Mercury and Finnigan are Playmates!!
Last Updated: 04/26/2005
Mercury met Finnigan when she was 3 1/2 years old and he was 7 months old. She is a Congo African Grey and he is a Red Sided Eclectus. How did they meet? |
| Well, Angie, his parront was doing some shopping with him in PetSmart one day while my mom and I were browsing. When I saw Finnigan and the excited new parront, I just had to say hi and visit for a minute. Little did I know that the minute would turn into 45 minutes or so. We had a wonderful time visiting. Finnigan was such a delight. He was laid back, friendly, well socialized and a little tired after Angie and I had been there talking about our parrots and how much we loved them. It was obvious she was a great first-time parront and Finnigan was well-loved and in good hands. Well, I gave Angie Mercury's website and my email address, as she kept saying maybe Finnigan could meet Mercury one day and she wanted to be in touch. Sure enough... I got an email almost immediately and we started talking about how we could get our parrots together. |
Angie Meeting Mercury |
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| 08/24,25/04 | |||
| I had already met Finnigan, so she suggested meeting Mercury without her parrot. I thought that was a good idea. As it turned out, she drives by my house every day on her way home from work. So, a week later she came by 2 days after work to meet Mercury. In the meantime, I kept talking about Angie and Finnigan, saying their names a lot hoping that they wouldn't sound like strangers once she met them. Those 2 days finally came and Angie came over. It was so great having her there and talking and visiting. Mercury took a while to warm up to her, but anyone who offers Mercury seed becomes a friend much sooner. She eventually perched on her knee and did some tricks for Angie. Angie came over the second night and Mercury was not nearly as shy, asking for food, coming to visit her, checking her out and talking more frequently. Angie felt good about Finnigan and Mercury meeting. So, since Mercury is older and more territorial, we decided to meet at Finnigan's place. | |||
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Our Parrots' First Play Date |
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| 08/28/04 | |||
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The morning of August 28th, 2004, Mercury and I head over to Angie's and Finnigan's where Josh, the other parront, also lives. Mercury stayed in her travel cage for a while and Finnigan was out and about doing his normal thing in the living room, just roaming around. Mercury wanted out, as normal. Finnigan grew curious and wanted to climb on Mercury's cage. We didn't allow that. We talked to them about each other. Eventually, I think they were both curious of each other. Mercury would stretch her neck out and tilt her head. At first, she was very still when Finnigan would flap his wings. He is currently clipped but loves to flap and flies short distances. Mercury is fully flighted. With each flap, Mercury would be real still and pay very close attention.
After a while, Mercury was calm. I was feeding her seed through her cage. That is always a good sign. She turns it down when she is wound up. Finnigan was doing his own thing and wasn't bothered by Mercury. So, I let Mercury out and to the top of her cage she went. That's normal. After a while, Mercury started talking like she was at home. That was fun for everybody. Eventually, we held them on our hands and began the introductions. They were fine with it. So, I asked Mercury to give Finnigan a kiss. She leaned towards Finnigan's beak and kissed him. It was so sweet. Finnigan just sat there. They were so good around each other. Mercury even said "pretty wings" when Finnigan flapped his wings. I was so proud of her and gave her seed for recognizing that. That is a trick she does, so recognizing another bird doing it and saying it was very good. So, the rest of the time, we hung out, let our birds wander around, we handled each other's, Mercury did some tricks for Josh, Finnigan came to visit with me, the birdies got sleepy while we visited some more and it was a good visit. Finnigan started to get a little nippy around Mercury maybe twice. When Mercury felt uncomfortable, she just flew to a safer spot. That wasn't difficult. There was no danger. We were very happy with their first visit. I was able to snap a few photos. I wish I had snapped more, but hey, then who would have been supervising and looking out for the well-being of my birdie? It takes us both to do that for our own birds. So, I was glad I was able to get what I did. |
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Our Parrots' Second Play Date |
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| 09/06/04 | |||
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It was a bit of a hectic Labor Day weekend. The hurricane evacuees staying at my house from Hurricane Frances had left just shortly before, but I wanted to keep my Labor Day plans with our new friends. Angie was bringing Finnigan and Josh over to our place. So, Josh and Steven were meeting for the first time and Finnigan and Mercury were meeting for a second time but a first at Mercury's place. My mom remained another day at our place and had already met Angie and Finnigan in PetSmart.
