Month’s after hatching, Cherry Berry Icee was adopted by an excited 13 year old girl named Ayla right outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. Ayla’s parents and younger sister found Icee beautiful and intriguing but it was Ayla who immediatly formed a very close connection with Icee. Supporting Ayla through the trials and tribulations of high school, Icee then followed her to spend their college years in Isla Vista, California. She lived in a house full of interaction with new friends and spent lots of time on outings with Ayla. Icee was no stranger to the beach, as she had visited Siesta Key with Ayla and family a few times before her big move to Cali.
As Ayla’s college years ended, she began her international travels which led Icee to her new home, living with Ayla’s moms’, Kk and Nancy. Icee spent most mornings sharing peanut butter banana’s with Kk and becoming friends with a multitude of very peculiar and personable cats like Nanokitty and Desmondo! Her favorite thing to do, at this phase in her life, was to go to Home Depot on Kk’s shoulder. Everyone wanted to pet Icee, which Icee made it very clear, she did not approve of!
After her first decade with Ayla and her second decade with Kk (still getting lots of visits from Ayla!), she was hired on as an official Animal Ambassador at Schoolhouse Safari and moved in with Siena (Ayla’s younger sister) and her family. There, she had the chance to form a relationship with another eclectus, Keiko, as well as interact with other birds like Maxwell the African Gray and Willie the Cockatoo. Siena was lucky enough to form a bond with her as well, although they had shared lots of love and many meals throughout the years already.
Icee was a favitore at Daycare visits because of her strickingly beautiful colors and her infamous ‘knock noise’ and occasional ‘the smoke detector is out of battery’ chirps. She provided education and excitment for thousands of kids during her time at Schoolhouse Safari and became the logo for their “Animal Story Time” packages. The highlight of her time as an ambassador was welcoming over 600 guests to the Lafayette Science Museum to celebrate her 25th birthday at “The Parrot Party”. Cherry Berry Icee enjoyed a beautifully delcious cake made just for her by one her favorite humans, Heather, while a group of wonderful friends and family (Including Ayla and Kk) sang Happy Birthday to her!
Battling minor infections since her hatch date, Icee was able to fight off illness in her younger years but unfortunately in Spring 2024, after having a quiet but playful dinner of seeds, peanuts, apples, millet and bell peppers with Ayla and her 2 young children, Icee passed away in her sleep on a warm blanket, just 1 wall over from the human that had given her unconditional love and friendship her entire life.
Icee’s experienced so much more than many pet parrots ever get the chance to. Love, travel, all the food you could imagine, life long friends, and so much more. She provided happiness to so many people and will never be forgotten.