Pet Birds              

Some of you know that birds are our family’s choice for a pet. But not all of you know specifics about birds and their pet “appeal”. So this page is designed to not only brag about our sweet birdies, but educate others about the ways birds can really be one of the best family pets around!

 

Here’s a little something you might not know about parrots. Our little Budgie (1 ½ years old) plays with a cat ball just like cats do! He runs after it when it is thrown and sometimes brings it back to us to throw again! He can maintain this level of activity for a good 10-15 minutes and then gets tired enough to sit on our finger and start his “talking phase”. Click here to hear an example of his incredible vocabulary.

Listen and you will hear, in order:

*You silly boy* *you're so cute* *I love you* *you're so cute* *...kisses.....Budgie, Budgie, Budgie..* *You sweet birdie* *...budgie, budgie, budgie....* *...kisses...hi, little Buddy* *..kisses, budgie, budgie, budgie (then a tweet and then a) BUDGE! (like he's upset..LOL)* *You're so cute*

Hope you enjoy his cute sounds.

 

Now, for Buddy’s appeal. By now, you might be understanding how different personalities come into play…..

 

Buddy (2 years old) has always been a real “whistler”! He has a ritual every morning and evening singing a repertoire of songs that are consistent and easy to sing along with! He starts by a pattern of beak clicks on his cage (almost like a musical instrument being tuned) and then begins his complete musical number. For your pleasure, I present a small sampler of Buddy’s daily song…… Click Here .  As you can see, Buddy loves to get kisses from Megan too. Megan is really his chosen “human”.

 

Now, until I add to my “flock” which I hope will be this year, I do not have another bird to brag about. However, in memory of Baby, here is a memorial of her. She was a beautiful Pearl Pied Cockatiel, a picture coming soon. She LOVED Adrian and went crazy over him. Her favorite thing to do was to preen his face and be petted by him. One day I am hoping a bird will choose me!  You see, you don’t really chose birds, they chose you so always watch the bird for clues as to who they like best. We have seen our birds definitely pick favorite people and yet still have affection for the others in different ways. I have found birds to be much like people, you respect them and they will respect you. Also, a lot like children, they are not going to be “perfect” but can be loved just the way they are.

 

One of the best things about birds are that they are easy to keep. (We think so) I am comparing them to cats and dogs. They don’t have a smelly litter and leave hair all over the couch and floor. Their feathers and seeds can be easily vacuumed up and their droppings (once you are used to it) can be picked up easily without residue. Of course, the bigger the bird, the greater the mess so I am not talking about Macaws or Cockatoos here. Those will have bigger messes and bigger needs! However, we would love to have one in our family when it’s the right time. (We think the mess is minimal compared to the other animals we’ve kept.) Cockatiels are great family birds and I would always suggest one for someone’s first bird. A sad thing is that many bird owners still don’t understand the dietary needs of birds. The days are over to feed seed only. Much more has been learned about their diet needs and feeding them plenty of fresh (organic if possible – pesticides are NOT a good supplement!), vegetables and fruit as well as some grains can really keep your bird on a healthy track. Please only consider a bird if you are adamant about learning how to respect them and let them have their own space when needed. They need to be viewed as intelligent creatures like they are. They have their own signals and an “in tune” family will learn what the bird is trying to communicate and respect it. For instance, Budgie does a quick wing flap when he does not want to be out of his cage so we promptly put him back before his aggression starts. It’s kind of like a warning that he is getting irritated. When we respect their space, they are wonderful family members.

On a final note, to the left you will see Garrett with a Quaker parrot that we rescued in the Winter of 2001. He (and all Quakers) are illegal in California so we had to get him out of the state for his safety. He was caught in a bad 2-day storm and after being in contact with many wonderful people, namely Susan (Susan has continued to be a great friend and help for our family) and Ellen from Parrot Perch and Ken & Carol, ( Birds N Ways Message Boards ), Iris and her daughter Rachel, who graciously risked much to get this bird out of California and to a new, loving, permanent home with Iris where he is legal. We thank Iris and her daughter who are now experiencing many benefits of having this great bird and also thank Ken and Carol for getting the bird to the vet and onto a plane with Rachel to go home where he will live safely for the rest of his life! It was quite an experience and we are so happy we were chosen to help this beautiful creature to safety.

 

Well, it finally happened. We were able to adopt a beautiful female Senegal named Kiwi. We are so excited to add her to our flock and we hope she will be very happy with us too! Here are the first couple pictures of this wonderful bird. More information to follow soon.

For questions and great information about birds, please visit our favorite bird message board at www.theparrotperch.com where you can ask questions about any kind of bird and hosts/bird lovers can give you advice and lead you to other valuable resources. For individual bird species, you may visit www.birdsnways2.com . We hope we’ve inspired you to consider a bird the next time you are debating on a pet for the home. A word of caution: In my strong opinion, birds, unless in a very special situation, should not be housed with cats and dogs. If you still want a bird in that situation, I strongly suggest you get advice from those who have done so and can queue you in on the many dangers involved. Please always think of the bird first, before anything else. Make sure the environment is fitting for a bird and read all you can about pet birds first. Here are some helpful links.

 

www.petstation.com/so-you-want-a-parrot.html Read this one for a full description of life with a parrot.

www.mickaboo.org/s1295-13.shtml For the inexperienced and those desiring to know more about bird care.

www.netpets.com/birds/reference/kjohnson/birdcare.html This one councils you on how to choose your bird and what you should know about it’s care before and after you buy it. I have always felt that I got more from the online information than any book I’ve ever read on the subject. Hope these links help you too!

 

AND BY ALL MEANS, VISIT THIS SITE BEFORE YOU BUY;

www.allforanimals.com/parrots.htm -Parrots Bill of Rights

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my online support group, The Parrot Perch, link above. These wonderful people provide helpful advice, a place to “brag” and incredible knowledge that has helped my family through many bird related issues. Thank you, Susan, for being such a great family friend to us and to Buddy and Budgie and providing the links above to help my family, friends, and anyone who stops by interested in loving a bird for life. And thank you Ellen for making the board available to provide the much valued support we get through it. We are forever grateful to have a place to bring our trials and treasures to on the Internet.