I got another birdie

[ct92404]

I can never replace Buddy, but I realized I needed to get another bird to help me deal with things. It felt so lonely and empty in my bedroom, with Buddy's cage not being there anymore. I couldn't even sleep in my room anymore. Every time I went there, I kept expecting to hear Buddy chirping. I wasn't sure if I was ready for another bird, but I knew that every day that went by, I was feeling worse. I wanted another bird to have as a little friend and companion, and I realized that taking care of it and training it would probably help me.

I had gone to the vet on Sunday, to talk with him about what happened, and to try to reach an agreement about compensation. He said again that he was very sorry about what had happened, and that he had never lost an animal because of something like this. He agreed with me that what happened was inexcusable and incompetent, and said that he hadn't been able to sleep. He said he called a staff meeting the next day and made a lot of changes. He also said that there were "consequences" for the two employees who were involved, although he didn't say specifically what. From what he was implying though, it sounds like one of the vet techs might have been fired and another was put on probation. After talking for a while, we did agree on an amount. I don't want to say how much...it wasn't as much as I wanted, but it was a good amount. He also had talked with the bird farm, and told them to have me get another bird and anything else I wanted for it. He also recommended a pet grief group for me to meet with.

I feel the doctor was genuinely remorseful for what happened, and he does care really about animals. But unfortunately, that place is just too busy and some of his employees are clueless. I will NEVER take anymore animals there.

Earlier, I had already gone back to the bird farm to look around. I actually did feel better looking at the birds, and I went to see some other parakeets they had. There was one in particular that had caught my attention. When I first went up to the cage, he looked right at me and cocked his head, like he was curious. He seemed to be healthy and playful and liked to climb. He also seemed to have a calm personality, and he wasn't aggressive with the other birds at all. He's a beautiful aqua or blue-green color. I wasn't quite ready to pick him up and I needed a at least a couple of more days. On Sunday, I decided to go back and get him.

So I now have a new bird. I decided to name him "Chipper" because he seemed to be really curious and playful when I first saw him.

It's absolutely amazing at how fast he's becoming tame. By the first day, I was able to pet him and I even got him to perch on my finger! By the 2nd day, I was able to take him out of his cage and hold him and pet him! I even scratched him on his head and neck, and he seemed to like it. He's so gentle.

There are a couple of things I'm a little concerned about though...his nose seems a little bit crusty or something (although his nostrils are clear) and he's not quite as active. He did sneeze the first day I had him, but I haven't seen him sneezing since then. He's been eating his food and spray millet fine though, and is drinking water, and he seems to have a great appetite. His droppings are normal. I'm taking him to a vet tomorrow morning for a checkup. I found an actual avian vet. They're kind of far away (about maybe 40 minutes away), but it's worth it to take him to someone who actually knows what they're doing.

I got a play gym for him. It has a ladder, with a set of perches that spiral up like stairs, going up to a higher perch. He loves it. As soon as I put him by it, he climbed up the ladder and climbed up the perches. Now every time I take him out of his cage, he goes to it.

Wish me luck tomorrow, and hopefully the vet will say that everything is okay. So far, he seems to be doing well.

 

[Boysmom]

Congrats on Chipper ! I am so glad the Vet made compensation to you so that you have some closure for Buddy. I wish you many years of love and happiness with Chipper.

 

[Birdlover11]

Congrats on chipper ! Are you using buddy's old cage ? If you are you should disinfect EVERYTHING . You dont want chipper catching the same disease as buddy . Congrats, where's the pictures ?

 

[ct92404]

No, I got EVERYTHING new for Chipper. He has a brand new cage, new bowls, everything. I just couldn't stand seeing any of Buddy's old stuff, and I knew that wouldn't be good for the new bird to use. He's going to be spoiled, even more than Buddy was. I got him a play gym, and I also him an infrared ceramic heater to keep his cage warm (even though we have central heat in our house) and I ordered a full spectrum light from MySafeBirdStore.com.

And I got great news today. I took Chipper to a vet this morning, and she said he's doing fine.

