Kiwidget
New member
- Jan 20, 2012
- 46
- 0
- Parrots
- Pacific Parrotlet (Kiwi) and a Pineapple Conure (Widget)
Here's a couple pictures of my babies, and some back story, because I'll probably be needing a ton of advice. lol
My very first bird, Kiwi. This was the first day we brought him home. He was in a tiny cage all by himself at the pet store, most of his feathers gone, absolutely terrified of everything and everyone. My heart broke for him. The store owner actually tried to talk us out of buying him because he was so ugly. Being the bleeding heart that I am, I insisted on taking him home and the owner reluctantly charged me $40 dollars for him and even gave me the cage he was in and a free toy. The cage he was in was good for nothing but getting him home, so we bought a small Hagen double tall cage for him to live in once we got him back to the house. That was about... 2 months ago? I wish I could say that he was a changed bird, completely rehabilitated, but it's turning out to be a rather long process. Something terrible happened to this bird, I'm not sure what, but the poor thing is still so scared of people. Not as scared as he was, but still very scared. His feathers are growing back in slowly and from what I can tell, he is going to be BEAUTIFUL... neon green head, bright blue wings, turquoise tail, so pretty. He is VICIOUS... incredibly aggressive and his bites have drawn blood many times, but I do my best to suck it up and deal with it so that he isn't allowed to think that biting me will get me to leave him alone. I don't know what made him so fearful and aggressive, but I hope he will eventually learn to love me and realize that I'm nothing to be afraid of. After all, mine is the hand that brings him the millet and grapes.
Sorry about all that, I just wanted to give some background on him. He's proving to be a stubborn and complicated bird with a very mysterious past.
This picture was taken 2 or 3 weeks ago, I had to zoom in pretty far because he wouldn't let me that close, so I apologize for the quality. He looks pretty scraggly, and his feathers have come in a bit more now. I'll try to get some better ones in our training sessions tomorrow. I was only just able to pick him up with my bare hands today, after 2 months! He bit the crap out of me, but for about 30 seconds, he stopped biting me and trying to get away and sat there and let me give him scratches. After that he bit me so hard I had to let him go, but hey! Progress is progress! For being such tiny little things, Parrotlet bites hurt worse than any other bird I've handled. I've got limited experience, sure, but I'll be damned if those tiny beaks don't feel like NEEDLES. OUCH.
On a bit of a lighter note, this is the newest addition, Widget. He's the one in my avatar. We've had him for about two days, and he's about 2 months old. He's in that transitional period between formula and pellet food, which is very MESSY, lol. He's a sweet little cuddle bug, and he likes to burrow underneath my ponytail and sleep there. That being said, he's REALLY clumsy and while he can fly just fine, he has no clue how to land and I usually have to haul ass to catch him before he tries to land on a bare wall and hits the floor. He's also a night owl, he is STILL awake, eating millet and trying to convince me to let him out of his cage.
Cuties are his favorite food
Hanging out on my husband's neck
Eating another cutie, hanging out with my husband and our one-eyed dog, Jack.
WHEW, sorry that was such a long post! Everyone in the house is asleep and I've only got you guys to talk to, at the moment. Thanks for reading!
My very first bird, Kiwi. This was the first day we brought him home. He was in a tiny cage all by himself at the pet store, most of his feathers gone, absolutely terrified of everything and everyone. My heart broke for him. The store owner actually tried to talk us out of buying him because he was so ugly. Being the bleeding heart that I am, I insisted on taking him home and the owner reluctantly charged me $40 dollars for him and even gave me the cage he was in and a free toy. The cage he was in was good for nothing but getting him home, so we bought a small Hagen double tall cage for him to live in once we got him back to the house. That was about... 2 months ago? I wish I could say that he was a changed bird, completely rehabilitated, but it's turning out to be a rather long process. Something terrible happened to this bird, I'm not sure what, but the poor thing is still so scared of people. Not as scared as he was, but still very scared. His feathers are growing back in slowly and from what I can tell, he is going to be BEAUTIFUL... neon green head, bright blue wings, turquoise tail, so pretty. He is VICIOUS... incredibly aggressive and his bites have drawn blood many times, but I do my best to suck it up and deal with it so that he isn't allowed to think that biting me will get me to leave him alone. I don't know what made him so fearful and aggressive, but I hope he will eventually learn to love me and realize that I'm nothing to be afraid of. After all, mine is the hand that brings him the millet and grapes.
Sorry about all that, I just wanted to give some background on him. He's proving to be a stubborn and complicated bird with a very mysterious past.
This picture was taken 2 or 3 weeks ago, I had to zoom in pretty far because he wouldn't let me that close, so I apologize for the quality. He looks pretty scraggly, and his feathers have come in a bit more now. I'll try to get some better ones in our training sessions tomorrow. I was only just able to pick him up with my bare hands today, after 2 months! He bit the crap out of me, but for about 30 seconds, he stopped biting me and trying to get away and sat there and let me give him scratches. After that he bit me so hard I had to let him go, but hey! Progress is progress! For being such tiny little things, Parrotlet bites hurt worse than any other bird I've handled. I've got limited experience, sure, but I'll be damned if those tiny beaks don't feel like NEEDLES. OUCH.
On a bit of a lighter note, this is the newest addition, Widget. He's the one in my avatar. We've had him for about two days, and he's about 2 months old. He's in that transitional period between formula and pellet food, which is very MESSY, lol. He's a sweet little cuddle bug, and he likes to burrow underneath my ponytail and sleep there. That being said, he's REALLY clumsy and while he can fly just fine, he has no clue how to land and I usually have to haul ass to catch him before he tries to land on a bare wall and hits the floor. He's also a night owl, he is STILL awake, eating millet and trying to convince me to let him out of his cage.
Cuties are his favorite food
Hanging out on my husband's neck
Eating another cutie, hanging out with my husband and our one-eyed dog, Jack.
WHEW, sorry that was such a long post! Everyone in the house is asleep and I've only got you guys to talk to, at the moment.
Thanks for reading!