So, Finnigan and his parronts arrive that afternoon. After all of the introductions were complete, everyone settles in for some snacks - Mercury's favorite time. That's always a good time to work on your friendship with Mercury. Just have food. While Mercury was checking out the refreshments, Finnigan decided to explore the new territory. Wow. Cool toys, Mercury. Finnigan felt right at home with Mercury's toys, and Mercury was too busy to notice for quite some time. Eventually, she took note of the new friend feeling cozy on her equipment but was rather polite and allowed Finnigan to enjoy himself. They shared her area, which consists of a playstand and a boing close together, as the photos show, for quite a while. I was proud of her. Mercury gave Finnigan some kisses. He was OK with it most of the time. There was one particular time when Finnigan was on Mercury's boing, and Mercury was trying to kiss Finnigan. He was feeling a bit standoffish and Mercury knew it, but she had been asked to give Finnigan a kiss. The funny thing is that she kept trying but then would lean back and start over, as if she was determined to kiss Finnigan. Eventually, Finnigan leaned forward a little and startled her so she flew a short distance to safety. I know it doesn't sound like much, but he was acting, pardon me, like a man. And, she was acting so sweet with this light-hearted determination to just give him a kiss. I have it on video, and if I can compress the file, I will post it. It was precious in its own way, which I apparently can't capture in words. The guys seemed to hit it off rather well. They were good entertainment for each other. My mom got to visit some with the birdies. That's always nice. She is a good grandparront. Mercury did actually take a nap while our guests were still there. Unfortunately, I could understand it. Having the 2 hurricane evacuees since that Thursday and my mom since Saturday and it was Monday, her schedule was a little out of whack, as we had already had a lot of fun with our previous guests, which made for a houseful. I guess things seemed calm enough for her to catch a few Zzzzzssss. It was a bit embarrassing, but you know how parrots are - 15 or so minutes and they are good to go. So, I let her catch a nap and then she was up and chatting and ready to visit some more. I believe there was a time when Finnigan got a little sleepy, too. His mommy took good care of him. We all got to visit with each other. The parrots still don't "play" with each other but come close to each other and share Mercury's play area, so that is a good thing after only 2 visits. We are still pleased with the progress our parrots are making, and it is fun to learn more about the other one's parrot. Both of ours have been molting. We all know how fun that can be at times. This is Finnigan's first molt and Mercury's major molt of the year. So, we all had lots to talk about, enjoyed ourselves and I think the parrots had fun, too. |
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Our Parrots' Third Play Date |
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| 10/09/04 | |||
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Third visit. Second time at Finnigan's house. Mercury and I arrived and just hung out for a bit. Mercury is obviously very comfortable around Josh, Angie and Finnigan cause she climbed right to the top of her travel cage and started talking and carrying on. Mercury spent some good quality time with Josh. I think they have a thing for each other. I spent some time with Finnigan. He seemed more interested in me this time. Then, Mercury and I watched Finnigan take his ever-so-calming bath. I took quite a few photos .
Bath time for Finnigan consists of Angie holding him on her hand while she mists him with a squirt bottle over the bathtub. He stretches his wings out and eventually flaps a bit. He's a very happy parrot during his bath. Mercury just looks on thinking better him than me. After bath time, Angie places a towel on the floor, puts Finnigan in the middle and wraps him up like a baby. He's happy-go-lucky and cute as a button. I showed Mercury Finnigan in the towel and she didn't like that. She prefers Finnigan naked and natural just like her. She doesn't mind touching towels, but she does mind touching towels that Finnigan seems to be wrapped in. That's just too weird for her. Every once and a while we tried to get Mercury and Finnigan together, but there are a few slight problems. #1 - Mercury remembers everything. So, in the past when Finnigan has gotten a little nippy with her or sends a bad vibe her way, she remembers and when we get them together, she decides she doesn't want to be around him. So, she just flies in the opposite direction. See ya. #2 - When Mercury is feeling forgiving or forgetful and does decide she wants to be around him, there is this other issue/maybe another combined issue. Mercury was taught when around strangers, give them kisses. Everybody loves kisses. She also learned before departing from someone, please give a kiss and then you can go. In addition, when we introduced our parrots, I asked Mercury to give Finnigan a kiss and she very willingly did while Finnigan sat there probably thinking what the heck is going on. So, whenever Mercury is in a good mood and near Finnigan, she tries to kiss him, as if she doesn't know what else she is supposed to do when she is around him. It's a bit of a dilemma. I tried to change things this time, but that was quite difficult. Mercury did not want Finnigan any closer to her unless she was kissing him. Otherwise, he was invading her personal bubble and making her uncomfortable. We did some training. As always, Mercury showed off some of her tricks. Then, I decided I would try teaching Finnigan to wave. Having