So what?

[Wetter]

yes so what?
my Congo African Gray chewed the left wing and through the fuselage on my T-28 Trojan air craft.
glad she missed the electronics.
So i left it on our lil' china hutch oh about 2-3 feet away from her cage( at the time), i happened to put the plane there until i found another place later. the meantime i moved her cage to vacuum under and forgot to move cage back.
i am home later, after work next day, wife arrives, soon after then my youngest son,
" dad did you know Jane ate your plane?" "what!" i said,
repeated his sentence, got into the living room i first looked at her and she looks at me then i look at the plane, checked the plane all the electronics were still there and realized she(Jane) was ok and i said "So what my bird is ok."i was a LiL' miffed but it was my fault.
Now when a bird like Jane (mentality of a five year old child, Jane is 15yrs old)
we have had her since she was six months old. and if you have ever seen Jurassic Park,that look in her eyes was just like the raptors, she knew what was going on, they know what you are thinkn' this was about three days ago so far so good she is Ok.
so what you say? well the moral to the story is i thought my grandson was the destroyer of worlds now i have to watch out for bird. both dogs haven't chewed
on any thing but their bones and toys since they were puppies.
i should of took pics but i was too busy stripping the T-28 down for salvageable parts.

[drwayne]

I saved a wedgetail eagle male from itself in 97.. it struck the truck I was driving ( didnt hear a thing ! ).. and some 100miles further on when I stopped.. he rolled off the pantec air deflector and landed to the ground.
Poor bastard was broken up pretty bad.
Young fellow 2→3 years.. a few bandages later ( for me ) I took him to vet.. 3 weeks later took him home to continue rehab.. .intending to return him to the wild.
Brilliant pet !
The intelligence behind those raptor eyes can be most unnerving.
Whatever I handle/focus on intently in front of him.. is fair game for shredding..
Whatever I push around or bypass.. is still there days/weeks later without issue.
Oh, this fellow doesnt have a cage ( anymore ) ...
He is free to come and go as he pleases.. he pleases himself to be around me, or stalking the backyard for foolish felines or rodents etc that saunter across this small yard... being of almost 6ft wingspan he is not welcome at local walking/ball/games parks.. so I coax him into the back my 4WD for fortnightly excursions to open lands..
"Falconing" with a 6' wingspan raptor is a thing of pure beauty !
Sporadically stuck in a wheelchair, the experience is hauntingly frightful when he rushes in to land and display his wings for pappa .. running in for a congratulatory scratch !
No, he is not a domesticated pet seen by / appreciated by friends or family.. he has become hyper protective and I harbor valid fears for ppl who approach me within his vision ( that includes when I take him out ! .. "stay in the car.. it's safer !!! )

Sorry, I digress.
Clearly if you wish to preserve your planes from dis assembly, keep them away from the 'spoiled' pet !

[Fella1340]

The wedgetail is still with you to this day? Great story and its amazing after spending so long in the wild he was able to "domesticate himself in any way and tolerate human interaction at all. I would call that very special indeed! What the grocery list for an eagle like that? Other than times you are able to take him out hunting (does he hunt well?) What does the grocery list like? I could ask a thousand questions and still have more. If your inclined to do so Iwill would love.to. You mention he is no longer in a cage, does he spend all his time outside or like to spend time indoors as well? It seems to to.picture such a big guy toddling around behind you as you move about your house. You are either on very good terms with your neighbours or have a bit of space yourself.
A friend of mine is learning "how to hawk", he was a rescue bird well and decided he didn't want to leave the animal rescue site. Thor is him name, he has taken to her very well. Almost immediately attached himself to her and they have been together for the last year now. He even got himselfna job and loves it. He moves around to a number of berry farms, they have fake hawks on poles but that didn't fool the birds for long and they can come in huge numbers and devastate a crop in a matter of hours. She and Thor move from farm to farm and Thor does guard duty, he loves the job and he seems to really like my friend. Same type of protective issues as well, only inside buildings.and the outdoors he doesn't mind anyone around.
Very different story though as they a.rescue site. Its amazing that you were able to take him on with no training and for the relationship to have lasted since 99, even more so since he has been wild a year or two. The people that hawk in Canada, there aren't many of them but I believe the do it with rescue birds that are.very young and have lost there mother before they were able to fully take care of themselves. I wasn't really focusedbon that part of the conversation as I wanted to know more about Thor, his job and his friend. She's very lucky only 22 years old and is loving Thor ans there work together
to. So if you Cam share more, I'm listening
Jeff

[drwayne]

Like other carrion feeders, this guy has a body smell problem.. fatty oils from the prey are exuded through skin to cover the main body .. this is not for the squeamish !
When rescued from his own foolishness, and then returned from vet to my care.. he was flightless for almost 20 months.. 4 years before able to loft and soar.
As my own health deteriorated over the years, our roles exchanged between protector and protected
Now Im resident/working from inside my State's capital suburbia.. he spends time at the local zoo's bird sanctuary enclosures... they hope he mates ..
I try access him twice or more each week to entertain himself, myself and some the public .. I always plan a few months to take him out to my care each season .. he is not a suburban friendly pet, you see ..
No, no cage when at 'home' .. he wanders from shed door opening around the yard to inside an annex on rear the house....I keep my boat parked/positioned in the rear yard to disturb his flight path.... like a jumbo jet that needs a long runway to launch..this offers the same restriction ..

Yes, have had prior experience with birds.. from little ungrateful bastards to cockateils, crows and a variety of parrots.. from eggs, fledglings and a few rescued from abusive owners ..
.
Never one to shy away from a challenge ( no matter how foolish ) I accepted his broken remains as my responsibility .. and 15 years later on his determination to be assimilated into my daily routine led to the involvement of local fauna authorities to try something towards reintroduction to his own species.

Birds of this size are not friendly , they are not for showing around to mates as they will viciously/ferociously protect itself/mate from anything it considers a threat, are horridly smelly on warm days, have a razor sharp infection laden beak that can rip your flesh off without a thought.. never forget the smell of what it considered a threat ( he pulled from shed and destroyed a life jacket someone else had worn, but left mine alone ) .... and yet they have the most endearing quality of loyalty and tolerance to it's mate (or in my case it's protector )

Just dont go try petting one at the zoo !

[drwayne]

Wedge Tail Vs Fox.. Guess who won !

[drwayne]

http://www.jump-in.com.au/show/earthflight/season-1/episode-6/the-making-of/#autoplay