Miles
Active member
Hello everyone. I'm new here. I decided it's time to join one of these forum sites to get up-to-date advice on my specific situation.
I have owned birds for several years, but mostly parakeets. My family got our first budgie when I was six years old. I made a lot of mistakes with him, and he sat in a cage for two years because everyone was afraid of him. But then I started working with him (as much as an eight-year-old can!) and he became a beloved family pet. He died at four years, due to illness. I couldn't stand the sound of a bird-less house, so less than a week later, we came home with a pair: an Australian male budgie and an albino female, hoping to breed. We didn't know at beforehand that albinos aren't likely breeders. She was a mean one, and eventually nobody could stand her, not even her mate. So we gave her away to a friend. A few weeks later, someone had to rehome an adult female budgie, and we took her. Our male immediately took to her, and within a couple of months they had five lovely baby budgies. We hand raised them, sold two, lost one to an accident, and kept the other two. We still have the male, the two babies (now full grown), and another unrelated male that do very well in a community cage. Sadly the mother flew away after one of our little ones opened a window and the budgies' cage.
Anyway, I was getting weary of the hours I spent with the budgies, only to find they never really wanted to be with me anyhow. So I chose to upgrade. My siblings took over the parakeets, and I brought home a 6-month-old yellow-sided green cheek conure. I didn't know his gender at first, but he made it very clear as he matured! Once I knew he was a 'he', I named him Miles. Very fitting, since he's been all the way to Boston, the coast of Maine, and Pennsylvania several times. He's an absolute sweetheart. He was hand raised by a breeder in NC, and it paid off. He loves being handled. He is a lightning-fast learner, and has learned a few tricks and quite a decent vocabulary for a conure. He flips, spins, waves hi, and says "Peekaboo," "Birdie," "You're a pretty cute birdie," "Step-up," "Come-come," and a few mish-mash creations of his own. He loves to tease the budgies, fly laps around the house, and wrestle with me while on his back. He chases the dog, teases the outdoor cats in the windows, begs for baths at the kitchen sink while my brother is washing dishes, struts along the shower curtain rod while I'm showering, and is doing extremely well at his necessary training. His recall is progressing rapidly, and he's got the potty training down pat. Step up is as second nature as flying.
His peculiarities? He fights us for coffee, is terrified of the aquarium, loves to undo metal clasps, gets mad at his toys when they move (but punches them so they keep moving), travels amazingly (except when we get a bad driver--then he gets carsick and throws up, poor birdie), and will do almost anything for a peanut. He also gives very loud, very smacky kisses, which is absolutely adorable. He says Peekaboo rapid-fire when he wants out really bad. And, he knows his name: "Miii-iles!"
I have owned birds for several years, but mostly parakeets. My family got our first budgie when I was six years old. I made a lot of mistakes with him, and he sat in a cage for two years because everyone was afraid of him. But then I started working with him (as much as an eight-year-old can!) and he became a beloved family pet. He died at four years, due to illness. I couldn't stand the sound of a bird-less house, so less than a week later, we came home with a pair: an Australian male budgie and an albino female, hoping to breed. We didn't know at beforehand that albinos aren't likely breeders. She was a mean one, and eventually nobody could stand her, not even her mate. So we gave her away to a friend. A few weeks later, someone had to rehome an adult female budgie, and we took her. Our male immediately took to her, and within a couple of months they had five lovely baby budgies. We hand raised them, sold two, lost one to an accident, and kept the other two. We still have the male, the two babies (now full grown), and another unrelated male that do very well in a community cage. Sadly the mother flew away after one of our little ones opened a window and the budgies' cage.
Anyway, I was getting weary of the hours I spent with the budgies, only to find they never really wanted to be with me anyhow. So I chose to upgrade. My siblings took over the parakeets, and I brought home a 6-month-old yellow-sided green cheek conure. I didn't know his gender at first, but he made it very clear as he matured! Once I knew he was a 'he', I named him Miles. Very fitting, since he's been all the way to Boston, the coast of Maine, and Pennsylvania several times. He's an absolute sweetheart. He was hand raised by a breeder in NC, and it paid off. He loves being handled. He is a lightning-fast learner, and has learned a few tricks and quite a decent vocabulary for a conure. He flips, spins, waves hi, and says "Peekaboo," "Birdie," "You're a pretty cute birdie," "Step-up," "Come-come," and a few mish-mash creations of his own. He loves to tease the budgies, fly laps around the house, and wrestle with me while on his back. He chases the dog, teases the outdoor cats in the windows, begs for baths at the kitchen sink while my brother is washing dishes, struts along the shower curtain rod while I'm showering, and is doing extremely well at his necessary training. His recall is progressing rapidly, and he's got the potty training down pat. Step up is as second nature as flying.
His peculiarities? He fights us for coffee, is terrified of the aquarium, loves to undo metal clasps, gets mad at his toys when they move (but punches them so they keep moving), travels amazingly (except when we get a bad driver--then he gets carsick and throws up, poor birdie), and will do almost anything for a peanut. He also gives very loud, very smacky kisses, which is absolutely adorable. He says Peekaboo rapid-fire when he wants out really bad. And, he knows his name: "Miii-iles!"
