The Odd Family
I live alone except for my birds: 4 year-old, Rosey, and 1 year-old, Popeye. We are a family of mix origin: I'm Pennsylvania Dutch, Scotch, German and Irish and a drop of Cherokee, Rosey is a pearl (gray & white with rosy cheeks) cockatiel. Rosey's new hubby; Popeye, is a bred white cockatiel (white with some tuxedo gray patches).
Rosey is half normal size, because her breeder's didn't feed her properly when she was a hatchling. To help fledgling birds attain their natural size and be healthy, breeders should allow the parents to feed their young and supplement with extra food when handling the young getting them accustomed to human touch; Rosey missed out on all this. As a result, she is mean to most and claimed me as her mom; in fact she didn't accept him for almost a year, then finally decided he might be okay. She had difficulty adjusting to his machismo attitude. Like most males, he wants to dominate the supposed weaker sex; however, Rosey is far from being weak. She may be a midget Pearl, but like dynamite, she can pack a wallop when overheated. Don't get me wrong, she isn't a total bitch all the time; just while she's awake, and to everyone except me. She is nice to poor, unsuspecting, gentle, one-eyed Popeye. I say unsuspecting because she seems to delight in choosing the most peaceful moments to get angry with him. I don't watch them constantly, so he might have been hogging the best treat, seed cup or hanging treat; or for that matter some favorite perch at the moment or he wants in the tent I made for them; (he isn't all innocent either).
Popeye was maimed by a rather large Macaw of the previous owner, (thus the reason for his name change from whatever it was to Popeye.
Sometimes I think they act like an old married couple and other times, call the attorney, there's a divorce in the offing. I believe they do love one another though, and tempers will flair; but they always make up in the end.
Theirs is one of those Spring and Winter romances. LOL He's been madly in love since they met (he was all of 5 months old), but she wouldn't have a thing to do with him until October of this year. I have the nursery all fixed up if and when the little egg(s) get laid. Rosey may be to small and then again, she might just be a holding her eggs.
Hay, I can relate, the fun isn't taking care of kids, it's the messing around; especially if she's got a young stud hot to trot all the time. He doesn't have a bit of problem with the one eye other than at night, and she guides him around. He is learning to trust me in the dark; Rosey walks anywhere in the apartment in the dark, unafraid. (street tuff) LOL
They have the run of the house except when they are nasty to each other or me, then they do cage time for a couple days. Straightens them right out. For the most part they share a very large cage and until recently the large door was always open so they could go anywhere they wanted.
I finally put my foot down to the open door policy when Popeye decided to start climbing the curtains to the top of the traverse rods. He was able to coax Rosey to join him and the two of them march back and forth across the top of the drapes; crapping down the drapes, sheers and vertical blinds. Too much cleaning for me, thanks; now they come out when I'm ready to allow them to crap on me. Hay what's a little bird droppings among family.
So every evening they get their personal time out with mom and run over to the edge of the chair, look down at the bag of stick pretzels and wait to be fed their nightly ration.
Popeye wolf whistles, whistles for a dog, kisses and says "Good Morning and watcha doing, huh". Rosey says,"Sweetie, please and thank you and laughs"
They both choose the times they want to do or say these things; neither will do them on request. EXCEPT for a stick pretzel once in a while.
Rosey likes to run up my chest, place her face almost against my nose and laugh when I least expect. Makes me jump about four feet every time. Ornery cuss!
Each evening I put them back in the cage I tell them good night when I shut the lights off and like most mothers when leaving the children's rooms I say I love you, see you in the morning.
Maybe one day they'll surprise me and say those things back to me; it worked with good morning, so I'm hopeful.
I'll keep you posted if there's any new additions to the odd family. Maybe in the Spring she'll feel like being a mommy.
Rosey is half normal size, because her breeder's didn't feed her properly when she was a hatchling. To help fledgling birds attain their natural size and be healthy, breeders should allow the parents to feed their young and supplement with extra food when handling the young getting them accustomed to human touch; Rosey missed out on all this. As a result, she is mean to most and claimed me as her mom; in fact she didn't accept him for almost a year, then finally decided he might be okay. She had difficulty adjusting to his machismo attitude. Like most males, he wants to dominate the supposed weaker sex; however, Rosey is far from being weak. She may be a midget Pearl, but like dynamite, she can pack a wallop when overheated. Don't get me wrong, she isn't a total bitch all the time; just while she's awake, and to everyone except me. She is nice to poor, unsuspecting, gentle, one-eyed Popeye. I say unsuspecting because she seems to delight in choosing the most peaceful moments to get angry with him. I don't watch them constantly, so he might have been hogging the best treat, seed cup or hanging treat; or for that matter some favorite perch at the moment or he wants in the tent I made for them; (he isn't all innocent either).
Popeye was maimed by a rather large Macaw of the previous owner, (thus the reason for his name change from whatever it was to Popeye.
Sometimes I think they act like an old married couple and other times, call the attorney, there's a divorce in the offing. I believe they do love one another though, and tempers will flair; but they always make up in the end.
Theirs is one of those Spring and Winter romances. LOL He's been madly in love since they met (he was all of 5 months old), but she wouldn't have a thing to do with him until October of this year. I have the nursery all fixed up if and when the little egg(s) get laid. Rosey may be to small and then again, she might just be a holding her eggs.
Hay, I can relate, the fun isn't taking care of kids, it's the messing around; especially if she's got a young stud hot to trot all the time. He doesn't have a bit of problem with the one eye other than at night, and she guides him around. He is learning to trust me in the dark; Rosey walks anywhere in the apartment in the dark, unafraid. (street tuff) LOL
They have the run of the house except when they are nasty to each other or me, then they do cage time for a couple days. Straightens them right out. For the most part they share a very large cage and until recently the large door was always open so they could go anywhere they wanted.
I finally put my foot down to the open door policy when Popeye decided to start climbing the curtains to the top of the traverse rods. He was able to coax Rosey to join him and the two of them march back and forth across the top of the drapes; crapping down the drapes, sheers and vertical blinds. Too much cleaning for me, thanks; now they come out when I'm ready to allow them to crap on me. Hay what's a little bird droppings among family.
So every evening they get their personal time out with mom and run over to the edge of the chair, look down at the bag of stick pretzels and wait to be fed their nightly ration.
Popeye wolf whistles, whistles for a dog, kisses and says "Good Morning and watcha doing, huh". Rosey says,"Sweetie, please and thank you and laughs"
They both choose the times they want to do or say these things; neither will do them on request. EXCEPT for a stick pretzel once in a while.
Rosey likes to run up my chest, place her face almost against my nose and laugh when I least expect. Makes me jump about four feet every time. Ornery cuss!
Each evening I put them back in the cage I tell them good night when I shut the lights off and like most mothers when leaving the children's rooms I say I love you, see you in the morning.
Maybe one day they'll surprise me and say those things back to me; it worked with good morning, so I'm hopeful.
I'll keep you posted if there's any new additions to the odd family. Maybe in the Spring she'll feel like being a mommy.
posted by Jan myrz @ 11:59 AM
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