- May 2, 2021
- 3,519
- 8,032
- Parrots
- Stormy(M): blue Australian budgie
Apollo(F): sky blue dominant pied Australian budgie
I don't usually believe in miracles, but I think there is no other explanation for what happened to Stormy. Let's start from the beginning 
It was during the huge COVID lockdown. One day, out of the blue, my parents said I could get a leopard gecko (the pet I had been begging for, since I didn't think I would be allowed a bird). Eventually I worked up the courage to ask for a bird, and they said "Sure". A month later, my dad calls a pet shop that gets their birds from great breeders, and put the last 2 budgies on hold. When we got there I discovered the 2 budgies were both blue! I REALLY cared about the color at the time, so them being blue was great! Even better, they were allowed to fledge AND fully flighted (and I went there again recently, they had a flight cage with budgies, none were clipped)! Of course, my dad ruined it a bit by asking that their wings be clipped. Anyhow, I've never had trouble naming animals, so I named one Sky and one Storm (which was changed to Stormy later) on the spot. On the way home, I was soooo happy! I wasn't aware that one of them would soon pass away, and the other would basically turn into the craziest little Miracle!
So, a few months later, I was in a really bad place mentally, so my younger sister volunteered to foster the birds for a bit. About 2 weeks after I gave them to her to foster, she started saying they were hers, and not letting me see them. Soon, I was better and tired to get them back, but she refused to give them back. My parents also did nothing to help. She let mold grow in their seed bowls (she didn't give them chop), and never changed or refilled the water until it all evaporated.
Slight Trigger Warning for the next part! Mentions of "mild" abuse/neglect.
Soon, I started noticing that she hit the birds whenever they did something "wrong". Stormy is a crazy-loving guy, so he forgave her, but Sky never did. Eventually, Sky starved to death. She hid him in her sock drawer, until I noticed that Sky was gone. She didn't even show a shred of sadness or remorse until my dad came in and yelled at her. He forced her to give Stormy back to me. Stormy spent a lot of time flock calling and grieving. And that's when I got Picasso! But this story isn't about her, as amazing as she is!
In July of 2021, Stormy flew away during a huge thunder/rain storm. He flew a total of 4 miles over the span of a week, and somehow survived. When he flew away, I cried every day. I mentally beat myself up, and I was extremely depressed. I couldn't eat sleep, move, or even think without sobbing. Until, one day, a lady saw one of the missing bird posters I put up. She noticed that my description of Stormy matched the pictures of a budgie found at a campground and given to my local Humane Society. She called us ASAP, and told us to look at the Facebook page where he was posted.
On the page, there were 2 people saying "I bet a stupid, dumb little kid released him because they got bored", and basically just insulting me (they didn't know it was me), and saying I should have just put him down. We went and picked him up that day, though, and he sang the whole way home! When I got to the fosters, he was in a cage he could barely turn around in. I am very glad that his foster put music on for him, though! The second I came in, his eyes lit up and he started trying to get to me from inside the cage. I opened the door, and he flew out, did 2 laps around the small room, and landed on a door frame, where he promptly stepped up. He gave me a kiss, and we went home!
Now, he is thriving! He is amazing, happy, and SUCH a good boy!
And, thankfully, there have been so MAJOR accidents. The only accidents since them have been him getting shut in my door (lightly), and is toe getting shut in my fish tank lid. Both TOTAL accidents!
It was during the huge COVID lockdown. One day, out of the blue, my parents said I could get a leopard gecko (the pet I had been begging for, since I didn't think I would be allowed a bird). Eventually I worked up the courage to ask for a bird, and they said "Sure". A month later, my dad calls a pet shop that gets their birds from great breeders, and put the last 2 budgies on hold. When we got there I discovered the 2 budgies were both blue! I REALLY cared about the color at the time, so them being blue was great! Even better, they were allowed to fledge AND fully flighted (and I went there again recently, they had a flight cage with budgies, none were clipped)! Of course, my dad ruined it a bit by asking that their wings be clipped. Anyhow, I've never had trouble naming animals, so I named one Sky and one Storm (which was changed to Stormy later) on the spot. On the way home, I was soooo happy! I wasn't aware that one of them would soon pass away, and the other would basically turn into the craziest little Miracle!
So, a few months later, I was in a really bad place mentally, so my younger sister volunteered to foster the birds for a bit. About 2 weeks after I gave them to her to foster, she started saying they were hers, and not letting me see them. Soon, I was better and tired to get them back, but she refused to give them back. My parents also did nothing to help. She let mold grow in their seed bowls (she didn't give them chop), and never changed or refilled the water until it all evaporated.
Slight Trigger Warning for the next part! Mentions of "mild" abuse/neglect.
Soon, I started noticing that she hit the birds whenever they did something "wrong". Stormy is a crazy-loving guy, so he forgave her, but Sky never did. Eventually, Sky starved to death. She hid him in her sock drawer, until I noticed that Sky was gone. She didn't even show a shred of sadness or remorse until my dad came in and yelled at her. He forced her to give Stormy back to me. Stormy spent a lot of time flock calling and grieving. And that's when I got Picasso! But this story isn't about her, as amazing as she is!
In July of 2021, Stormy flew away during a huge thunder/rain storm. He flew a total of 4 miles over the span of a week, and somehow survived. When he flew away, I cried every day. I mentally beat myself up, and I was extremely depressed. I couldn't eat sleep, move, or even think without sobbing. Until, one day, a lady saw one of the missing bird posters I put up. She noticed that my description of Stormy matched the pictures of a budgie found at a campground and given to my local Humane Society. She called us ASAP, and told us to look at the Facebook page where he was posted.
On the page, there were 2 people saying "I bet a stupid, dumb little kid released him because they got bored", and basically just insulting me (they didn't know it was me), and saying I should have just put him down. We went and picked him up that day, though, and he sang the whole way home! When I got to the fosters, he was in a cage he could barely turn around in. I am very glad that his foster put music on for him, though! The second I came in, his eyes lit up and he started trying to get to me from inside the cage. I opened the door, and he flew out, did 2 laps around the small room, and landed on a door frame, where he promptly stepped up. He gave me a kiss, and we went home!
Now, he is thriving! He is amazing, happy, and SUCH a good boy!
And, thankfully, there have been so MAJOR accidents. The only accidents since them have been him getting shut in my door (lightly), and is toe getting shut in my fish tank lid. Both TOTAL accidents!
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