Inara Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Yesterday, HRH gave me a heart pounding moment. She was in her cage, while I was in the kitchen preparing a large pot of homemade soup so she was not allowed to help me cook. Joe was in the study and out of line of sight. I heard an unusual amount of flapping, and a loud, "Come here, you!" from Inara. My brain registered from all the flapping that she must be taking a bath, but the "Come here, you!" didn't fit the picture. It does fit the picture when I am cooking and Inara can't come into the kitchen with me, but did not fit with her taking a bath. So I walked into the big room, and could see her leaning and reaching for one of her perches at a really awkward angle. I hurried over to her cage just as she started flapping again, and I could see that one of her little feet had somehow gotten all the way through two of her cage bars, but between a side of one of her foraging toys and the perpendicular cage bar, and she was unable to pull it back into her cage and was stuck, and beginning to panic. I braced myself and expected to get bitten out of fear/panic. I spoke softly to her, opened her cage door, and said quietly, "I will help you." She immediately calmed down and stayed perfectly still, while I reached around her to hold onto the foraging toy inside the cage with one hand, and unscrewed the knob that was on the outside of the cage with the other, then was able to carefully remove the toy, thus giving her foot enough room to move easily back into the cage as she fluttered to the closest perch. She then hopped onto my arm, up to my shoulder and came in close and said, "Whewwwh!!!" a couple of times. I agreed wholeheartedly!! Not one nip nor even a beak thump. I, and Joe also, have used "I will help you," from the first day she arrived. If she was on the floor after one of her initial clumsy attempts to fly, or if she was frightened, or if she was up too high and didn't know how to get down, etc. She learned early on that "I will help you," always meant help and help only (never a trick to take her back to her cage, etc). She will say things like, "I will help you cook in there," or "I will help you get the cookies." She does know what help means. I believe this is what "helped" the situation and saved me from a panic bite. It also illustrates the importance of using proper language with our companions no matter what form that language takes, as long as it has meaning. (Preaching to the choir here, I know.) Also, the importance of having one ear tuned in to our birds/kids/furkids etc. and trusting our instinct when something just doesn't sound right. Because she loves to have me smooch her feet, it was easy to examine for any damage, which luckily there was none. The only after effect was that she wanted to be close to us most of the evening, which of course was great. By close to bed time, however, she was ready to be back home and was looking around for her favorite but now offending foraging toy. It was not the toy's fault, it was a freak accident that likely will never happen again. However, I'm not ready to put it back into her cage yet. All's well that ends well --- but if our hearts truly are programmed to beat for a finite number of beats throughout our lives, well my days have definitely been shortened by a few..... WHeeeewHHH !! Edited September 22, 2014 by Inara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoow Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 So glad everything worked out ok and nobody was hurt! Thank you for sharing your story and invaluable advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Very glad all is well. Bless Inara's little heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Why would you expect to be bitten? You just saved your baby! Baby loves you and Joe, and you need to expect that trust and love! Don't EVER doubt it Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Great lesson learned. You listened with your heart and your mind. HRH is one lucky bird. You may be preaching to the choir, but you also never know who just might need to hear this right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Great testimony to trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 The trust is there! Sometimes our babies just tend to ignore it, but " push come to shove".... MOM.... I NEED YOU NOW!!!!!!! Your baby knows you will keep him safe. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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