Meet Tinker the Meyers Parrot"Poicephalus meyeri "
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 Tinker's
"All birds are buddies but chickens are food!" |
Meet Tinker the Meyers Parrot"Poicephalus meyeri "
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Tinker's
"All birds are buddies but chickens are food!" |
Tinker pecked
hisher way out of an egg some time in 1991. (In 2007 that makes Tink now 16 years old!) Eileen and I bought "Tink" in March 1994 from a pet store in Lafayette, CA. called "The Pet Grocery" then. I have heard the store goes by another name now. Tink was sold as a "used bird." Another family had to give the her up because of his biting nature and the family's new baby. (Our cockatiel did not like me much at the time and I wanted my own bird! Tink turned out to be a real deal coming with a cage and all accessories for a piddling four hundred bucks (eeek). (We also call Tink Butt-Head, Buddy Boy, or our Little Green Friend, Mr. Buddy, our Blue Buddy, Stinker, etc. etc..) Tinker is a r-e-a-l stinker, but we lovehimher just the same.HeShe can say "Come here!, "Hey baby." "Hey," and mutters under her breath "wudja wudja!" She imitates the sound of kissing as he snuggles. Tink is a real attention getter. If you don't pay attention to her she heads right into a repertory of jungle noises or eats holes in the shoulders of your shirts! At least she now earns her weight in seed and millet. Her tiny little bookstore on the net has made over $100 in two years! (Goodboygirl Tink.) Did I say she can be as loud as our smoke detector? Tinker, Eileen and I are always interested in hearing from other Meyers parrot keepers! Send Fan mail to Tinker
Did you notice the gender strike outs? In 2006 we took Tink to a vet for a check up. This was shortly after we have to put our cockatiel down. The vet took a few looks at Tink and remarked that Tink had a large pelvis and that he would swear that Tink was a female. Sixty bucks and one mail order DNA test later we confirmed Tink is of the female persuasion. She kept it a secret for fifteen years. Our vet said it was not unusual that Tink never laid an egg. So now I have this whole new gender identity thing to deal with. Hasn't really changed much. We're still best friends! SO if you see some loose he's instead of she's that's why! Tink is a she!
Tinker is a parrot with many lives. I post his great adventures here so that I can periodically remind myself I have to be real careful with Tink. My experiences may also serve to remind others that birds are fragile pals. They require us to be extra careful with their little lives so we can have them with us for many years. Since my wife and I are new parrot lovers for the most part, we thought we'd share Tinker's Great Adventures with you so your bird friends might have fewer adventures of the scary kind.
#1: A Parrot Makes a Meal or "Smoky is One Happy Kitty" |
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Tink and I were in the front yard. He was kicking back on my shoulder soaking up some rays when he got spooked. He jumped, flapped, and flopped to the ground. When his wings are clipped he can't go far. At once I saw the neighbor's cat at my feet and suddenly Tinker was in his paws. This parrot was dead meat. I was sure. All four humans standing there screamed, "No Smoky!" (The cat.) Strange thing, the cat gave up and split! Tinker was left sitting there dazed and confused. Hey, not every Parrot has this kind of adventure and survives. (Tinker's Pet Bird Survival Tip #1: Birds and cats don't mix well in groups or at parties. Keep them separated.)
It was dusk on July 17, 1995. Tinker was on my shoulder while I was standing in the front yard. (Is there a pattern emerging?) My neighbor makes a sudden movement and Tinker spooks. He drops to the ground and flaps his wings. I reach for the little guy, but in a flash he begins to rise! Eileen, my neighbor, and I see Tinker hit an elevation of about 40 feet over the house across the street and we lose sight of him. I was devastated. We ran yelling out his name! Within five minutes I found Tink on a lawn a block away. I said, "Hey Tink!" I hear , "ink'er." He's sitting there in the grass waiting for me and walks up on my finger. Gosh, maybe I should have his wings clipped again! We're all hoping Tinker has fewer great adventures! (Tinker's Pet Bird Survival Hint #2: When you think their wings are clipped they might just have enough energy to sail across the street. Don't take birds outside unless you want to lose them.)
It was the day before Christmas, and all the through house, Eileen and rushed to ready the place for Christmas Eve dinner. We were having company for a pre-Christmas celebration. Moments before our guests arrived the fireplace erupted sending flames to the ceiling and fire on the carpet. Within three minutes the house was filled with smoke and the Fire Department was on scene. It happened so fast! I remember Tink was on top of his cage. He panicked and flew toward the flames. I was able to grab the little guy before he was barbecued. Strange how he acted just like a moth. Maybe a new nickname, "Mothra!" Tinker survived another great adventure and so did we. (Tinker's Pet Bird Survival Hint #3: make sure your humans have a bird evacuation plan.)
