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View Full Version : where did your passion for parrots start?



gemini_84
04-21-2013, 11:03 PM
i was very young when i was first introduced to the world of parrots. My first pet was a Sulphur Crested Too, named Sarge. I dont know how old he was as he just landed in our yard one day and couldnt fly. He didnt like many people but loved me.
But unfortunately one day he went missing, considering his wing was deformed and he couldnt fly we could only conclude he was stolen. he was never caged, just wandered around our yard. We later on found out that the family down the road were the ones who took him, but due to lack of banding, chipping etc, we could not prove it and never got him back.
Here is a pic of me on my 1st birthday with my mum and Sarge.
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when i was about 12 i went and spent time living with my dad who had a back yard full of aviaries consitisting of more parrots the i can remember. Among my favourites were the Lorries, Princess and King parrots. I spent alot of time helping my dad with his birds, not many of them were tame, but there was one lorri that was so cuddly and friendly, but also one that was very territorial that would have a go at me every time id go to feed them.

later on i again went to spend time with dad, at this stage he had avieries full of lorries, omg the noise. he would have had over 50 of them. He later bought the sweetest baby female ekky and soon after a male. i fell in love with the female, the colours are beautiful.

when i was living on my own i rehomed a neglected female IRN kya. I was unable to tame her, but she had free reign of the house. I was later given a beautuful blue hooded white IRN baby boy Bob, he was so sweet, i coukdnt go any where with out him. Although he was fully flighted he never flew. Unfortunately one day he was acting very perculiar, i called the vet and they said to keep him warm and comfortable. That it would be more stressful for him to be taken to the vet. The next morning i found him hanging upside down on his perch :'(. Having bob in the house seem to settle Kya down a little, so i made the hard decision to go out and get another tamed bird.

This is where my love affair for Alex's beggin. After spending quite a while researching on possibilities to match kya, i decided on an Alex and was lucky enough to find one in a pet shop about an hour away. I drive to pick up my new bird, when i get there i discover that she was a year old and had been in the pet store since she was weaned and had not been handled for 6months. It took a while for Phoenix to come around and warm up to me. She was never cuddly or liked to be pet, but loved to sit with me on the lounge. She would hapily sit on my shoulder whilst i did the house work ect, untill one day out of no where she bit my ear so hard she peirced it, from then on she lost her shoulder privelages. She was a great bird, she stayed in the routine she was in at the store. She wouldnt make a sound until 9am and then come 5pm she would put herself to bed. This was great, was especially handy the day she escaped. Was about lunch time she escaped out a hole in the screen that my ferrets had chewed that night. Spent the entire afternoon trying to entice her to come down but she wasnt interested, and then come 5pm, hime she flew :) some may think my next move was irresponsible, but the next day i let her out again, and again 5pm she came home and out herself to bed. the decision was made that she was to free fly. This went really well for about 6 months, but the one thing i hadnt considered was breeding season. You see, another one of the locals had a very vast array of birds that he too free flew, macaws, toos, ekkies, Alex's.... u name it (very wealthy man), well phoenix bonded with one his males and decided to move into their place. I was given regular uodates on how she was doing. when i moved from there i was unable to take Kya with me so they rehomed her for me too. Last i spoke with them (lost contact after moving interstate and lost phone number) they were both happy and sitting on eggs.

That was about 5yrs ago and now i have my 3 amigos, and love them to death, but not a day goes by that i dont think about my previous birds.

Birdboy
04-22-2013, 12:01 AM
i saw a bird show at a zoo.......

Animalman2046
04-22-2013, 12:25 AM
Yes I also have had birds from a child up till now. I can't imagine life without them and my other animals. I have 4 dogs,2 cats, and a crimson belllied conure. I love all my animals......they are like my children. I never married so they are my family. It is amazing how they can latch on to your heart and the love they give you in return.

