shel
10-23-2013, 01:50 AM
i never thought of myself as a bird person. growing up we had cats and dogs, and as i got older i had dogs, cats, and rabbits......then one day a friend had a budgie that she could not keep. so i took it. it was not tame and no amount of patience on my part ever tamed it, but i loved watching it and listening to it's pretty noises. it did eventually die, but it was around 12 years by that time.
i told my husband that i would like more budgies, preferably 2 so that they could keep each other company. my husband comes home with 6, in a tiny, dirty cage, and the food that came with them was the cheapest, nastiest wild bird food ever! seems a guy hubby knows was going to "let them go" in the middle of winter because he was "sick of them". we quickly bought them a bigger cage and appropriate food. they always freak out if i try to do more than feed and water them. obviously once a week i have to clean the cage but i can't see stressing them by trying to make them "pets" at this point. they have already been through enough.
then a co-worker of mine had 2 more budgies that she wanted to get rid of because they were her husband's and he left her so she didn't want them. after a quarantine period i put them in with the flock. after a few weeks i re-designed the cages by joining them together so they have a very large cage now, plus i am thinking on how to add another cage without making it impossible to clean.
i can't believe that people think these amazing little angels are "throw-aways". i love every one of them, and i know if they had been handled and socialized they could have better and free-er lives. as it is they are all cage-bound and if any of them accidentally gets out it is terrifying for them.
their cage is not the cleanest in the universe, but that has more to do with not wanting to stress them than not wanting them to have a clean cage. once a week is enough...they are so terrified. i try to give them all the love, good food, fresh water, and toys that i can. in return they give me sweet little songs and beautiful colors....
shel
i told my husband that i would like more budgies, preferably 2 so that they could keep each other company. my husband comes home with 6, in a tiny, dirty cage, and the food that came with them was the cheapest, nastiest wild bird food ever! seems a guy hubby knows was going to "let them go" in the middle of winter because he was "sick of them". we quickly bought them a bigger cage and appropriate food. they always freak out if i try to do more than feed and water them. obviously once a week i have to clean the cage but i can't see stressing them by trying to make them "pets" at this point. they have already been through enough.
then a co-worker of mine had 2 more budgies that she wanted to get rid of because they were her husband's and he left her so she didn't want them. after a quarantine period i put them in with the flock. after a few weeks i re-designed the cages by joining them together so they have a very large cage now, plus i am thinking on how to add another cage without making it impossible to clean.
i can't believe that people think these amazing little angels are "throw-aways". i love every one of them, and i know if they had been handled and socialized they could have better and free-er lives. as it is they are all cage-bound and if any of them accidentally gets out it is terrifying for them.
their cage is not the cleanest in the universe, but that has more to do with not wanting to stress them than not wanting them to have a clean cage. once a week is enough...they are so terrified. i try to give them all the love, good food, fresh water, and toys that i can. in return they give me sweet little songs and beautiful colors....
shel