Your Very First Bird

[4HAND]

I would like to hear some stories about the first bird you ever shared your life with.What kind it was?what was his/her name? where you got it,any details you remember.It may have been your family's bird.If I get brave enough,I may share the story of my first bird.
Tena

[yambasticks]

The Story of Lexington Alfonzo: A Grey Cockatiel.

We were in College in 1997, myself, and my husband and our son was in Jr. High.
My husband was hinting around that he wanted a bird. I of course did not want one. I was afraid, not to mention we lived in an apartment.
but the management allowed small birds, or so he told me so it wasn't long until we found ourselves standing in Pet City in the PineRidge Mall.

Marriage is a lot of give and take. I was giving in and of course my husband was getting his way. In a way I hoped the bird was out of our price range, but it wasn't. My husband walked over to a glass acquarim full of 6 baby tiels I think it was, and stretched his arm out for all of them.
They all scattered....... but one little tiel looked up into my husband's eyes, and bravely jumped onto his hand and inched his way up until he was finally sitting on his shoulder. I wanted the yellow one: 1. it was much prettier, 2. it was more expensive so I hoped that would be the end and we'd leave without a bird.

But a few minutes later, a new cage, a perch, food, cuddle bones and toys were laid on the counter and while the financial details were being laid out I named the bird Lexi.
We did not know we had a male bird at the time. When we left with a happy but nervous 16 week old tiel my husband asked me, "why Lexi? What an odd name.

While he was thinking I kept declaring, he's a bird, and he's meant to fly so there is no way, apartment or not that this bird will remained caged. we had three days to take Lex to a vet of our choice, and when we did we were read the riot act. His wings were clipped improperly! Whoever did it got a blood feather, and the cuts were wild. I then and there said under my breath this bird will never be clipped. Lex was only clipped three times in his life. Anyway our son had been staying with my sister and didn't know we had acquired a pet so when he came home we were heading to the shops, but we stopped at the house, making some excuse for him to go in the house so he'd see thee bird.

Let's just say it was love at first sight. Lexi wolf whistled at him, and our son came out, and got back in the car and was very quite, and then he said, "There's a bird in the house. Our son and our new bird bonded very tightly.

But I learned something from our new pet too. I did not realize birds needed to eat other things besides seeds, and one evening after a long day I made spagetti for everyone. But Lex was offended that he did not have a plate full of spagetti. He let us know on no uncertain terms that he was a member of the family and how dare I not fix him a plate!
He was so angry about it that I figured maybe he was just mad about being locked in his cage, but I learned the real reason when he spread his wings and made a point of landing on everyone's arm and eating a good chunk of spagetti off of everyone's plate, and to make sure I got the point he stormed through my plate.

He looked like a bloody tiel,

After that I realized to: hey, this tiel if he can teach me this he can teach children a thing or two about sharing too.

Later we were informed that she was a he, and the little neighbor girl wanted to change his name, but I wasn't about to. I believe you can sometimes cross gender a name and Lexi already new Lexi so I started calling him Lexington and our son added Alfonzo to his name.

Sadly, after seven happy years of spoiling him, and loving him, "yes there are always risks when you have fully flighted birds, "but to me leaving them clipped has spiritual roots and connections, we lost Lexi in an accidental escape accident on Oct 1, 2003. We lived in East Oregon at the time, and as strange as this sounds even though it's likely he's dead he was a strong flyer and I still search the skies hoping to bring Lexi home again.

Because of Lexi, and the sleepless nights I had after losing him, 5 needy and very homeless unwanted birds 3 conures and 2 cockatiels have found their way to be with us.

Please understand: I paid $0.00 for four of them- All displaced and very unwanted.
and 1 I paid $75.00 as an adoption fee from a sanctuary.

* When I couldn't sleep or was startled by a dream that Lex was on the back steps demanding to be let in my health began slipping again, and when I started getting out of bed and checking to find him, I prayed for answers, and the answer I received was:

There are a lot of homeless birds, unwanted, unloved, abused and neglected more than you think, and you have the love you could give it to one of them. Like a child I argued with the thoughts I had, I didn't want another bird unless it was Lexi. then even if it was only a thought, I heard what seemed to be Lexi telling me,
Look, I'm lost, but I'm having fun and I'm trying to find my way home, so while I'm not please love another bird just like you loved me. He can have my toys and my cages, but when I come home make sure he knows I'M THE BOSS! and then I'll want my cages back, he'll have to get his own but I'll share my toys.
when that happened there was no quesion that God made certain these 5 precious souls made it home................

I promised them: 1. I will never sell or rehome them.
2. Details are being worked out for them with their godfather if something should ever happen.
3. If I move they move with me.
4. As honery as this sounds I never want them to be in the hands of children for as long as they live.