Pinkbirdy
04-22-2013, 02:31 AM
Gemini great thread [and I love your story] Im suprised you dont have a 2 in your life now.Since you were able to form a bond with them . My story of how I caught bird fever. Dave [my guy] was working on a house [they had a african grey that they had got for their 12 yr old daughter] Well he bit her and they thought he was a mean bird.Dave loves animals and while he was working took the bird out on him!! The owners were stunned because they couldnt touch him. They said he could have him . So he came home and told me about Max.I thought no way .I knew I would be the one feeding watering and care if his cage was clean. Plus I thought I was afraid of birds [not ever having one] Dave said he was a Congo African Grey . I [laugh at this now ] I thought congo meant he was this big grey Macaw LOL. Well we brought Max home [we were his 4th home ] What a first bird to have :).He loved Dave and bit me . So I was fearful of him [even though as I thought It would be ] I was the one taking care of him. I learned to love him dearly though and accept he didnt want me touching him.I decided after a few years I wanted a bird that might like me . So I researched and there is one bird place here. So I went there and the owner let me stay for hours learning about birds. I wanted the Rb2 but I thought she might be to big [I didnt want to be afraid] .I decided to put a deposit on a blk hd caique. But have to wait until she was weaned . We had to visit and I got over my fear and things begain . I was crazy I got the Rb2 also . Funny what I know about 2s nobody tried to talk me out of her. I love that I have this thing in my life for me that is meaningful. Its more than work ,bills ,cleaning ,family and shopping .My happiest day is an all bird day [I call them ] and my family helps. I wish I had known this about myself my whole life would have been different :)

Mare
04-22-2013, 02:43 AM
My first bird was literally "dumped" on me. My friend was having a hard time, her house was in foreclosure and she called me to ask if I would hang on to her cockatoo, just till she got settled. Well, five years later, I would not give him back for a million bucks! I love this bird and I suppose my passion came from having to get to know him, dealing with him on a daily basis, his moods, his personality. We finally settled on, love.

keepsmiling
04-22-2013, 03:40 AM
What wonderful stories you all tell!:th_grouphug2: I know as a child we had a sad little budgie named Pebbles that my mom kept hanging from the ceiling. I guess because we also had a cat. All I could do was barely see her up there. One day I no longer saw her, the cage was taken down, and no mention was made, she was just gone. :( A few years later, I met a girl at school and we soon became close friends. Her mom had a DYH that sat up on top of the refrigerator. Couldn't see him much either, but sure could hear him...he cussed like a sailor!My parents allowed me to keep fish, so I spent all of my available time at a pet store in downtown New Brunswick. Then mostly what was available was Amazons. Mynahs, and a few budgies and finches. I was allowed to get my first bird at age 10 or so. I know he or she was a Mexican Redheaded Amazon, in a cage I am sure was way too small. He was probably stressed, wild caught, and back then people did not even know how to properly feed parrots. He wanted nothing to do with me, and again, my mom stepped in and one day when I came home from school he was just gone. Later, my mom got me two budgies, I loved them and tried to give them everything I thought they needed. A scary long story I won't go into detail about, but basically my aunt did the same thing to me as my mom. One day I came home from school and there were feathers all around the cage. My aunt said "they flew away!" I knew this was a lie, in my heart.:th_shakehead: Fast forward to being an adult, had a BF, who I stupidly married, and I had some conures, some budgies, and tiels. One day I came home from work..all gone, no cages or anything. He had sold them all behind my back.:sorrow: Rotten experiences all of them...but I knew I loved them, if only people would stop taking them away! When I finally met and settled with a GOOD person in my life, I was finally in the RIGHT place, and now I have my flock of seven . :love-struck: I dare someone to try and take them away.....:livid:

gemini_84
04-22-2013, 03:44 AM
Gemini great thread [and I love your story] Im suprised you dont have a 2 in your life now.Since you were able to form a bond with them .

i would love a 2 in my life, they are such a beautiful bird, but i guess i have never chosen a bird, they were chosen for me or they chose me. Maybe one day i will have the privelage to be owned by a too again, but in the mean time i get to admire them in all their glory flying in the wild. But for now i have my hands full with the 3 amigos :)

