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Our first birds

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Wingz4Thingz 
#1 ·
The first parrots I remember having in my house are a blue budgie and two cockatiels. The budgie was called Lewis and the cockatiels were called Harry and Smartie. Harry was a pearl and Smartie I think was a lutino. They were kept in a cage in my room. Lewis was very cute, but he wasn't exactly tame. He was an aviary bird before, and he would land on your head, but that's pretty much it. Harry the cockatiel was found. He was lovely and had a great personality. He used to like sharing pasta with my dad. But Smartie was a very mean bird and used to BITE!! Unfortunately they all escaped and flew up to a tree. We never saw them after that.
:bird3::gif_0204[1]:
 
#2 ·
A splash of colour

A few years after Lewis, Harry and Smartie escaped, we got an Indian Ringneck parakeet from a store, named Loki. This parakeet wasn't tame at all. We got her after seeing an amazon parrot at the pet shop who was too expensive.
Loki was very flighty and timid, and completely unhandleable. She would bite if you went near her. She was destructive, too, and did a lot of damage to the house - we still have marks in the plaster above our curtains where she used to chew! She loved to sit up on our horse picture of Whistlejacket - and also used it as a toilet! She was also really noisy and very very loud! She used to drive my mum and dad crazy with her high pitched shrieking - so they sold her. I hope she ended up in good hands.
This was when I was about 7 or 8. :Alex:
 
