the parrots' report

Over the last few years, we have become enthusiastic house and pet sitters. Our pets to date include three indoor cats, a miniature schnauzer, two outdoor terrapins and most recently, at Christmas, two African grey parrots, originally three, but one died the day before we arrived.

We were accepted for the latest assignment despite having not cared for parrots before.  The setting  was Wädenswil, a small town overlooking Lake Zurich, south of the city of Zurich. The apartment has wonderful views over the lake, the light constantly changing. On New Year's Eve we watched a display of fireworks round the lake, from our balcony.  Zurich is a beautiful city which we wandered round in heavy snow, and in rain.












As for the parrots, both are male, Houston speaks English, Rico speaks Swiss German.  Their home must be the deluxe of cages, large and with a large variety of toys, enough to keep me entertained for a day, should my circumstances radically change.

Our duties weren't onerous.  Giving them fresh water every morning, removing debris (nut shells, decaying vegetables) from their three feeding bowls.  Once a week, cleaning out the bottom of the cage, a more messy task than you might imagine as parrots crap on the floor.



Every evening Houston and Rico are allowed out of their cage for two hours. During this time, they are free to fly around the apartment, crapping if they wish to.  Sometimes they choose to perch above the cage, no doubt analysing the behaviours of any strangers looking after them, or perhaps, in the absence of anything interesting, thinking erudite thoughts.

The challenge is to entice them back to the cage after their time is up - and they do know if you are tempted to shortchange them by 20 minutes.  Like children, they are given some warning of 'bedtime', 'return to cage time', in their case.  You say '5 minutes', and then repeat that a moment or two later. The routine is then to put out two fingers and say 'Up', when Rico will perch on your fingers and allow himself to be returned, not only to the cage, but to the perch he enjoys.  Houston will then follow.

Upset or frighten a parrot and it will let you know by biting you, a painful experience, believe me.  What bugs them most is someone entering their cage, as they regard that as their territory.  Male carers are more tolerated than female ones.  In this, my partner and son fared better than me.


Did they talk, the parrots, I mean?  Yes, after a few days.  They have a range of noises, from the ziplike noise Rico makes when someone is leaving the apartment (apparently a previous owner used to zip up her jacket when going out) to various musical noises, which is clever, given that they don't possess vocal cords.

What amused us most was that they imitated my partner and son's laughs. One night we collapsed like soufflés for about half an hour listening to them produce those laughs.

What delighted me most was the interaction between Rico and the owner, Jayne, when she returned from her holiday.  Jayne is a fitness instructor and I watched as she lifted one leg, then the other, in the way she might when teaching a class.  To my amazement, Rico copied her, lifting one leg from his perch, then the other.  Had I been more of a connoisseur of parrots, I'd have known that they are known for their dancing skills. One theory is that this may have developed from the ability to imitate sounds..It has also been suggested that, like humans, they dance because it's fun.

All in all, looking after Houston and Rico was an interesting experience.

And finally, apologies for late publishing of this report.  I had to submit it to Rico and Houston for their approval. They took their time, because they were determined to finish chewing Jayne's old trainer in order to have a fresh one for February.


Jane