It's a Boy

No, I didn't just lose my mind and pop out a 4th kid! Calm down, already.

The Senegal parrot we recently bought is a Boy! After we got the results back, we named him Winston, since he looks so dignified. He has an orange vest pattern, a dark head (that could look a bit like a bowler hat, if you squint a bit), and green legs. I sorta think he resembles a little Leprechaun!

My son helped with the DNA testing kit and we're studying DNA now in homeschool. I thought some of y'all might like to see how easy it is to test the genomes today. Avian Biotech furnishes the kits free of charge, then we pay $20 when we send it back to them. It's simply a card we fill out, then we cut one of the bird's toenails just short enough to bleed a little, which we put on the card. Here's a picture of the little card lying on the form and brochure they sent.
And here is the certificate saying that he's a boy. The name/id line isn't filled out yet, since we waited on naming him until we knew for sure what gender he was. (Um, actually this pic is in Black and White, 'cuz I must have pushed some button on my new camera that made it turn out like that.)

We've only had Winston for 3-1/2 weeks, but he has came a LONG way. He lets me handle him now and carry him around. For any of you non-bird people out there who don't know, parrot bites hurt like HELL! For real! My six-foot tough-guy husband has said many times he'd rather get bit by a dog than a bird. It feels like having a strong man pinching the crap out of your finger with a sharpened pair of pliers. OUCH! Yep, it can bruise or bleed. So, you can imagine how thankful I am to have him just about over that stage. He prefers sitting on my shoulder but will step up now and is really showing his sweet side.

Oh, and he talks! It sounds sort of like an old lady talking on the phone: Hi...what?....Really?...maybe....

Plus, he's making me look a bit insane. I'm trying to get him to say 'whoop-tee-doo', 'cuz I thought that would be funny. I'm afraid someone is gonna walk in a throw a net over me, sitting there saying 'Whoop-tee-doo!!' a couple hundred times in a row. If they don't take me away, I'll post again soon!