gemini_84
04-22-2013, 03:48 AM
What wonderful stories you all tell!:th_grouphug2: I know as a child we had a sad little budgie named Pebbles that my mom kept hanging from the ceiling. I guess because we also had a cat. All I could do was barely see her up there. One day I no longer saw her, the cage was taken down, and no mention was made, she was just gone. :( A few years later, I met a girl at school and we soon became close friends. Her mom had a DYH that sat up on top of the refrigerator. Couldn't see him much either, but sure could hear him...he cussed like a sailor!My parents allowed me to keep fish, so I spent all of my available time at a pet store in downtown New Brunswick. Then mostly what was available was Amazons. Mynahs, and a few budgies and finches. I was allowed to get my first bird at age 10 or so. I know he or she was a Mexican Redheaded Amazon, in a cage I am sure was way too small. He was probably stressed, wild caught, and back then people did not even know how to properly feed parrots. He wanted nothing to do with me, and again, my mom stepped in and one day when I came home from school he was just gone. Later, my mom got me two budgies, I loved them and tried to give them everything I thought they needed. A scary long story I won't go into detail about, but basically my aunt did the same thing to me as my mom. One day I came home from school and there were feathers all around the cage. My aunt said "they flew away!" I knew this was a lie, in my heart.:th_shakehead: Fast forward to being an adult, had a BF, who I stupidly married, and I had some conures, some budgies, and tiels. One day I came home from work..all gone, no cages or anything. He had sold them all behind my back.:sorrow: Rotten experiences all of them...but I knew I loved them, if only people would stop taking them away! When I finally met and settled with a GOOD person in my life, I was finally in the RIGHT place, and now I have my flock of seven . :love-struck: I dare someone to try and take them away.....:livid:

thats so sad :'( , im glad you finally found a place in your life where you get to enjoy the company of yoyr feathered companions... but :th_wow: 7, i cant imagine what that is like, 3 is plenty

Pinkbirdy
04-22-2013, 03:54 AM
Oh Keepsmiling [Im sorry for you] for those people in your life who thought it was ok to sell your beloved birds .Im glad you have what seems like such happy and great birds now . I would have been out of my MIND !!!! :(

keepsmiling
04-22-2013, 03:59 AM
Thanks, yeah..you can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends, or bf's as it were. Poor choices...made them for years. Probably coming from a low self esteem back then. Allowing controlling people into my life. Coming home to find them gone was devastating. This same person set my house on fire with me in it. Nice guy...:crushed:
It's ok, I have learned that what goes around definitely comes around...you better believe it.:encouragement:

Karigan
04-22-2013, 04:32 AM
I got started by a scam.

A hyacinth was for sale on CL, and I was looking for alternatives to dogs for house pets. There was a pic of a blue macaw that was absolutely beautiful, and after a quick internet search, we tentatively sent a very thoughtful email. Two days later we got a reply from the seller about how they lived in an African war zone where people were eating each other and they just wanted to get their baby out of there; all we had to do was cover half the shipping costs. Right.

After cross-referencing the sellers information we confirmed a scam and had the ad removed. I started doing a lot more research and found my first bird Kitoko the senegal on Kijiji here in my home town. Since then my obsession has certainly grown!

roxynoodle
04-22-2013, 12:58 PM
When my mom went on pregnancy leave with me, she was lonely and told my dad she wanted "a pretty yellow bird". They got a lutino budgie named Cricket who had free run of their apartment. He is on me in many of my baby pictures. I will see if I can scan one in, but they are old, faded photos and he's hard to see in them now :)

From there over the years we had 2 more budgies, Budgie (yes my sister named him that) and then Barney. I got Barney when I was 14 and had him until I was 30. After he passed I wanted to have some larger parrots and began doing research. My heart was really set on a GW macaw as every one I've met has gone bonkers for me. However, I was concerned about expenses with one and the potentially long lifespan. I tried the adoption route hoping for an older bird, but none of the reputable rescues would adopt to me as I lived too far for the home inspection and follow up visits. All the macaws I saw advertised were pretty young, usually 4-7 years old. So conures moved up high on my list, but I wanted to wait until spring, find a breeder, get a cage and supplies, etc. Well, I met Rowdy in December and she made it quite clear I should take her home with me, so I did :)

A year later I wanted to add a Blue Crown conure and got on a waiting list with a local breeder that I liked. There was only one egg but I was first on the list so I put down my deposit. I was able to visit her every weekend until she was ready to come home. I named her Briana. She was a very special girl, cuddly and an amazing talker. I figured I was happy with my 2 and that we would all grow old together.

Briana died of a sudden stroke in October 2011 and Rowdy and I were devastated. As each horrible day went by, Rowdy became more depressed and I felt that if I didn't get another bird she might die as well. So I began my search, preferably for an older bird as I was now quite a bit older myself and have major health issues. Once again, I had the same issues with the rescues. One close to me turned out to be something of a nightmare IMO. She wasn't quarantining any birds nor vet checking them. I didn't want to take my chances with her. Finally I put an ad on CL to spell out my bird experience and several people contacted me with cockatoos and amazons; the 2 birds I was pretty sure I didn't want, lol!

