Grumpy is a 50-year-old cockatoo, who believes he’s the man of the house.
Linda and her husband adopted Grumpy from a breeder, who was getting rid of all their breeder birds.
They found Grumpy at Linda’s parent’s house after her brother got him from the breeder.
She knew she had to take him.
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Linda found him terrified and confined in a small cage.
She wouldn’t stand for it.
She could not allow this state to continue.
When her brother got him, he had no idea how to raise a bird.
That’s why they probably thought placing him in a small cage was fine.
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This was the late 1980s.
There was no internet yet so sources of information were limited locally.
Eager to give Grumpy a free life, Linda told her husband she wanted to take him home with them.
Her husband said no because he didn’t want a pet. But Linda was determined to bring him home.
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So they tossed a coin.
Her husband suggested they toss a coin to decide. They did and Linda won.
Her husband said, “best two out of three”. On the second toss, Linda won again.
Although Linda said, if she had lost, she would still take Grumpy home.
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Linda was like her brother, she had no idea how to raise a bird.
One of the first things she did was to give him his own room and he was free to fly around the house.
He did have his own cage, which he can open and close, for his sleeping arrangements but he wasn’t confined to it.
Because of his previous circumstances, Linda had to slowly introduce him to the new humans and his new home.
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Linda patiently took care of him and after a month, Grumpy understood that these new humans had no plans of harming him.
Pretty soon, they did everything together in their home. Grumpy would eat his meals at the dinner table with Linda and her husband.
They’d watch TV together.
And Grumpy would chew everything. That’s why Linda had to wear certain clothes that can be chewed by Grumpy.
Just Linda though. Grumpy only allowed Linda’s husband to touch him when they had a baby and Linda spent more time with their baby.
It took seven years before Grumpy allowed it.
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Grumpy sees his humans as his equals. He acts as the head of the household most of the time.
They used to have seven other birds but not anymore. Grumpy is the only bird in their house again.
He doesn’t like birds. And even when he sees a bird on the computer, he’ll peck the screen and scream.
They’re determined to give him the best care they can give him.
“We deserve to give him the best life that we can give him because it’s not his fault that he was caught from the wild,” Linda told GeoBeats Animals.
See how Grumpy rules his roost in the video below!
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