Meet Kelsey. He was born on September 9th, 2008.  What turned out to be a one-time visit on a November afternoon last year turned into commitment when I spotted three beautiful African red-bellied parrots (poicephalus rufiventris) on display at the Ko’olau Pet Shop.  Three years ago, my pet bird of 9 years passed away, and I had only just begun to forget her when I entered that shop.  I hadn’t intended on owning another parrot right then, but when I saw them, I was drawn.

As it turned out, three babies had just hatched in September and the pet shop was finishing up on their hand-feeding and weaning.  As soon as I could, I put down a deposit on one of them.   Thus began the weekly visits.  By the end of November I had chosen Kelsey, and by the end of December he was ready to go home.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t know a lot about birds when I had my previous bird (the lovely Baby, who will always be in my heart); I never really learned, since I was so young when my dad bought her for me, and then became busy with middle school and high school.  When I knew I was about to take Kelsey home, I resolved to learn as much as I could about how to take proper care of parrot. (more…)