Which bird changed your life?

reeisconfused

New member
Aug 11, 2018
137
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Parrots
rescued IRN Max and Cockatiel Honey
Not sure if this is the right forum to post in, but here we go.

I never considered birds as ā€œpetsā€ before. Sure, they were cute and funny; some could even mimic you but I never thought of them as.....interesting, might be the word, as other pets. Boy, was I wrong. I grew up in a household where cats were a crazy obsession so I was truly a crazy cat lady. Iā€™d seen other people keep birds as pets but these people would always keep their birdies caged. All their life spent in a cage, which sometimes, was too small for them. The interaction was minimum between the owners and the fids, with feeding them being the only time the fids saw the humans. Back then, I had no knowledge of birds but even then, I always felt sorry for them. I thought it was unethical to keep birds locked up all the time. These birds were kept like ā€œshow piecesā€, something to boast about and look at when you got bored.

Whatā€™s crazy is that even though this seems so outrageous, it is far too common. People buy birds impulsively and give them up when they get bored / canā€™t take of them properly. Over the years, Iā€™ve seen many birds being rehomed SO many times for small reasons. Bird starts biting - rehome / bird hit puberty and is cranky - rehome / bird is not ā€œhumanā€ enough - rehome etc etc.

I told myself that I would never get a bird because I thought keeping birds as pets would only make them suffer. I think this notion was prehaps due to the fact that I had personally never seen a success story with birds as pets growing up and I stuck to the idea of staying away from them.

Well, that definately didnā€™t happen. šŸ˜‚

Last year, I was visiting one of my momā€™s friend and I met such a beautiful flock of birds that I was awestruck. This lady had budgies, an IRN and a parrotlet. And boy, were they gorgeous. They were the most trained, funny and crazy lot that I had met haha. I absolutely loved hanging out with them. The parrotlet, Wes, was such a diva and he stole my heart. I left the ladyā€™s house a changed person that day. During my stay, I would go back to her house to hang out with the flock (especially with Wes) and I was such a happy girl doing so.

Fast forward to this year, I had been considering getting a bird of my own. The idea was still up in air but I was so excited. I had found an excellent breeder and was going to buy a cockatiel! I was so happy.

But before things got finalized, I learned of a family who had an IRN that they were keeping very poorly. This sweet boy, Max, was being kept in the SMALLEST cage ever and it was literally the size of him. His cage was filled with feces and had not been cleaned in a long time. This cage could ONLY hold a hanging perch (THATS HOW SMALL IT WAS) and that was where Max sat all day long. He was kept on a tomato a day diet. He had not been showered and was so so dirty. I was shocked and so so appalled.

The only thought process I had that time was that I NEEDED to save him. At any cost. I talked to the owner and he was not ready to give him up. I told him that I was willing to pay for Max and it took a long road of convincing him to make him give up Max.

My uncle drove and got him and by the time I was back from work, there he was. My sweet sweet Max.

I immediately showered him, transferred him to a bigger cage and he was so, so HAPPY. He eat like he had never eaten when I gave him food. It was truly a sight. Other good things followed: vet visits, bigger cage etc.

However, Max would not let anyone near him / handle him. He was terribly afraid of hands and this was understandable.

Two months of having him in, I learned from his previous owners that Max was actually a wild caught bird. His previous owners had bought him from someone who had caught Max from the wild.

Debates followed, with some of my family and friends suggesting that I release him back to the wild. They thought having a bird who wasnā€™t fun and wouldnā€™t let you touch them a ā€œwaste of timeā€. I strongly disagreed.

Max is maybe 10+ years old (the vet thinks), he has flying issues (he flies into EVERYTHING) and some beak problems. He would NOT make it in the wild.

And so, I kept him.

Present day, Max is still very afraid of hands and I doubt that heā€™ll ever be fully tame but he truly is my baby. I care for him more than I have for anyone and heā€™s literally my child now. Ofcourse, we have good days when Max lets me stand close and talk to him. Its days like these that keep me going.


My point being, having birds changed my life. Meeting with Wes and spending time with him in the long run made Maxā€™s rescue possible. If I hadnā€™t met him, I wouldnā€™t have thought about taking Max in. So in a way, Wes and Max, both changed my life.

Which bird changed yours?
 

Allee

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Oct 27, 2013
16,852
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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
All of them, each in his or her own way.
 

texsize

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month šŸ†
Oct 23, 2015
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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
I guess the thing that really flipped the switch for me with birds were the birds my mother-in-law had.

