This thread is in remembrance of Ice and Tea

Rico_Tiel

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So, this is their life story from what I can rememberā€¦


So, a little background of them: they were 6 and 7 when I had gotten them. They had gotten a new home roughly every year before I got them. Apparently they had been through 5 or 6 new homes before they got to me. The situation we got them from was a neglect situation where their owner was caught up with college and began neglecting them. They were apparently in a basement with very little light according to my parents but they were relatively well cared for. Clean cage, a few toys, flight cage, and a couple natural wood perches. They were on pellets and seeds and had Cuttlebone. So their care was fairly decent. I knew all of this before getting them. So, with that out of the way, letā€™s begin!




So, I had been researching budgies for roughly two or three years before getting them. I would BEG to get a pair of budgies and would say ā€œoh Iā€™ll do extra chores!ā€ Or the sort. And then, in 2020, my parents stumbled upon an ad on Craigslist. My parents had also found out I wasā€¦ letā€™s say different (just wording it that way since itā€™s quite an abnormal identity and I doubt anyone here could take me seriously if I said what it is)a few months prior. They obviously didnā€™t understand it even when I explained it and instead of researching it or asking more about it, they bullied me for a few months. They then came up with a plan. They made a proposal. If I stopped doing that ā€œweird s**tā€ around them, I could get my dream budgies. And I instantly agreed since they said I couldnā€™t do it around them, not all together. I assumed we would go to petco to pick out some budgies because I didnā€™t know about bird mills. About 2 days later, I was fast asleep, it was like 11AM, and it was may 12th? I think? Im not sure, but early may. And my parents walk into my room and my dad sets their travel cage down on my futon/bed. I was very confused and was like ā€œhuh?ā€ Then my mom wheels in the flight cage. I realized what was going on and was like ā€œwait, no way.ā€ I do t remember much of that day, but I do remember letting them fly around and do whatever.


I remember introducing them to my bff and they made a bad joke that almost made me lose my mind. I told them that human saliva was toxic to birds and they said they LICKED THEIR HANDS PRIOR TO TOUCHING THEM. I gave them a horrified, angry, and ā€œI am going to end your bloodlineā€ look. And was like ā€œWHAT?!ā€ They said ā€œwoah! Calm down, itā€™s just a joke!ā€ And I simply grumbled in response.

May, June, and July passed as usual with them flying around and playing together while I played ARK religiously and spending my every dime and dollar on them, buying toys and perches for them. I will admit, I wasnā€™t the best to them. They mainly ate seeds, they had mirrors, and at one point a happy hut. I made many mistakes in their care.

August came around and they got a big box of toys in the mail. It had all sorts of fun toys in it. Wood, seagrass, cuttlebone, cornhusk, etc. they loved it! September and October passed as usual, just with added online school. November was no different, but they met my other bff. They liked her a lot. They were all over her favorite hat and chirped more when she was over.

December came and they saw both of my Besties often. We would play ARK on my ps4 on my really old and crappy TV (EVERYTHING was very pixelated, it had a white patch at the top of the green because it was an OLD plasma tv, and it could not handle ARK at ALL. Christmas came and the budgies got many toys from my parents and I and my grandparents got me some cool Dino figures and some money! My parents also got me a new TV (which was taken out by Rico 2 years later) and they got me a taxidermic fox tail keychain!

January was a great month! I got some soda candy, some pocky, a hand fan to pretend to be James Charles in my spare time (before I knew he was a bad dude), my budgies were absolutely destroying their toys, they were flying around and being absolutely crazy, they were LOVING life, and I was really enjoying life with my budgies! They were really shining through! Until tragedy struckā€¦


February 15th, 2021. Tea was acting very strangely. It was a few days after his 7th hatchday, He was on the bottom of the cage now. He could get around to eat and drink, but mainly stayed at the bottom. He would run around at the bottom, so I assumed he was okay and fine. This went on for three days.


