Bird tastes freedom after locked in cage for 7 years
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 My vet suspects he spent most of his life in a small cage with his feet in the same
00:04 position.
00:05 Now, he loves to go to the forest.
00:10 I'm Linda and this is Paco's story for GeoKids.
00:14 His previous owner had Paco for seven years.
00:17 He brought him to a trader, probably because Paco had behavior problems.
00:22 After reading a lot of books and watching over a hundred pair of tutorials, we saw Paco
00:26 on the internet.
00:28 We visited the trader.
00:29 Paco was really stressed out and very scared.
00:32 He was shaking.
00:33 So, we brought him home.
00:36 He was afraid of us.
00:37 Everything spooked him.
00:38 He was afraid of our hands.
00:40 When I was drinking and I had a cup next to it, he was scared of the cup and he would
00:44 bite me.
00:46 Every day, I spent hours with him.
00:48 I started with positive reinforcement training.
00:51 Gradually, we made steps forward.
00:53 Some things like getting close to him and that he wasn't aggressive.
00:57 That part was quite fast, but petting him, it took months.
01:04 We got him for three years now.
01:06 We got a strong bond based on trust and we built that bond by doing a lot of things together.
01:15 We go for a daily walk or a daily bike ride.
01:18 He really enjoys that.
01:20 He's used to being outside whole days with us, so he doesn't get spooked.
01:25 Going to the forest, he just flops up.
01:29 He enjoys it so much.
01:31 Our gypsy wagon is near a beautiful forest.
01:33 He's really relaxed and he wants to enjoy the view and look around him.
01:37 He loves to cuddle.
01:38 He loves to be around me for hours, just softly touching him.
01:42 "Here, let me."
01:43 "Oh, that's a kiss.
01:44 That's okay, too.
01:45 We can kiss.
01:46 French kisses, yeah."
01:47 "Oh, no.
01:48 No French kiss."
01:49 And like a true Amazon, he's sometimes very naughty and grumpy.
01:52 "Hey, I'm not so grumpy.
01:55 He's a little ditty.
01:57 There it is."
01:58 Paco is quite a character.
01:59 He wants to be involved in family life.
02:02 Sometimes we joke that our kids have a little green brother.
02:05 He loves my children.
02:10 And I guess I'm on the third place.
02:13 My husband is at the lowest place.
02:14 When we got him, he got some health issues, too.
02:17 He was overweight.
02:18 He had difficulties with his balance.
02:20 The trader told us that the previous owner clipped him from a very young age, before
02:25 he had learned to fly.
02:27 So that's why flying doesn't become natural to him.
02:30 He can fly now, but he prefers to stay with us.
02:33 "Go ahead, Paco."
02:35 He doesn't vocalize that much.
02:37 He's just very calm and quiet.
02:40 He's very smart.
02:41 And in the winter, we can't go outside that much.
02:44 So we play games or do tricks.
02:46 And yeah, he loves to do that.
02:48 When you teach him something and you reward him for doing something good, he just immediately
02:53 picks it up and does it again.
02:55 "Show your wings.
02:56 Come on.
02:57 Yeah, you're so beautiful.
02:58 Down and up again.
02:59 Up.
03:00 Yeah, good boy."
03:01 He's 10 years.
03:06 He can become 25 to 65 years old.
03:09 I know some parrots who are in their 70s.
03:12 So yeah, maybe he will become very old.
03:15 I hope so.
03:16 "Show me, love me.
03:17 Oh, that's a kiss too."
03:20 My children already know that if I'm too old to take care of Paco, he will live with them.
03:25 "You're so beautiful."
03:26 "Thank you."
03:26 [Music]