News from the Zoo

I got all the birds’ vet tests back last week, and everybody’s healthy.

The big news is that Kazoo was DNA-sex-tested. With most parrots, including Double Yellow-Headed Amazons, you can’t tell the boys from the girls by looking – even by looking very, very closely. Even a vet can’t tell. They don’t have external genitalia (parrots, not vets).

If your bird happens to lay an egg, you can be sure it’s a girl, but otherwise you need a blood test to find out.

Kazoo’s 14 years old now, and nobody ever knew for sure whether he was a boy or girl. His former owners thought he was a boy. GC thought he was a boy. I thought so too at first, but as time went on, I began to think she was a girl.

GC’s reason for thinking Kazoo was a boy was that he Kazoo spent an awful lot of time in his tent masturbating.

My reason for thinking Kazoo was a girl was that she was fascinated by the lovebird egg I showed her a few months ago. And she loves dark enclosed spaces like closets and pantries and boxes, which have good nesting potential.

Anyway, on Kazoo’s 14th birthday – May 11th – we got the DNA sex test results back.

It still feels weird to be saying “she” with respect to Kazoo. We always referred to him as a “he” since that was what his former owners did. But I like that she’s a girl.

I’m typing this right now with Simon and Oboe both sitting on my chest kissing my lips, by the way. My laptop, which is on my lap, just took this picture of us.

Simon and Oboe are both boys. Simon was DNA-tested by the breeder. And Oboe, I just know he’s a boy by his behaviour. He doesn’t do girl-lovebird stuff, like shredding reams of paper every day.

Oboe and Simon are best friends now. They preen each other and Simon has learned how to talk lovebird. They’re very cute together. Sometimes Oboe even sits on Simon’s back. Simon doesn’t like that, but I know Oboe….give him a few weeks, and he’ll have Simon all saddled up and providing winged transportation on command.

For those of you who have been asking about Duncan – he’s doing well. The various drugs seem to be helping – he’s not throwing up much, he’s eating better, his breath smells nicer and he seems happy. Those appetite enhancers are amazing. I give him one-eighth of a pill every other day, and he eats five meals a day. If I skip a dose, he doesn’t eat.

He’s still very cuddly, and even though he’s lost quite a bit of weight, he still manages to take up half the bed.

Duncan and Logan are best buddies now. They go out for walks with GC every day. Here they are, two older gentlemen, sitting on the porch, enjoying their golden years. All they need is a backgammon board.