Pets - birds, budgies and loss
2023
Rest in peace my sweet little bird ….
You came to me my little darling
As a wing cut untamed sweetheart
Chirping madly in the box on that rainy winter afternoon
I calmed you quietly and at home
You met Bond and quickly settled in to food and warmth
Bond nipped you in the beginning defending his space
But your patience and sweetness soon led to bonding partnership
And some months later you preened each other
I was overwhelmed with joy
April came and you just refused to climb my summerhouse safety ladders
To stop you from wandering outside alone in the wilderness!
Seeking you to pick you up from your hiding corners when you landed on the floor
We nonetheless found a safe routine and I worried less
You were so adorable, so easy to tame, such a fluffy head
Beautiful character, kind and quiet, and a fantastic eater
You joined in with Bond’s play and you were steadfast friends
Till the end
What caused your illness so quickly at the age of five
Is probably an egg, injury or internal infection from the egg break
I so wished the medication would work, together with the care
But the painkiller, baths, heat and diet I tried failed
You lived cheerfully for five days through the baths, heat dries and painkiller
Until Friday the 4th of August
That afternoon and night, we lay together
You, wrapped on my chest in a towel
Warm and safe but feathers alert and heavy breathing
I put you to bed early but found you in the morning
Seeking refuge at the cage bottom in the same towel
Together we lay again on the 5th,
You not eating for the first time
Weakened and breathing slowed
I cried and hoped the medication, warmth and massages
Gave you some peace and rest
On your stairway to Heaven
I will miss you so much Gracie 🥲Just 9 months in my life
I tamed you, trained you to try and fly
And you brought such joy to me and Bond.
You will be loved forever. Rest in peace my little one
I love you, Bond loves you, we will miss you terribly….. xxxxxxxx
The connection we have with animals is so deep. They are wholly part of our lives, dependent on us and the fact that they don’t talk deepens that connection….
2018 keeping budgies :)
When I was young and immature at the age of 18 I had two birds. But not
for long. As I didn't know they shouldn't be near a draught, I came
home one day to discover them both lying on their backs having passed
from life to death. After my beloved cat died from FATE (feline aortic
thrombo embolism) after 11 years of companionship, I decided to get
birds instead of another cat. The breeder offered me tamed budgies but I
wanted to tame them myself. So at just 3 months old, I took the birds
home in their tiny boxes, which the breeder puts them into after
selecting them out of a bunch in a row. I put them into their new home
and small cage eager to begin taming them.
It took a while to find appropriate names as I didn't know much about
their characters and the first two months were trying to say the least.
They got used to my hand inside the cage pretty quickly and would eat
out of my hand without any trouble. But when I felt it was time to give
them their freedom, as I was not going to clip their wings, getting them
back into the cage would sometimes take an hour! I had special shelves
around the lounge with their mineral block, food and water but they
naturally found their own favourite places. One being my two large
lampshades which have a thin rim. To this day I keep them covered with a
natural straw brush on the top and Bond and Octopussy know they are out
of bounds.
Bond
Octopussy
I will admit to having felt an affectionate bias towards Bond in the
beginning as he was the one who was easier to tame. He was always braver
and such a pretty blue male. Octopussy was more hesitant and only did
things if Bond did them first. Still to this day its the same. Any new
toy or resting place must first be tried and tested by Bond before
Octopussy dares. It was hard in the beginning when it took so long to
get them into the cage and it only worked by using their seed stick but
eventually, we transitioned to just my finger and I learnt how to
position my hand so they didn't feel threatened by the small cage door
entrance. Now a year later, Bond remains bold and adventurous flying
from my finger into the cage himself.
Bond is also always the one who first discovers a new room and sometimes
I've come home and not been able to find the birds! He discovered the
kitchen and perched himself up high on the gas pipes or on the rustic
lantern. They don't seem to be able to fly back though so I always have
to use a chair, coax them onto my finger and take them back to the
lounge. They sometimes fly up and down the hall way but mostly do flying
rounds in the lounge and it's so cute observing their take-off
positions and hearing the speed and whir of their wings as they fly.
