GRACIE aka PRINCESS GRACE
06/18/2004 - 12/06/2007
Rescued-06/18/2007
Adopted by Us-09/08/2007
(A.K.A. GRACIE, GRACIE BIRD, GRACIE MAE, GRACIOUS, GRACEDOR, ALIEN GRACE, SQUAWKY SPICE)
Our beloved Gracie died December 6th. We are completely heartbroken. We miss our sweet girl terribly.
Click here to read the tribute I wrote about her for Mickaboo on March 31, 2008.
Gracie Mae is our newest addition. We decided little Sunny deserved at least a chance at a buddy. Brandy is such a
people bird. Or, should I say, a Mommy-bird. She could be very happy with me and no one else.
Anyway, Sunny wants to hang out with Brandy and Brandy couldn't be less interested, so we thought we'd add another
sweet girl to our flock and see what develops.
Gracie was in quarantine for her 1st
6 weeks with us (Mickaboo insists on it; They quarantine for 6-8 weeks in foster care, too. Have I
mentioned that Mickaboo is the gold standard of bird rescues?).
Gracie and Brandy and Sunny were squawking back and forth at
each other so much the last few days of quarantine that I thought I'd go batty, but it really wasn't too bad. They'd
get chatty at night, but all three were usually pretty quiet until then. Gracie was so lonely that it was hard to know
what her real
personality was, but she seemed sweet and loving. She was squawky, but it was completely understandable.
Now that she's out of quarantine and she's much more relaxed, we know what a treasure we have. Gracie is a doll.
She's very, very sweet and docile. Very calm and would take neck-scritching for hours, if you could
make your fingers work that long. She's even more of a people bird than Brandy is.
She's very gentle. When she steps up, it's like she's barely there because
she does it so lightly. She's the same when she "pecks" at my earrings. She'll lightly touch them with her beak.
You barely know you've been touched. When she's really comfortable, she'll give my earrings the
tiniest of tugs, but that's it. She enjoys hanging out on my shoulders and playing in my long hair. She'll nearly
bury herself in my hairline if I don't watch her.
She takes little notice about personal space, which annoys Brandy & Sunny
a bit, but tickles us to no end. She wants to be right up against your body or your
cheek or in your hair. She's quite quiet now that she's in with Brandy and Sunny. Usually, the
only noise she makes is an odd little happy screech noise she makes
when she really loves her neck-scritching. It doesn't
sound immediately like a happy noise, but it is. Odd little thing.
She has another louder screech for "Stop messing
with my cage!" but
she's never aggressive in the least. She just wants her cage and food respected. Gracie's a big eater.
She was quite a bit dustier and itchier than our other two when we first brought her home, but once she got used to
the desert dryness, that calmed down a lot. She's just a touch dustier than Brandy and Sunny now.
She's got the cutest little "M" in white feathers on the back of her neck. I think
she's known a big parrot, because she makes that kinda hassled, big parrot screechy sound when she's really
happy or louder and screechier when she's startled or wants some attention. Uncanny.
Speaking of her past life, she wasn't caught out in the wild like Brandy and Sunny. She was relinquished by her previous
owners. Apparently, Gracie was a young boy's gift from a friend. A gift this boy's mom was not enamored with, so
Mickaboo got a call from the mom and decided to take her in. (In her previous life, Gracie was called "Princess," but
I always called my Luvvy cat Princess, so our new birdy
got "Grace" added to her royal title and is called "Gracie" now.)
Gracie's such a good, sweet girl.
She's definitely a keeper as our avian vet, Dr. McEwan, can attest. He absolutely adored Gracie when Mark
took her in for her annual well-bird exam (another
Mickaboo must). She passed with flying colors, of course. Har. She was the perfect little patient
(unlike Brandy, who's good about stepping
up but hates being toweled and goes almost catatonic after her vet visits, and Sunny, who was
dubbed "The Twerp" by the good doctor for her misbehavior). Gracie Bird barely tried to nip at him when he was
trimming her claws and wing feathers and beak. She didn't even attempt to fly around the room. Very sweet and calm.
The absolute best thing about Gracie is how easily she has fit in with Brandy and Sunny. You just never know, so
we were worried. They aren't buddies yet, but there has never been a single fight. Gracie has her own sleep cage, but
she hangs out with the other two on their cage playtop and the glasstop cocktail table (with its own playground)
we have in their room (they get the entire room after I wake them in the morning until bedtime,
but they only seem to care about those two areas).
They are all sweet, shy girls, so we're very, very lucky (and happy) parents!
You can see Gracie's Mickaboo profile here.