Bob

Ever wondered what kaks are like as pets? Read Bob's story.

Of course all my pictures of Bob had to come out blurry. Unlike his older sister Toast, Bob came out a perfect bird. He is in fact the only chick my hen Alicia has ever reared correctly (where her sudden burst of parental skills came from I'll never know). While I was raising Toast I was always worried she was stunted because I kept comparing her to Bob. He was a huge baby. At one point I thought about pulling him for handfeeding but then figured I had enough on my hands dealing with Toast.

After Bob fledged and before he could really fly my dad and I both spent time with him- plucking him off the perch and holding him. In just a day or two he was as tame as any handfed. Whenever someone entered the aviary he would fly over and greet them. As soon as he was weaned I took him out of the flight and brought him into the house. He never looked back. Bob loved it Alvin (left) and Bob (right) in the house- there were so many things for him to do and get into. He flew everywhere (I don't like to clip wings until I know who the buyer is)- the curtains, the kitchen, the tv, the mantle, the bookcases, everywhere. He could spend all day doing this, never tiring, chattering away. Before long I noticed Bob babbling words. Soon he could say "pretty bird," "hello Bob," and "Whatcha doin?" One day my sister and I were watching Monty Python's Holy Grail while Bob was occupied flying here and there as usual. On came the scene where some old hag was beating a cat against a wall. Every time it hit the cat would go "MEOW!" I noticed Bob listened very intently at this sound, so I repeated it. He jetted right over. He really liked this sound! It was the fastest thing he learned to mimic and he loved to use it. Whenever he got mad he'd waltz right up to you, pupils pinpointed and go "MEOW!"

Not only is this one blurry but the flash obviously didn't
go off. Unfortunately (for me anyway), I needed to sell as many babies as I could to make up for the price of my kak pair, which had drained my account. This meant selling Bob. Sadly kaks are hard to sell because so few people (even bird people) have heard of them. When you do see them around they are always being offered to aviculturists, not potential pet owners. I did manage to sell Bob to a family living right across the street from my grandparents. I met them through my grandparents but I can't recall how they ended up being interested in a kak. Bob's been living with them since 1996 and my grandparents update me on occation. The family loves him and he talks constantly.

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