#3 · (Edited)
Kawaii

One day when I came home from staying at my dads', my mum announced that she wanted to get a parakeet to keep us company. Dad(of course, being dad) tried to talk her out of it, but mum was adamant. So we looked at videos of the parakeets. These were lineolated parakeets, so called because they have line-like patterns on their wings and tails. They are about the size of a budgie, but very cute. We looked at the picture and decided whether we wanted the olive or one of the greens. We decided on the olive.
Then on fireworks night, we were off to get our new bird. We went up to Essex where a woman called Anne greeted us. She had a house full of birds. As well as her linnies, that were flying round the house, she had parrotlets and cockatiels, and some in an aviary outside. Anyway, she explained to us about linnies, feeding them, training them, and telling us she was beaking and using her beak to explore. She was very testy about our knowledge. Before we left with our new linnie, Anne said her son wanted one for christmas and mum said, "I'm sure we'll be back for more!" and we left. On the drive home, we discussed what to call our new bundle of feathers. We settled on "Kawaii", the Japanese word for cute. When we got home we put her cardboard box she was in in her new cage we got from Jolleyes, a good decent sized cage. We opened her box and her little head poked out, and she was making lovely little chirping noises, soft, not loud. "Rit tit tit". While we left her to explore her new cage, we went to my nans, and my auntie and cousin were there. They gave us goodie bags left over from halloween. Then we came home.
Jamie and my dad came. My brother liked Kawaii and even my dad found her cute - before he'd compared linnies to budgies and he doesn't like budgies because their faces look smashed). Kawaii sat on my finger and let me stroke her, calmly, softly. Then me mum dad and Ellie my sister, went to see the fireworks while my brother Jamie stayed home. We had a great fireworks night, and we ate candyfloss and then we came home. We let Kawaii out again. Mum told me to cover the cups in case she fell in them. Also we had to cover the fish tank. Unfortunately, at the time, my dad was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Kawaii flew into the kitchen and landed on the boiling hot pan that was on the stove. Thankfully she was alright. That night she wouldn't come off the lampshade, but eventually we managed to get her in her cage.
Kawaii would soon grow to become the most affectionate bird we ever had. She loved to be stroked, and would always turn her head round or bow her head down to be stroked. She was never really a nippy bird, and only went through a phase when her pin feathers were coming through. But after that she never bit.
She loved to ride round on our shoulders and our heads, and would follow you out of the room if you went out. She had the liberty to fly round the house. She liked to go in the kitchen on the fridge, the bathroom on the cabinet, and my bedroom on my dolls house that I got for christmas! It was a great christmas with Kawaii. Even she got 4 toys from someone on the linnie forum for christmas. (I think it was Anne). On christmas eve she even had a sip of dad's sherry(or cider)! She didn't like it at first, but soon came back for more! She also had a liking for tea. Her favourite place in the living room was her homemade perch with beads dangling off it, that was hanging on the ceiling. She also loved the lampshade. They say linnies love to spend time on the ground and don't like flying as much, but Kawaii was an exception. She loved to take laps around the living room and was a very good flyer!
She was scared of some of Ellies toys (Crane from Kung Fu Panda happy meal toy and a blu &gold macaw toy she got for christmas). I think he thought they were real birds and would sometimes attack them while making an angry noise. Sometimes Ellie would annoy Kawaii with these toys.
She didn't really talk, although she nearly said "Kawaii". But I have this plastic toy budgie that used to make a noise, and Kawaii used to copy the noise exactly.
She used to like this video of a blue lineolated parakeet. It had chinese music and at the end there was a linnie noise, and she would know the bit at the end was coming, and when it did she would respond to the chirping. That video always reminds me of Kawaii. She was very loyal, and mum could let the dogs out with Kawaii on her shoulder, and she wouldn't fly away.
She also used to like sharing our meals with us. She had everything you would want in a bird - she never bit, she was non-destructive, she was very tame, she wasn't too demanding, she was quiet, she was cuddly, and she wasn't a one-person bird - she loved everyone, and everyone loved her. But that all changed.
My sister Ellie started treating her real rough. She wouldn't let anybody else interact with the bird, especially me. She had no care whatsoever and I tried to explain to her that Kawaii was a very fragile little bird and they have hollow bones so they can be killed easily, but she wouldn't listen. She treated Kawaii like a toy aeroplane, holding her tightly and whirlingher round. She held her and put her head in her mouth. Once she threw him and he landed in the dog bowl with water in and Ellie only laughed. Still, Kawaii, as gentle as she was, never even bit Ellie for treating her like that.
One day was the last straw. I was upstairs on Sketchfu, and mum called me downstairs to put the bird away as Ellie was hitting it with a stick. She was mad at it already for pooing everywhere and threatened to give her away, although I knew she'd never do that. Her exact words were "I hate that bird". I came down to a scene from my worst nightmares. Kawaii, was flying round the room and Ellie was chasing her with a perch. Kawaii landed on her cage and Ellie kept hitting but narrowly missing Kawaii every time. I tried to prise the perch off Ellie, but she was waving it around so wildly that she would have hit me. She landed another glancing blow at Kawaii, and this time she didn't miss. She had hit little Kawaii in the head. She arched her little wings up, confused. There was blood seeping out of one of her nares. I took her upstairs to try to calm her down. It was unlikely, but if she lived, her brain would be severely damaged. I just held her and petted her, caressed her, and even in her last moments, she managed to turn her head round to be petted. "Oh, Kawaii", I sobbed. "Please don't die! I love you so much. I've always loved you, and always will. Even if you don't remember who I am, I'll still love you. I'll never forget you". Or something along those lines.
Then I took her downstairs where she tried to fly, but ended up fluttering pathetically to the ground. I could see how she was suffering and in pain. We wrapped her up in kitchen towel and placed her in her snuggle hut so she wouldn't attempt to fly again and injure herself further. I went upstairs and prayed for her. Later, mum arrived with the news that kawaii was dead. I was devastated, I just couldn't believe it. It was like losing a family member - Kawaii was part of olur family. We took her outside to be buried. Her grave would be her favourite perch that she used to fly to for peace, and a rock and grate to keep animals out. Ellie, being only 4, showed not the slightest bit of remorse. Mum said, "I'll never forget the way she looked up at me just before she died." She didn't really hate that bird, because she cried when she died. I think she really regrets saying that now, but everyone says things they don't mean sometimes. At least, as I sat up there with her and comforted her, she went out with love and care. We didn't even have Kawaii for a year.
I would cry every night for her. I'll admit that I still cry now. I've never really got over Kawaii's death, and most likely never will. But it does get better. I started to remember her for the fun times we had together and the happy memories we shared. Good memories, funny memories, fun memories, even sad memories. Memories that made me smile and memories that made me think. She still exists in my mind and is alive in my heart. Sometimes, I remember a moment I never thought about, something so small and insignificant that I'd never thought about it when she was alive. Like the time mum almost bought another linnie but thought better of it, or on the second day we got her and she got her foot stuck in the bars of her cage, or when we removed the ring from her leg, or even when I used to take her upstairs so she could get away from Ellie and we would watch linnie videos together. She will be forever treasured in my heart. Because my memories of her and love for her will Never Die.
 

