2024, animals, Family, Nature, Uncategorized

Parakeets!

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Today’s post comes to us from Barbara in Rivertown!

I have a friend with a Twin Cities daughter, going through a transition, who needed at least a temporary place for two lovely parakeets. Since my friend travels too often to have any pets, her first thought was to seek info about possible Animal Shelters, etc., that might take them, and I said I’d help her with research. Our PJ gave us a couple of leads (that eventually proved unsuccessful).  

Meanwhile, our weekly “happy-hour-healing-group” of four women met at Friend’s house, where the parakeets were staying. We noticed that the more we all talked, the more the birds chattered. I started watching them more closely and sort of “bonded” with them. There was wine. By the time we left, I had decided to give them a trial run.  

We’ve had them for a whole week! The green and yellow female is about 5 years old; the other is a white male with a bit of blue “trim”, 7 years. They’re good friends, keep each other company; I’m told they have had clutches of eggs in the past, but not in the past few years. (Maybe she’s gone through menopause.) 

So Husband and I are now the “parents” of two parakeets.  It’s good to see him curious about these tiny things, and we’re enjoying having something else alive around here. They seem to go through periods of quiet, followed by chatty sessions. If we read aloud, they’re right in there with their opinions! 

 The birds don’t require as much time or hassle as some other pets we’ve had; we’re sharing the chores, and getting to know our way around them. The books from the library are at least 30 years old, but there is plenty of more-current info online. [Wes – I plan on asking you occasional questions – will email you if you’re not on the Trail.] 

Since their former names are both names of close relatives or friends, we’ve decided to re-name them.  

What shall we name the parakeets?   Got any bird stories?  Any advice for us? 

40 thoughts on “Parakeets!”

  1. We had a parakeet when I was a very small child. The bird could open its cage door and flew around the room at will. One day I was sitting with our pug in the living room when the bird flew too close to the dog, who ate it.

    We also had a pug who caught a pigeon on the lawn. My dad watched it as it slowly stalked the bird and then grabbed it as it tried to fly off. That was a great day for pugs!

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  5. Being a jazz guy, I love Leonard Feather. 🙂 You could also consider naming the male Conway Tweety.

    The author in me thought of Anne Lamott for the female. Why, you ask? Because she wrote one of the most read books on the art/craft of writing, “Bird by Bird.” A bit esoteric? Yeah, but it’s early.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  6. I call my parakeet Mr. B. Not very creative for sure. His housemates are three retrievers and two cats so we weren’t sure he’d be a long term resident so nobody put much thought into his name. He’s 6 years old and thriving in his large cage (since he doesn’t get much out of cage time, for obvious reasons.) He’s a loud guy and lives to chime in when we are being loud. Only advice is to swap their toys in and out so they don’t get bored….and get some millet. They love it.

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  7. A lot of toys came with these birds, but several of them are cloth or fabric and I’m seeing that’s dangerous, so I’ll get rid of those. I haven’t seen them use the little swing or ladder yet. I need to find my tiny Christmas bells, because the one bell on the hanging balls in the picture is really lame, doesn’t sound much. Toy suggestions?

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  8. In no particular order:
    George & Gracie
    Will & Kate (the Windsors)
    Harry & Sally
    Mork & Mindy
    Rhett & Scarlett
    Will & Grace
    Sylvester & Tweety
    Stanley & Stella
    Stan & Ollie (Olive)
    Romeo & Juliet
    Andy & Ann (the Raggedy siblings)
    Roy & Dale (Evans)
    Linus & Lucy
    Fred & Wilma (or Barney & Betty)
    Nick & Nora
    Fred & Ginger
    Bill & Coo
    Sonny & Cher
    Some of these are kinda dumb but it’s what my brain came up with while out on a walk.

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  9. Years ago we got a bird from some friends. It was Finch named ‘Bond’. He sure did make a mess. Loved the millet, but there was always millet hulls in a 4′ radius around his cage. He died a natural death.

    “Bob” and “Frank” are my go-to names for most anything. Or “Ralph”. I need to use Sam more often.

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    1. Budgies are notoriously picky eaters.
      They need fresh fruits and veggies, so it’s a continuous effort to get them to eat good stuff. Presentation is important. Embedding millet in apples worked. Hanging bell peppers worked. I try to cut pieces as tiny as possible. Broccoli tops flake off into really small pieces. I cut corn on the cob into 3/4 inch pieces and then dig out the core so that they fit on the perches. If you can convince one to try new food, the other will follow so knowing which bird is most adventurous is important.

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