Here on this forum I have mentioned my very old Indian Ringneck Zeleni. He was with me from the very beginning of my life - He arrived to my family mere 2 months before I was brought to this world. Now it is time for me to share his glorious life story.
Last 4 years of his (Zeleni's) life was rehomed to a very loving bird family, a beautiful big flock of other ringnecks and aleksandrines. You could say he went into pension on a sunny beach house in his last days. That is how I try to accept it, rather than me just shunning him away. While I did miss him dearly in these last 4 years, I feel completely broken when I heard the news that he has passed away this spring. I'm having an extremely hard time accepting it, and every mention of him (even while writing this) just turns me into a slobbery mess - but I believe that perhaps writing his story down might make me tougher and help me accept the fact that he has passed to the other side, over the rainbow bridge.
My dear Zeleni has lived up to over 28 years, quite a good age for a ringneck.
Following story goes with how my parent's told me before:
Zeleni's story begins in May of 1993. He was according to the breeder around 5 months when my parents got him. My parents really wanted a bird for their office where they worked before together. My mother uttrely wanted a lovebird, but at that time no one had a pair of lovebirds, and she did not want a single lovebird. So, they found an add that someone was selling ringnecks. My parents could choose between a girl and this lively boy. They chose Zeleni because he was very lively and talkative, a bird with a huge personality. And so they took him in, and he lived in their office, where my parents spent most of the day. I believe most parrot owners would be shocked by such thing, but remember this - there was no internet back then, and parrot keeping wasn't popular, they were mostly seen as decorations, little beings who's place is in a cage.
However, Zeleni was fully free all the time during my parent's stay there. Because this was a private firm, I believe they were there for weekends as well.
My father used .to make a certain whistle to him every day, all the time, a very unique whistle. But he was so silent in the end. He didn't pick it up. Until.
My mum was in the office, alone with Zeleni. My father was outside doing some sort of other work. And then my mum heard that unique whistle. She turned around, saying "I didn't expect you to be home so soon!!" but she wasn't greeted back. My father wasn't there. She was extremely confused. Until Zeleni repeated that whistle for the 2nd time. Let's just say my mum was extremely surprised but glad he picked it up. It was one of the cutest things he picked up, and the only thing. A whistle, followed by clicking sounds. Zeleni never learned any words or any other whistles.
Another funny story is when Zeleni (in the office) picked up my dad's freshy opened yoghurt and flew across the room with the cup of freshly opened yoghurt, all 250ml of it.
Leaving nothing but a lovely white trail on the carpet all across the room (back in the day, wall to wall carpets were such a popular thing..). Just imagining him doing that always makes me giggle. Still baffles me how did he manage to fly with so much extra weight... (I do believe it - as he did something similar to me as well, later on.)
I really do not know when did he come home exactly - apparently mere few months later my parents took him home when the firm collapsed - And I was there already, nothing but a little infant. It will take quite a few years until I am aware of myself - and aware of the little green biting monster in the cage.
Last 4 years of his (Zeleni's) life was rehomed to a very loving bird family, a beautiful big flock of other ringnecks and aleksandrines. You could say he went into pension on a sunny beach house in his last days. That is how I try to accept it, rather than me just shunning him away. While I did miss him dearly in these last 4 years, I feel completely broken when I heard the news that he has passed away this spring. I'm having an extremely hard time accepting it, and every mention of him (even while writing this) just turns me into a slobbery mess - but I believe that perhaps writing his story down might make me tougher and help me accept the fact that he has passed to the other side, over the rainbow bridge.
My dear Zeleni has lived up to over 28 years, quite a good age for a ringneck.
Following story goes with how my parent's told me before:
Zeleni's story begins in May of 1993. He was according to the breeder around 5 months when my parents got him. My parents really wanted a bird for their office where they worked before together. My mother uttrely wanted a lovebird, but at that time no one had a pair of lovebirds, and she did not want a single lovebird. So, they found an add that someone was selling ringnecks. My parents could choose between a girl and this lively boy. They chose Zeleni because he was very lively and talkative, a bird with a huge personality. And so they took him in, and he lived in their office, where my parents spent most of the day. I believe most parrot owners would be shocked by such thing, but remember this - there was no internet back then, and parrot keeping wasn't popular, they were mostly seen as decorations, little beings who's place is in a cage.
However, Zeleni was fully free all the time during my parent's stay there. Because this was a private firm, I believe they were there for weekends as well.
My father used .to make a certain whistle to him every day, all the time, a very unique whistle. But he was so silent in the end. He didn't pick it up. Until.
My mum was in the office, alone with Zeleni. My father was outside doing some sort of other work. And then my mum heard that unique whistle. She turned around, saying "I didn't expect you to be home so soon!!" but she wasn't greeted back. My father wasn't there. She was extremely confused. Until Zeleni repeated that whistle for the 2nd time. Let's just say my mum was extremely surprised but glad he picked it up. It was one of the cutest things he picked up, and the only thing. A whistle, followed by clicking sounds. Zeleni never learned any words or any other whistles.
Another funny story is when Zeleni (in the office) picked up my dad's freshy opened yoghurt and flew across the room with the cup of freshly opened yoghurt, all 250ml of it.
Leaving nothing but a lovely white trail on the carpet all across the room (back in the day, wall to wall carpets were such a popular thing..). Just imagining him doing that always makes me giggle. Still baffles me how did he manage to fly with so much extra weight... (I do believe it - as he did something similar to me as well, later on.)
I really do not know when did he come home exactly - apparently mere few months later my parents took him home when the firm collapsed - And I was there already, nothing but a little infant. It will take quite a few years until I am aware of myself - and aware of the little green biting monster in the cage.