My finches

These are just two out of my three society finches. They are pretty quiet and go about doing their own thing. I decided that I wanted to try keeping other types of birds last summer and these little guys are really no trouble at all in comparison to the rest of the flock. Generally they make pretty little chirping noises early in the morning that reminds me of summer cricket songs. Other than that they don't do much else. The other birds don't seem to mind them being around either. Bert especially seems to like them since his cage is next to theirs. Some days I hear him in there mimicking their chirps and then trying to teach them to talk. It is pretty funny because he will get frustrated after awhile and start bad mouthing them. I don't know which ones are male and female, but I know I have at least one of each because back in May one of the brown and white ones decided to lay a bunch of eggs!

Here is a picture of one of the tiny little things. I was so excited when this happend, but being the inexperienced finch keeper that I am I didn't realized until too late that I didn't have a big enough nest box in there for them. They ended up kicking most of the eggs out of the nest and then crushing the last two. Now that I have done some more research I know what size box to get and I am hoping to have another go at it. Who knows how many of these little guys I will end up with!

Ups and downs

I don't know what life would be like without my birds. They get me up every morning with their wakeup calls to make sure I don't sleep in. They always say "good-bye" to me whenever I leave the house, and they are always greet meet with "hello" when I come home no matter what time that is. Tonight Bert even tried to cheer my husband and I up after both of us had a hard day at work. He keep dancing and making kissy noises to get our attention. Then he wanted to give us both kisses over and over. He got a real kick out of it and it invariably put a smile on both of our faces. I really believe that parrots can sense your moods and I love the fact that mine always respond by either cheering us up or playing with us. Happiness is all about the little things and I have five of the most wonderful little things ever.

Mimics

Parrots are pretty good mimics. My husband and I just got brand new phones a few weeks ago and they are fairly loud. Bert has figured out how to make the same noise as our text message alerts and has spent the past few nights faking out my husband for his own amusement. I didn't believe my husband when he mentioned it to me the other day but tonight I caught Bert doing it first hand. He made the noise and then started in with a "hehehehe" when my husband paused his video game to check his phone. Smart little jerk.

Taking pictures

It can be hard getting good pictures of my birds. They are fast, noisey, and curious. Whenever they see the camera they know it's showtime. Then again somedays they would rather take a bite out of the camera.

Temper tantrums

So lately all the stresses in my life have been piling up and leading me to feel like I just need one good temper tantrum. And this got me thinking... who do I know that throws the best temper tantrums. Well that would without a doubt have to be Johnny bird. Johnny can throw down a tantrum better than most toddlers out there. As a matter of fact it is the sole reason why his previous owners gave him up for adoption. Now I understand that some people might not be able to deal with a screaming parrot or toddler. I will be the first to admit that it feels really good to yell and scream and let yourself be angry to be angry when you really need to. Normally I will let Johnny, or any of my other birds, pitch a fit when they feel the need to. Why? Well because it is healthy. Sometimes we do it to let off stress. Other times it is necessary to let ourselves and others know that something with us is wrong. (This is especially important for our feathered friends don't always speak our language.) Then again there are times when you just want to make noise to make noise. My birds have taught me that it is okay to let emotions out. I let them do it and they return the favor when I need to as well. And sometimes we will all just have a spontaneous noise making session for the shear joy of it... much to our neighbors dismay. So I vent and I let my birds vent. It's good. And when everyone is done we are more relaxed and able to move on to the stuff that makes us happy again. Like dancing to jazz on NPR or having a bird party in the living room or throwing peanuts at the dogs... you know everyday bird stuff.

Jackie aka "Ladybird"

Jackie's daily activities...
1) Give Mom a "Hey buddy!" from the top of her lungs.



2) Go straight to work. Jackie is an avid recycler.

Mmmmmmm

The other night my hubbie and I were playing some xbox live and eating candy. Bert was our copilot for the evening and wanted in on the candy action. At one point he snatched this sucker stick out of my hand on the way to the trash. Too cute! Bert knows what candy is and he gets very upset if he doesn't get a piece. I just like to hear him say "Mmmmmm!" It's like he's complimenting the chef.

Funny noises

You never know what the next day will bring when you share your home with parrots. Right now I've got Bert, my african grey, sitting with me at the computer and he is performing the perfect imitation of the hiccups. My husband had a bad case of the hiccups the other day and apparently Bert really enjoyed the sound. If Bert keeps this up I am going to have to give him a glass of water.=)

Gonzo 1, Mom 0

Have you ever had this happen to you? You're trying to have a conversation with a friend and one of your kids is desparately trying to get your attention. You try your best to ignore the constant sing-song of "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" or in this case a barrage of squawking. You resist the urge to scream "What?!?" But you can't win this game of old... they are in your face...literally, and then you remember why God made them so darn cute. It was insurance to allow them to live through moments just like this. At least he didn't try to eat my glasses.

Video games

I got really excited when I realized that Johnny loved video games as much as I do.



Then one day Johnny decided to jump ship and try to play without me...Johnny doesn't get to play video games anymore. Coincidently our computer mouse suffered the same fate a few months later. Now Johnny gets to shoulder surf the web only.

Playtime

I used to leave old grocery bags on the floor for my cat Douglas to play in like all cats do. Johnny thought that this was a stellar idea and promptly stole Douglas's playplace. Why do kids have to fight over the same toy?

Be Careful What You Say

Like most children your parrot relishes repeating the words you say the most. Bert's favorite question is "What?" I never realized how much I say this around the house until he came along. The scary thing is that he uses it in context.

Dinner with Mommy

On the other hand I've learned not to fight sharing food with Johnny. He's going to get what he wants no matter what... and before I can get to it.

Dinner with Daddy

This is what happens when my husband and I try to have a nice meal with the birds.

Johnny Time

So I am trying to get the dishes done and Johnny insists on helping. Needless to say I didn't get any work done until after he had his funtime in the water. What can I say, I am a slave to my birds.