Finally I decided to go look at an older amazon. Pete was at least 28 and had been with the same owner all his life, so chances of disease were low, and I was hoping at his age I could provide him a forever home. I was told he hated women so I was reluctant to take him, but he was in this 18 x 18 cage, eating a horrible diet and I could see just looking at him that he had malnutrition issues. I felt I had to take him. Rowdy cheered up the minute I walked through the door with him. He didn't want anything to do with us for the first 2 days but then decided to make friends. As it turns out Pete seems to love women! And despite his being much larger than Rowdy, they have become good friends.

I thought I would have a lot of questions about amazons so I joined a bird forum. As it turned out though, Pete is a pretty easy bird to understand and none of the possible problems I foresaw actually happened, lol! There though is where I saw the rehome ad for Merlin and I decided to adopt her as well.

3 is plenty :) They provide me with constant companionship and we are a happy flock.

buddingtwigs
04-22-2013, 02:46 PM
When i was 15 my dad was dating someone who had 2 budgies. I thought they were so pretty. I had pretty much lost all my childhood pets when my parents divorced. (they basically wanted a divorce from "family" all together. there were no more christmas trees or pets or any feeling of 'home' or family). Having always been a pet person, and they were really a particular comfort to me as a shy and kind of lonely child, i took this pretty hard.

In 1993 when i graduated college, i bought Percy, my budgie (who looked pretty much like the sweet budgies i had seen years before). He and i shared an amazing bond. He was the best pet i could imagine. I became obsessed with birds at the time. I read anything i could about birds and i had piles of Bird Talk magazines lying around, etc.

So what i thought was a good "starter pet" for a young person turned into something wonderful!
And, now i have 3 dogs and 2 birds, and always put up a Christmas tree, and i have created new family traditions to make up for the ones i wished i had growing up. In some ways i feel like my parents are my children too, like my pets, LOL.

Wendy K.
04-22-2013, 03:02 PM
There are some amazing stories here. WOW! Carole, I am SO sorry what all you've gone through. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have felt like. My jaw dropped to the floor when I read about your ex BF putting your house on fire with you in it. OMG how terrible!!

And Audrey, I am SO sorry for your loss of sweet Briana!

And Patti, GOOD FOR YOU for making new traditions!!! Yes, our pets ARE our children, they make us complete and whole. :) I'm sorry what you endured growing up....so so sad. :(

We had a budgie when I was a child, and he was SUPER cute, talked up a storm, and was a ton of fun :) When I came to America in 1988 there was a local pet shop that had a couple of parrots. There was one in particular I couldn't take my eyes off. He was a Red Lored Amazon. SO beautiful!! I was always warned NOT to put my hands in his cage. Well, one day he was out of his cage and when I offered him my hand, he stepped right on up. Just as I was staring in sheer amazement, the store owner approached and yelled at me. This sweet bird turned into a piranha right then and firmly latched onto my thumb. And he was NOT letting go! The store owner kept yelling, I'm dripping blood, and the Red Lored continued to grind away which seemed like forever. Of course he eventually let go of me, and it wasn't a pretty sight. BUT, from that moment on I knew I wanted an Amazon. Pretty sick minded, yes?

Unfortunately I had to wait a LONG time to get the bird of my dreams, as my husband was still in the service, and he didn't want to lug a parrot around when we had to move. So I started buying parrot books. LOTS of them, AND subscribed to Bird Talk Magazine. :)

In summer of 1998 he retired, we moved to Jersey, and within 2 months I had found a "local" bird breeder. I was put on a waiting list, and the following spring she notified me that she had 2 Yellow Nape babies. I first met Hunter when she was a little over 3 weeks. There she was, with her brother, but only Hunter showed GREAT interest in me. :) Definitely love at first sight...and yes, we've been happy together for almost 14 years now. NO regrets, the wait was WELL worth it.

Of course she is not the "only" bird anymore. :D

Copper
04-22-2013, 06:57 PM
I've always loved birds, my parents would take me bird watching and I was always mesmerized by them. My parents are so excited about seeing a new species and I was equally so even at a young age.

I love birds in general, all are amazing! I favor raptors, parrots, but still love the individual traits of all different kinds of birds. It is only my own who I love more than the rest. The fact that we are able to live with arguably the most intelligent species of bird is something truly special, it's a dream that I can share a life with something I have so much passion for.

Hobbit
04-24-2013, 09:43 PM
​I was raised in a house full of animal lovers. Although everyone loved dogs,each member of the family had their own critter as well. So,I can *blame* my mom for getting me into birds.