February 18th, 2021. It was a beautiful morning. I was happy and ready to have a great day! I uncovered the cage and didnā€™t see tea. My heart sunk and I looked down and there he was, laying on the cage bottom. He was cold, stiff, and had clearly died in the night.I dropped down to the floor and opened the bottom door and picked up his body. The shock I was in kept me composed and I just looked at him in my hands as it set in. I donā€™t remember if I set him back or went to the door to tell my mom about it. And then I started crying. She grabbed a towel, rolled him up in it, and placed his body in the shed to protect him from predators while the snow and ground thawed. He was buried in may. I became numb and depressed and I just stopped functioning properly. I barely ate, slept a lot, wasnā€™t interested in anything, and I just didnā€™t feel very much joy. I even wanted to die some days. The rest of the year passed like that. I did eat more by may but I just wanted to die some days, and other days I just wanted to feel happiness. And in October. I lost Ice in the same exact way.


November 18th, 2021.

I woke up happily for once, around the same time I lost tea. Ice turned 8 in march. I uncovered his cage and there he was. He was fluffed up on the bottom of the cage. I picked him up and tried giving him food or water but he was dying. My attempts of saving him were futile. He died in my hands an hour later. I sang to him, I held him close, and I told him it was okay to let go, that tea was waiting for him. His body tensed up, his pupil constricted and he went limp. His eyes looked like a blown out candle. My mom was gone like she was after I found out tea died and I texted her , asking about what to do with his body. She told me to roll him in a towel and put him in a plastic tub and set it out on the grill table. I did and every. Single. Time. When I walked by the back windows, I would look at the tub and my heart would rebreak. I took his cage out of my room and I cried for DAYS. That wound hasnā€™t healed fully.

a month later, we got Rico, and he saved me.


And that was Ice and Teaā€™s story from what I could remember. I still do miss them everyday. Their sweet little faces. Their precious chirps. Their adorably playful natureā€¦ nothing could ever replace them. But meeting someone new, can really heal the soul. Thatā€™s what happened with Rico and I.
 

zERo

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Iā€™m so sorry your loss!

I must say, 7 and 8 years old? Thatā€™s about the average for a budgie nowadays. It sounds like you loved them slot and even if you did make mistakes, weā€™ll have all done so.

Im happy you found Rico, who I know you adore! šŸ˜
 
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Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

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Iā€™m so sorry your loss!

I must say, 7 and 8 years old? Thatā€™s about the average for a budgie nowadays. It sounds like you loved them slot and even if you did make mistakes, weā€™ll have all done so.

Im happy you found Rico, who I know you adore! šŸ˜
Thank you. I loved them so much and even though there are many things I struggle to remember, especially since I lost a vast majority of their photos on my phone, I know they live on in the hearts of my best friends and I.

Yeah, 7 and 8 is a very long time. And while I am sad that I only got 9 months with tea, and about a year and a half with ice, itā€™s the quality of time I had with them that counts. And I feel I did the best I could for my time and knowledge. Looking back, my care wasnā€™t perfect. It never will be, but they gave me the knowledge to learn from my mistakes and prevent my mistakes with Rico. I know what behavior is abnormal, whatā€™s good and bad in care, and I know what to do now, thanks to them.

Iā€™m happy I found Rico too. He probably saved everyone a lot of heartache. I found my ā€œheart birdā€ if you will. He is my heart and soul, and Iā€™m so glad that I went to petco on December 21st. I met my other half and saw how horrible petco truly is. I knew of the horrors that go on there but having it done in front of me was that wake-up call.
 

zERo

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Thank you. I loved them so much and even though there are many things I struggle to remember, especially since I lost a vast majority of their photos on my phone, I know they live on in the hearts of my best friends and I.

Yeah, 7 and 8 is a very long time. And while I am sad that I only got 9 months with tea, and about a year and a half with ice, itā€™s the quality of time I had with them that counts. And I feel I did the best I could for my time and knowledge. Looking back, my care wasnā€™t perfect. It never will be, but they gave me the knowledge to learn from my mistakes and prevent my mistakes with Rico. I know what behavior is abnormal, whatā€™s good and bad in care, and I know what to do now, thanks to them.

Iā€™m happy I found Rico too. He probably saved everyone a lot of heartache. I found my ā€œheart birdā€ if you will. He is my heart and soul, and Iā€™m so glad that I went to petco on December 21st. I met my other half and saw how horrible petco truly is. I knew of the horrors that go on there but having it done in front of me was that wake-up call.
What colors were they?