My mother-in-Law lives in Colombia and my wife would visit her every year. She came home with a video tape of her mothers birds (4/5 amazon parrots). They were so much fun to watch and listen to that we (wife and I) decided we should get one.
This was back in the mid 80's and we did not know anything about keeping birds and lived in an apartment that did not allow pets.

We figured that no pets meant cats and dogs not birds, I mean how messy could a little old bird be:18:

A few years ago Colombia made it illegal to own parrots. Last year they were forced to give up there birds to the government after having them for almost 35 years.:17:

So in a way the birds that changed my life (and my way of life) were my Mother-in-law's birds that I never got to meet in person.

Wes
Texsize
 

Sunnyclover

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Jan 11, 2017
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New Jersey
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Sun Conure - Ollie- Hatched 08/18/16*

Nanday Conure -Finley- Hatched 10/07/17*

Turquoise Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure -Paris- Hatched 03/03/18*

Black Capped Conure -North- Hatched 10/10/18
Umm...I personally believe you can teach your bird who's scared of hands to be handled. I have a bird who was scared of hands and it took about 8 months of daily work and dedication but I was able to fix it and now if I put my hands near him he comes running over to be picked up and petted. I honestly thought at one point that my bird would never get over his fear and it definitely got worse before it got better. I just thought to myself that I have this bird whom I love and I will care for him and perhaps I will just handle him the minimal amount and...oh well. He also has "other" issues which make teaching him things harder . I believe if I can do it with my very difficult bird that there is hope for Max yet. I would start with clicker training and stick training with a clicker. There are many videos on YouTube about it. This exercise helps build trust and helps A LOT.
Also, please don't release Max into the wild as he'll die because he's not used to fending for himself and will be easy target for predators and the elements.
 
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reeisconfused

reeisconfused

New member
Aug 11, 2018
137
0
Parrots
rescued IRN Max and Cockatiel Honey
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Umm...I personally believe you can teach your bird who's scared of hands to be handled. I have a bird who was scared of hands and it took about 8 months of daily work and dedication but I was able to fix it and not wif I put my hands near him he comes running over to be picked up and petted. I honestly thought at one point that my bird would never get over his fear and it definitely got worse before it got better. I just thought to myself that I have this bird whom I love and I will care for him and perhaps I will just handle him the minimal amount and...oh well. He also has "other" issues which make teaching him things harder . I believe if I can do it with my very difficult bird that there is hope for Max yet. I would start with clicker training and stick training with a clicker. There are many videos on YouTube about it. This exercise helps build trust and helps A LOT.
Also, please don't release Max into the wild as he'll die because he's not used to fending for himself and will be easy target for predators and the elements.


Oh yes, I know. Progress with Max is always very slow and I do think that Max may get over his fear but maybe not just yet. It will take time, lots of it!

Oh no, I wonā€™t! I never considered releasing him back to the wild. My family, on the other hand, had different opinions. I tend to ignore their comments haha.
 

sweetpeamusic

Member
Mar 4, 2018
123
23
Washington State
Parrots
Nico - male Turquoise GCC
For me the one that turned me into a crazy bird person was a wild chick I found when I was 15 years old. This little dude was just wandering around cheeping and not knowing any better I picked him up and took him home. Upon doing a bit more research while (relatively) unsuccessfully trying to feed him for few hours, I released him in the spot I found him hoping his mother would come looking for him.
I knew I could never have a wild-caught bird as I felt that would be inhumane, but that day I decided birds were the animals for me.
 

bigfellasdad

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Sep 21, 2017
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Enzo - adopted Female CAG circa 2004. A truly amazing young lady!
Joey, my little green budgie who flew down to me when I was walking to school with my mum, I was probably about 6 or 7 years old. I remember writing cards to put in shop windows to see if anybody had lost him but after a few weeks and no response my mum said i could keep him.

He was my shadow when I was home, wouldn't leave me alone, he would put his head in my ear and 'chunner' away he even shared my bath landing on my stomach I would pull my tummy in and he would take his bath then id put him on a tap and would preen. I loved him to bits and from that point ive always had a strong connection with birds. Ive had several birds since, budgies, a cockateil and now Enzo, an African Grey. Enzo is my first and most likely last larger parrot and my bond with her his hugely strong, I think about her all of the time, she is amazing.
 

