I like to share memories of our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays.
We adopted Ozzie from the animal shelter in 2012. He had been attacked by a cat and a good Samaritan found him and brought him in. As soon as they patched up his puncture wounds and nursed him to health, he was put up for adoption. How lucky we were to bring him home. He was so friendly and very easy to tame.
If there was a budgie yearbook, Ozzie would have been voted “Best All Around.” He was the perfect budgie. And so photogenic! He was very chatty – if you talked to him, he would “talk” back. Not words, but vocalizations. But he sounded exactly like he understood what you were saying. He was the flock welcome wagon. He was so sweet to the newbies. He showed them the ropes – how to play and how to eat their veggies. Ozzie loved any toy he could nibble on. He enjoyed his baths and Romaine lettuce was his favorite – maybe even more than millet.
When we brought baby Emmy into the fold, all the budgies ignored her at first. Except Ozzie. He let her pester him, and over time became her sweetheart.
We were blessed to have Ozzie in our lives for over 10 years. If you are thinking of adding a bird to your family, please consider adopting (rehomed or from a shelter). You may end up with a bird (almost) as wonderful as Ozzie.
I like to share memories of our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays.
Today we are thinking of our darling Dewey on what would have been his hatchday. Dewey was our second budgie. We brought him home to be a companion for Cooper. He was just a baby, and an awkward baby at that. It didn’t take long for him to win our hearts. Dewey grew into a striking fellow. He was best buddies with Ozzie, and soon became the flock leader.
Dewey enjoyed his oats and would “bliss out” eating them. He liked to make confetti out of carrots, and play with his mirrored dice. He was an amazing flier – quick and acrobatic. What Dewey loved most though, was Sunny. He fell head over heels for her at first sight. He was a devoted boyfriend and was always at her side.
Dewey was such a wonderful little budgie. He was very gentle and a friend to all. Though he left us in 2014, we still miss his presence. He was a sweet, handsome fellow who left us with many happy memories.
I like to share memories of our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays.
Alfie was the personification of adorable. He loved his bells, his baths and his Romaine lettuce, and he often had food on his face. He was a sweet little nut and his antics always made us smile. We brought Alfie home from the shelter sight unseen (we adopted him before his photo was posted). When we arrived home, we opened the box and found this beautiful budgie. He was almost named Captain Underpants due to his white under fluffies, but Alfie suited his personality more (and was a little more dignified). He was easily tamed and became a great friend to the other birds. He loved hanging out with the boys – especially Ozzie. We were so lucky to have this dear little budgie in our lives. If you are looking to add a bird to your family, please consider adopting. You may end up with a treasure like Alfie.
I like to share photos and memories of our budgies on what would have been their hatchdays. Today would have been Harvey’s. This year I decided to make videos. Harvey was a rehomed bird. When we picked him up, he was in a filthy cage in a house that reeked of cigarette smoke. He didn’t have a name. On bringing him home, we discovered he was missing a little chunk out of his lower beak (which didn’t seem to affect him at all). It took a loooong time for him to trust us and to step up. He was never really a people bird, but we were content for him to just be happy with the flock. Seeing him play, eat, sleep and fly with the other birds was a joy. He quickly became a buddy to our males, and had a fondness for the females. He became a little sweetheart to Lera, and later to Cooper. After lights out, you would hear Harvey singing. We liked to think he was singing lullabies and telling bedtime stories to the flock. He was such a good little budgie. If you are thinking of adding a bird to your family, please consider adopting. There are too many birds out there who need a happily ever after.
I like to remember our “rainbow budgies” on their hatchdays. Today would have been Riley’s. This year I decided to make videos. I wish Riley’s video were longer, but she wasn’t a fan of the camera, and her time with us was short.
