Matt from Virginia

[Matt]

Hi,
First of all, let me say that I am thrilled to find this message board. It is nothing short of phenomenal. Having resources and a gathering place such as this is pretty awesome. When I first started birds many years ago we didn't have the internet. If we had, I think we may have learned much more.

My name is Matt and my wife is Jen. I am orginally from Georgia but currently living in Virginia with my wife and 2 dogs. She is a life science teacher and I repair computers at all 7 schools in her city. I am also a vet assistant on saturdays for a half day and going to school to be a Licensed Vet Tech. I will end up switching careers in 1 year.

I grew up owning parrots. We always had a parrot in the house starting in 1988. My first bird was a tiel then my obsession grew. I then owned a pair of breeder tiels, 2 nanday conures, 1 Umbrella too, 1 CAG and various other birds temporarily.

I was fortunate enough to work for a bird breeder and pet shop owner which taught me everything I knew about parrots. She has now passed but I am forever thankful for her introducing me to the wonderful world of parrots. Most of my birds went back to her for breeding which is a long story in itself and I got the short end of the stick but we ending getting to keep the Cherry Head and the Umbrella cockatoo. Having learned a great deal about breeding birds I decided that I would breed no more. It was a learning experience that I cherished but I was losing my childhood handfeeding babies all the time. In retrospect, I am glad I stopped. I now know that a good breeder uses the same fundamentals of dog and horse breeding. Breeding because of their love of the breed/species and bettering the breed/species should be the main motivation of any breeding program. I didn't focus on temperament, talking ability and health.

I have been away from birds for the most part for the last 13 years but I am finally in a place in my life where I can enjoy them once again. I had been in the Marines traveling the world and then renting places and moving often for the following 8 years so in those years my mom was kind enough to keep my birds. Now that I am married and am buying a home, I can get my Cherry Head conure back from my mother. I wish I could get the too back as well but my mother accidentally let her fly away when I was out of town. She did that once before and I tracked that too for 4 days and recovered her. She was so loving and I miss her alot. I felt like my mom should have known better but she was emotionally crushed so I tried so hard not to ridicule her. That Umbrella too was the best bird I ever had.

I am now researching a timneh grey, amazon or blue and gold macaw. Eventually I would like to get 1 or those as well. I want to give these birds the best life I possibly can now that I am starting to understand how to do so.

Sorry for being so long winded to those of you who actually made it through all of this. Hopefully within 3-4 months I will have my conure back and I intend to give it a more fulfilling life that it had with my mother. In the meantime I will be learning from you guys and researching as much as I can about new training techniques and everything bird. I look forward to becoming a part of this community and sharing stories, info and everything in between.





Here is my Olde English Bulldogge, Beamer and the other pic is our Catahoula Leopard dog mix, Harley.

[greencinacheeks]

hey!!! welcome to BB!!!!


I live in northern VA.!!! hey!! i am hoping to become a vet as well.

anyways..hope to hear more from you...

~Nate

[Courtzrocks]

Awww ur dogs are so cute!!! Welcome to BB, Im from Australia though so wont be bumpin into u lol. What a life you have had. I wish to work with animals but it is so hard to get into over here. Good luck with your cherry and whichever other birds enter your life.

Courtney

[parrotntn]

Hi Matt, good to meet you. Cool pups. Those are three great birds you're thinking about getting. Let us know when you start moving towards one or the other.
It sounds like you have a lot of bird experience that you are bringing to the board and that's great!
Mark

[Tobysmom]

welcome to BB you will love it here

[Matt]

Thanks guys! Seems like a very nice community here.

[Parrotpeople]

I'm also in VA, Richmond actually. Welcome!
Sorry to hear about your Too, we lost a tag that way, my husband was careless, but you're right; can't be too hard on them.

[birdlady49]

Welcome from Colorado, Matt! Your dogs are wonderful!

I wish you had posted your biography with your poll on what bird to get. I would have been a lot more receptive!

I wouldn't have answered the poll anyway because when you start looking for a feathered companion, a totally different species might win your heart! Currently I have Congo Greys, cockatiels, doves and rosellas. But a lot of other species have passed through my life. For me, nothing beats a Grey. They are remarkable companions and smart as h*ll.

[catschair]

[Valo's Moirana]

welcome matt.... nice to have you here on BB. seems like you have lots of experience with birds, and i can't wait to hear more from you.
good luck on your decision - 3 great types of parrot, each with its individual characteristics and attractions