WHAT MADE YOU BECOME A BIRD OWNER?

[nevjoe]

<br><br>Post edited by: nevjoe, at: 2008/04/09 18:41

[MommaFawkes]

Truth be told I used to completley HATE birds!! I mean I thought parrots were pretty and all that But ANYTHING with a beak would give me nightmares (seriously)!! I worked on a farm with chickens and before I would walk up the driveway I would call out "DENIS GET THE CHICKENS!!!" And make him put them all in the coop until my day was done...he never had a coop until I started working there...lol. I wouldnt even walk into a pet store that had large birds....and even FINCHES in cages kept me pasted on the far side of the store! When I met Shane he told me how growing up he had a quaker and a cockatiel and that he wanted to get a bird someday. I told him point blank if he got a bird I would break up with him

 

Well about 1 and 1/2 maybe even less years ago we were picking out a puppy for my aunt that is epileptic and these people had 4 cockatiels. Well much to my disliking Shane picked one out and magically we had a bird. This is not when I started liking them...in fact that dang cockatiel made me even more terrified of birds! I rode home with her in a cage on my lap...she was hissing and attacking the cage the whole time..honestley I was so freaked out I was CRYING!! I told Shane that I would not feed, water or care for this bird EVER!!! His bird his responsibility! It ended up being me that did all that and everytime I had to feed her or anything I had nightmares....yes EVERYNIGHT I had nightmares about the devil cockatiel.

 

Well anyways how I got hooked on them actually was by me agtain looking at puppies (my dogs sister) and there was again cockatiels...only the people thought they were both girls so when one laid eggs they let them sit them. Well to their surprise they hatched and they were not happy about this, they actually told me they were going to THROW THE BABIES in trash!!! I stood there and thought about it and I didnt know what the heck I was going to do with these little birds but I knew I wasnt going to leave them there!!! So I took them home, called my aunt who was a breeder in the past and had her explain handfeeding to me. So I raised three wonderful cockatiels! Spike Rachel and Faux, I always intended on finding homes for them, and eventually I did but it broke my heart. We were again birdless....Ducky had flown out the window when the landlord didnt realize she was out of her cage and opened the window. Anyways we were at the local pet store tropic waters and I had a little courage that day and stuck my hand in with the budgies...a little green one jumped on and didnt want to come off. We left her there and went on with our errands....when on the way home I told shane I forgot something at tropic waters, BOY WAS HE SURPRISED when I walked out with a bird in a box.....

[kllorio]

I have always had a deep passion for animals in general. Nothing too specific I just enjoy the way they are always there to greet you with love after a long days work. I have several animals and while growing up had Teils. I used to love them so much! I was introduced to a CAG at 12 and from that day I promised as soon as I had my own house and can afford one, I would have one. No I have Midnight and can't imagine being without her. Good topic job! Karma to you!

[Jane08]

I also hated birds and couldn't think of anything worse than owning one. I worked in a pet shop when I was young and I dreaded it when someone came in and wanted a bird. I would suit myself up ready for battle to get this bird for them.

 

My boyfriend always loved birds and had budgies as a kid. He feels bad now though as he only fed them seeds at the time and of course we know now they need veg and fruit. He feels he killed them with the seed only diet.

 

He always wanted a parrot and last year talked about it a lot, while I happily ignored what he was saying. Before I knew it he had contacted a breeder and we were on our way to look at baby greys. Well as soon as we got there I fell in love with our boy who was standing on his perch as proud as punch, chest out, vey majestic. He let me scratch his head and then it was all over.....we picked him up a month later.

 

Our grey is our best friend and makes me laugh everyday. He is so intelligent and even this morning for the first time he used a new sentence. I was going out of the room and I said to him come on and he replies back I'll be there in a minute. Classic!

[siobha9]

When I was a child we had a budgie named "Budge!". We got a bit better at naming our pets after that He was so tame and cute, loved to share our food, sat on our shoulders and talked a little. As I got older I got interested in birds that could talk, and did some research on them. I discovered the African Grey.

 

Then a few years ago I started to study Psychology, brain differences between humans and other species fascinated me, and the main difference according to many psychologists is the ability that humans have to talk and to use tools (including language!). Well I thought that a Grey can use all sorts of tools, and a Grey can speak. So I HAD to own one to see how a Greys language and skills develop compared to a child. I am not doing a study or anything, it is merely curiousity.

 

I have a niece who is almost the same age as Liath, and although her vocabularly is much greater than Liaths, her ability to use full sentences is far less than Liaths. Interesting huh??

[Knight05]

I hated birds, I hated parrot's in general, my only reason was because I was tired of seeing other people's "cool" birds that talk etc and not having a pet that could entertain myself and others. I originally selfishly bought a parrot for the pure reason of having something entertaining for friends to joke about and laugh at. Now that I have my bird and I see that they are not all fun and games and blown away by how messy they are and poop everywhere I must say i was sooooo wrong and regret being unprepared and stupid about my choice to buy a grey. But if you asked me to take it back or do it all over again I would still make the same choice.