We found Riley on the website of the San Diego Humane Society. She had been found outdoors and brought to the shelter by a good Samaritan. She was in a horrible state. She had a severe mite infestation, with an overgrown beak. She had growths on her face and toes and was missing parts of her toes. We think she was only able to see out of one eye. The vets at the shelter treated her, and when she was in better health and ready to be adopted out, we brought her home. We named her Riley in the hopes that she would be “living the life of Riley” with us. Her nickname was “Smiley Riley” as her beak disfigurement gave her the appearance of smiling.
Riley’s health improved and after quarantine, she became part of the flock. She loved being with the other budgies, eating veggies, flying about and taking baths. She was very attached to Emmy and followed her like a little shadow. Every two to three weeks we would take her to the vet for beak trims and any follow up care she needed.
Sadly, after only 15 months with us, she began to decline. Her labs showed kidney problems and possible cancer (she had a recurring growth on her face).
If only we had had more time her. Riley became such a happy, playful little budgie and we treasured every moment with her.
As always, if you are thinking of adding a bird to your family, please consider adopting and giving a little bird like Riley a happily ever after. *Riley’s mite problem could have been easily fixed, but her previous owner let it get to a horrible state and then just released her. Budgies are not disposable and many will need vet care at some point in their lives. Please make sure you are willing and able to provide this care if needed before deciding to bring a budgie into your life.
This year, in honor of our “rainbow” budgies, I decided to share videos of them. Today would have been Emmy’s hatchday.
We found Emmy on Craigslist in November of 2013.The people who were rehoming her had bought her as a pet for their toddler. She still had her baby bars and was terrified of us. It took months for her to start to trust us. Emmy was a bundle of energy and very playful. Maybe too playful for the other budgies. Ozzie was the only budgie who would put up with her shenanigans, and eventually they became tweethearts. Emmy loved being with the other budgies. She always wanted to be in the thick of things. She was a messy eater and often had a face full of mash. She would sometimes nap with her little bum up in the air. She was an adorable little dumpling.
Emmy was our “big baby”. We think she had some English budgie in her, as she was larger than the rest of the flock. She was a beauty, too. And so soft – she had the fluffiest feathers. I loved kissing her whipped cream belly. And she smelled divine. We are so lucky we found her. If you are thinking of adding a budgie to your family, please consider adopting.
I like to celebrate our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays. Today would have been Lera’s. This year I decided to make videos to look back on our happy memories.
Feisty, curious and adorable. That was our little Lera. We found Lera on Craigslist in 2014. Her owner was going off to college, and the family was looking for someone to adopt her. After her quarantine, she joined the flock, and wasted no time showing everybudgie who was boss. Lera loved baths, toys, cauliflower and getting into everything. Unfortunately, Lera had issues with her health. She had to have regular beak trims, and in her later years with us, would visit our avian vet occasionally to have fluid withdrawn from her abdomen. None of this slowed her down in any way. Lera was doted on by Gordie, then later Harvey and Felix. And of course, her humans. Lera packed a lot of personality into a tiny body and we loved her very much – we were so lucky to have found her. If you are looking to add a budgie to your family, please consider adopting. There are some amazing little budgies out there who need a happily ever after.
This year for the budgie’s hatchdays, I’m sharing videos.
Gordie the Gold Star Budgie: Gordie was an older budgie. We never really knew how old he was. We were his third (possibly fourth) home. His last owner estimated him at five, but he could have been (and we suspect he was) much older. When we picked up Gordie, he only had one toy in his cage – a yellow mirror.
During Gordie’s quarantine, he just sat on his perch looking at himself in his mirror. He didn’t play with his new toys, move around much or call out to the other budgies. He wasn’t finger tame (but would sit on our shoulders). His previous owner told us that the family who gave her Gordie thought he was “boring”.
Gordie became a different bird once his quarantine was up and he moved in with the flock. He bonded quickly with his lookalike Ozzie. We think Ozzie was “the bird in the mirror” finally coming out to play. With patience, Gordie started stepping up. He expressed interest in what the other budgies were doing, playing with toys and nibbling on veggies and millet. Gordie became interested in us as well. If we stood by the cage, he would make his way right up to the bars to see us. He was the only budgie who did this. I think he liked kissy noises and being told what a good budgie he was. And he was a such a good little budgie.