They often sweep down just over my head and then up again. Once when
the visiting neighbor's cat was on my lap, Sasha (the cat) instinctively
lashed out with a paw, striking Octopussy's breast. I was in a panic as
it had caused one drop of blood on that pretty green. But she was fine
and perhaps had learnt her lesson, never doing it again with the cat in
the room. They are teasers though and will, just as birds on the road,
take incredible chances swooping in at high speed, showing off their
flying skills.
One of their take-off spots
Who doesn't like spoiling their pets? I soon upgraded their residence
and transferred their home from a cage to building them a Bird Mansion.
This involves a big cabinet, taking out the glass and putting in gauze.
Due to the size, one can be creative with swings and toys etc. The
transition went well but trying to get budgies to try out the new
obstacle courses or use the toys you buy and place for them takes
patience. They do everything in their own time and sometimes totally
ignore things the first few days. I've still to this day not managed to
get them enjoy a bird bath like the birds outside do, or eat fruit or
vegetables. But they are quite at home in flying to the dining room
table to eat their seed or drink from the tall candle-holder used for
that purpose.
On their swing in the Mansion
Octopussy playing hide and seek behind the Mansion's top decorative facade
Octopussy grooming Bond
I love coming home to these two because when I walk up to their perch,
they show off, particularly Octopussy and stretch out both legs in turn
slowly. It must be a conditioned habit now, maybe because of the
praise they get in my best put on budgie voice. They really do have
their own little characters and although I love them both equally, I
will say that Octopussy can really be a little Super-B from time to
time. One thing she does not tolerate is a hand inside the mansion at
night, or if I am too late and it's too dark when I put them back into
the mansion. She will nip (not painfully) but repeatedly to show her
irritation. Furthermore, when I feed them out of my hand during the day,
if Bond joins she pecks and shrieks at him until he moves away and
misses out. Which means I have to feed him separately. He never does it
to her and I don't know why she behaves that way but its consistent
and doesn't change. Bond is an absolute angel. He has never nipped me or
her. So I guess she's just the cheeky one with female moods! She is
absolutely beautiful though!
Octopussy has become the most obedient and perhaps because we really
bonded a few months ago. I came home and Bond immediately started flying
down and swooping over my head. Octopussy was nowhere to be found! I
searched high and low until eventually, saw that she had fallen behind
the piano which was against the wall. She wasn't hurt but she was stuck
and couldn't move in the narrow space. I have no idea how long she had
been there but Bond was truly stressed. I got her, pampered her and
honestly, since then, she has become much tamer than Bond. Always
listens, always the first to go back to the cage, although she will
still nip if I interfere in her territory at night.
They each have their own little favourite spots in the Mansion and I am
really hoping they will breed. I have 4 nesting boxes for them. On in
the mansion, one above for the daytime when they're free, the little
cage which I use to transport them to the Summer house at weekends, and
at the place itself. So far no luck and the nesting material bought at
the pet shop they flat out ignore. Maybe they're too young.
Keeping budgies is not without its work. You have to clean the cage
regularly although there are practical ways to shorten the job. In
summer they are also inclined to wake me up at the crack of dawn if I do
not cover the mansion with a sheet to keep it dark. Funny enough, at
the summer house, where they sleep in the small cage at night in my
bedroom, they do not make a noise until they see I am awake. These two
little birdies are a bundle of joy and Bond's singing and Octopussy's
mood provide for lots of secret smiles and laughs. It's so cute to stop
what you're doing check in on them on top of the mansion (their
favourite spot outside of it) and see them both chilling on one leg,
totally comfortable with their lifestyle. Or to notice how they react to
outside flocks of bird and join in on their squawking matches.
Something quite surprising is how often they've had the opportunity to
fly away, being 10 cm away from an open door to the garden which I've
forgotten to latch properly and they have not taken advantage. They must
be happy and certainly know where the food is!
To conclude, I can definitely recommend befriending budgies as pets, as
they have a lot to give and are easy companions. They even seem to like
driving in the car because when we go to the summer house they start
chattering like mad on the passenger seat, seeming to enjoy the art of
being 'flown' as they hold their balance on the perch against the
forward momentum :)
