{"id":4262,"date":"2017-01-12T19:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T01:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windycityparrot.com\/blog\/?p=4262"},"modified":"2017-01-12T19:00:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T01:00:33","slug":"pepper-two-half-year-old-african-red-bellied-parrot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/?p=4262","title":{"rendered":"Pepper Our Two and a Half Year Old African Red-bellied Parrot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catherine,<\/span><\/p>\n

Sorry for the delay. \u00a0I had full intentions of providing you with my take on the African Red Bellied parrot several weeks ago and life got in the way. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42
\n<\/span>First of all, let me introduce Pepper our <\/span>two-and-a-half-year-old <\/b>ARB. \u00a0I am emphasizing two year old because we are going through what I can only hope is the terrible 2s stage and not a lifelong trait with him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For a bit of history, this is not my first rodeo. \u00a0I was very active in owning, caring, training, and taming parrots many years ago. \u00a0I go back to the days when most were wild caught birds that required significant patience and attention. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Back then we parrot owners were a special breed within our own right. \u00a0What I mean by that is that you had to really want a parrot to go through the taming and training process back then. \u00a0I won\u2019t deny that capturing parrots in the wild contributed to their demise, but in many ways I think that captive breeding and making them more available to the unprepared general public seeking a pet may be just as much a disservice as the former. \u00a0I digress and that\u2019s an entirely different topic for another day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Red-belliedRed-bellied Parrot; a male juvenile.<\/span><\/p>\n

My point being I have owned many exotic birds both large and small including Lovebirds, budgies, Amazons, Cockatoos, and McCaws.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a long recess from parrot ownership I decided to once again dabble with ownership after a long hiatus. \u00a0I am retired now and figured I had the time to properly devote to parrot ownership once again. \u00a0I am still in my early 60s, but my age certainly factored into my decision for an ARB. \u00a0I didn\u2019t want a bird that with much over a 15-20 year normal lifespan for obvious reasons. \u00a0I also wanted a smaller species due to their less destructive tendencies and mess. \u00a0To add to my list I was interested in speaking ability, quietness \u2014 I still remember our Moluccan Cockatoo that could out scream a 747 on takeoff \u2014 trainability, to some extent gentleness. \u00a0Having done my homework an ARB seemed like the perfect fit. \u00a0While I got some of it right, Pepper has not entirely lived up to the hype.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking ability and vocabulary exceeded my expectation. \u00a0His vocabulary is over 50 words nows and continues to grow. \u00a0Although, not exactly human sounding at times \u2014 he can sound a little munchkin like at times due to his small size \u2014 he amazes me as to how well he can string together phrases (sometimes making up his own), how quickly he picks up a phrase with little or no prompting, and how often he understands what he is saying. \u00a0I would on occasion say, \u201cYou dropped it\u201d if he was chewing on something and he lost his grip. \u00a0Well, now of course almost anytime he drops something he quickly follows with \u201cI dropped it.\u201d \u00a0I could provide many other examples where he has picked up not just the phrase, but meaning, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n