I'm a nineteen (soon to be twenty) year old who lives in Sweden, and I've had birds the majority of my life.
Right now I have a Meyers parrot named Saga
, who I've had since she was nine weeks and I was only twelve years old. I'm looking for a friend for her now, a Meyers, red-bellied or brown-headed male.My first own bird (we'd had budgies since before I was born) was a cockatiel named Fenris (he looked like this one:
) who I got when I was eleven. He was kept in a rebuilt wardrobe that was made into a cage, full with robust branches, a built-in lamp, etc. The day after I got a Lovebird I called Freja, because I didn't realize that cage was far too small to keep so different birds together.Three months later, in february 2002, I got another cockatiel (wild-colored) who I named Idun (all of the birds had names from northern mythology, and Idun was the apple-goddess, but my Idun turned out to be a male). Freja was so aggressive to the cockatiels that she was moved to another cage.
She died a few weeks later when I for once forgot to cover the aquarium. And a few days later, Fenris (who was never really able to fly) fell from the branch and apparently broke his back, he died in my hands.
Left was Idun, and in october, I got Saga. Idun fell in love with her like crazy, while she bit him until he bled. In september 2004, he moved to a guy who got him a cockatiel-girl, and he still lives there.
In august 2006, when I was fifteen, I got an Eleonora Cockatoo I named Yondo. He was only four months old and had been weaned at just three months of age. Had it been today I would not have bought him weaned so soon. (Not that I would buy a hand-fed baby, or from a breeder at all, the breeder only sold him to me because I came with the money first.)
After getting Yondo, despite the months of education on cockatoos I had done before getting him, and despite my years as a bird-slave before, I quickly changed my mind about having these creatures as "pets".
In february 2010, I got a Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo by the name of Egon, eighteen years old. He was given to me after the owners had tried again and again for nine months to find a suitable home, but they only wanted me to have him, and I was looking for another cockatoo anyway.
The plan was to build a really big cage (3.6x1.8.x1.2 meters) that they could share.
However, we didn't get that far until my bad conscience caught up with me; I didn't feel Yondo got proper room in a home environment at all, no matter how big a cage I got him (Egon could barely fly, while Yondo loved to fly, and was a real hyper-chicken).
So I gave them up in october to the owner of Skansen-Akvariet, a zoo here in Sweden, an animal expert. The 'toos are not living at the Zoo however, they are living at home with him, where he has all kinds of exotic birds. He isn't a breeder, the only breeding he does is for other zoos, so it's okay with me.
Last time I called him, Yondo and Egon were together in an aviary with another Eleonora and a Citron-crested.
So now I only have Saga, and am looking for a mate for her. (No breeding, of course.)
I don't believe it is healthy for a bird to be "married" to a human, so... but if I had thought of that five years ago instead of getting the bird I wanted (a cockatoo), well... I certainly do not regret the experience Yondo gave me, but I do regret buying from a breeder, and the fact that the longer you wait, the lesser the chance of the bird accepting a new partner, and Saga has been with me for more than seven years now.
My dream (in stark contrast to all those "bird-enthusiasts" who want to breed, breed and breed) is to one day have a small-scale rescue, with huge aviaries (think Cockatoorescue.org, but not as many birds
). I just felt I couldn't wait for so long to give Yondo and Egon what they need (especially Yondo), so that's why I gave them up.I'm so tired with bird boards that just show the "cute, sweet, happy side" of bird ownership, with no real discussions, debate or info at all. So that's why I like Mytoos' forum, and consider myself Swedens Mytoos-ambassador.
I still love cockatoos to death, they (and parrots) are my number #1 passion (even though I love dogs and snakes too), but I can't have them now. Cockatoos really are more than a handful, and are definitely not pets.
This is Saga, a picture I took the other day: http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9953/sagabird.jpg
And this is Yondo and Egon together: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9045/p1040318j.jpg
Egon looooved Yondo, while Yondo was more "eh... what are you doing"? If Yondo came up to me for scrathes, Egon came right up in our faces, "chewing air", staring at Yondo, and wanting to cuddle. He hardly had the same sense of "personal sphere" as Yondo did, but after a few months, they sat together and preened for hours. (While before, Yondo had sat with me for hours, so now he was not dependent on me anymore, which is much healthier for him.
)Egon was a mess when he came. During the summer, some feathers on his chest grew back, and the crest (which was horrible when he first came to us) got a real nice shape. As you can see, he's also missing a claw. But those are small flaws with the great personality he had.
I like that picture because he looks so proud, finally being preened by Yondo.