both parrots practically in my face wanting that one little piece of seed can be tricky. Mercury's got it down. She knows what it is all about. Finnigan is new to how you actually earn the seed. So, I had to start doing 1-on-1, otherwise it was proving to be too much for me. I felt like I started to make some progress with Finnigan, maybe a little bit. At one point, Angie and I were doing the wave command, he lifted his foot up real high, so we clapped, said good boy, yeah, and got all excited. Then, he let out a great birdie squawk. It was so cute. He was going right along with all the excitement. And, of course, he got his reward sunflower seed for it. Angie did go over and have Mercury do a couple tricks, as she was saying pretty wings and such while we were working with Finnigan, and we couldn't have her feeling left out. Working with 2 birds can be tricky at times, but it is very rewarding. You just have to carefully balance your time and be sure to give both of them plenty of attention. We got to see Angie's and Finnigan's trust progress. Finnigan swings upside down with Angie. Sometimes he spreads his wings. Other times he just dips through the air. She can put her hand on his back and flip him back and forth, too, which is pretty neat-looking. His head just stays in place. While I had him on the couch, he was holding onto my finger and I took him upside down. I don't remember what prompted me, but he went very well. I was amazed at his grip. It was super tight. Angie said he always does that. With Mercury, I have to hold onto her sometimes cause she doesn't grip tight enough. Complete opposites. I'm not sure if it's because she's fully flighted and he's not yet, but it was day and night with their grips. Very interesting. I wonder if his grip will change over time. Whenever Mercury or Finnigan would go upside down, the other one was always interested and paying close attention. If only we knew what the other one was thinking... Well, we did try to get the birdies together a little more. Maybe we'll see how it goes with toys next time. Like I said, Mercury thinks she is just supposed to kiss this bird, and she doesn't know how else to interact with him. So, it is our job to change that. We were still pleased with our visit. They do take interest in what the other one is doing sometimes. And, Mercury paid close attention when Finnigan decided to get vocal, which was a real treat. There is interest. They don't see each other all that often, so we're not disappointed with anything. It's fun, interesting, a learning experience and it keeps us thinking. We'll see what the next time brings. |
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Our Parrots' Fourth Play Date |
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| 01/15/05 | |||
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Wow!! What a great play date... Who would have thought? Months have passed since we have gotten together. I think Angie and I had both decided we weren’t going to put pressure on Mercury and Finnigan to "bond." So, does absence really make the heart grow fonder?
Angie and Finnigan arrive at our place for the forth play date. Angie and I were more than excited. It had been way too long, and I’m not sure who was more in need of the play date, even though we had seen each since the last one. Finnigan is now in possession of a new travel cage, which is a nice-size cockatiel cage. He first traveled in it over Christmas and loved it. We got to see him in it when he came over. Looks like fun to travel in!! He got settled and obviously had not forgotten who I was. His social skills seem to be improving. Mercury took a few minutes to warm up to Angie and Finnigan. Guess it really had been a while. And, he’s off... Finnigan takes to the playstand. He plays and plays and, what’s this? He wants to play with Mercury? What? He follows her and gets as near as he can to her in the calmest, most polite manner. What a guy... But wait. Mercury doesn’t believe it either, and she’s out of there. Off she flies to the other room where her cage is. She comes back later though. They snack and visit, and we have a delightful time. It’s great to hang out and see Finnigan. He is such a social guy these days. Wait. Mercury is back on the boing. He needs to go spend some quality time with her. So, he waddles up the ladder, onto the stand and works his way up to the boing. Now that he is on the boing Mercury’s eyes are on him. Oh he is watching her, too, as he is climbing up. She is ducking around trying to figure out what is going on. He makes his way to the top and her wings spread as she hesitates to see what his next move is. He stands still. She looks to the side. He leans, and yes folks, she’s out of there again. What is happening? This is a first for our birdies. I got out the video camera to catch some of these moments on film. They continued. When she was on her toy hanger on the stand and he would approach her, she would actually lean over and kiss him and they would beak each other a little before she would fly away to her cage or another piece of furniture in the room. This is when he started squawking. Not a happy parrot. He definitely expressed his dismay more and more often with those squawks when she would leave. There was more visiting, showing off of tricks, Finnigan showing off his new vocabulary, hamming it up for the cameras and a great time enjoyed by all. Then, the visit was coming to an end. We decided to let them have one last visit together before Angie and Finnigan headed home. So, Mercury was on the toy hanger of the stand and Finnigan was on the boing. Finnigan initiated things and started moving towards Mercury. Once he got too close, she simply kissed him and flew across to the boing, which meant