How Laker came to be

I've wanted a bird for a very long time.  It was never possible for one reason after the other, until now.  I've been helping my mother with her 2 Cockatiels for some time.  Because my own family has no experience with birds & my husband was very concerned about the 'cage' idea, I was hesitant to get a bird at all.  Finally my husband came to me & said that I had the same right as anyone in our family to persue their dreams & that if I really wanted a bird I  was to get one.

When I decided to get a bird I was thinking of going to a breeder.  But after a while I thought of all the rescues & people getting rid of their bird for various reasons.  I began checking the ads in my area & one Friday evening there was a little Budgie available in a nearby town's animal shelter.  My breath was almost taken away - because his picture was so lovely & he was this classic budgie colour that I'd always admired.

I called the shelter and asked about him.  He was kept near a bunch of finches so when he came home he sounded a lot like them - it was so cute.   He was never afraid or made shy with us & loved the ride home in our old car - the air-conditioning wasn't functional so the windows were a tad open - it was a very hot day and in the middle of a busy holiday weekend.

Here's my original journal:                                                                          July 3rd, 2006  Day 1:  I headed out around 12:30 & arrived at 1:50 - The Shelter closes at 2pm on Sundays.  The roads were packed. He loved the car ride.  It was pretty hot (31C) so I left most of the car windows a bit open while I ran into Super Pet for supplies. & then we were off again on a longer ride on the highway.   No problem - he really like the car.  The seat belt fit really well around the cage. When I got to our building a neighbour saw me struggling with cage & supplies, down in the underground garage.   He kindly carried the cage while I opened doors and carried all the new stuff.  Turns out that he likes birds too. My husband & son were waiting at the door & luckily not my cat - she has yet to notice him - deaf you know. They were both taken aback at how beautiful he is. Once home we set him up in his cage that he came with - but we cleaned it & his toys.  We talked to him & gave him new toys & seed etc.  I think it took about a week & a half before I let him out of the cage.  By then he did a nice step-up onto a wooden spoon. Laker has been a lot of fun so far. He is at least 1 yr old already (maybe even 3)but not to wild.  He loves to sing & we're convinced that not all his songs are Budgie songs - which are pretty sweet.  He doesn't make strange with anyone.

Day 2: I was able to take him around his new home - in his cage.   He hung out in the office & the studio.  The cat was taking care of the living room & kitchen.  I have to admit I pushed him a little too hard the 2nd day.  I was curious if he had any training - so I put my hand in his cage.   He was very calm & even let me put my hand near him.   When I placed my finger near his belly he reached over & bit me.   Not very hard but it was a bite.  Then he put one foot on my finger, for a second.

Day 3: I tried the step-up 2x's today & both times he hopped on & then off my finger.  I was on another Board & read about this site: http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/articles/bird_hand.html .  It made me think I was still pushing him too hard.  Tomorrow I think I'll be more laid back with him -maybe see if he would like a perch step-up, in a day or 2. I took him down from his safe spot about a dozen times throughout the day.   His safe spot is on top of our room-divider/screen/bookcase.   For him it is really high up & it also allows him to see the studio & hallway.  It's next to the office were I was working - we listened to a lot of different types of music.  The few examples of bird sounds were fun - he was really alert. He also spent time on the office desk. Later in the day I had about 20 min to spend with him and I tried Budgie talk.   He flew to the side of the cage to be right beside my face, very excited.   peered at me for the longest time & listened to my bad Budgie accent.   I think we're making a connection.

Day 5:  my cat discovered the bird (Vive is 18yrs old).   She's deaf, so she couldn't hear the bird noise.   We were all doing our Mission Impossible routine, taking him from room to room, while the cat was busy or sleeping. Vive discovers we have a bird! She took it pretty well, but immediately sat on my chest for the next 15 min, purring loudly & making sure I was aware of her.  Today she discovered the bird in the office area.   This is where she & I often hang out (2 chairs together) while I work.   She couldn't help going into readiness to attack pose when the bird jumped for the first time.   I pushed her back into her pillow and gave her some love. When she relaxed & started to purr I went back to work.   She's been pretty good this evening. Laker is becoming noticeably more relaxed.   He blossoms in the company of one or more people.   Naturally he loves music.   He's spending less time with his buddy the water cooler/waterer. He did 3 step-ups onto the handle of a wooden spoon, yesterday.   I decided to follow the training technique I just read about.   Having a bird stick trained, makes a lot of sense.   Anyone can pick him up & from awkward places too.   So when he's good at that I'll move to the finger perch & on to the leaving the cage stage. He had dinner with us yesterday, but my son didn't like it.  I have to agree, it wasn't very relaxing & all the attention was on the bird  which he adored.   Perhaps he will be included when we're snacking. Tonight he started working his wings as if he was flying, while holding onto his rope perch like crazy.  I'm sure he would have hit the cage wall if he hadn't held on so tight!  He frightened me at first as I thought he was hurt or had his foot caught or something.  Of course, as he's molting there were feathers everywhere. He is a great Dancer.    He bobs back & forth & raises one foot over & over again. I put a piece of Broccoli on a clip, hanging from the roof of his cage.   He's tasting it & whacking it & talking to it.  He sure is busy. Well I can see a huge change in this Budgie since last Sunday. He spends less time communing with his waterer.  He loves to dance & chatter.  He likes lots of people around.  The more people there are to look his way, the louder he is & the crazier he is.  Last evening he preformed his amazing weaving his body through the plastic rings trick for the first time & he is really confident with his beaded/cotton/wood/leather toy too.  He preens the cotton & rings the bells & even bit the leather.