A sad parrot who refused to talk after his owner died has finally found a voice – telling his new keepers to ‘f*** off’.
Jesse, the potty-mouthed African grey, was so down in the dumps he started to pluck out feathers.
But animal rescue workers have now found Jesse a new home – and he’s making himself very comfortable.
His four-letter outbursts are accompanied by various rude sounds. ‘He loves to make fart noises, jokes and swear,’ owner Rachel Leather said. ‘His language is awful.’
Jesse was nattering away soon after he arrived at her house in Aberdare, south Wales, she said, and his personality is ‘really coming out’.
‘He just makes us roar with laughter.’
When rescue workers at Ashley Heath Animal Centre in Dorset first took Jesse into their care, it was clear he’d experienced more than his fair share of grief and stress.
Parrots – who learn to speak by hearing words and mimicking them – often have large vocabularies.
But nine-year-old Jesse didn’t say a word – except for sadly whispering ‘goodbye’ to RSPCA staff.
‘It’s not surprising he was struggling after such a sudden change,’ behaviour and welfare advisor Hannah Hawkins said.
‘He seemed lonely and depressed after such a loss.’
‘We knew we needed to get Jesse into a home environment as quickly as possible.’
Now, the gobby bird has struck up a rapport with dog behaviourist Rachel, and he’s settling in well with her family and their two dogs and five cats.
After learning Rachel’s partner calls her ‘babe’, he also shouts ‘babe’ to get her attention – then tells her to ‘f*** off’.
‘When I tell Jesse he’s funny he responds: ‘Yes, f***ing hilarious!’,’ Rachel said.
‘He even watches my partner play Playstation and laughs when his character has died.’
She looks forward to seeing her foul-mouthed friend’s personality and confidence grow as he makes himself at home.
‘We absolutely love him’, she said.
The RSPCA urges anyone thinking of owning a pet bird to consider adopting one of the many unwanted birds it cares for.
You can visit www.rspca.org.uk/findapet for more information, or donate to the charity online.
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