Hedwig's Progress

Minerva

New member
Jul 21, 2016
20
6
Hey everyone! I thought I'd give a little update on Hedwig the lovebird. She has been doing very well. She is very stubborn and opinionated, and though she learned to step up well she generally sidles away at first and then gives me a piece of her mind afterward, to let me know what she thinks of me making her do it. :rolleyes:

She LOVES destroying her toys. I got her a new, larger cage when I started commuting and filled it with toys, but it wasn't quite enough. In spite of not liking me much, she clearly missed my presence during the day and even stopped touching her toys.

Naturally I got her a companion after a great deal of research. I perused Craigslist for rehoming ads for a while but birds aren't very popular in my area and I didn't find any except for two larger birds (a macaw and an Amazon). So after ruling out another lovebird due to aggression/pairing issues and a GCC due to lack of time on my part (I came reeeeeally close to a pineapple, but realistically with my horse nearly ready for "real" training my time is limited), I brought home a hand fed cockatiel to live in its own cage beside Hedwig. The store apparently quarantines them, but I took her to the neighboring bird clinic to be checked out before bringing her home as a precaution.

The cockatiel has been a huge hit with Hedwig! She immediately went back to being active and playing and the two of them get along outside of their cages (and inside, for that matter) very well. In fact, since the cockatiel goes right in Hedwig's cage to play with her (they shred toys together) and they try to roost together at bedtime I suspect that they will eventually share a cage.

Last night their antics had me laughing. One of the goals of getting a hand fed bird that already likes humans was that Hedwig could see her interact with me and hopefully relax a bit. This seems to be working since Hedwig follows the cockatiel and copies what she does. I had both of them on my laptop playing around last night.

And now, of course, some pictures. I haven't named the cockatiel yet because I don't know what gender it is. The girl at the shop said she thinks it is a girl. Do you agree?

YvwZfFyl.jpg

Hedwig on her perch.

mmHBlTUl.jpg

My attempt to keep her occupied while commuting. It worked for a week or so!

9mjbQOyl.jpg

Friends!

Some cockatiel pictures... she is MUCH easier to photograph than Hedwig.
oxauZ44l.jpg


Dyi9xwKl.jpg


O0wb2icl.jpg

What are you...

PvELjeLl.jpg

OH GOD NO. Stop that! I need that!

jlJXAdXl.jpg

Who, me? I wasn't doing anything.

sfUHGQ1l.jpg

A slightly better shot of her markings. This side has more grey, and her chest has more yellow.

I can't remember if the girl said that the cockatiel is four months old or five months old, but it was one of those. She's still pretty clumsy which is why her tail is such a hot mess. Is that old enough to tell what gender s/he is? I think her color is called pied, right?

Anyway, that is what we have been up to. Hedwig is happy again so I am too.
 

Allee

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2013
16,852
Media
2
212
Texas
Parrots
U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts
Hedwig's story just keeps getting better! Thanks for the update! I'm happy to hear your little cutie is doing so well. Congrats on your beautiful new addition! I love the split crest in the the third and fourth photos! Adorable! I'll let the cockatiel enthusiasts answer your gender and mutation questions.
 

texsize

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Oct 23, 2015
3,899
Media
5
4,794
so-cal
Parrots
1 YNA (Bingo)
1 OWA (Plumas R.I.P.)
1 RLA (Pacho R.I.P.)
2 GCA(Luna,Merlin) The Twins
1 Congo AG (Bella)
5 Cockatiels
One of my Tiels pulls of keyboard keys all the time. When they come out of the cage the lid on my laptop goes DOWN...
texsize
 
OP
Minerva

Minerva

New member
Jul 21, 2016
20
6
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
Thank you Allee and Texsize! That's good to know that I need to guard my laptop, Tex. I think I'll keep my phone away from her too. She loooooooooves to open and close apps using her tongue! I couldn't believe that she was able to.

I think I will post some of these pictures in the cockatiel section to see what they say. :)
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top