Everyone in our neighborhood owns a cat. Lots have dogs. A few like us even have birds. It seems all of the cats know about Tinker now. They either surf the web or word gets from whisker to whisker. Just the other day one of the local cats, "Lucky" helped himself into the house to visit Tinker. We think Lucky actually pried the back screen door open with his paw. Keeping a bird is not easy, harm seems perilously close almost all of the time. At the time, Tinker was kicking back chomping on a grape. I was in the other room and heard Tinker go airborne. The smart little guy found the tallest spot in the kitchen to wait for me, the refrigerator. Tink was shaking. Lucky was still watching the cage! I escorted ole Lucky out the door and calmed the parrot down. Funny, he doesn't tease the cat at the back door any more. (Tinker's Pet Bird Survival Hint #4: Doors and windows to your bird's home should be kept locked so the predators remain safely away from the bird. Don't let the kitty sneak in behind you as you come in the door!)
I lost my prestigious dot.com job along with thousands of others in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001. My wife and I decided to cut our losses and move from California to Maryland. We picked up our entire world, including Tinker and Chris and drove cross country in two cars. We went to our vet and got papers from her certifying both birds were in excellent health just in case. Not one state official ever asked for info on our birds. Tinker LOVED the travel! He sat on my shoulder or walked around inside the car while I drove. He enjoyed watching the world go by. None of the hotels or motels we stayed in cared much about the birds one way or another. One very slick B&B in Virginia even invited them in. Tink is a tourist kind of bird.
Tinker is very partial to fresh corn on the cob. He loves it! An occasional green bean keeps him occupied. Broccoli has become an all-time favorite. His all time favorite food however are banana chips. Gotta have those nana chips. There is a brand of bird food for parrots that has unsweetened banana chips in the mix. Tinker's absolute favorite snack. He also likes snacking on grapes and anything I eat of course. He likes to shred carrots for fun.
Tinker has a birdie salad every day consisting of a fresh corn on the cob, a few long green beans, broccoli, and grapes. He munches on his salad more than his seeds. We're happy about this since we hear that a steady diet of seed is not good for a Meyers.
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Tinker's AttitudeA picture perfect
parrot, In 2006 Tinker was officially sexed using a DNA analysis. Our vet felt Tink's bone structure was designed for passing eggs. He was right. Tinker is a girl. Little cuty isn't she. |
In a nutshell he thinks he's hot stuff. Tinker has become a one person bird. Since we have had only one Meyers in our lives we don't know if this is normal. I'm told by pet stores it is typical. Tinker has decided he likes me best. Our cockatiel Chris has decided she likes Eileen best. Tinker growls under his breath and hollers at Eileen when she walks by. Chris tries to bite me if I get close. Tinker has actually charged at Eileen.
He isn't always a butt-head. Eileen keeps Tink on her shoulder while she works at her computer during the day. He seems perfectly content as long as Eileen doesn't touch. lately ink insists on saying good night to Eileen before he goes to bed at night.
Once in a while Tinker bites when he plays. He can -REALLY- bite, ouch! Eileen and I are very cautious with children when Tinker is out of his cage. Generally Tinker does a good job staying away from people he doesn't know. He will lean away from an unfamiliar face or hand until he can lean no farther. Then he gets worried and bites. We have also noticed that if Tinker does not get his own way he gets mad and bites. We can usually anticipate his behavior. We have even identified some things that agitate him.
When Tink really gets lonely he'll get off of his cage and walk across the living room to climb up my leg. This takes him a while since he is a rather compact parrot. Since we allowed him to keep his feathers he likes to fly to high places in the house and keep watch. We have to be careful about looking on closet doors and bedroom doors before we close them. He knows the flight patterns around the house. he can find either one of us very quickly. The little guy is really tuned up. Great exercise makes for a healthy parrot.
Tinker spends most of the day after I come home from work out of his cage and on my shoulder. When we watch TV he snuggles up against my neck and snoozes. On the week ends my buddy is with me whenever I'm in the house. We give lots of affection and attention to our buddies the birds. We think that might be the reason they have remained so healthy for so many years. I might tease Tinker when I'm eating chicken by telling him it's a parrot steak but we really do need him as much as he needs us. The little guys leans forward and wiggles his butt waiting for me to take him from his cage. Coming home from vacations he remembers me like a cat or dog would. I think he might even be a little smarter than our cat at times. Tink is really cool.
Tink will sit still for petting. He likes under wing rubs the best. he'll even hold his wings up and sometimes close his eyes. head rubs, foot massage, and tail tugging. He climbs head first into my shirt pocket and lets me tug his tail. You know he's done with petting when he decides to play finger wars. I always lose finger wars. Weird bird.
Tinker usually speaks when he is alone. Once in a while he will look me square in the eye and say "Hey!" or make a lip smacking sound. Sitting on my shoulder he makes clicking noises and a noise that sounds a lot like flatulence. We will sometimes click to each other. He clicks twice I click twice. He clicks three times I click three times. Do you suppose Tink can count? Tink can now say "Come here." In any event, every good patriotic patriot needs good vocal chords. Check out Tink's! (He says Hey in the presence of others but usually talks when no one is around.