When Gordie’s flight feathers started coming in he began to make the voyage from the cage to the little play gym on top of the bookcase. He really enjoyed being up high and would happily sit on his “gym” chirping to himself or the other birds. It took a lot of effort for Gordie to fly about. It could have been his age or perhaps he never had the chance to fly before. One of his wings was a little crooked – maybe that made it more difficult to fly. In any case, sometimes I would give him a little ride on his play gym back to the cage. Gordie also “hobbled” when he walked up and down on the perches. He was a little slower than the other budgies, but did his best to keep up with his friends.
We were thrilled when Gordie bonded with Lera. They were an adorable pair, constantly grooming each other. When Lera was ill, Gordie was so sweet and attentive, feeding her and cuddling with her on the bottom of the cage. I think he was key factor in her amazing recovery. This is what earned him the title of “Gold Star Budgie.”
Gordie loved to take baths. When he was finished he liked to sit on the rim of the bird bath and gaze out the window. One day he even plopped himself into my water glass. He had great fun climbing out and dunking back in.
I think because Gordie was an older budgie, he had a special place in our hearts. We wanted so much to give him happiness in his golden years. He was a sweet little fellow and we were lucky to have been able to share the short amount of time with him that we did. Seeing him playing, flying and interacting with the other budgies brought us so much joy. I just wish we had been able to have more time with him.
If you are thinking about adopting a budgie, please consider giving a senior bird a happily ever after.
On March 7th of this year, we said goodbye to our little Emmy.
I wasn’t ready to post about it until now – first Cooper, and then Emmy. 2024 has not been the best year for our flock. Emmy had started to throw up, so we took her to our avian vet. They ran some labs, and put her on antibiotics until the results came back. They suspected avian gastric yeast. She started losing weight and was listless and poofy, even though she was still eating. So we took her back to the vet. She spent two days/nights there while they tube fed her, treated her and tried to find out what was wrong. Xrays showed a large inoperable tumor that was blocking the passage of food to her stomach. We knew there was nothing we could do, and didn’t want her to suffer, so we held her and said our goodbyes. We told her we loved her and gave her kisses. She was given anesthesia, and while she was asleep an injection sent her peacefully over the rainbow bridge.
We found Emmy on Craigslist in November of 2013.The people who were rehoming her had bought her as a pet for their toddler. She still had her baby bars and was terrified of us. It took months for her to start to trust us. Emmy was a bundle of energy and very playful. Maybe too playful for the other budgies. Ozzie was the only budgie who would put up with her shenanigans, and eventually they became tweethearts. Emmy loved being with the other budgies. She always wanted to be in the thick of things.
Emmy was our “big baby”. We think she had some English budgie in her, as she was larger than the rest of the flock. She was a beauty, too. And so soft – she had the fluffiest feathers. I loved kissing her whipped cream belly. And she smelled divine. Emmy was a sweet little girlfriend to Ozzie, and a good friend to Sunny and Cooper. I hope she and the rest of the flock are together now, feasting on millet, shredding wood, singing and flying free.
I like to share memories of our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays. This year I decided to share videos.
Sunny had a sweet, gentle, playful nature. But she also had a “naughty” side. She liked to tip over her food dish, nibble on books or investigate off limit areas. She was a good little girlfriend to Dewey and companion to our girls. She was a water baby, and absolutely loved baths and spritzes. After bath time, she would be drenched. A favorite game was to drop toys off the top of the cage for me to catch. She was often beak deep in balsa, and when she could no longer fly (due to arthritis) Sunny enjoyed her playtime on the floor with her footies. When she was ready to go back to her cage, she would hop on our feet to let us know.
Sunny was such a constant – we had her for 9 “Sunny” years. We are lucky we had her in our lives, and for all the wonderful memories we have of our time with her. *If you are looking to add a bird to your family, please consider adopting a rehomed or rescue bird.
