- Comet, Tusa!
They haven't realized that I opened to the aviary.
Where you going?
(kiss)
What happened to you?
How'd you end up upside down?
Wanna hang out with Bonnyboo?
Can you share your space with Cressy?
Can you share?
Hey guys.
So a lot of you have been asking
about the flock and the dynamic of the flock
and how it might've changed since losing Bandit.
Just kind of, if the other birds have noticed
or if they're acting any differently.
Gonna be honest, Cressy probably, Cressy, my gray,
she probably liked Bandit the least,
out of my entire flock.
So, this isn't the best tribute to him.
So she is not phased at all.
Bandit was not particularly bonded
with any of my other birds.
So he never, whenever he would, you know, share an aviary
or an enclosure with anybody, or we'd be out free-flying.
You wanna come over?
Or whatever, he was never looking to
be with a certain flock member
and like preen with them or be buddy-buddy with them.
So, there was none of that sort of,
intense bonding, by any means.
I could house him with Cressy and Bondi
and I never really found them, super bonded.
So, these guys have not really been phased by
Bandit not being around.
The other reason for that though,
is because, our life is so unpredictable.
It's so different.
Our schedule changes so much,
just being in the world of entertainment.
Everything's kind of last minute.
And so, they're very used to change.
And I house my birds between
three different sets of aviaries.
So I have my indoor setup, my outdoor setup at my house
and then my outdoor setup here in the garden.
And so, our birds are always moving and changing.
And then we have a designated bird trailer,
where it's just bird trips.
And then we have a prop trailer
that also has a space for birds.
And so depending on what kind of gig we're doing,
we're taking those trailers and we're taking certain birds
and it's never really the same.
So, they are accustomed to change
and things being different and seeing different birds.
'Cause I work with different birds.
And we go on flight trips.
And they're just used to constant variety.
And I would say, consistent inconsistency.
So I think that's one of the reasons
that the dynamic has not changed among my birds.
They don't notice it or act any different, I should say.
I shouldn't say they don't notice, 'cause they likely do.
But they aren't acting any differently
because of him being gone.
So I thought that, that might be an interesting thing
to a lot of you.
'Cause I think, maybe a lot of you
aren't sure how the relationships are
within my flock and what that dynamic looks like.
And just understanding how they aren't necessarily phased.
If anything, they're all getting
a little bit more attention.
Which we always try to do before trips anyway.
And we're about to take this big trip.
So, yeah, it's just kinda one of those things,
where luckily, I would say,
the flock is not impacted negatively from
not having Bandit around.
And Cressy still mimics him,
which we absolutely love.
And so, yeah, I'm actually, I'm relieved about it,
just because I wouldn't want any of our birds to be upset
or missing a flock mate, to the point of acting out
or plucking or anything like that.
That would be horrible.
And I have heard stories of birds who are incredibly bonded
to each other and they might lose a mate.
And then that really affects the other bird strongly.
Are you jealous because Cressy's getting all the love?
Sure girl.
I have two hands.
And I originally thought I would have a bunch
of flock members in this.
I let Comet and Tusa out, but they're,
they didn't come over.
But we got our girls.
It's a girl video today.
No boys allowed.
It's just me and my girls.
(laughs)
Bondi's head's upside down.
(laughs)
Hey girly.
I would love to know though,
based off of your guys' experience,
if you've lost a bird or an animal,
especially if those birds were bonded,
how you went about handling it and how your birds responded.
So that we can all kinda help each other through
times like this because not all birds will
respond so easily.
Even Comet and Tusa who are my Camelot Macaw brothers,
they're probably the most bonded of my flock.
And they're used to being separated all the time as well.
Because we use Tusa a lot more in our show than Comet.
So oftentimes we take Tusa on tour
and we leave Comet behind, so.
Look at that,
you are moulting girly.
Have some new feathers coming in.
No wonder you're so itchy.
I definitely feel like the birds are loving
the little extra attention they get from
one less flock member being around.
Which is a sad reality,
but it has been nice to spend more time with them.
Also, there have been of course, questions about,
us adding more birds because we now have more space,
which I absolutely hate hearing it put like that.
I've always kind of felt cramped
and like we don't have enough space
for the birds we already have.
So I'm definitely not looking at adding any more birds.
I'm not looking at, quote, unquote,
replacing Bandit, that could never be done.
We don't have any plans to expand the flock.
All right, we should go check on those boys.
See if they're getting into trouble.
Anyway, I know this video is super short.
But I just wanted to keep it short and simple
and answer your guys' question.
And show some cuties.
So hopefully you guys enjoyed this video.
And enjoyed getting a little glimpse into the answer
of your latest question and most asked question.
'Cause a lot of you have wanted to know the answer to this.
(kiss)
You gonna hang out with Bondi?
What are they doing over there?
Comet.
You wanna go down?
(laughs)
Oh my goodness.
Just cuddly, snugly girls.
A little prickly.
You waving to everybody?
Hey Cressy.
You're too close to focus.
Here we go.
What a pretty girl.
You're so still.
(laughs)
(upbeat music)