Yeah Petco is not so nice, before I knew about bird mills, I bought 3 of my budgies from there.

Iā€™m glad you found Rico! I read your story about his treatment and yours when you bought him, quite sad to read.
I think mistakes are normal and as long you learn from them thatā€™s great.
 
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Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

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What colors were they?

Yeah Petco is not so nice, before I knew about bird mills, I bought 3 of my budgies from there.

Iā€™m glad you found Rico! I read your story about his treatment and yours when you bought him, quite sad to read.
I think mistakes are normal and as long you learn from them thatā€™s great.
As their names may suggest, they were green and blue. Very beautiful birds.
A6796EB4-2767-4AA7-A12C-9B05E303EBA5.jpeg

I miss these boysā€¦


Yeah, I knew that petco got their animals from mills when getting Rico and I feel really bad about supporting such awful practices. I even was hesitant to go because of that factor. But I will never get an animal from petco again. Itā€™s a vile business. But I found my heart and soul there and I absolutely had to get him. We didnā€™t ā€œrescueā€ him like my mom thinks, we supported a sucky business. Plain and simple. But we got him out of there and gave him a good home where he is loved and spoiled. I adore him so much and talking about him honestly makes me cry tears of joy because I love him so much haha


Yeah, the whole ordeal was just bad. And I am STILL mad and bitter about it. The conditions of the animals there is so depressing and sickening. Dead and rotting fish corpses on display for all to see, very sick and dying animals on display (ESPECIALLY with the birds and fish), malnourished geckos, emaciated lizards, reptiles with MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease), etc. and it just makes me really sad to see stuff like that. The bird water is always full of poop and feathers, the tanks for the bigger birds are ALWAYS disgusting, and the birds are ALWAYS in bad condition. Hamsters are often housed together (they are solitary and will fight to the death when housed together), fish bowls are VERY encouraged (too small, the shape disorients them, and the shape makes it VERY hard for oxygen to get into the water), and overall, a really bad place. I HATE petco and I wish to declare war against it.
 

zERo

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They look very healthy! Very pretty too!

I do think Petco could do a much better job with cleanliness and general care.
The Petco Iā€™ve went to is decent most of the time.
They give the birds veggies which surprises me, just a little dish of carrots/green beans/corn etc.
The fish and reptiles are usually okay, sometimes they have ich on the fish but they usually donā€™t sell them then.
They do definitely overcrowd the bearded dragon tank.

All we can do is not buy their animals since theyā€™re a multi million maybe billion dollar company.
 

DonnaBudgie

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Awww!
IMG_20220506_120705015.jpg
Ice and Tea remind me of my Boys Hunter and Beau Birden except my Boys are both Opaline and Beau is Pied!
 

DonnaBudgie

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hunter and beau are very beautiful. could you give them some millet for me? And could you tell them they are living angels?
Will do! They're very tame, too. A teenage girl a few towns over bred and raised them. I paid $200 for them and they're worth it!
 
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Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

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They look very healthy! Very pretty too!

I do think Petco could do a much better job with cleanliness and general care.
The Petco Iā€™ve went to is decent most of the time.
They give the birds veggies which surprises me, just a little dish of carrots/green beans/corn etc.
The fish and reptiles are usually okay, sometimes they have ich on the fish but they usually donā€™t sell them then.
They do definitely overcrowd the bearded dragon tank.

All we can do is not buy their animals since theyā€™re a multi million maybe billion dollar company.
Could i declare war against my petco? Would that be lawful? Or could I fight the manager in a Wendyā€™s parking lot to become like yours? Or Better yet, petzoo. Would it be legal to sic a donkey onto the manager at my petco? I donā€™t like them, they suck.
 

DonnaBudgie

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Sic a MOOSE on them!
Could i declare war against my petco? Would that be lawful? Or could I fight the manager in a Wendyā€™s parking lot to become like yours? Or Better yet, petzoo. Would it be legal to sic a donkey onto the manager at my petco? I donā€™t like them, they suck.
 

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