pawfectly
Walking the driveway
- Joined
- 2/15/19
- Messages
- 159
Warning; LONG post ahead.
I’ve been on AA for few weeks now and haven’t had the chance to introduce myself and my birds so I thought I would do it now!
I’ve always been fascinated by parrots. My earlier memory is of me begging my parrots to let me get one. Back then, I didn’t care for them and just thought they were cute (I was ten). Thank god, my parents didn’t listen to me.
I have owned cats all my life. And I freakin love them. I never thought myself to be a bird person until I met one of my mom’s friend’s bird (peach faced lovie). I became very fond of him even though he was very nippy and bossy. He loved being around people all the time and he stole my heart right away.
Later on, I moved countries away and did not see him after. Last year, I heard that he’d accidentally escaped and was never found. I was really sad about it.
Things settled down on my side of the end and I missed having a pet’s company (since I’d always been around them) and it was then I considered getting a bird of my own.
Listen, I’ll tell you the honest truth here - I wasn’t the most responsible person about the process. I did not do ANY research and had NO idea what I was getting into. [Please don’t be like me].
Indian ringnecks have always been my weakness and so I started my quest to get one.
I got my IRN from someone who had housed and kept him very poorly. The prev owner lied to me about his age, saying that he was a few months old (which I foolishly believed because well, I didn’t do my research) and how he got him. In the end, it was just a bad situation for the IRN and I decided to get him.
It was only AFTER I got him that I did my research (again, please DON’T be like me). I realized that he was atleast a few years old and he was not tame. Not only that, but as I would later find out, he was wild caught.
My family, upon this discovery, had mixed opinions. My mother believed that releasing him would be the most humane thing to do. However, I had no idea how long ago he’d been caught and I wasn’t sure if he would survive outside since he had some problems flying. In the end, I kept him.
I named him Mitthu, which means sweet bird, I think.
He was extremely dirty, underweight, malnourished and had an injury on his beak (I don’t know from where but it could have been from a bird fight). He did not like eating ANYTHING except tomatoes and rice. He would starve himself if I gave him anything else.
Working with him has and still is a big challenge. He’s not tame even today but will tolerate our presence, if we keep our distance from him.
I was very heartbroken the first few months I had him because I loved him SO much but felt that there was no bond between us and that he was miserable. Training with him never worked because he was always so afraid of everything.
I even considered re-homing him because I felt like he was not happy with me. But who would take on a frightened, wild bird that wanted nothing to do with humans?
Ultimately, I decided to change my outlook from “It’ll never be possible” to “Maybe not now, but one day”. It honestly changed the course of things. It meant accepting that he might never be fully tame or a hands on bird. It meant accepting HIM for who HE is.
I joined forums about birds and learned everything I could to keep him happy. I researched like I had never before.
I moved him to a new cage (a bigger one), built a hang out spot for him in my balcony (it’s meshed) for him to sit and enjoy the view outside. I started giving him space and the option to do things his way.
I got him last year in August and though it may seem like not much, but we’ve made wonderful progress. Although he doesn’t like anyone getting too close, he always wants to be where the action is. He calls out to me if he thinks I’m ignoring him (usually when I’m studying haha) and he can say a few words (only when he wants to, which is, almost never!). I’ve also been able to broaden his foods list (thanks to my ‘tiel). He also dances (yes, he does) when he feels happy.
In the end, he’s just a goofy little dude who loves me in his own way.
As for my second bird....
I wanted to get Mitthu a companion of sorts because I felt that he would thrive from it. But mostly, I wanted another bird because I couldn’t handle my IRN after all and it broke my heart a little. I was conflicted about getting another IRN or getting a cockatiel.
Things worked out on their accord because while I was figuring out what I wanted for a second bird, my ‘tiel ended up on my doorstep (figuratively).
Someone was moving away and gave me their ‘tiel that they had purchased just a month prior. He was approximately 4 - 5 months old and once I saw his picture, I knew it in my heart that I could not say no.
They dropped him off the same day and I named him Ahmed. He came home in Jan of this year and we’ve made amazing progress! He knows step up, sings a few songs and speaks a LOT. He can say “come here”, “whatchya doin”, “peek a boo” to name a few and he also calls out to my IRN by his name.
Mitthu doesn’t like him AT ALL but is very curious and intruiged by him (given that he has never seen a ‘tiel in the wild) and mimicks everything Ahmed does. And it worked for my benefit because whatever Ahmed eats, Mitthu wants it to!
However, I don’t let them interact directly with each other because Mitthu will try and chase him everywhere.
So yep, two birds later, here I am.
So in the end, Some lessons that everyone could gather from this are -
I have learned so much about birds since last year and I’m glad to have these two silly boys in my life. I love AA because of how welcoming, warm and open - minded everyone is here and I look forward to getting to know you all.
Sorry for the super long post!
I’ve been on AA for few weeks now and haven’t had the chance to introduce myself and my birds so I thought I would do it now!
