Tag Archives: the flock

Cooper and her Flock

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Cooper with her budgie flock.
We decided to bring Dewey home as a companion for Cooper, and then we adopted Ozzie, and then Sunny, Emmy, Alfie, Gordie, Lera, Felix, Harvey and Riley. If it weren’t for Cooper, we would have never had these sweet, funny, feisty little budgies in our lives.

Cooper and Dewey

Cooper and Ozzie

Cooper and Sunny

Cooper and Alfie

Cooper and Emmy

Cooper and Gordie (and Ozzie). Gordie is in the back.

Cooper and Felix

Cooper and Harvey

Cooper and Riley

The flock.

And we can’t forget Sido.

Cooper and Dewey and Michelle

Baby Cooper and Harry

Our Emmy.

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Baby Emmy, November 2013.

Emmy and her toys.

One of the things I loved about Emmy is that she had dots on one side of her face,

but not the other.

I also loved how she would sometimes nap “butt up” or completely flattened.

Emmy and Ozzie – when Emmy was introduced to the flock, they didn’t want much to do with her. I think her playful, babyish ways were a little too much for them. But Ozzie (our little welcome wagon) would hang out with her. Eventually, they became tweethearts and were a pair until Ozzie crossed the rainbow bridge in 2022. Up until the end, she stayed by his side preening and cuddling with him.

Emmy in the Nestflix show, Emmy in Paris (seasons 1, 2 and 3).

Emmy after her bath.

Enjoying her millet.

Emmy needs a napkin.

Emmy was a messy eater, and often had mash on her face after breakfast.

Being naughty.

Emmy and Cooper.

Emmy and the flock, Sunny, Harvey, Cooper, Alfie, Felix and Ozzie.

Emmy and Alfie.

Emmy and Sido. Sido says, don’t get too close!

Cooper, Felix, Ozzie, Riley and Emmy.

Lera, Gordie, Felix, Alfie, Cooper, Ozzie, Sunny and Emmy.

Emmy, thank you for all the joy you brought us. We love you.

Emmy

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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.

Remembering Ozzie

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I like to share memories of our “rainbow” budgies on what would have been their hatchdays.
This year I decided to share videos.

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.

Home Again, Home Again

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The flock recently spent a week at a hotel. We were having some work done on the house and didn’t want the birds exposed to any toxic fumes.
The budgies did well. Sido did not like her travel cage. She was happy to be out (and on us) most of the visit. Especially Harry, whom she adores.
Harry was a budgie magnet – Cooper and Emmy spent a lot of time on the Harry jungle gym.

Emmy has lots of pinnies. She stuck like glue to Cooper. Cooper was unfazed by the whole experience.

We brought the playgym for the birds, but they mostly hung out on Harry, the tops of the travel cages and the top of the lamp. The lamp had a plexiglass shield (and never got hot), but we draped a towel around it to keep it poop free.

While the birds did okay on their hotel adventure, they are most definitely happy to be back home. So are we!

Remembering Dewey

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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, beautiful boy who left us with many happy memories.

Felix

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Months ago we noticed Felix was panting and tail bobbing, he also had a slight bulge in his abdomen. We took him into our avian vet who checked him over and withdrew some fluid from his abdomen. He was prescribed with a diuretic to help with any fluid buildup.
Unfortunately, the bulge returned. Felix has had more visits to the vet since, and was diagnosed as having a tumor (most likely testicular).
Over the past month the bulge has gotten even larger and our vet was unable to withdraw much fluid.
Felix is still eating, drinking and playing. He doesn’t come out of the cage as much as he used to and has taken to sleeping on his platform perch. We’re spoiling him with lots of kisses (he is more accepting of them), millet, balsa and attention.
Here is Felix out and about and giving us all a smile.