Post by BirdLady on Jun 2, 2023 2:29:05 GMT
Chickak was a bon vivant and a tender hearted bully. He also had FOMO.
He was adopted from a shelter after having been found in the street and spent the first two months of his new life in my solo company. When I adopted his companion Pilé, Chichak was beside himself with joy. He bowed several times to his new friend upon their first encounter and regurgitated some food. When the offering was accepted, he exploded in joy, walking in circles and making happy exclamations.
Despite this warm welcome and following a mutual decision that Pilé could move into Chichak's very large cage, Chichak began to police all his toys, not letting Pilé touch them. He developed a keen interest in any toy that Pilé might reach for despite having theretofore ignored it. He was not too happy about Pilé having to eat either, despite there being several dishes all over the cage. It so came to be that Pilé could only eat when Chichak was busy eating himself. Pilé was significantly larger than Chichak, but Chichak would sometimes stretch his legs in order to appear taller and more imposing.
Chichak saw no contradiction between these interferences and seeking Pilé's affection, and Pilé saw through Chichak's posturing to his gentle heart. He just let Chichak have his way because he knew that it didn't matter. Chichak would routinely lean into Pile while Pilé chirped and sang to him. Chichak would then close his eyes with pleasure. If Pilé stopped chirping, Chichak would gently prod him with his beak and Pilé would resume. When Chichak was molting and thus feeling somewhat subdued, he would preen Pilé and be preened by him in turn.
Pilé was the braver and more curious of the two and wherever Pilé went, Chichak followed: to the new parrot playground, the wall mirror and the balcony ledge adorned with toys. Whatever Pilé ate, Chichak also ate, and this is how he discovered the gastronimic pleasures of lettuce, carrots, broccoli, spinach and beets.
One day, Chichak also discovered my thumb and began to court it. Soon, he was courting all thumbs on offer and became completely obsessed. Pilé became jealous and would immediately fly over to break up these amorous encounters. Despite these indiscretions, Chichak's true love remained Pilé.
Pilé was a gourmand and eventually became too heavy for his own good, while Chichak, who ate twice as much and twice as fast, remained a skinny little chicken. The boys had to be converted to pellets for Pilé's sake and the food wars broke out, with Chichak policing all the feeders night and day, always believing that the feeder that Pilé was attempting to eat from might contain some seed, even after he had checked it several times and had found none there. They had to be separated so that Pilé could eat some, but clamoured to be reunited and so they were. Chichak's relentless policing of the feeders resulted in the weight loss that Pilé needed.
At night, the boys would settle on their U-shaped sleep perch and small arguments would inevitably break out over who got to sleep on which side. But the mornings would always begin with Chichak giving Pilé a kiss followed by some crazy romping around.
Whenever Chichak took off or landed, he made a happy cry, announcing his departure and arrival. When I spoke to them gently at bedtime, he would sudddenly feel reenergized and leap down happily from the sleep perch with a jouyous exclamation and then bob his head. Sometimes, even after they had been covered for the night, Chichak would continue to sing and flit around the cage as he simply hadn't had enough of the day's pleasures. He liked to put his foot on things - thumbs, Pilé's belly, millet - in order to express his strong desire to possess them. He wanted what he wanted and demanded it until it was given: treats and thumbs especially.
One day, nearly three years after I brought him more, Chichak began lifting one of his feet. It would be his only symptom until almost the end - he had developed a tumor. Over the next two months - right up until the day he died - he continued to love and engage with life, even as he hobbled. He still sought Pilé's affection and preened with him, he threw himself into the bird bath with enthusiam and spent time on the balcony ledge calling out to the wild birds outside and observing their flight in the sky. He demanded treats and sang back to me in response to my lullabies. The day before he passed away, he stood for a long time in the sun on the balcony ledge - an unusual behaviour - as if taking it in for the very last time and basking in its life force. We buried him in a bird sanctuary in a beautiful spot overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
Pilé felt lost without Chichak and called and called out for him. He was angry at first at the lack of response, but with love and support, he settled into his new life. In a couple of weeks, when quarantine ends, he will meet his new companion, Grashak, recently adopted from a shelter. The boys have been calling out to each other from their separate rooms and can't wait to be together. I, too, am excited and then also a bit sad: I had somehow thought that it would always be Pilé and Chichak.