Tinker enjoys playing with Mr. Hose! (The backyard garden hose.) He enjoys standing on the end of the hose getting soaking wet on a real hot day. While I'm washing the dishes he likes to chase my hands and stand under the faucet. Bath time in a large bowl is cool too. When I'm on the computer he gets great pleasure walking on the keyboard or rummaging around the desk. He enjoys hollering at Eileen when she walks by. Tinker also enjoys removing and destroying whatever he finds in my shirt pocket. Nibbling on human ears is great fun. The essential ingredient of a good day for Tinker is lots of shoulder time with Doug.
Let me see. Where do I start? Tinker refuses to get off my shoulder. I have to bribe him or remove my shirt with him on it. He has nibbled holes in virtually very t-shirt I own. The area below his cage is a disaster area. He teases BW our cat through the back door screen. He screeches and growls at Eileen. He MUST share the popcorn you are eating. At the weirdest times he will climb down your back and start tugging on the Levi label. Needless to say, you can't sit down without getting his attention first. I have to be careful using the mouse at the computer. He enjoys chewing holes in the cord.
Tinker collects the email he receives and adds each letter to this scrap book page. All the letters from his cyber-buds and other Meyers parrot owners.
I let my little green friend keep his feathers. He doesn't fly much but when he does you'd swear he was an Apache gun ship. He rises slowly and turns to survey his surroundings. He takes a bead on a landing point and slowly moves in for a touchdown. His little wings are flapping like mad. He has the knack of a humming bird for hovering and makes the whump whump sound a helicopter makes over head. At first having him hover around is a little unnerving. He is so much bigger and louder in the air than a cockatiel. (A whole lot clumsier too <grin>.) Have you let your Meyers keep his wings? What are your stories.
Tinker loves flying into the bathroom to sit on the towel bar. We have not figured out why. Silly parrot, bathrooms are for people! Tinker likes chasing Eileen wherever she goes in the house. When she gets up Tinker is off to watch what she does. Wiggle a glass full of ice in our home and our blue buddy is in your glass. He will bite until you give him an ice cube. Needless to say we get this bird in the cage before the sodas come out of the frig. We have a heck of time getting Tink in his cage on occasion. When bed time rolls around he knows its time to go and usually doesn't.
When software is produced, programmers often put eggs in the product. An egg is a short list or animation that displays something humorous about the project team that built the product. I was in the business for about six years and managed to share Tink's picture with many folks on thousands of CD roms. Tink might be the most published parrot in the world. Look for Tink on Ultimate Family Tree CD's and on Ultimate Scrapbook Creator. Tink is the egg.
As she has aged (now 17 or so) she has gotten a little demanding about remaining outside of her cage. When Tinker figures out she is going back it's biting time again. We have also noticed she does not see as well as she used to in dim rooms and gets scared when on a shoulder. When she is afraid she alerts you with a sharp bite to the ear. OUCH!
A few months after Big Girl passed away Eileen went to our favorite Pet Store on Highway 4. She came home with a green cheeked conure we now call "Baby." Baby started talking immediately and now has a huge vocabulary including, "I love Tinker," "Tinker, Tinker, Tinker," "I love Tink," "I love Tinker Tinker Tink." These two cannot be out of the cage together. After a few dog fights in the den it was clear that Tinker was not tolerating the new kid and Baby could defend himself.
Tinker's Big
Sister
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Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 01:09:34 -0400 To: [email protected] From: (Jean Pattison)[email protected] Subject: RE: Non-playing Meyers When people ask me the temperament of a Meyer's, I have a hard time explaining it. Compared to the rest of the Poicephalus they are a softer bird. Meyer's and Brown Heads are not, in my opinion, hard players. They seem to be very content (and the happiest) just being loved. They are easily entertained just watching the world go by, with all of it's curiosities. They are not very demanding birds all around. Some people call them shy, but I like the term softer personality. Maybe they are the studious type, like to work on little things for a long time, trying to figure out out to undue a knot in a piece of rawhide or why that little plastic cage jingles when turned around by their foot. I have watched a Meyer's for hours playing with just a simple little toy or chewing a piece of 2x4, they are definitely not the football player type like the senegals or Jardine's. They seem to thrive on making you happy, rather than the Senegal who thrives on you making him happy. I love the Meyer's most for the love they radiate. Jean "The African Queen" Pattison (FL) [email protected] (reprinted with permission)
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- Flickr Meyers Parrot Group
Tinker is a member!- African Parrot Society
Meyers information.- Meyers Wikipedia
Meyers information.- Aves International Meyers page
Meyers information and great photographs.- Birds N Ways
A commercial site with flair and class. They have a link to Tink!- The Grinch
Another clever Meyers Parrot!- The Poicephalus FAQ Posted at Upatsix Aviaries
Neat pictures!- The Pet Bird Page
Start here for information on lots of pet birds.- The Bird Cage Page
- International Aviculturists Society
International Aviculturists Society- Canadian World Parrot Trust
Dedicated to preserving parrots in the wild.- Upatsix Aviaries Home Page
...for those of you who like to walk in the front door. You will find a lot to do on the Upatsix pages. Set aside some time and have some fun!
Tinker's Home Page has been on the net since June 10, 1995. "Tink is a popular parrot."
Last updated November 22, 2008
Back to Doug Smith's Home Page / [email protected]