I hope this is a starter for your thread.

May bird's forever fill our skies.

[kathy5]

My first bird was a blue parakeet.
her name was blueberry
she was a birthday gift I was 13

she spent a lot of time in my room with me so she became very tame & would fly to me every day after school & sit in my shoulder
on thoes bad school days I think she knew because she would chew on my ear as If to try & cheer me up

she lived for about 3 years until she died from a cold that was a very sad day for me I miss her to this day & thank her for starting me on this budgie journey

[Lori~D]

Hmm, that was many birdies ago. Dont remember the name but it was a little normal green budgie. I got him for prolly $5 in Florida as a kid prolly,oh about 12. Learned to clip its wings myself and took the guy everywhere with me on my shoulder - everywhere. Before his wings were clipped he got out one day while I was cleaning the cage on the back step. I was real sad, knowing he would not be back. In Florida the sat on the wire wild behind my house so I knew he would be free and not need me. But later that evening he came and sat in the tree in the back yard and my dad hollared to get a cracker. He used to nibble crackers from my hand and he was hungry. He came and ate from my dads hand and he reached around behind and caught him. He bacame the first of many I had in and outdoor aviary my neighbor finally built for me ( i was gonna raise them i thought) but the roof had latches that I forgot to latch one day and when we came home from somewhere the wind had blown the roof off and all my budgies were gone.

[Parrotpeople]

My great grandmother bred Cockatiels (in the late 1950's early 60's), so obviously I was exposed very early.
I don't have an actual story, but do have a picture of me & Pee Wee.
My mother has said I would carry that bird all over and talk to him constantly

[trendyparrot]

My first bird was Snow, a dove. My friend's father had a few doves and my friend wanted to give one to me. I don't know how it happened from there, I was only about 12. She came home and lived in my playroom in a very large dog crate. When I turned 13 my father, brother and I made an outdoor aviary for her and then Sky her new mate. When the aviary was done, we put them out in it and they would fly to my shoulder when I would visit with them. I loved it! They ended up having one baby over the few years they were out there and he was so sweet! One day, I heard a strange sound outside and ran to the aviary and saw that all three of them were shot. I wasn't allowed to have birds again until I was about 17 when I begged the manager of the small store I worked at in the mall to let me get a budgie from Woolworths. She agreed and I ended up with 2, a male and female. Boy were things different back then! I was just a kid and that Woolworths just sold me the birds without a hitch. I stayed at the that shop for about another year and when I left everyone was so in love with the budgies they kept them there.

[dodgewoman]

Hmmm, well, the VERY first bird I was exposed to was my mothers. He was a grey cockatiel that she had had for many years b/f I came along. I remember him as being grumpy old bird He did when he was 14 of respiratory issues.

The very first bird I ever owned was a green budgie. His name was Andy. I remember sitting in our bathroom with him trying to get him tame. We did get him hand tamed. He even started saying a few words/sounds here and there! He was a sweet little guy but sadly he developed a tumor on that back of his head an passed away after only a few years of having him.

[papaya]

My first bird was a parent raised grey cockatiel. I was about 8 years old. His name was Hansi. Back then my mother took care of him mainly. She would take him into the kitchen while I was at school and teach him so many songs to whistle. He got really tame and we had lots of fun with him. When I moved out of my parents house at the age of 19 I took Hansi with me. I also bought him a little girlfriend and they had a happy life. (At least Hansi did. His girlfriend had to endure his rape episodes and I think she died of egg binding.) Back then I did not know very much about birds and fed them only a seed diet with fruit and vegetables.
At the age of 15 Hansi died. I was very upset. I was always hoping he would die in my hands. I had just left the room to water the plants and when I came back he was laying dead at the bottom of the cage. I called a close friend of mine and she came over immediately. We made a wooden box, put some things Hansi liked and drove to a forrest and burried him under a beautiful big tree.
HANSI was a super bird. I LOVE YOU!

[Finches]

That is a great story...

My first bird is Parrot- the Greeny...

I'll upload her pics in future due course. I love her and she also... She is very fond of biscuits and red chillies. she will kiss me once I offered with Red chillies. :)

[CoupeBabe]

Ahhhhh, a little green budgie named Pip. My school budgies hatched 2 babies and he was one of them.
He was a real character, parading up and down the mantlepiece and spitting up all over the mirror !!!
He had a great vocab - could say his name and address, telephone number and 'emergency room 10' (random and we never knew where that came from)
He would mate with anything hairy (heads !!!) or furry (including the dog) and had a fearsome hatred of cigarette paper packets, throwing them off the table with gusto and running over to check they were still on the floor .........

Bless him, he died of old age