I learned my birds though accident. My grandmother is a basic birdkeeper and has been for years with budgies (all lived long lifespans). She knew a friend in work that bred cockatiels and she got Bonnie and Clyde as babies when I was fairly young (around 11-12). Clyde unfortunatly died while we were on holiday of a respiritory complaint, leaving Bonnie.
From the beginning I was enthused about the birds, I always deep-cleaned their cage every Sunday - back then I spent the weekends at my grandparents - and talked to them a lot. But I didn't
seriously get into them until I left for Uni and actually really started to miss them. I researched veg for birds (I honestly don't remember what prompted me to look for veg for cockatiels!) and gradually I took over more and more of the cockatiels duties as my grandmother couldn't really handle all their needs in the sense of bird enthusiasts
NOTE: I'm making a differenciation between 'garden variety' keepers that do the basics, and have excellent intentions for their birds, and the 'enthusiasts' like the great people of Birdboard who do extensive reasearch and know the ingredients to their sprout mixes like most people know the alphabet. This is not meant to insult nor am I insinuating those who do 'basics' for their birds are terrible keepers, I am merely illustrating that there is a difference between those who dutifully clean and care for their animals and have happy lives with them, and those who squeal with excitement when the latest toy shipment arrives 
due to her work since the poor woman would work 24/7 if she could.
So in a sense I'm an accidental birdkeeper and researcher. There are probably plenty of stories out there of people who have been given a bird for one reason or another, find they are with this animal that they have little or no experiance of keeping, and therefore they must take to the internet and hit the books to provide the best possible care for their new arrival. Over the years they become seasoned birdkeepers and may take in more birds or look into different species.
This kind of keeper shares a fundamental thing with researched-keepers; they have the enthusiasm. Sure, it might not be in the beginning when the grumpy male can't stop screaming or the hissy female won't stop attacking red objects or the spouse, but they have the drive to find out WHY this is happening, what can be done to make it better, and the reward of getting some quiet or have a bird step-up or try a new vegtable propels them foward. If you keep thinking that something is impossible and just refused to put some enthusiasm into it, then you and the poor feathery critter are going to be in a world of misery. A cockatiel won't serenade you with the Addams Family theme song if you are screaming at him to shut up because you've hard a hard day and don't want his 'screeching'
*Gets off soapbox*
11-02-2009, 11:11 PM
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