Zoey
New member
It's taken me a long time to be able to talk about Baby Budgie, to this day I still cry when looking at pictures or talking to people about him. But I feel it's time to tell his story, so here goes.
January of last year is when Baby Budgie came into my life. I seen an ad on Kijiji about a baby bird that was attacked my it's mom and needed help. The pictures were brutal, this poor little bird had a chunk missing from the back of his scalp and more damage on one wing, he was only 9 days old. I immediately responded to the ad saying I could help. I got a response back about an hour later, they had found someone to take him in and care for him. I thanked them for letting me know. About 2 days later I got another email from the original poster saying she passed my email on to the lady that took the baby bird in. The lady that took him (Let's call her Jane) was having a really hard time getting him to eat. She said "I can get him to have about one syringe full and that's it. Can you please come over and help me?". I wasn't working at the time so I ran over to her house to give her a hand.
I sat and watched her try to feed Baby, she was doing what she could but Baby was not cooperating and I could feel Janes frustration. I took over from there and had Babys crop full within 10 minutes. Jane looked like she was in shock, she couldn't believe that I actually got him to eat. She looked at me and said "I think you need to take him home with you", I was reluctant, but in the end I caved and ended up taking him home.
Things were going great with Baby Budgie and I, I was checking his crop and feeding him every 3-4 hours. I was setting alarms throughout the night so I could check on him and make sure his crop was full and that he was nice and warm. About 2 weeks after I took him home he developed head tilt. I remember I woke up, made fresh baby bird food and took him out of his nest. As soon as I picked him up I noticed he was holding his head down towards his chest and twisted off to one side. Panic came over me right away, I had no idea what happened, was it something I did or didn't do? Is it going to go away? and what exactly is happening to my baby! I managed to calm myself down enough to feed him and settle him down for a nap. I started researching, made a few calls to a vet and a fellow parrot lover and they all said Baby had head tilt. I was advised to do nothing, the problem would most likely go away on it's on. This just lead to more panic and questions, what if it doesn't go away? Can a bird live a normal, decent life this way? And of course, How did this even happen?! I had a friend come over shortly after Baby first developed head tilt. She tried to politely tell me I should maybe put him down because she couldn't seem him getting better. There was no way I was going to give up on him now, this poor little baby has been trough so much in his 3 weeks of life I'd be damned if I give up now.
About 2 weeks after the head tilt started it disappeared as fast as it came. After more conversations with a vet we concluded the head tilt resulted for the head trauma his mother inflicted upon him. All that mattered to me was the head tilt was over and I never gave up on him. Our life returned to out normal routine and we were happy.
One day Baby Budgie decided he was a big boy and didn't need me to feed him anymore. Oh what a proud/sad Momma I was that day, my baby was growing up and turning into a very handsome little man! I started putting budgie seed, ground up fruitblend and spray millet in his cage so he could start eating big bird food. He took to it right away and loved the independence that came along with it. We spent a lot more time together after that, he wanted to be with me all of the time and I was perfectly okay with that.
He grew up so fast! Summer came which meant wing clipping time so he could be outside with me and the rest of the flock. I have never seen a bird enjoy the sun more than little baby budgie did. Looking back on it now it was like he knew he had to enjoy it while he could, like he knew he wasn't going to be around much longer. I wish I would have picked up on that then instead of what happened next.
It was nearing June, Baby was about 6 months old and the happiest, most friendly Budgie you'd ever meet. By this time his flight feathers had grown back and I figured it would be a nice chance to let him fly for a bit before clipping his wings again. He was having so much fun learning how to fly and teasing my poor Orange Winged Amazon. He also loved the let's land on moms head game, every time I called him he would come land on my head. Life was good.
June 27, 2015, that was the day a piece of heart flew away. The front door was open for maybe 5 seconds, but all the time needed for Baby Budgie to fly out the front door. Instant panic spread through me, I ran outside calling his name. I could see him in the neighbours tree, I know he could see me too because he was responding to me but not coming to me. Trying my best not to cry I kept calling him, begging him to land on my head, fly back inside anything other than sitting up at the top of the tree. I'm not sure what spooked him, but something did and he went flying down the street. I burst out in tears, started running down the street and screaming his name. I'm sure the whole neighbourhood thought I was insane but the only thing on my mind was finding my baby. Baby Budgie could fly faster than I can run and it didn't take long to lose sight of him. I couldn't tell you how long I stood there, crying, screaming and trying to explain to a neighbour what happened. When I was able to function somewhat normally I walked back home, posted all over about him flying away and begging people to put an extra cage outside with food and water just in case.
It's now pretty much December, Baby Budgie would have been a year old soon. It's been 6 long, hard months since I've seen my Baby Budgie. Part of me knows he's never coming back but the other part refuses to let go. I raised him, loved him and taught him so many things. It was never suppose to end like this.
I will miss and love him forever. I will never forget what he taught me, I will never let any of my birds have full flight (Except for Scooter, but she can't walk so I don't feel it's far to cut her wings as well) and I will never take a birds love for granted. Their time with us is not guaranteed, some of us will get lucky and have our birds for 20+ years or longer, but some of us have our time cut short. Thank you for reading Baby Budgies story, when you get home tonight give your feather babies some extra love and kisses because we never know how much time we have with them.
