Hello all. My favorite pet is a cockatiel which is a small parrot in the cockatoo family of parrots. I also love parakeets. Parakeets are in the parrot family as well.
Baby is on the right and Beenie on the left
I owned 2 cockatiels. Baby I had for 22 years and Beenie I had for 19 years.
I do not own a pet bird right now but plan to get another cockatiel very soon.
I feel so lost and lonely without a pet bird, but my situation does not allow me to own a bird at this time.
So please allow me to tell you a little about Baby, Buddy, and Beenie that were my very best friends for years.
Beenie and Baby my 2 Cockatiels
I didn't know much about pet birds but someone suggested I get a pet bird for living in an apartment because dogs and cats were not allowed.
I started with an adorable parakeet named Buddy way back in the late 90s. He was the sweetest and smartest little guy that was very sensitive too. Buddy was very lonely in his cage so I got Baby as a friend a year later. I did not keep them in the same cage but I kept them next to each other. It is not wise to keep birds in the same cage together because they can turn on each other, fight, and hurt each other badly. Keeping birds in their own cage almost guarantees they are very safe and still have a friend next to them.
Baby and Buddy sitting on top of their cages
My little parakeet loved Baby and even fed Baby daily! I would let them out together in a bird proof room with no wide open windows, doors, nothing cooking in the kitchen, and nothing sharp or dangerous laying around. I kept them in my bedroom so I could shut the door and they could safely fly and took them into the living room to fly further when it was safe.
The living room was a larger area for the birds to fly in. I trimmed their wings at first but I strongly advise you to never trim your pet bird's wings. Birds get depressed and get over weight from lack of exercise.
Poor little Buddy the parakeet over ate when he felt rejected. I paid more attention to Baby. I didn't realize this at first, but birds have all the emotions that humans have except an ego like a human has. I don't think any animals have ego except human beings. Birds like these little parrots I owned have the emotions of a toddler or little human baby and the intelligence of a 5 or 6 year old child.
Sweet Little Buddy
I will be going on forever about how much I loved my birds, so I will keep this short. It has been scientifically proven that parrots in general are highly intelligent creatures and very emotional as well. I was no longer crazy to my mom and sister when I showed them an articles in "Bird Talk" magazine about bird intelligence!
I was always right about animals before the scientific evidence but I didn't know this because I believed adults - teachers, text books. I'm so glad the adults I listened to were wrong!
After Buddy passed away, Baby and I literally cried. Baby didn't cry tears but I heard him at night and I cried too. Baby made these whimpering noises... It was so hard for us to lose our friend, Buddy. I should had taken Buddy to the vet as soon as I noticed symptoms. Birds can hide signs of illness and waiting too long could be too late for your friend.
After a few months I decided to get another cockatiel named Beenie. Baby and I were so lonely.
Beenie lived for almost 19 years. I just lost him in 2021 October and it just killed me inside. Beenie was the last of my beautiful best friends....
Beenie my cockatiel
To make a very long story short, I am going to get another cockatiel or 2 of them as soon as my living situation is better. There isn't enough light in my room and the kitchen is right next to my room. It's noisy and smoke comes in through the door.
Thank you for reading and have a great week and weekend!
I wrote this story for the weekly Ecency Discord Topic run by 
