Birds, Birds, and More Birds

I went on a camera phone picture taking spree in my kitchen today, mainly of the birds. The cats are running like crazy playing today. They are happy that I am feeling better and moving around more. I took a picture of Cricket and Peanut rolling on the floor a minute ago so I'll post that as well.

Dustin and Angelica (full size Doves) were a pair of Magician's Doves that I rescued. They were used in a Magician's stage act. Angelica has a vitamin deficiency and her eggs are soft. Over the past two years her eggs have gotten better and there is more calcium in her system but she will never hatch any little ones. Fortunately, she can pass her eggs and they do not get stuck inside her. I had a cockatiel that had a vitamin deficiency several years ago and she was not able to pass her eggs properly. After a series of vet visits she ended up passing away. She was such a sweetheart and was with me whenever I was at home. I called her "Bat Girl" because she would always hang upside down in her cave with her wings open. I don't have any pictures of her that I can post but she looked just like "Spackles" whose picture is below.

Angelica (full size Dove):



Dustin and Angelica:



Baby (cockatiel). I saved Baby from being hit by a car, then walked down the block and found him perched on a fence. My neighbor watched in amazement as I walked up to him, coaxed him onto my finger then carried him home. He was flying around the neighborhood for the majority of the day. While working on the yard outside, I happened to turn my head and there was baby just standing on the street about to get run over by a car. I ran out in front of the car to stop it, which worked. Baby fathered "Rex" with "Spackles (both pictured below). Baby's full name is Angel Baby. My son and I both felt he was an Angel sent from heaven.



Cuddles, who shares a cage with Baby. Cuddles is a female and she likes to give and get kisses. Baby and Cuddles are much easier to handle than the other two cockatiels but they are far more agressive.



Spackles (mother) and Rex (daughter) with father in the far distance in another cage. Spackles is very, very passive. Rex is just a wee bit more agressive than Spackles.



Bandit and Cheetah (Zebra Finches). Bandit only has one eye. These birds are difficult to get a picture of because they fly so fast and move like hummingbirds. They are fascinating to watch and their chirp is very energetic. I used to have a slew of these birds but now I only have two. They are both males so there's n chance of reproduction with them. These Zebra Finches breed as rapidly as insects.



And my angel honey punkin, Tikers. Tiki is my love. I adopted him less than two years ago. He is a larger bird and needs a large cage but lived in a cat carrier before I rescued him. It was a terrible environment the first four years of this guy's life. He used to HATE women and my guy is now as cuddly as a 2 week old puppy. He loves to snuggle and especially likes when I talk lovingly to him which is the only thing he likes more than peanuts. This guy was more than a gift from God and funny thing is that he feels the same about me. He is eternally grateful for the loving home he now has. This breed can live to be 70+ years old (like humans). He is still a baby and is not even 6 years old yet. He's a smart as a whip and more psychic than any psychic I know. He hangs upside down whenever he's in his cage and not sleeping. The only time his cage door is closed is at night time. During the day he has free roam. Only just recently has he began to explore his world in this house and start to come down from his cage and walk around the floor. He gets along with the cats. The cats were born into this animal house so these birds are their siblings. Tki has an extended vocabulary and is a perfect mimic. He communicates with us verbally which is amazing. My son has committed himself to taking care of Tiki by adopting him after I am gone. Tiki loves my son very much so whenever that happens, he will be in good hands and the move won't be so traumatic as it generally is with birds who lose their keepers. Birds are very emotional animals and they become very attached to their human parents. I resuced a cockatiel who was literaly committing suicide because he was given away after a few years with one family. When I first adopted him, he was nearly bald from self infflicted defeathering. They will pull out their own feathers and starve themselves when emotionally distressed. Stressed animals do not live very long. He fully recovered and lived a happy short life with me until died in my hands. Below is my Tiki:



Cricket (white) and Peanut (dark) were romping around playing and I took this:



And I threw this one of Cricket in because it was soooo cute! This was on a mail sort day shortly after Halloween 2006. She crawled in the candy bowl right on top of the candy! Kitties will lie on a piece of paper if it left out.