Pandemonium in NC

[scoutandkee]

My name is Scout. My husband Charlie and I have 8 birds: 2 'Tiels, 2 U2s, 2 C2s, 1 CAG, and 1 IRP. I cannot believe how much our birds have changed my life. I got into them quite by mistake. My favorite cat, Michael (who has crossed over), loved birds. I never noticed them, really. I have always loved animals (much more than people- no offense) but for whatever reason never gave birds much thought and didn't consider their emotional lives at all. So my husband went to PetsMart and bought two 'Tiels. My cat could not have cared any less, but my husband and I were crazy about them. We didn't know anything about them and we were building them playgyms and toys, etc- using all the toxic materials of course, but fortunately nothing happened and when we knew better, we stopped using those things. But anyway, these birds were hostile to us, and we kept getting half-hearted advice from people ("Oh, 'Tiels?? Just ladder 'em- they'll come around." "'Tiel bites don't hurt!! Just keep trying." etc) No one seemed to understand that my fingers looked like pincushions from these bites, and that these birds weren't just going to be laddered. So anyway, I met a woman whose daughter had a very young 'Tiel who wanted to be handled. She didn't trust her daughter to handle them, and she wanted a bird that could not be handled. I feel like an awful person for doing it, but I traded my birds for her one tame bird. I loved this 'Tiel, Itty Bitty, and she ("she" turned out to be a "he", really) adored me too (but only until sexual maturity). I then adopted a C2, and since then it's been a wild ride, but we're at the limit of what we can handle. We don't have the space, time, or money right now for more than what we have. I've been learning slowly, but I've not got such a good memory and I feel like I keep having to learn the same lessons over and over again. I'm against breeding, but I do distinguish between breeders. I have friends who are breeders- they take the very best care of the birds they help to create, use abundance weaning principles, and don't sell their birds to just anyone, etc. I loathe backyard breeders. I tell people to adopt, because there are so many that need homes. I'm not here to attack anyone, breeders or not- but I just want to be able to be honest about how I feel. I love birds, but at the same time, I don't want to tell the average person how much I enjoy my life with them because I think the average person will not give birds the proper environment in which they can thrive. I hate to see birds in small cages, with dowels and one or no toys. There's something about the situation of animals that is more moving to me than that of people.
But anyway, I want to say HI to my friend Tammy, Wild Irish, who encouraged me to come here and to introduce myself.

[Willow]

Welcome! I agree with what you say! I have 4 Amazons, whose photos you can see and interesting stories you can read on my website (the link is in my profile), and I am adopting a 5th on Sunday! S/he is a 17 yo Mealy Amazon. Glad to have you here.

[The Outlaw]

Howdy Scout! This is Nancy and I almost got to meet you (LOL). Welcome to the Birdboard!

THE OUTLAW

[willowbirdy218]

Welcome to BirdBoard!! I saw the pictures of your birds...they are all so beautiful!!

[TooLover]

Hi Scout. Tammy has nothing but nice things to say about you! Glad you posted; stick around and share with us! This place really is the best!

[scoutandkee]

I'm really excited about this group! Thanks for the welcome.
I do love the pics of my birds. I have so many good pics of them it's hard for me to decide which ones to post. I'm going to load more or put an URL to webshots in my profile.
Willow, I'll check our your website! :icon_bigg