Minerva
New member
- Jul 21, 2016
- 20
- 6
Hey everyone! I thought I'd give a little update on Hedwig the lovebird. She has been doing very well. She is very stubborn and opinionated, and though she learned to step up well she generally sidles away at first and then gives me a piece of her mind afterward, to let me know what she thinks of me making her do it. 
She LOVES destroying her toys. I got her a new, larger cage when I started commuting and filled it with toys, but it wasn't quite enough. In spite of not liking me much, she clearly missed my presence during the day and even stopped touching her toys.
Naturally I got her a companion after a great deal of research. I perused Craigslist for rehoming ads for a while but birds aren't very popular in my area and I didn't find any except for two larger birds (a macaw and an Amazon). So after ruling out another lovebird due to aggression/pairing issues and a GCC due to lack of time on my part (I came reeeeeally close to a pineapple, but realistically with my horse nearly ready for "real" training my time is limited), I brought home a hand fed cockatiel to live in its own cage beside Hedwig. The store apparently quarantines them, but I took her to the neighboring bird clinic to be checked out before bringing her home as a precaution.
The cockatiel has been a huge hit with Hedwig! She immediately went back to being active and playing and the two of them get along outside of their cages (and inside, for that matter) very well. In fact, since the cockatiel goes right in Hedwig's cage to play with her (they shred toys together) and they try to roost together at bedtime I suspect that they will eventually share a cage.
Last night their antics had me laughing. One of the goals of getting a hand fed bird that already likes humans was that Hedwig could see her interact with me and hopefully relax a bit. This seems to be working since Hedwig follows the cockatiel and copies what she does. I had both of them on my laptop playing around last night.
And now, of course, some pictures. I haven't named the cockatiel yet because I don't know what gender it is. The girl at the shop said she thinks it is a girl. Do you agree?
Hedwig on her perch.
My attempt to keep her occupied while commuting. It worked for a week or so!
Friends!
Some cockatiel pictures... she is MUCH easier to photograph than Hedwig.
What are you...
OH GOD NO. Stop that! I need that!
Who, me? I wasn't doing anything.
A slightly better shot of her markings. This side has more grey, and her chest has more yellow.
I can't remember if the girl said that the cockatiel is four months old or five months old, but it was one of those. She's still pretty clumsy which is why her tail is such a hot mess. Is that old enough to tell what gender s/he is? I think her color is called pied, right?
Anyway, that is what we have been up to. Hedwig is happy again so I am too.
She LOVES destroying her toys. I got her a new, larger cage when I started commuting and filled it with toys, but it wasn't quite enough. In spite of not liking me much, she clearly missed my presence during the day and even stopped touching her toys.
Naturally I got her a companion after a great deal of research. I perused Craigslist for rehoming ads for a while but birds aren't very popular in my area and I didn't find any except for two larger birds (a macaw and an Amazon). So after ruling out another lovebird due to aggression/pairing issues and a GCC due to lack of time on my part (I came reeeeeally close to a pineapple, but realistically with my horse nearly ready for "real" training my time is limited), I brought home a hand fed cockatiel to live in its own cage beside Hedwig. The store apparently quarantines them, but I took her to the neighboring bird clinic to be checked out before bringing her home as a precaution.
The cockatiel has been a huge hit with Hedwig! She immediately went back to being active and playing and the two of them get along outside of their cages (and inside, for that matter) very well. In fact, since the cockatiel goes right in Hedwig's cage to play with her (they shred toys together) and they try to roost together at bedtime I suspect that they will eventually share a cage.
Last night their antics had me laughing. One of the goals of getting a hand fed bird that already likes humans was that Hedwig could see her interact with me and hopefully relax a bit. This seems to be working since Hedwig follows the cockatiel and copies what she does. I had both of them on my laptop playing around last night.
And now, of course, some pictures. I haven't named the cockatiel yet because I don't know what gender it is. The girl at the shop said she thinks it is a girl. Do you agree?
Hedwig on her perch.
My attempt to keep her occupied while commuting. It worked for a week or so!
Friends!
Some cockatiel pictures... she is MUCH easier to photograph than Hedwig.
What are you...
OH GOD NO. Stop that! I need that!
Who, me? I wasn't doing anything.
A slightly better shot of her markings. This side has more grey, and her chest has more yellow.
I can't remember if the girl said that the cockatiel is four months old or five months old, but it was one of those. She's still pretty clumsy which is why her tail is such a hot mess. Is that old enough to tell what gender s/he is? I think her color is called pied, right?
Anyway, that is what we have been up to. Hedwig is happy again so I am too.
