I'm sorry. I am going through a similiar situation with my Cockatoo Boo. As you know but many do not, parrots require a lot more attention, feeding etc. It's equivaltent to having a toddler for the rest of your life. I aquired Boo as a baby out of an egg and she is about six now. Having had her six years I'm now an advocate against parrots as domestic pets. For one they outlive us and two almost always circumstances in our lives change and that is when most are put in rescues (If they are lucky). For us, my sons are now older teens and I went back to work. I'm not home much at all anymore. What I did do was take a room and bird proof it and I leave Boo out all day with toys and fresh food and water. That however does not make up for the lack of attention. Parrots are very sociable and NEED human contact. They can be very demanding with their ear piercing screams as well as plucking when they don't get what they need. Their food habits are expensive as well as time consuming. It's not just seed. It's home cooking the variety they need as if they were in the wild. I too go through whether I should place her for adoption with rescue. I'm struggling with that now. One one hand I know she's safe with me and won't be abused but on the other hand I know she's not as happy as she could be. She's very lonely. It's different with our dogs, my husband is home all day with them and he plays with them, feeds them etc. and when I get in they sit on my lap and watch TV with me. He's afraid of the parrot. Not a lot of people can handle the size and beak and damage they can do. Which is the other issue with parrots. They can never be left unattended in an area that is not bird proof. They are very destructive. I'm sorry you went through this. It's something I think at some point I will be going through. Elaine |