River and Silver welcoming our Cockatiel to our home.
Silver with our Lineolated Parakeet.
These are commonly called Linnys. They are true parrots - super smart, and eat with their feet.
After much thought we named our gray Cockatiel Kachina and our Green Linny Polly (also called Holly interchangeably depending on the day or who you are talking to)
They packed them everywhere!
They LOVE veggies! Corn and Peas especially!
Well Kachina's name needed to be changed to Kachin (he turned out to be a boy!) We call him Cheen.
These were a bitter-sweet pets. Cheen has always been a bit stand-off-ish. He jumps down at the first chance and then the girls try to catch him on the floor. Sad to say they (nor I) have not taken to him - not a lot of personality there.
Polly on the other hand is Chock-full of personality. When he first came to us he was shy and I think we over-welcomed him in. He could also fly - he could fly from the front room all the way to the tv room to his cage. He got very aggressive very quickly. Sometimes we would give him a breather and say that it was okay that he didn't want to come out of his cage or when he jumped down off our shoulder that he could walk around on the ground.
I later found out this was a mistake! He just learned if he was aggressive that he could get his way. He didn't need to come out of his cage - he didn't need to be on our finger - he could just jump down and be done with it. He also started biting - HARD! He drew blood a couple of times - River was certain she could become his friend. After he bit her ear and her finger, she will have nothing more to do with him.
*Note: I understand these are small delicate birds and these are small delicate kids - at no time do they interact with them without my being right there with them.
I called the lady we bought him from. They are just like children she says. If we want him to come out of the cage - he needs to come out of the cage - we are the ones laying the rules, not them. It is time to come out and tantrums, biting, whining etc. won't get them out of it. If they fly off, you pick them back up each and every time they do it to learn that is not acceptable.
Birds are like kids - take it slow and let them know they are safe. It took a lot of work with our little Polly. I had to use a towel at first to teach that even though he bit he was going to come out of the cage, and outside of the cage if he bit my hand it was not going to pull away.
I have been so surprised with Summer!
She of all the kids LOVES Polly. She is not scared in the least and will tote him around.
Silver with Polly
At first Polly would bite my neck - after many months and work he now makes a sweet little companion on my shoulder. Polly will also let me put my hand in his cage and step up without bites.
In hindsight I would not have gotten them. But as with everything, hindsight is 20/20. It's why we are here on earth to learn from our experiences - Both the great decisions And the mistakes. We can make course-corrections along the way. Sometimes I let fear hold me back - Colt teaches me that life is fluid. We take each day as it comes and make the best decisions that we can in that day. If it is working - great! If it is not working - what are possible solutions that can make it better?
I am glad for the lessons learned, especially how it can be applied to kids. Safety and Love is number one! Rules, follow-through and consistency make a happier place for everyone!
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