Party Time

One thing my birds anticipate every day is the 'out-of-the-cage time', where they can hop on the laundry rack I use as their perches. I usually let them out for the whole afternoon so they can play together, or just get together. 

During this time, I feed them with corn and veggies like: carrot, broccoli, bok choy, peas, green beans and homegrown kale and swiss chard. Sometimes I give them some apples, pears or pumpkin, depends on what I have in the fridge. It takes a little time to introduce them to fresh veggies and fruit, since they were only accustomed to seeds feed when they were still in the nursery.

But thank God, now they seem to enjoy every thing I serve them everyday. 

 This is Goldie, a female parakeet, Baby Blue's new partner. She is not very tame yet since I haven't really spent time taming her. I put her in the same cage with Baby Blue since the first day I brought her home and they soon bonded. I am fine with that because they are a good match as Goldie also has similar characters with Baby Blue. Usually female parakeets are more fierce, especially if they're not tame yet. They can bite very hardly when offended/disturbed, but Goldie is different. She is quite gentle. If I insert my hand into the cage, she is not offensive, she just flies frantically all over the  cage trying to avoid to get too close to my hand, until I calm her down and persuade her to stand on my finger. I have won her trust though, but because I don't train her regularly, so it's like starting all over again after sometime. 

This is an old picture of Snowy and Baby Blue which I stumbled upon in my files. One day, I put a box inside their cage, hoping that they would be happy to sleep inside as it would be warmer there. Apparently, they had been traumatized with boxes and darkness because earlier they were put inside a box with small holes acted as ventilation by the seller. And when I put them inside the box to try it they were hysterical! Baby Blue would howl and scream, while Snowy, would frantically struggle his head against my hand trying to escape from the box. To calm them down I cut the the roof off, but still they refuse to sleep there, so finally I had to remove it from the cage for good. 

That's why it's very important to remember this one rule when handling birds. From the very beginning, try your best to avoid additional stresses on your future bird pets. At the time you buy them from a store or nursery, make sure you provide a small cage or a small wooden box with wire netting on both sides to transport them to their new home, so they can see around and are not locked in a dark room. This will prevent them from a long-term trauma and reduce a lot of stress, especially after being separated from their 

fellow cage-mates.

Try to be sympathetic to them as it is not easy to be separated from their familiar environment and friends/partners and be transferred into a new home, a new environment and to be with new friends/partners.