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My feathered family includes a number of birds, including my very favorite - cockatoos. I like cockatoos because they are sensitive and bright and they have a sense of humor. |
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I've kept birds for a period of about 17 years. This includes having bred a number of species - lovebirds, cockatiels, and moustache parakeets. In addition, I've hand-raised sun conures and cockatoos (umbrellas, Goffin's, and Moluccans). My heart goes out to birds with problems, and so I've accumulated a number of handicapped and abused birds. I have a lovebird with crooked leg, several crippled cockatiels, and a badly abused cockatoo. Bob, my littlest crippled cockatiel, can barely walk. But he is as sweet and good-natured as they come. He loves to sit with me while I read. Peaches, my abused cockatoo, has learned to trust me over the years. Even now, with a mate, he still comes over to me to have his head feathers scritched. The baby
of the family is "Boo". He is about 6 years old. I raised
him from 4-weeks of age. He went to work with me everyday, traveling
in a beer cooler with a hot water bottle. When he outgrew the beer cooler,
I carried him around in a laundry basket. The construction workers near
where I worked referred to Boo as my "bunny". Boo napped and
played in my office, sometimes visiting a coworker down the hall to
steal her paper clips. Boo loves to talk and scream, especially if he
can yell at my dog, Willy. He screams, "Wiwy!! Wiwy!! Come 'ere!!"
Needless to say, Willy completely ignores him.
Here are some pictures of my "kids". |
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This is "baby" Boo - all grown up and doing what he does best - screaming! Aside from yelling at Willy, my dog, he also likes to imitate car chase scenes from TV. Squealing brakes and gunshots are his favorite. I think that if birds had careers, Boo would definitely be a bird comedian. | ||
| And just so Boo doesn't forget his humble beginnings, here he is when he was just a few months old. Colleen Lodge, my intern, is feeding him. And no, he isn't eating Grey Poupon mustard... I just used the jar to mix his formula in. |  |
| This is my newest addition to the family - Alex at 6 days. Alex is a sun conure and I raised him from the day he hatched. Here, he weighs about the same as a penny. He was so small I had to use a special tip on the feeding syringe. He ate Ensure and Pedialyte for his first few days, and then graduated to a handfeeding formula. |  |
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Alex at day 15. |
Alex
grown up.
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| More pets - Baby Birds | More Baby Birds | Zoon's Page |
| When I'm not cleaning bird cages, I teach Graphic Design in the Fine Arts Program at Indiana University South Bend. |
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Indiana Univ. South Bend links: Indiana
Univ. South Bend |
Bird links: Up At Six - information on bird care, products Bird Perch Bulletin Board - sponsored by Acme Pet Pet Bird Report - a magazine that deals with behavioral issues of domestic bred parrots |
| Go to my Home Page | Send me e-mail |
Updated June 2001