You would think that being cooped up inside during two weeks of endless rain would make life extremely dull. But alas, I am the owner of a rambunctious green cheek conure – life is never dull.

This morning I woke up, got dressed, grabbed my spinning shoes and the warmest hoodie I could find, and headed out the door for my morning workout. I was affronted by a cold, windy drizzle, entirely uncharacteristic of the California I have grown to know and love. But of course, we cannot complain! With this drought, we need all the precipitation we can get. Two weeks of rain is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

After I reached home, I decided to take a quick run around my apartment complex before heading up to my apartment and feeding Papaya. When I finally got upstairs, totally out of breath, I opened the door to complete silence. Something was not right.

All you parrot owners out there know that if there is silence, it either means your bird is in trouble… or more likely, is causing trouble.

“Baby?!” I called out as I rushed to remove my shoes. No response. Oh dear, what has she done? I thought as I rushed into her room.

As I quickly surveyed the cage, still panting, I realized there was no Papaya in sight! My heart skipped a beat as I quickly began to assess where my monster could possibly be…and then I saw her.

Proud and majestic, the rainbow ball of feathers was entirely puffed up as she slowly strutted across the top of her cage towards me. She cocked her head and pointedly looked at me as though to say, “Who’s the smart one now?” Then she deliberately turned her back on me and marched away, swishing her smug tail from side to side as she went.

Meanwhile, I was left standing there, breathless and incredulous. How could she have possibly escaped from the cage?! 

The two front doors have special latches that Papaya cannot reach from the inside of the cage. Both of these locks were still in place, untouched. The cage does have two small breeder doors, however, on the sides. One of these doors is extremely tight, and is located behind the curtain where she sleeps. She has never gone near or shown any attempt or interest in opening this door. The reasoning is two-fold; first, she doesn’t have the muscle strength, and second, it is in an awkward location for her to actually push through it because of the curtain. I discovered the other breeder door was loose a couple of months ago, so I had zip-tied it shut. Upon first inspection, both the breeder doors also seemed to be closed…

Conundrum: How did she get out?! 

So I looked closer…

The breeder door behind her sleeping curtain was ever so slightly ajar. Papaya’s weeks of building muscle through flight training has rendered her strong enough to push through even that most tightly-latched, inconveniently located side door. But what is still shocking to me is that she actually figured this out and did it. I truly adore all the birds I have ever raised… but this smarty pants is officially my first Houdini!

I’ve uploaded a video of my morning discovery for your enjoyment. Please pardon my being entirely out of breath as I tried to narrate what was going on in my state of post-workout astonishment!

But now, I shall bid thee all adieu as I must go hunting for a Zip Tie… After the Prehistoric Monster’s morning episode, I need to barricade that breeder door against future breach!

Wish me luck! 😉