 

I LOVE my grey and she's so awesome can't imagine my life without her even after just 1 short month. I would gladly scrub bird poop and vacuum the floor 90 times a day to pick up all the seeds she tosses. Grey's are the best and even if she never talks and is the most boring grey alive she's my Chloe I think of her a little kid now more than a pet.

[nevjoe]

<br><br>Post edited by: nevjoe, at: 2008/04/09 18:41

[bettyboop]

My Husbands family had birds when he was growing up , just keets, not parrots . A friend at work told him about a family member who was selling an African Grey , so he called the man , went to see the Parrot and brought him home . I had never been around birds , so this was all new to me . Well this little guy stole our hearts . Sadly we had him for a couple of years and he died one night from a toy accident . Our hearts were broken , we cried every time we heard a bird , so now we have Sammy (CAG) age three , and Zsa Zsa (Alexandrine) age one . We are so excited to have these two wonderful birds in our home and hearts . They are sooo special .

[danmcq]

Ive had birds all my life, pigeons, keets, Myna, finches (breeding MANY) and always wanted a Parrot. Life gets busy with the job, kids etc. But once the kids were gone and we had time to do others things, I got my first Parrot, a Conure, then Dayo our CAG.

 

I wish I would have gotten Parrots much earlier in Life. They are a joy and just like having a child. :-)

 

Next on the list is a B&G Macaw.......soon!! :woohoo:

[Lyric]

When I was a little girl both me and my sister got to have budgies for pets. We both loved them and they lived a long time considering they lived on mostly only seeds (occasionally we'd give them celery greens or a bit of vegetable but otherwise just seeds). Didn't know back then what we know now about nutrition. Both our birds talked and were great companions. My sister's made the sound of a ball bouncing among other things. Those little birds were the start of my love of all animals and now I'm happy to be owned by all my birds, dogs and even some fish.

This is a fun topic Joe, good idea!

[Acappella]

I grew up on a farm and always had animals around, although I was never allowed to have an animal in the home, not that I didn't beg! My only experience with birds was a nasty rooster we had who lived to be 13 and who would walk all the way from the barn to under my bedroom window every morning to crow, so I wasn't a fan of him. I never knew anyone who had a pet bird and never thought of owning one myself. Then the woman who opened a pet store in my small town joined the TOPS group where I was chapter leader and I got to know her. I started going in to the store for my cat supplies and met Dorian, her AG. He wasn't for sale. She'd brought him into the store because that's where she spent the majority of her time, and she'd had a 'store' bird at her last store who'd become such a fixture there she'd had to sell him when she sold that business. I was facinated by him and finding excuses to go into the store all the time. The first time he let me scratch his head I was thrilled, and my friend was telling me that he really liked me and that he only had a couple of people who he let touch him. After about a year my friend unfortunately had a series of health scares and wasn't at the store very much anymore, while I and another friend filled in to keep the business open. By the time she was well enough to work a few hours, Dorian wouldn't have anything to do with her. I guess from his perspective she'd just dissapeared. When she decided to sell the business because of her health, she asked me if I'd be interested in having Dorian because she could see that he was bonded to me. I didn't think it was possible for me to afford him, but we worked out a deal that I could handle. She could have sold him to any number of people in town who'd asked over the years if he was for sale, but she wanted him to go to a home where she knew he'd be well cared for. I actually just made my very last payment to her this week, so the grey goofball is now all mine!

[nevjoe]

Good story. Last payment didn't make him yours, he was yours when he went home with you. All is well in bird world.

 

Joe

[Hannah_Rae]

I've literally had birds my entire life. My father is an excellent cockatiel breeder so some of my earliest baby pics are of me sharing my food with baby tiels. My dad was also an animal rehabilitator for the humane society, so we had quite the variety of critters, feathered and furred, from my earliest years. The most unique birds I have ever been blessed with knowing were a clutch of baby kestrils. Oooh sooo cute.

When I was 14 my dad got a call about a CAG that needed an emergency foster home. Her human mom had passed away and there was no one to take her. This CAG was 23 years old and all attitude, but I loved her. Rockelle quickly bonded with me, called me by name, and taught me more that summer about bird behavior than I had ever learned. I was determined that someday I would have my own CAG.

The rest you know, I graduated from college and as a present my family and friends $$ helped me buy my beautiful Juji. My life will never be the same.

[nevjoe]

Another wonderful story. Your Juji has been a reward from your past. I always like to hear about how lives changed because of a bird. Are birds are so special, and you all have proved me right.

 

Thank you for posting in here. Hope there will be more to come.

 

Joe