she just flew right above his head out of reach. That was progress. While she did leave, she didn’t go very far. She stayed right in the play gym area, as the photos will show. He didn’t stop there. He just scooted across the perch and climbed onto the boing. Once that happened, she just flew back to the toy hanger on the other side of the stand. Determined, Finnigan turned around, climbed down onto the stand and scurried across to the toy hanger where he reached towards Mercury. She did it to him again. Kiss and fly... Back to the boing she went. I honestly have not counted how many times this happened yet. I must. He did take a break at one point, and I thought they were finished, but I didn’t stop rolling the tape. Then, back at it they went. Several more times Mercury teased poor Finnigan as he patiently followed her. She started doing circles off of the equipment flying to the other side until one time she flew to her cage. He gave it his best. He deserves something for persistence. And yet, every time he was so calm in his approach. It was very interesting to watch. Finnigan still has clipped wings. I think that was part of what kept things so interesting for us. Every once and a while when she would leave, he would just let out this deep squawk, sort of like a fog horn. Well, we do see it as progress in their relationship. They were very well-behaved around each other. There were no biting attacks. They actually kissed each other several times. Some beaking towards each other happened, but it was harmless. They did very well, and we were very proud of them. Wow, that was fun!! I can only hope to share some video with you one day. The file is just so large. Guess it’s photos for now... |
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Our Parrots' Fifth Play Date |
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| 02/05/05 | |||
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We’re getting good at these play dates, I must say. Not much time had passed and Angie invited us over for another play date. So, Mercury and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. We got together maybe an hour or so later than our normal time. I set up Mercury’s area, she climbed to the top of her cage and in no time at all, I had Finnigan visiting and Mercury was on Angie visiting. We had no idea this would be a laughing riot of a play date, though...
But first, visiting quickly turned into napping. Finnigan preened and preened and settled down. Mercury was uneasy for a while, but she just couldn’t hold her birdie eyes open any longer. Angie and I stayed quiet for as long as we could. We traded birds to see if they would get any peaceful sleep, but that never quite happened either. Not long after, Finnigan decided it was time to visit Mercury on her cage. Well, Mercury wasted no time and took to the air. After doing that a few times, Angie and Finnigan went to the kitchen where his table is set up. He has a Polly Perch on it where he does his tricks. We were impressed. He waved and turned around, gave kisses and showed us his right foot. Very good, Finnigan!! You’ll be a star when you become a therapy bird. I took some photos of our little trickster, too. We hung out and did our usual visiting while Mercury talked and Finnigan chimed in on occasions. Angie laughed and I laughed. Well, Mercury laughed. Angie laughed cause Mercury laughed, which made me laugh. Pretty soon Finnigan starts laughing, so Angie and I laugh harder, which gets Mercury laughing again and Angie and I can’t stop laughing, so the birds keep laughing and this goes on and on and on. Mercury would switch between my laugh and Steven’s laugh, too, which made things funnier. I don’t know how many minutes we all continued to laugh because of one another, but it went on for a long time. I was almost in tears over the whole thing and Angie was just rolling. We couldn’t believe that it just kept going on and on and on. It was hard to stop. I wanted the video camera on so bad but it was too funny to do anything about it; so, instead I just enjoyed the moment as we all laughed ourselves silly over and over again. That was a moment to remember... After things settled down and we all did some more visiting, I took Mercury over to Finnigan’s boing for the first time. She hung out, played a little, thought it was alright and felt a little uncomfortable. Then, I brought Finnigan over there. He chased her off. I brought her back over and he guarded it. He had one leg up and one leg down, spreading over two levels, and he would stick his neck out if I brought Mercury near. If I put Finnigan near the top or near the bottom of the boing and put Mercury at the opposite end, he would run as quickly as he could to chase her off. His cage is nearby and the top has a door that folds down, which was open. I put Mercury on it at the far side while he was on his boing. He did not stand for that either. He came running when he saw Mercury on his upper cage door. I got her off before he got there. He is quite territorial of his things and loves Mercury’s things. Mercury is pretty good about sharing and feels somewhat uncomfortable on his things even without him around. Interesting. We let them hang out in a little more neutral territory – the living room, they kissed and Mercury flew. Then, we said our good-byes for this play date. Overall, it was a riot, a laughing riot that is. |
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Photo Gallery |
Last Updated |
| Their 1st Playdate | 09/01/04 |
| Their 2nd Playdate | 09/06/04 |
| Their 3rd Playdate | 10/13/04 |
| Their 4th Playdate | 01/25/05 |
| Their 5th Playdate | 02/05/05 |
| The Video Gallery | |
| Mercury Kissing Finnigan (1.78 MB) | |
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