GaleriaGila

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Parrot of the Month šŸ†
May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Wow, some powerful thoughts and stories. I LOVED reading and sharing them.

Allee, I like that idea about each bird changing our lives in its own way.

As for me, well, of course... my biggest influence was/is... my companion, love, fid, rooster and Genghis Conure for almost 35 years... the Rb.
 

Highlandparrots92

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Aug 6, 2017
17
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Scotland, edinburgh
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Parrotlets,Irish fancy canaries, meyers, jardines, white capped pionus, Budgies, Tiels, Goldie & Scaly Lorikeets, Lineolated parakeets, Kakarkis, R.i.P - Pip lesser sulphur cocktoo "always on my shoul
Hello id like to add my two cents here regards your question. Ive always been a mad animal person from a young age but always was dogs,cats fish the usual until one day a few years back i got my first ever bird a older 30 year old abused rescue lessed sulphur cockatoo who bonded to me straight away and i fell in love with her and since that day my passion for birds gradually increased to the point iam now a official foster/rescue home for rescue and abused parrots and part of large parrot rescue organations aswell as getting into small amounts of breeding with a extremly high welfare standard targetting beginners wanting to get into the bird world to help and advise people who all a sudden with little to no experience decide they want a macaw or cockatoo with no clue of the work involved and they get passed home to home of more clueless beginners the small impact i make to persuade those types of people to take a budgie or similar from me over a poor larger parrot that end up coming to rescues like myself and end up with multiple behaviroul issues i guess what im trying to say is i loved that little cockatoo with all my heart and she made such a massive impact in my life that now iam owned by multiple animals with around 70 being birds of all varied backgrounds ive had everything from finches and canaries to amazons,toos and macaws and i help rescues and babies find caring knowledgable forever homes i lost this cockatoo mentioned last year after many years due to her abusive unhealthy intial previous background and it near killed me broke my heart still makes me cry to this day my shoulder and heart is empty without her but the impact that one made to my life and to my views and my very high standards and determination to change the terrible keeping standards of aviculture ive sworn i will change it for the better before im in the ground all in the memory of that one little bird. I know this turned into a ranty story but its because i really do care and determined to change birdkeeping for the better i see the worst of the worst doing what i do and its amazing a few years ago id never even considered a bird as a pet but now im almost deaf from living with them lol but i wouldnt change my lifestyle bird choices for anything :). Sorry a big ranty story it touched a soft spot in my heart bringing her up again. Glad is other dedicated birdy folk out there :) happy new year to everyone and their feathery family members.
 

nateboussad

Banned
Banned
Jan 8, 2019
1
0
Jackie's a guesstimated 15 yrs old - still going strong .

As for feathers, if you read descriptions of peachies online, they mention a white ring of feathers around each eye and Jackie has this. Not sure if it's missing when young...

A couple of years ago Jackie also developed a few yellow-tipped feathers on his head. Apparently this is age-related. This wont help you much with your yellow fluff ball
 

Oedipussrex

New member
Jun 3, 2012
319
1
Australia
Parrots
Charlie - Galah
My story might come across more on the depressing side, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. (sorry i just realised how long this is lol)

My first bigger parrot was an eclectus, and he was the sweetest boy you could ever meet. In some ways I probably didn't learn how to handle medium to larger birds with him because he was always so good with me. We struck it off straight away when the breeder brought him out, & he was always so good with his body language and warnings that he only ever bit anyone enough to hurt if it was because he was literally going to fall. He would gently grab the offending fingers and move them a few inches away from himself and let go, like "no go away" it was so awesome.

I got him towards the end of highschool so he was my buddy all through my undergrad degree. I probably owe some of my grades to him purely because of his morning routine keeping my attendance on track. There were many days there when my only reason for getting up in the morning was because he needed his breakfast at 7am or he'd scream the house down.