May you rest in peace my Beautiful Baby Budgie Bird
January of last year is when Baby Budgie came into my life. I seen an ad on Kijiji about a baby bird that was attacked my it's mom and needed help. The pictures were brutal, this poor little bird had a chunk missing from the back of his scalp and more damage on one wing, he was only 9 days old. I immediately responded to the ad saying I could help. I got a response back about an hour later, they had found someone to take him in and care for him. I thanked them for letting me know. About 2 days later I got another email from the original poster saying she passed my email on to the lady that took the baby bird in. The lady that took him (Let's call her Jane) was having a really hard time getting him to eat. She said "I can get him to have about one syringe full and that's it. Can you please come over and help me?". I wasn't working at the time so I ran over to her house to give her a hand.
I sat and watched her try to feed Baby, she was doing what she could but Baby was not cooperating and I could feel Janes frustration. I took over from there and had Babys crop full within 10 minutes. Jane looked like she was in shock, she couldn't believe that I actually got him to eat. She looked at me and said "I think you need to take him home with you", I was reluctant, but in the end I caved and ended up taking him home.
Things were going great with Baby Budgie and I, I was checking his crop and feeding him every 3-4 hours. I was setting alarms throughout the night so I could check on him and make sure his crop was full and that he was nice and warm. About 2 weeks after I took him home he developed head tilt. I remember I woke up, made fresh baby bird food and took him out of his nest. As soon as I picked him up I noticed he was holding his head down towards his chest and twisted off to one side. Panic came over me right away, I had no idea what happened, was it something I did or didn't do? Is it going to go away? and what exactly is happening to my baby! I managed to calm myself down enough to feed him and settle him down for a nap. I started researching, made a few calls to a vet and a fellow parrot lover and they all said Baby had head tilt. I was advised to do nothing, the problem would most likely go away on it's on. This just lead to more panic and questions, what if it doesn't go away? Can a bird live a normal, decent life this way? And of course, How did this even happen?! I had a friend come over shortly after Baby first developed head tilt. She tried to politely tell me I should maybe put him down because she couldn't seem him getting better. There was no way I was going to give up on him now, this poor little baby has been trough so much in his 3 weeks of life I'd be damned if I give up now.
About 2 weeks after the head tilt started it disappeared as fast as it came. After more conversations with a vet we concluded the head tilt resulted for the head trauma his mother inflicted upon him. All that mattered to me was the head tilt was over and I never gave up on him. Our life returned to out normal routine and we were happy.
One day Baby Budgie decided he was a big boy and didn't need me to feed him anymore. Oh what a proud/sad Momma I was that day, my baby was growing up and turning into a very handsome little man! I started putting budgie seed, ground up fruitblend and spray millet in his cage so he could start eating big bird food. He took to it right away and loved the independence that came along with it. We spent a lot more time together after that, he wanted to be with me all of the time and I was perfectly okay with that.
He grew up so fast! Summer came which meant wing clipping time so he could be outside with me and the rest of the flock. I have never seen a bird enjoy the sun more than little baby budgie did. Looking back on it now it was like he knew he had to enjoy it while he could, like he knew he wasn't going to be around much longer. I wish I would have picked up on that then instead of what happened next.
It was nearing June, Baby was about 6 months old and the happiest, most friendly Budgie you'd ever meet. By this time his flight feathers had grown back and I figured it would be a nice chance to let him fly for a bit before clipping his wings again. He was having so much fun learning how to fly and teasing my poor Orange Winged Amazon. He also loved the let's land on moms head game, every time I called him he would come land on my head. Life was good.
June 27, 2015, that was the day a piece of heart flew away. The front door was open for maybe 5 seconds, but all the time needed for Baby Budgie to fly out the front door. Instant panic spread through me, I ran outside calling his name. I could see him in the neighbours tree, I know he could see me too because he was responding to me but not coming to me. Trying my best not to cry I kept calling him, begging him to land on my head, fly back inside anything other than sitting up at the top of the tree. I'm not sure what spooked him, but something did and he went flying down the street. I burst out in tears, started running down the street and screaming his name. I'm sure the whole neighbourhood thought I was insane but the only thing on my mind was finding my baby. Baby Budgie could fly faster than I can run and it didn't take long to lose sight of him. I couldn't tell you how long I stood there, crying, screaming and trying to explain to a neighbour what happened. When I was able to function somewhat normally I walked back home, posted all over about him flying away and begging people to put an extra cage outside with food and water just in case.
It's now pretty much December, Baby Budgie would have been a year old soon. It's been 6 long, hard months since I've seen my Baby Budgie. Part of me knows he's never coming back but the other part refuses to let go. I raised him, loved him and taught him so many things. It was never suppose to end like this.
I will miss and love him forever. I will never forget what he taught me, I will never let any of my birds have full flight (Except for Scooter, but she can't walk so I don't feel it's far to cut her wings as well) and I will never take a birds love for granted. Their time with us is not guaranteed, some of us will get lucky and have our birds for 20+ years or longer, but some of us have our time cut short. Thank you for reading Baby Budgies story, when you get home tonight give your feather babies some extra love and kisses because we never know how much time we have with them.
May you rest in peace my Beautiful Baby Budgie Bird
