Marlene
Welcome to the neighborhood!
Hi roadies! Please join me and congratulate Kiwi! He has been chosen as Celebirdy for the month of March, 2011 
1. How did you aquire your bird?
Kiwi was adopted from Dr. Julie Burge. He'd been relinquished to her by his former owners for his problems with mutilation. When a friend was adopting a blue quaker from her, she told her that there was another special bird who needed a forever home. By that time, he'd been adopted out a few times, but every time they always brought him back. I jumped at the chance to help this special needs Quaker and brought him home a week after meeting him.
2. What is your birds name, age and sex?
Kiwi is a boy, and probably 9 years old. We dont have a hatch date for him, due to the previous owners never giving one.
3. Does your bird do any special tricks?
Hmm, that's a tough question! He does some "tricks" that he thinks are pretty special, like figuring out how to open any cage door. Haha, but he does know how to eagle boy and turn around when asked. I'd have to say eagle boy is his favorite trick! He can also sing quite well! He knows parts to five different songs, and when you hold him on your arm and dance around, he'll start singing!
4. What are some of your birds favorite foods?
Right now, he absolutely LOVES Roudybush Soak and Feed Tuscan Blend with a bit of Aviglo mixed in. His favorite fruit is apple, and he goes nuts for whole wheat bread. Favorite veggie is DEFINITELY green beans!
5. What is the funniest thing your bird has done?
To me or to him? Haha! To him, the funniest thing is throwing things off of the top of his cage so I have to retrieve them for him. Guess he's teaching me to play fetch! For me, the funniest thing he's done was when I was on the phone one time. He was sitting on my shoulder as I was telling a funny story to a friend. He decided it was funny as well, and started laughing into the actual mouthpiece on the phone. This made my friend laugh, which made me laugh and it just turned into a cycle of laughter that had us both laughing so hard we were crying!
6. How has your bird enriched your life?
Kiwi has brought so much into my life. I will readily admit that I was most likely not ready for his special needs when I adopted him. I had helped my friend with her adoptions (a kind of sub-adoption thing for Dr. Burge), and bonded with a few of the birds that came through there, but I'd never really owned a bird. Especially one that needed his level of specialization. He's taught me so much about respect, and love. I believe those are the two most important things needed when considering adopting a feathery friend. Not a day goes by that I cant get some level of enjoyment just by playing with him, feeding him, or watching him. He can turn a horrible day into a great one with a single word or phrase. I remember one day, it was just one of those days, you know? Everything was going wrong. Work was hectic, and everything just seemed to grate, you know? I went to give him his evening treat and he took it and responded with a simple "I love you." I realized that I hadn't smiled all day until then. He really knows how to turn a day around.
7. What would you tell people who are considering this species?
Another tough question! I think Quakers have a bit of a bad rap sometimes. They can be crazy, territorial, loud, notorious one person birds, and nasty biters. If you're willing to work hard (and I do mean hard!), learn their boundaries and respect them, work with them on a daily basis, and love them unconditionally they can make great family members.
8. What is the activity and noise level of your bird?
Kiwi is not very active. He has a few toys he likes, but he often would rather just be out so he can sleep on top of his cage. He does like to explore a bit, but he's a bit of a homebody and always lets me know when he's ready to go back to his cage. He's often content just to come and sit on top of my monitor while I work, grabbing a few scritches here and there. As for noise, he CAN be very noisy. He has his alarm call for the mail man or anyone walking down the street, which the dogs have learned. They start barking and rush to the windows if they hear his alarm call so that kind of amplifies the noise a bit, haha. He's also learned he can fake an alarm call and get them going as well. If he's not receiving enough attention, he will DEFINITELY let me know, either by contact calls or fake alarms.
9. What are some of your birds quirks?
When he trips or loses his balance, he actually says WHOA!!! When he has to go potty, he'll say "Make a doodle!" and then afterwards, he always goes "Doodle! ...Ewwww.." His previous owners must have taught him that, but its so funny. He also makes water noises before he gets in the bath every time, and while he's in the bath, he always laughs!
10. If your bird talks, what is the most surprising word or sentence it has said?
Before I got him, he learned most of his current vocabulary. He has picked up a few of my words and phrases, and the most surprising has been recently. When the dogs are excited and jumping up, doing their best to knock me over, I always flail and go "Aaaah!" The other day, he was practicing his words and I heard him use that same Aaah! and then tell the dogs to go potty! Hahaha.
11. What is your bird’s favorite treat?
Oh, definitely safflower seeds. He cant get enough, but we limit them as much as we can. He'll go through his daily treat bowl if its seeds, and toss out everything except the safflowers and only eat those.
