Akirababe
New member
I've considered getting a Whiteface Pearl Cockatiel who'd become "Mayo"... but anyways!
Tuna is my first bird, a very unforgiving and timid little blue budgie. I made what I believe to be a mistake in not getting his wings clipped when I got him from the pet store and he was clearly never hand raised or fed before me. I worked with him relentlessly... pretty sure he started to get fat on all the millet he was eating as I shamelessly baited him into standing on me. Now, he's timid still, but he'll step up and even flutter up to my hand if I'm close-ish and holding out a finger. He sees me as a safe space, more or less. Pretty cool, but we have a ways to go yet. I've had him about 3 months now. Give or take. He's a noisy brat who yells at me when he wants his seeds refreshed (still working on transferring him to pellets; he thinks he's winning... he's probably right) and when he's ready to come out of his cage if I haven't let him out yet. Tuna has a perch I bought at Petsmart sitting by the window and he spends 90% of his day there when he's not in his cage for bedtime. Recently, he's taken to that 10% of fluttering over to Pickle's cage and screaming at him through the bars xD He's hilarious and cocky and he doesn't get left alone with the Quaker anymore lol.
My second and most recent bird acquisition is a doofy Quaker parrot/Monk Parakeet I've named Pickle. He was freshly weaned at 2 months old when I got him two weeks ago and he's been a real adventure. The first couple days I borked up something good by overwhelming him with new foods (I got a little overeager to find things he'd like) and he stopped eating entirely, just kept doing the baby bird head bob dance. Thankfully the breeder is totally supportive and she helped me via message to get him back to normal (a lockup in his cage with his pellets accessible was all he needed! Now I ignore the baby bird dance and it's pretty well gone away). He's a cuddly little turd and he loves his custom built play stand (there was nothing out there that really did what I wanted, so I made my own from wood at Home Depot, and a few improvised -parrot safe- bits) but I'm pretty sure his favourite time of day is mommy's bed play time. I have a king size bed and he and Tuna both come into the bedroom (other animals -three cats, two dogs- get locked out for safety's sake) and there's a box of little foot toys and beads and sticks that gets opened and they proceed to ignore it and go after the toilet paper I use to clean up their little dumps. It's a great time. Tuna is so closed off, but I love seeing him come out of his shell to explore the toys and try to nip at the Quaker that's more than twice his size xD He's such a little ****, but I love him. Pickle, on the other hand, alternates between running around the bed with a plastic spoon in his beak and trying to scale mommy as she lays on her side at the head of the bed and nibble on everything related to me. Mostly grooming, I think, but some of them have been a little nasty. Testing boundaries? Dunno for sure. Also, I'm potty training him, but I swear he knows and is intentionally trying to poop on me whenever he can.
Yesterday, I missed a cat hiding under the bed, but apparently have nothing to worry about since tiny Tuna gave him the what-for and chased him off, screaming and lunging xD It was pretty funny, though definitely an oopsie I'll be avoiding in the future.
I'm excited to be a parront. I always said I don't want kids ever, but I guess that's out the window, especially with the Quaker. lol Here's to 30+ years of loving little bastards <3
Also, HI EVERYONE. I'll share pictures of all the fids in follow-up.
Tuna is my first bird, a very unforgiving and timid little blue budgie. I made what I believe to be a mistake in not getting his wings clipped when I got him from the pet store and he was clearly never hand raised or fed before me. I worked with him relentlessly... pretty sure he started to get fat on all the millet he was eating as I shamelessly baited him into standing on me. Now, he's timid still, but he'll step up and even flutter up to my hand if I'm close-ish and holding out a finger. He sees me as a safe space, more or less. Pretty cool, but we have a ways to go yet. I've had him about 3 months now. Give or take. He's a noisy brat who yells at me when he wants his seeds refreshed (still working on transferring him to pellets; he thinks he's winning... he's probably right) and when he's ready to come out of his cage if I haven't let him out yet. Tuna has a perch I bought at Petsmart sitting by the window and he spends 90% of his day there when he's not in his cage for bedtime. Recently, he's taken to that 10% of fluttering over to Pickle's cage and screaming at him through the bars xD He's hilarious and cocky and he doesn't get left alone with the Quaker anymore lol.
My second and most recent bird acquisition is a doofy Quaker parrot/Monk Parakeet I've named Pickle. He was freshly weaned at 2 months old when I got him two weeks ago and he's been a real adventure. The first couple days I borked up something good by overwhelming him with new foods (I got a little overeager to find things he'd like) and he stopped eating entirely, just kept doing the baby bird head bob dance. Thankfully the breeder is totally supportive and she helped me via message to get him back to normal (a lockup in his cage with his pellets accessible was all he needed! Now I ignore the baby bird dance and it's pretty well gone away). He's a cuddly little turd and he loves his custom built play stand (there was nothing out there that really did what I wanted, so I made my own from wood at Home Depot, and a few improvised -parrot safe- bits) but I'm pretty sure his favourite time of day is mommy's bed play time. I have a king size bed and he and Tuna both come into the bedroom (other animals -three cats, two dogs- get locked out for safety's sake) and there's a box of little foot toys and beads and sticks that gets opened and they proceed to ignore it and go after the toilet paper I use to clean up their little dumps. It's a great time. Tuna is so closed off, but I love seeing him come out of his shell to explore the toys and try to nip at the Quaker that's more than twice his size xD He's such a little ****, but I love him. Pickle, on the other hand, alternates between running around the bed with a plastic spoon in his beak and trying to scale mommy as she lays on her side at the head of the bed and nibble on everything related to me. Mostly grooming, I think, but some of them have been a little nasty. Testing boundaries? Dunno for sure. Also, I'm potty training him, but I swear he knows and is intentionally trying to poop on me whenever he can.
Yesterday, I missed a cat hiding under the bed, but apparently have nothing to worry about since tiny Tuna gave him the what-for and chased him off, screaming and lunging xD It was pretty funny, though definitely an oopsie I'll be avoiding in the future.
I'm excited to be a parront. I always said I don't want kids ever, but I guess that's out the window, especially with the Quaker. lol Here's to 30+ years of loving little bastards <3
Also, HI EVERYONE. I'll share pictures of all the fids in follow-up.