The first year with Pickle was very humbling because we were new to bigger parrots, and eclectus, and something was clearly wrong. His beak and nails were always too long, and once he started moulting he never stopped losing feathers. Bird vets here are very cockatoo/budgie (or agriculture/chicken) focused so they didn't diagnose him on sight (though in hindsight it was all there, all along) all the information we were getting was that it was our fault; it was a stress or diet or behavioural thing that we just needed to put in the extra effort to fix. He wouldn't play with toys unless they were really good foraging toys, so he required a lot more effort in the mornings getting everything set before I left him with my family for the day. He didn't chew or entertain himself. He knew tons of tricks, and talked, but without prompting, if he was in his cage he just sat there, maybe practicing some words to himself - probably picking at his feathers. He couldn't fly (not even as much as a clipped bird. Like a stone) so he needed extra vigilance when he was out because he still tried jumping off of his cage and other things sometimes, and he needed you to get him around. But boy did we put in the extra effort. We needed to redesign his whole cage because he was awkward getting around in it and we didn't want him falling. We tried so hard to make it take as long as possible to finish with the foraging toys. The thing with situations like that when it means so much to you is you don't even notice it happening, its like that's just how things are now. I don't know if I'll ever have another pet that requires so much planning and time and caused me so much stress or worry but we just did it, and even now I think our other pets get the benefits of that raised bar.

When he was over a year old we finally found a vet that was actually willing to run some real medical tests as well as just giving him a once-over physical. It was pure chance when they were taking blood for a liver test, that he dropped a really disfigured feather. This was the first deformed feather he had grown, and the vet got it tested.
Pickle had PBFD.

I felt awful, because obviously that is horrible news to get, and it didn't help in any way because there was nothing we could do about it, but part of me was relieved. Finally we had the reason behind everything we had been dealing with for over a year. It wasn't my fault, a thought that still makes me feel rather selfish. Of course this just made us double down on everything we were already doing. There was no end to this, this was his life, so we could commit to our bigger cage plans. He got lots of food that he probably shouldn't have, because it was obvious he wouldn't live long enough for it to kill him first (something we would make morbid jokes about- idk if you're all thinking i'm a horrible person, but when you're in that situation you need that dark humour sometimes). We didn't want to distract him for any goal of growing his feathers out, but simply to distract him from his own discomfort. Watching him idly sitting there itching was heartbreaking.

Weird thing to bring up but people would ask me if i wished had picked a different bird back at the breeders that day. I used to say that while I wished he didn't have PBFD, I wouldn't ever trade Pickle for anything, even knowing what I do now. What we had was special, and it was my job to help him make the most of the hand he'd been dealt, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it as well as I would. He was also the first pet I had to make the euthanasia call on, just before christmas before he turned 5. A lifechanging experience if ever there was one.


Now, my next choice of bird wasn't going to be a galah (maybe a gcc, or another eclectus given enough time), but Charlie literally walked up our driveway and introduced himself into our life... He probably owes Pickle a million times over for the level of patience and good humour he receives, or the imagination that goes into his diet and toys which isn't nearly as necessary anymore. Anything he does that's annoying or destructive or messy; I can't hate. It makes me so happy I want to cry sometimes when I see his half destroyed perches and crap all over the floor. He plays! he's noisy! he can fly! He does bird things! you can leave him alone for an afternoon and he will destroy something and practice his words until you come back. He doesn't just sit there. And even though he doesn't get those beautiful golden rings in his irises when hes paying you special attention, he makes all the same faces :smile015:.
(It wouldn't hurt to have him learn some bite-avoidance though lol)
 
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IndySE

Active member
May 5, 2016
419
36
Southern California
Parrots
Kermit, ā™€ GCC (Green Demon)
All the birds in my life have been special and taught me some hard lessons. But I suppose for the more optimistic side I'll have to go with Blueberry, my very first bird that I received when I was 8 years old. He was the love of my life and I'll never forget the magic of being picked out at the petstore... in a sea of budgies, he was the one that wanted me <3 I have no idea why he gravitated to that gangly energetic kid, but I remember him being such a good happy boy. He'd hang out on my shoulder for dear life as I ran around (we have video of this during my brother's birthday party). It's hard to believe he lived only a year because every moment with him was a bright spot that attracted me to birds for the rest of my life.

The other bird that changed the way I viewed birds was a combined effort of Jack Frost and Kermit. I was taking care of my birds under a lot of misinformation or poor research, not to mention just not taking care of the things that should have been common sense. Before Kermit I was doing a lot of re-evaluation on my husbandry methods. At the time I intended to entirely revamp the way I was taking care of my current budgie Jack Frost and give him the life he deserved. Sadly he passed away before I got the chance... I'm not proud of this, but I still felt like I had a lot to give to a bird and that was the only way I could heal after Jack's passing. After some more soul searching and meeting Kermit by fate at a petstore, I decided to put everything into her and give her the best live I could give her.
 

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