1. How did you aquire your bird?
Kiwi was adopted from Dr. Julie Burge. He'd been relinquished to her by his former owners for his problems with mutilation. When a friend was adopting a blue quaker from her, she told her that there was another special bird who needed a forever home. By that time, he'd been adopted out a few times, but every time they always brought him back. I jumped at the chance to help this special needs Quaker and brought him home a week after meeting him.
2. What is your birds name, age and sex?
Kiwi is a boy, and probably 9 years old. We dont have a hatch date for him, due to the previous owners never giving one.
3. Does your bird do any special tricks?
Hmm, that's a tough question! He does some "tricks" that he thinks are pretty special, like figuring out how to open any cage door. Haha, but he does know how to eagle boy and turn around when asked. I'd have to say eagle boy is his favorite trick! He can also sing quite well! He knows parts to five different songs, and when you hold him on your arm and dance around, he'll start singing!
4. What are some of your birds favorite foods?
Right now, he absolutely LOVES Roudybush Soak and Feed Tuscan Blend with a bit of Aviglo mixed in. His favorite fruit is apple, and he goes nuts for whole wheat bread. Favorite veggie is DEFINITELY green beans!
5. What is the funniest thing your bird has done?
To me or to him? Haha! To him, the funniest thing is throwing things off of the top of his cage so I have to retrieve them for him. Guess he's teaching me to play fetch! For me, the funniest thing he's done was when I was on the phone one time. He was sitting on my shoulder as I was telling a funny story to a friend. He decided it was funny as well, and started laughing into the actual mouthpiece on the phone. This made my friend laugh, which made me laugh and it just turned into a cycle of laughter that had us both laughing so hard we were crying!
6. How has your bird enriched your life?
Kiwi has brought so much into my life. I will readily admit that I was most likely not ready for his special needs when I adopted him. I had helped my friend with her adoptions (a kind of sub-adoption thing for Dr. Burge), and bonded with a few of the birds that came through there, but I'd never really owned a bird. Especially one that needed his level of specialization. He's taught me so much about respect, and love. I believe those are the two most important things needed when considering adopting a feathery friend. Not a day goes by that I cant get some level of enjoyment just by playing with him, feeding him, or watching him. He can turn a horrible day into a great one with a single word or phrase. I remember one day, it was just one of those days, you know? Everything was going wrong. Work was hectic, and everything just seemed to grate, you know? I went to give him his evening treat and he took it and responded with a simple "I love you." I realized that I hadn't smiled all day until then. He really knows how to turn a day around.
7. What would you tell people who are considering this species?
Another tough question! I think Quakers have a bit of a bad rap sometimes. They can be crazy, territorial, loud, notorious one person birds, and nasty biters. If you're willing to work hard (and I do mean hard!), learn their boundaries and respect them, work with them on a daily basis, and love them unconditionally they can make great family members.
8. What is the activity and noise level of your bird?
Kiwi is not very active. He has a few toys he likes, but he often would rather just be out so he can sleep on top of his cage. He does like to explore a bit, but he's a bit of a homebody and always lets me know when he's ready to go back to his cage. He's often content just to come and sit on top of my monitor while I work, grabbing a few scritches here and there.
As for noise, he CAN be very noisy. He has his alarm call for the mail man or anyone walking down the street, which the dogs have learned. They start barking and rush to the windows if they hear his alarm call so that kind of amplifies the noise a bit, haha. He's also learned he can fake an alarm call and get them going as well. If he's not receiving enough attention, he will DEFINITELY let me know, either by contact calls or fake alarms. 9. What are some of your birds quirks?
When he trips or loses his balance, he actually says WHOA!!! When he has to go potty, he'll say "Make a doodle!" and then afterwards, he always goes "Doodle! ...Ewwww.." His previous owners must have taught him that, but its so funny. He also makes water noises before he gets in the bath every time, and while he's in the bath, he always laughs!
10. If your bird talks, what is the most surprising word or sentence it has said?
Before I got him, he learned most of his current vocabulary. He has picked up a few of my words and phrases, and the most surprising has been recently. When the dogs are excited and jumping up, doing their best to knock me over, I always flail and go "Aaaah!" The other day, he was practicing his words and I heard him use that same Aaah! and then tell the dogs to go potty! Hahaha.
11. What is your bird’s favorite treat?
Oh, definitely safflower seeds. He cant get enough, but we limit them as much as we can. He'll go through his daily treat bowl if its seeds, and toss out everything except the safflowers and only eat those.
