Bird bath for Emma and Ricky the parrot

5:25pm Friday 28th July 2006

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IT is ruffled feathers and tantrums at baby bath time in the Dunning household and that is just from Ricky the parrot.

Each night Mrs Dunning runs a bath for her one-year-old daughter Emma at their home in Walkden.

But, jealous of the baby being the centre of attention, the family's pet parrot, Ricky, insists on creating a splash too, and shares bath time with the tot. And he gets his feathers in a flutter if he does not have first pick over Emma's bath time toys.

Mrs Dunning, aged 43, who is a nurse and lives with her husband Phil, aged 34, and her 13-year-old daughter Katie, said: "Ricky's a very jealous bird. Before I had Emma he used to perch on my knee while I had a bath and he'd say to me "clean my chops, clean my boots", meaning his beak and claws.

"When I had the baby, I couldn't leave him out of bath time so now he shares it with her."

Mrs Dunning has always loved animals and bought Ricky, an African Grey parrot, from a pet shop five years ago after she was told she would never be able to have a second child.

Since then, Ricky has had to share the family's attention with three cats and a rabbit. But when baby Emma came along in July 2005, he was not happy about missing out on anymore of his owner's attention.

Mrs Dunning said: "He's happiest after Emma has gone to bed, when we let him fly around in the house and he has all of our attention."

And now, even the bath tub is proving too small for both bird and baby, as the two have started squabbling over Emma's toys.

Mrs Dunning said: "Ricky will grab whatever she's playing with in the bath. She tries to give a few tugs but she takes one look at his beak and gives in."

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