Patricia Johns

But you’d never guess it when you see him like this! Pichu is a Quaker parrot, and we’ve had him for about four years now. We got him from a family who just couldn’t handle him, and the overly confident people that we are, we figured we could.

Now, in my defence, he’s settled into the family very nicely. But if you only see pictures like this, you might be tempted to get yourself a Quaker parrot with hopes of cuddles. And you’d get them… once in a while.

The truth is, parrots are a BIG commitment! This size of bird is like having a toddler for 25 years. He’s incredibly smart. For example, we’ve trained him to poop in only one place, and he can say about ten words that he uses to communicate with us. Animals he considers friends he calls “Cocos,” after another bird we had that has since passed away. He will call dogs Cocos, too.

He used to like to be called “baby,” and he’d correct you and insist upon it. Then I got him a stuffed toy which he named “Coco-bee.” And I couldn’t figure out why, until he told me, “Coco Baby. Coco-bee.” It’s the last sound in the word “baby” tacked onto the end of Coco. So… yes, he’s smart. Very smart. And if you call him “Pichu-bee,” he turns to mush.

But sometimes:

-he yells and yells, just because
-he lands on my hand and bites me, just to see me jump
-he tries to talk on the phone, too, by yelling really loudly. I think he can hear what’s said on my headphones, because he responds accordingly. Loudly.
-he begs for food, and when he gets it, he either throws it across the room or dodges past the food to nip my finger
-tries to keep his cage clean by pooing over the side of his cage onto my floor, even though we change his cage twice a day.
-he hollers, wanting me to come back every time I leave my desk to do anything. Even though he has wings and come along.
-he joyfully calls out “peek-a-boo!” when he’s in the bathroom while someone is showering or… doing anything else private.
-when he’s very comfortable, he’ll fluff up into a little green ball and softly make the sound of someone passing gas.

Honestly, if I couldn’t work from home, I’d worry about his emotional well-being. (Mine might improve! LOL!)

But we love him, green little terror that he is. He’s our perpetual toddler with a very sharp beak. And we adore him.

If you’d like to keep up with my writing news, Pichu’s antics, and other peeks into my life, sign up for my monthly newsletter! Every month, we randomly choose four winners from my subscriber list to receive packages in the mail from me.

All the best from my hectic household to yours!

Happy reading!

❤