I was really impressed with them. The place is called Chaparral Pet Hospital, in Claremont, California. They really knew what they were doing. I could really tell that they are experienced with birds and know how to treat them...not just a vet's office that happens to treat birds. In fact, there was a bunch of pictures and posters about birds in the office where the vet saw Chipper. They also had a lot of other birds that were being cared for there. I could hear them chirping in the back. There was even a couple of parrots there. But the place wasn't crazy busy either. I think that was the major problem with the other vet...it was just too busy and the doctor couldn't give enough time with the animals and supervise the staff right. This place was much calmer, and I think they have two doctors.

They were very thorough. A vet technician first weighed Chipper, and she commented that his weight was good. He weighs 34.9 grams. Then the doctor came to check him. She was really friendly and is very knowledgeable about birds, and you can tell she cares about them. She checked everything...his beak, chest, his feet, and she even gently unfolded his wings to look at them, and said that his feathers looked good and his wings were clipped right. She also checked his vent. She said that everything looked great, and that I was doing a good job.

The doctor's name is Ann McDowel. I would definitely recommend her. She took her time, and was very thorough. They are a million times better than the other vet. I felt a lot better after she saw Chipper and said he was doing fine.

Right now, Chipper is sitting on his top perch, happily grinding his beak. And he is finally starting to chirp.

 

[Birdlover11]

I wish I were you right now ! You found a good vet, and avian vet. You have a beautiful budgie and you got your money returned. The vet I take Pepsi and sprite to handle birds, they have a examining room only for birds and they handle they're birds very gently. They even know a lot about the little guys like budgies. I will always take my and my future birds they're . I'm envy at you

 

[ct92404]

Yeah, the vet was awesome. She checked everything, even things I hadn't thought of. She checked his preen gland too for any signs of infection, and said that it was fine. I was really impressed with that place. I really got the feeling that they take care of birds a lot, and they knew exactly what they were doing. The other vet hadn't done ANY of the things the people at this place did. They weighed him, and the doctor checked everything on him from his beak to his tail feathers.

Chipper is having a great start so far. I'm going to record a video of him climbing on his play gym. He LOVES to climb.

 

[kc_y0]

congrats on your new buddy!! And I'm very glad to hear you have found a new vet and were able to get such a great set up for Chipper!! Can't wait for some pics!

 

[sammybird]

Congrats! I'm sure chipper will be very happy in his new home!

 

[sammybird]

I wish we had a good vet in Wisconsin

 

[Pookamama]

Congrats!! May you have a lot of happiness with your new dear friend!
And pictures, pretty please!

 

[ct92404]

Thanks everyone for all your well wishes.

I've been getting a lot of requests for pictures of Chipper, so I better post a few! These pictures are also in my "Chipper" album in my profile. I took these with my cell phone camera, so unfortunately the quality and colors aren't that great. Chipper is an aqua or blue-green color. His tail is a beautiful bright green color.

He (or she, don't know yet) is very gentle and likes to be held and petted.

Here he is on his play gym. One thing I've learned about his personality is that he loves to climb. I got him a play gym that has a ladder and perches that spiral up kind of like stairs. When I take him out of his cage to pet him, I put him by the gym and he goes right to the ladder and climbs up on the perches on his own.

This next picture is Chipper on a swing on the play gym. I put him on it, but he didn't protest, and he and seemed to like it.

And here is Chipper in his cage. You can't tell from this picture of course, but he really does have a nice big cage. I got him a ceramic infrared heater too, so he has central heat too. And I ordered a full spectrum light, which is being shipped. So he really does have a nice little birdie condo.

 

[Remy]

It sounds like the old vet handled things alright, considering...

I'm glad you got a new friend! He sure is cute! I think Chipper is a good name.

I didn't do very well after Puck passed away, and getting a new bird was the best thing I could have done, I think. It wasn't planned (I just got a call one day), so I didn't have the money to go out and buy all new stuff. Definitely was weird giving him Puck's old things (sanitized everything first, just in case), but I've gotten used to it. I'm definitely glad that somebody is using them though.