A Little About Myself

[Ratzy]

My mum is half English and half Finnish. My dad is half Scottish and half English. I was born in Germany 1998, and we moved to Australia when I was 3/4. I have a few memories still of Germany, mostly of the house, the carrots I planted there before we left and the wildlife park. I had no pets there but I still remember the Snowy Owl at the wildlife park. We moved a few times in Oz before settling down in Victoria. My first pet was a rabbit, bought from a pet store. 'Peter' turned wild and played with the hares. He played hide and seek with me in the garden when I got the chance. Unfortunately, he was caught by an eagle after a year. Then we got Amy, the smartest sheep ever. She was rescued as a two day old lamb from next door, her mother dead. We still have her, she is now 7 years old. She is so smart you wouldn't believe me. A friend of mine had an aviary with breeding budgies. One day, I was allowed to hold some chicks and see some eggs. I think that was what sparked my interest in budgies. I had a lot of budgies over the years, which died, due to me being ignorant of quarantine. The most number of budgies I had, before my current flock, was 5. Alfie, Theodore, Marigold ( yes, Marigold ), Hamish and Boofer. Boof was my favourite. I bought Hamish and Boofer off a breeder. He told me just to put them in with my flock. They were sick. Alfie, Theodore and Hamish died on the same day. Boofer took a little longer to pass, and died while I was on holiday. I don't even have photos. Marigold lived, and after a few months, I bought Skye. He was the healthiest budgie there. I was then informed of quarantine. I introduced them in November. They bred in late January and Thimble, Chubba Chubs, Lexi and Dude hatched on the 15th, the 17th, the 19th and the 21st of February. They are now all healthy, vibrant little birds and I wouldn't swap them for the world.

 

[ladymorraine]

Wow that is upsetting. How old were you when your pets died? And how did your parents help you get over it. I am not an emotional person so I don't always Understand my children. I always ask when given the chance to learn more and possibly deal with them better. I am more the type to lock down when upset and not let it out so I am alsways at a loss to help the kids move on. And recently we lost a gerbil. My son did.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Lady m don't put yourself down like that non of us are perfect parents but we all do our best
now I belive you just got a new bird right ?
I have always found that from something bad comes something better
perhaps you could try that with your son and Try getting him to form a bond with the new bird
he may just find a new kinda love he never knew was possible

If he's not interested in the bird then still just reassure him of the same thing and tell him it can be a while before that good thing happens but it's always there and you'll be so happy when it does

You could get him a nice notebook type thing that he can write all his memories of his gerbil in and perhaps any pictures etc

These things help me and my kids

 

[Ratzy]

It was last year and I was 11. It was ( still is ) horrifying to me that because I didn't know about quarantine I lost my beautiful flock. I get joy now from my current flock because it won't happen again. I learnt from that, and now I can educate other people on quarantine. Don't worry about not understanding kids, we often don't understand grown ups. Your poor son. I don't know how to help.... Get him to remember the good memories somehow.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Hey ratzy I forgot to say
I'm sorry for your losses but glad that good has come from it
nice to hear a little about you also. We all seem to know so much about each others animals but never really the person
ps would love to hear more about the smarts of Amy

 

[bogo1]

Thank you for sharing that, and for your love of your budgies. I am a fan also, as you know. They are so smart and sweet and amazingly forgiving of their humans and of each other. I love that three of your birds were hatchlings. That is so amazing to someone like me who has never had any experience with where my birds come from. (And yeah I do know about the birds and the bees thing...) You have a lot of experience and can speak eloquently to the need for quarantine.

 

[bogo1]

Hi. This is not Barbara. I m using mom's computer. This is Kat. I m her kid-- the older one Mom showed me ur posts and asked me to guess ur age. I was way wrong. I just wanted 2 say I like r parakeets even better than the parrots because they cuddle great. I have long hair and r parakeets would get behind my neck under my hair and rub my neck. They would eat my papers 2 sometimes but ok on that. One of ours died and it was sad. She had been sick forever but she still liked me to hold her under my neck on her good days. My mom's birds like her and my brother more than me but I am still Merry's best human friend. Well that is it for now. I have a paper to write. But I just wanted to say hi to you cause you like parakeets too. Wow. this edit thing is cool. Just forgot to say I am half Russian and half Irish. So I am sort of a mix like you. I don't get to go to Russia often cause I play a sport that I do all year but I have gone 5 times. My little brother goes every year mostly. So he speaks Russian btr than me. But I skate a lot better than him!
Kat

 

[apatrimo94]

Well, it's nice to know about you Ratzy

You've inspired me, maybe I'll make my own thread about me (if you don't mind me taking that idea)

 

[Ratzy]

Hi Kat! How old did you guess? I love my budgies, they are family.
This is why I so strongly recommend quarantine, I have the memories of my flock dying in my hands .
PS. Amy can..
1# Undo gate latches ( we have safety clips on them now ).
2# Recognises the shearer and runs for miles, even though she only gets shorn once a year.
3# Knows where her oats are kept. ( No, seriously, at every chance she'll try to get at them )
4# I, my brother and my mum were in England ( holiday ) and dad was at home. Dad heard a rapping on the door at midnight and thought it was a burglar ( why anybody would bother to break into my house is a mystery, we have a really long driveway and an aggressive guard sheep ) but when he went to check, all he found was Amy, tapping on the door to be let in.
5# She runs after the car ONLY if we are going on a long holiday.
6# She flipped over the fence once, litterally.
7# Comes when she's called.
8# Rears on command.
And much more.
Amy was raised by me (I didn't do night shifts though ) and used to wait outside the glass door while we were warming up her milk. As a lamb she raced at the log in the garden and flipped over it. That's how she flipped over the fence ( too fat now ). She even followed the car halfway to school once.

I just did the weekly health check up on my budgies, Skye is moulting and the males are a bit on the thin side. Need to add some more Vitamin A to their diet as well. Marigold's wing feathers are a tiny bit frayed on one wing and she is eggnant again, despited being in an all girl cage. All of the girls are in breeding condition ( not breeding them ) and Chubba Chubs cere still hasn't changed colour.
I don't mind you making your own thread like this, AP

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Wow that's one smart sheep ratzy I bet she's a right trouble maker to
glad all your animals bring you so much joy

Keep it up
xx Jess

 

[Ratzy]

Your right about the trouble bit, Phoenix!! Forgot to mention my allergies.....
I'm allergic to the following.
Peanuts ( life threatening )
Grass ( non-life threatening )
Dogs
Cats
Rabbits
Guinea Pigs
Horses
Dust Mites
Ect...
I also get hay fever and asthma. Annoying, huh?
When I was little ( um, littler than I am now ), I had my hip out of joint. Personally, I don't exactly remember this, but it was corrected by ballet lessons ( urgh ). They are still slightly out of place. I'm double jointed in my hands.

Just discovered some kookaburras nesting outside our window.... this should be interesting to see them grow ( the chicks ).

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Wow ratzy I couldn't imagine living being allergic to grass and so many of our wonderful animals

Lucky you got your gaurd sheep on dutie lol

I demand photos of the kookies if you can get any I just love them

Quite a life you have lived in your years and much wisdom for it enjoy life and all it has to offer
there's nothing like being a kid

 

[antoinette]

If I had one wish Ratzy, I wish all kids your age had the knowledge and wisdom that you have.
Imagine what a rich place this earth would be............ if only I had one wish