Then in the early 70's, my dad took a job in Costa Rica . We lived way up in the mountains,with the Monteverde Rain forest as our backyard. We had the privilege of seeing wild Amazons,Conures,and a variety Central American Parakeets. Plus Toucans! We also got to see Spider Monkeys and Howler Monkeys..... noisy little "effers"! And lets not forget the Tarantulas,Scorpions,and deadly Snakes!:th_scared4:

It was great having the chance to see these creatures in their natural habitats. I am glad to see that Costa Rica is finally appreciating their natural treasures. They certainly didn't back then....

Kalidasa
05-11-2013, 04:24 AM
Tarantulas, scorpions and snakes, oh my!

Mare
05-11-2013, 05:09 AM
I believe our passion comes from within and our younger selves. Although I never had my own bird, until my later years, I've always had a love of animals. I've always had a passion, for animals. You've got it or you don't.

RoseBandit
05-11-2013, 07:45 AM
Let see... I loved animals in general at around 2 or 3, from the biggest lion to the smallest mouse, I loved them all. I had always wanted a pet dog since I was 4. When I was about 10 I begged and begged my mum for a pet ferret. ( I knew I would get no where begging for a dog) And one day she said. "Why do you get a bird instead?" I frowned at that, "At least I can feed them sunflower seeds through the bars..." I said uncertainly. you see, I thought that birds were like fish. Clean the cage and feed them thats all, living decoration. Just out of curiosity because I loved reading... I researched birds. I began to realise feeding and cleaning wasnt the only thing... there was training, taming, harness blah blah blah I began to read about cockatiels.

You would easily find me in the library, a wee little 11 year old surrounding with everything and anything about birds. I studied an researched birds for 8 months before shortly after my 12th birthday I acquired my very own cockatiel, Captain. I remember fidgeting like there was no tomorrow in the back seat in the ride to the pet shop. I bolted inside and looked for the live birds. "Why dont you get this one? Its pretty." my mum suggested pointing at the lories. I shrugged crouched down absolutely speechless at the cockatiels, playing, flapping, preening each other. "Do you like them?" my mum asked. I nodded not trusting myself to speak. I remember watching carefully, as they were not tame the flew to the other side of the cage Captain among them. He seemed to stand out for me, unlike the others who were eyeing me with fearful eyes, he was watching, his eyes big and bright with curiosity. I choose him immediately.

I remember reading to him, singing to him, eating in front of his cage, even falling asleep near him. After 3 days of that I cautiously opened his cage door and he hopped out and wondered around on the floor exploring the house while I padded silently after him. Somehow I managed to get him on a stand and offer my hand, trembling in fear of his bite. Captain hopped onto my hand immediately. I was over joyed. He had taken to me straight away. I loved him so much and he loved me best off all. And one day, a week before my 13th... he was gone...
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Now Im still 13 and I raised my beautiful and hilarious RB2 Bandit :) Who just pooped on my shoulder......

keepsmiling
05-11-2013, 08:43 AM
Such a passion we all have. It is awesome!:th_hug8:

tonkatiel
05-12-2013, 08:26 PM
Oohh where do I start??

I was born in the UK, but moved to Australia when I was 6. We lived in 'the bush', and there were Cockatoos, King Parrots and Rosellas who we left seed on the balcony for... It wasn't long before we realised they were all happy to eat the seed from our hands, and it ended up being one of my favourite things to do...

A year later I got home from school and there was a huge cage in the loungeroom with a Galah sitting inside it. He was an untame wild caught bird who Mum had bought for $40 from the pet shop... it wasn't long before he was very friendly and tame, and very much bonded to my Mum. He's always been great with the rest of the family as well but I think only because he doesn't have a choice lol... Well I decided years ago that I wanted what my Mum has with Pugwash (yes, a very silly name lol). I've since found out that being so bonded to a human probably isn't the healthiest thing for a bird, but my Mum has dealt with it well...