I’ve always been fascinated by parrots. My earlier memory is of me begging my parrots to let me get one. Back then, I didn’t care for them and just thought they were cute (I was ten). Thank god, my parents didn’t listen to me.
I have owned cats all my life. And I freakin love them. I never thought myself to be a bird person until I met one of my mom’s friend’s bird (peach faced lovie). I became very fond of him even though he was very nippy and bossy. He loved being around people all the time and he stole my heart right away.
Later on, I moved countries away and did not see him after. Last year, I heard that he’d accidentally escaped and was never found. I was really sad about it.
Things settled down on my side of the end and I missed having a pet’s company (since I’d always been around them) and it was then I considered getting a bird of my own.
Listen, I’ll tell you the honest truth here - I wasn’t the most responsible person about the process. I did not do ANY research and had NO idea what I was getting into. [Please don’t be like me].
Indian ringnecks have always been my weakness and so I started my quest to get one.
I got my IRN from someone who had housed and kept him very poorly. The prev owner lied to me about his age, saying that he was a few months old (which I foolishly believed because well, I didn’t do my research) and how he got him. In the end, it was just a bad situation for the IRN and I decided to get him.
It was only AFTER I got him that I did my research (again, please DON’T be like me). I realized that he was atleast a few years old and he was not tame. Not only that, but as I would later find out, he was wild caught.
My family, upon this discovery, had mixed opinions. My mother believed that releasing him would be the most humane thing to do. However, I had no idea how long ago he’d been caught and I wasn’t sure if he would survive outside since he had some problems flying. In the end, I kept him.
I named him Mitthu, which means sweet bird, I think.
He was extremely dirty, underweight, malnourished and had an injury on his beak (I don’t know from where but it could have been from a bird fight). He did not like eating ANYTHING except tomatoes and rice. He would starve himself if I gave him anything else.
Working with him has and still is a big challenge. He’s not tame even today but will tolerate our presence, if we keep our distance from him.
I was very heartbroken the first few months I had him because I loved him SO much but felt that there was no bond between us and that he was miserable. Training with him never worked because he was always so afraid of everything.
I even considered re-homing him because I felt like he was not happy with me. But who would take on a frightened, wild bird that wanted nothing to do with humans?
Ultimately, I decided to change my outlook from “It’ll never be possible” to “Maybe not now, but one day”. It honestly changed the course of things. It meant accepting that he might never be fully tame or a hands on bird. It meant accepting HIM for who HE is.
I joined forums about birds and learned everything I could to keep him happy. I researched like I had never before.
I moved him to a new cage (a bigger one), built a hang out spot for him in my balcony (it’s meshed) for him to sit and enjoy the view outside. I started giving him space and the option to do things his way.
I got him last year in August and though it may seem like not much, but we’ve made wonderful progress. Although he doesn’t like anyone getting too close, he always wants to be where the action is. He calls out to me if he thinks I’m ignoring him (usually when I’m studying haha) and he can say a few words (only when he wants to, which is, almost never!). I’ve also been able to broaden his foods list (thanks to my ‘tiel). He also dances (yes, he does) when he feels happy.
In the end, he’s just a goofy little dude who loves me in his own way.
As for my second bird....
I wanted to get Mitthu a companion of sorts because I felt that he would thrive from it. But mostly, I wanted another bird because I couldn’t handle my IRN after all and it broke my heart a little. I was conflicted about getting another IRN or getting a cockatiel.
Things worked out on their accord because while I was figuring out what I wanted for a second bird, my ‘tiel ended up on my doorstep (figuratively).
Someone was moving away and gave me their ‘tiel that they had purchased just a month prior. He was approximately 4 - 5 months old and once I saw his picture, I knew it in my heart that I could not say no.
They dropped him off the same day and I named him Ahmed. He came home in Jan of this year and we’ve made amazing progress! He knows step up, sings a few songs and speaks a LOT. He can say “come here”, “whatchya doin”, “peek a boo” to name a few and he also calls out to my IRN by his name.
Mitthu doesn’t like him AT ALL but is very curious and intruiged by him (given that he has never seen a ‘tiel in the wild) and mimicks everything Ahmed does. And it worked for my benefit because whatever Ahmed eats, Mitthu wants it to!
However, I don’t let them interact directly with each other because Mitthu will try and chase him everywhere.
So yep, two birds later, here I am.
So in the end, Some lessons that everyone could gather from this are -
- ALWAYS do your research before getting a bird. I’m glad to have my birds but I wish I had researched prior.
- Patience. Patience. Patience.
- Never give up! Things WILL work out.
I have learned so much about birds since last year and I’m glad to have these two silly boys in my life. I love AA because of how welcoming, warm and open - minded everyone is here and I look forward to getting to know you all.
Sorry for the super long post!
The before and after pictures are night and day! 
and LOL, even the door is not big enough to get a CAG inside. lt could NEVER house a CAG. I have the biggest cages available here for both my birds but they’re still small for them. 
