A Senegal parrot named Kiyo removed the spacebar from his owner's laptop, prompting a search for solutions to protect office equipment from pets.

A Los Angeles-based writer reported that his Senegal parrot, Kiyo, damaged his MacBook Air by removing the spacebar while the bird was out of its cage. The incident occurred in mid-July while the writer was working from his home office. This is not the first time the writer has dealt with pet-related keyboard damage, as his Chihuahua previously chewed on a Razer Anansi keyboard a decade ago.

The Incident and Aftermath

The writer discovered Kiyo sitting on his laptop’s touchpad with the spacebar in his beak. After the writer shouted, the bird discarded the key and squawked. The writer now intends to visit a Genius Bar to have the keyboard repaired. In the interim, he has connected a HyperX Alloy Origins keyboard to his monitor’s USB hub to serve as a temporary replacement for his MacBook Air.

Managing Pets in the Workspace

The writer notes that his workspace is located only a few feet from the parrot's cage, which is kept in a living room corner. While Kiyo is generally well-trained, the bird occasionally targets office equipment or the writer's slippers when left unsupervised with his cage door open. Online suggestions for protecting keyboards from birds include using plastic covers or providing the pet with a dedicated decoy keyboard, though the writer expressed skepticism about the latter approach.