My dad and I share a love for animals. I grew up surrounded by dogs, chickens, guinea fowl, ducks, rabbits and many other birds. Part of my monthly chores was to clean all the bird cages in our back yard for some extra pocket money.
He one day phoned me telling me that his Jenday Conure (Jandaya parakeet) breeding pair finally laid their first eggs and that he is keeping one of them for me. I have seen these two birds in his yard before. I should rather say, I heard these two birds from a distance away in his yard before.
I said ok before I could do proper research on this breed first. I knew they were quite loud but they were also very beautiful. I was hoping that raising the bird from a young age would help in getting him house trained and not to be too loud.
The day arrived and I brought the tiny bird back to our place. Not knowing what the sex of the bird was I decided to call him/her (I think it’s a he) Birdie.
My dad gave me some fine food that I had to mix with some water for feeding hime, I also had to try and bend a spoon to the shape of his mouth so that all the food would slide into his beak and not all over him.
The first few feeding times were pretty messy with food all over the place. I had to feed in the morning before work, then I had to come back from work at lunch time every day to feed him and then again at night. You immediately knew when he got hungry, just as a kid he will let you know.
I must say he was a very cute little bugger. He loved to get cosy on my lap and take naps. A lot of times he would pass out on his back showing how full he is from his last meal.
We quickly became great friends with him nibbling on everything that he found interesting.
As he grew older his colors really began to come out. And I’m not just talking about the beautiful feathers. I’m talking about those screams and temper tantrums. He loved being outside his cage more. He was very persistent in learning to fly and somehow managed to get it right with his wings clipped. After a while we decided to leave his wings so that the feathers can grow up so that he could fly without falling so much. We thought it would be better.
One thing you have to know about birds. They BITE! They can bite the living crap out of your finger so be careful when your point at birds.
Everything was good and we managed with his shouting for just about 2 years until we had to move to a smaller place, closer to our neighbours. After holding out for a few months we were forced to start thinking of finding Birdie a new home.
We had to say our good byes and sent him to his new home. We still speak and think of birdie and luckily we still have some photos to keep him in our memories.
My advice to you is to do proper research before you take on any pet. It is very hard to say good bye to a beloved pet if you are forced to let go of him.