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#5 ·
sorry it's so long, but that's the whole story.
just a note. Kawaii probably wasn't a female, because she had very slight barring on her wings and tail, but the difference was minimal because she was dilute. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this though.
 
#8 ·
No offense, but your parents should NEVER have left Ellie alone with the bird. Small children are common killers of birds, friends of mine just had a cockatiel die that had been given to children, and they had pulled out all the tail feathers and the bird died of stress. I'm so sorry your parents did not do a better job, its unfair to the bird and to you. Kawaii would still be here today if not for them. They should have picked maybe picked up on the fact someone was going to get hurt when they asked you to go get the bird away from Ellie because SHE WAS TRYING TO HIT IT.

I know this isn't my battle, but my god...

I'm so sorry. I have 6 linnies and I cannot imagine someone being so thoughtless about their care. (not you them.) Because you obviously loved her very much.
 
#9 ·
Im also sorry about what happened to your bird but can't help but say it was very irresponsible. I'm mum to a 22month old and 4yr old. They aren't even safe alone with the cat! They shut her in things, grab her funny, chase her etc if not supervised and I'd never leave them alone with something smaller!

Better luck in the future x

Sent from my SK17i using Tapatalk 2
 
#10 ·
I am sorry for your losses. It is clear how much you loved your linnie and I do have to agree with the others that your sister should not of had the bird around her in the first place without proper supervision. A kid of about 10-11 came over (my grandads real grandchild) with his family and he randomly shot into the garden, grabbed my hose, put it on JET WASH and blasted my poor Chalkie-hawkie with it! Needless to say I told them they're not welcome here any more and to stay away from my birds :mad: haven't heard from them since. He kept teasing my elderly deaf and blind dog too and when my dog went to bite him he was telling me I needed him put down! Urgh. I guess I've always been good with animals because it's just who I am. I live with them, study them and have worked with them. I just love them (half the time a fat lot more than people!). I understand about your Indian ringneck parakeet. Mine was completely wild when I got her but after some time of letting her do what she wanted she actually became very very approachable and deep down she was a real sweetheart
 
#11 ·
Daisy I was at a bird show once with my long tailed chickens (phoenix) and my prized rooster was in a big double wide, because of his tail, and I saw a man behaving oddly around him, trying to touch him, and his feathers through the bars. I approached him, and after speaking with him, it was clear that he had a mental disability. I asked him politely, please do not try to touch him, he does not trust strangers, and you could get hurt. So what does he do? I ask my mom to watch him, and he as fast as he can, PULLS OUT A TAIL FEATHER THROUGH THE CAGE BARS. I snapped, I mean I did not try to because he did not understand probably, BUT HELL NO was I going to let him get away with it. I called security and asked them to take him away from the area. I kinda felt bad, but no way was I going to let it happen to someone else's animals, and my rooster was PISSED. I took him out, and he clucked to me telling me all about the HELL he wanted to give that guy in chicken talk. Not to mention now he was bleeding a little (feather was still in growth). I took the feather off the man, and told him if I see you do something like that again, I will tell the fair board not to let you around the animals unsupervised. I made everyone aware of him.

Again, probably sounds harsh, but there was no way I was going to let harm come to another bird. Its probably stressful enough coming to exotic shows.
 
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