve as the poster child of how training can enrich a bird's life.  His nippiness was greatly reduced as he learned that what brought attention, praise, and a nut was performing -- not biting.

In our December newsletter I spoke of our "misfit" birds and how overlooked their potential as companions was due to their appearance.  A wonderful customer of Parrot U, Judy Shums, was visiting with everyone and a "love at first sight" moment occurred between her and Shoopie, a female Quaker.  Judy has experience with Quakers and they hit it off immediately.  Meanwhile Jesse, whose cage was across from Shoopie's, was throwing out all his behaviors to get Judy's attention.  She spent a good deal of time with them both and stayed for class that day, completing her class requirements for adoption. 

I touched base with Judy a few days later to see if she had any questions and was ready for her home visit.  Since her visit, she had received our newsletter and was deeply touched by the article on misfits.  Having given it a lot of thought Judy felt she would like to adopt Jesse, because she felt Shoopie's odds of being adopted might be greater.  Given Jesse's strong preference to men I had reservations about the placement.  Would Jesse continue to interact well with Judy?  Would Judy's commitment to Jesse survive if he decided she wasn't the one for him?

Judy continued to visit them both. We saw her deep compassion and desire to provide a home for Jesse grow stronger each time. Judy decided she wished to adopt them both!  Already having two birds I encouraged her to do one at a time.  So Shoopie went home for Christmas.

But Judy could not get Jesse off her mind and a couple of weeks later, Jesse joined her flock on a trial basis. Judy updates us regularly with amazing stories of how well Jesse is doing.  Never having heard him say more than "hello", we are astonished to hear of his much larger vocabulary.  Judy reports that her satisfaction and fulfillment in her relationship with Jesse is 100 times more than she ever expected.

Thanks to you Judy, for looking past the chewed feathers and quirkiness of this little guy to recognize his full potential.  We have all learned lessons about reservations and expectations in placements.  Congratulations to the Shums' flock for having such a wonderful home.

[Editor note: In case you missed Jesse's video, click here]