Rest in peace, my bossy little chicken. 💗
He was adopted from a shelter after having been found in the street and spent the first two months of his new life in my solo company. When I adopted his companion Pilé, Chichak was beside himself with joy. He bowed several times to his new friend upon their first encounter and regurgitated some food. When the offering was accepted, he exploded in joy, walking in circles and making happy exclamations.
Despite this warm welcome and following a mutual decision that Pilé could move into Chichak's very large cage, Chichak began to police all his toys, not letting Pilé touch them. He developed a keen interest in any toy that Pilé might reach for despite having theretofore ignored it. He was not too happy about Pilé having to eat either, despite there being several dishes all over the cage. It so came to be that Pilé could only eat when Chichak was busy eating himself. Pilé was significantly larger than Chichak, but Chichak would sometimes stretch his legs in order to appear taller and more imposing.
Chichak saw no contradiction between these interferences and seeking Pilé's affection, and Pilé saw through Chichak's posturing to his gentle heart. He just let Chichak have his way because he knew that it didn't matter. Chichak would routinely lean into Pile while Pilé chirped and sang to him. Chichak would then close his eyes with pleasure. If Pilé stopped chirping, Chichak would gently prod him with his beak and Pilé would resume. When Chichak was molting and thus feeling somewhat subdued, he would preen Pilé and be preened by him in turn.
Pilé was the braver and more curious of the two and wherever Pilé went, Chichak followed: to the new parrot playground, the wall mirror and the balcony ledge adorned with toys. Whatever Pilé ate, Chichak also ate, and this is how he discovered the gastronimic pleasures of lettuce, carrots, broccoli, spinach and beets.
One day, Chichak also discovered my thumb and began to court it. Soon, he was courting all thumbs on offer and became completely obsessed. Pilé became jealous and would immediately fly over to break up these amorous encounters. Despite these indiscretions, Chichak's true love remained Pilé.
Pilé was a gourmand and eventually became too heavy for his own good, while Chichak, who ate twice as much and twice as fast, remained a skinny little chicken. The boys had to be converted to pellets for Pilé's sake and the food wars broke out, with Chichak policing all the feeders night and day, always believing that the feeder that Pilé was attempting to eat from might contain some seed, even after he had checked it several times and had found none there. They had to be separated so that Pilé could eat some, but clamoured to be reunited and so they were. Chichak's relentless policing of the feeders resulted in the weight loss that Pilé needed.
At night, the boys would settle on their U-shaped sleep perch and small arguments would inevitably break out over who got to sleep on which side. But the mornings would always begin with Chichak giving Pilé a kiss followed by some crazy romping around.
Whenever Chichak took off or landed, he made a happy cry, announcing his departure and arrival. When I spoke to them gently at bedtime, he would sudddenly feel reenergized and leap down happily from the sleep perch with a jouyous exclamation and then bob his head. Sometimes, even after they had been covered for the night, Chichak would continue to sing and flit around the cage as he simply hadn't had enough of the day's pleasures. He liked to put his foot on things - thumbs, Pilé's belly, millet - in order to express his strong desire to possess them. He wanted what he wanted and demanded it until it was given: treats and thumbs especially.
One day, nearly three years after I brought him more, Chichak began lifting one of his feet. It would be his only symptom until almost the end - he had developed a tumor. Over the next two months - right up until the day he died - he continued to love and engage with life, even as he hobbled. He still sought Pilé's affection and preened with him, he threw himself into the bird bath with enthusiam and spent time on the balcony ledge calling out to the wild birds outside and observing their flight in the sky. He demanded treats and sang back to me in response to my lullabies. The day before he passed away, he stood for a long time in the sun on the balcony ledge - an unusual behaviour - as if taking it in for the very last time and basking in its life force. We buried him in a bird sanctuary in a beautiful spot overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
Pilé felt lost without Chichak and called and called out for him. He was angry at first at the lack of response, but with love and support, he settled into his new life. In a couple of weeks, when quarantine ends, he will meet his new companion, Grashak, recently adopted from a shelter. The boys have been calling out to each other from their separate rooms and can't wait to be together. I, too, am excited and then also a bit sad: I had somehow thought that it would always be Pilé and Chichak.
Rest in peace, my bossy little chicken. 💗