When I was 17 I moved in with my boyfriend who had a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo called 'Cocky' (very original :rolleyes: ) he was a great bird who spent the majority of each day out of his cage and it didn't take long for him to accept me in his flock... We quickly became great friends, and when I broke up with the boyfriend 2 years later I was devastated - it was a lot harder to say goodbye to Cocky than it was the ex lol... Last I heard he's still doing really well though and just as spoilt as always <3

Fast forward a few years and 3 kids...
My partner has always known how much I love birds, and at the start of this year he watched me fawn over some lovebirds in the pet shop... 2 days later on my birthday he surprised me by bringing 3 of them home lol...
Lovebirds wouldn't have actually been my first choice - I've always loved how pretty they are but I knew next to nothing about them... Well I fixed that pretty quickly by doing a LOT of research! Now they are EASILY one of my favourite parrot species :)

It hasn't taken us long to let our flock grow a bit lol, it turns out that my partner who doesn't really have much experience with birds, loves them just as much as I do :)

So now we have the 3 lovies, a cockatiel, and a Galah :) Plus 3 kids aged 5 and under - we definitely have our hands full :P

Turquoise
05-15-2013, 08:32 AM
As a small child my Mom had a blue parakeet named Silky. From what I can remember, Silky lived to be 7 yrs. old & died from pneumonia one winter. When I was 15, Mom bought a cockatiel & my brother's wife gave me her yellow parakeet she was tired taking care of. After I was married in the early 80s I wanted another parakeet & went to a small local pet shop. They had just gotten in a group of young budgies & I picked the turquoise blue one in the group. The guy at the pet shop told me he had only been out of the nest for 2 days. On the ride home my Mom held the cage he was in while I drove & the baby nuzzled her thumb she offered him. I named him Cherokee and would let him fly freely throughout the house daily. he wasn't hand tame & I would spend a few mins. chasing him when I put him back in. About a month after I got him I let him out as usual, I sat down at the dining table& Cherokee flew straight to my hand. he sat there looking at me & let me scratch him. From then on he was my pal & loved to hang out on my hand or shoulder. He learned to talk very well, saying several phrases. He got sick with pneumonia one winter & I took him to the local vet. who was not an avian vet of course. He had a young vet spending the summer getting hands on training with cattle & he looked up Cherokee's symptoms in a book & gave me antibiotics to give him in his water & said to keep him very warm til he got well. He did get well, but a couple yrs later he got sick again. the young vet was gone by then & the resident vet gave me something for the disease chickens get. Thsi med did not work since that wasn't what he had as i told the vet what the other vet gave me. He wouldn't listen to me & Cherokee died 3 days later.

I didn't get another bird for several yrs. One day I decided to get a baby parakeet from a local breeder. That started my obsession to move into the larger parrots. I wanted a macaw way back then, but could not afford them. My first larger parrot was a handfed baby Nanday Conure. I got my first Amazon from an add in the newspaper. He was a re-home that the people were afraid of. My collection consisted of 2 re-homed Amazons, 2 Nanday Conures, 1 Timneh African Grey (1 Nanday & the TAG were previously my Mom's), 1 love bird & 1 parakeet. I so wanted a Green Wing macaw back then, but since life situations warranted that I re-home all my birds in 2000, I am glad now that I did not get one.

I had a a few parakeets after that & then one day my hubby saw a Green Cheek Conure in a local pet shop & wanted it. He never really messed with my other birds. If one needed to be picked up, he would get a stick as he was afraid of getting bit. So, this was not expected from him at all! I researched conures online & did not find any in my state available at the time, it was in Nov. I looked for Green Wings & to my dismay could not find one of those either. I did find Catalina macaws from a breeder in my state, showed hubby who said, "Go for it" And boy did I ever!! So, that is how I came to finally get macaws in my life & now I have my dream bird home, my Green Wing Ruby Jewel!!:th_heart:

keepsmiling
05-15-2013, 09:08 AM
I am not sure birds get what we commonly call pneumonia. They can have psitticosis/chlamidia, which is very serious and you can catch it. They certainly would not get it just due to cold weather. It is caused by bacteria. This is why keeping your bird's cage and environment clean daily, not allowing poop to dry and remain is so very important for your health as well as your bird. Just for future reference, if a vet prescribes antibiotics be given in water, look for another vet. For antibiotics to be effective, they must be administered directly to the bird in a prescribed dosage. They should also be given an antifungal along with it, as the antibiotics kill good bacteria as well as bad, leaving the bird susceptible to a fungal infection.

Turquoise
05-16-2013, 06:52 PM
The parakeet I first had was way back in 1982. I lived in a very small town & a common vet was all that was available to me. He did get sick from being in a draft & he did get well from the antibiotics I hand fed him with an eye dropper. He was my only bird during those yrs & se are talking about a parakeet that has been gone for nearly 30 yrs!