Jul 10, '07 2:58 PM
for loretta's contacts
Just look what I have inadvertently acquired today. One bright yellow squawking Budgie. Well, actually it's not bright yellow, it's supposed to be but only it's head and it's wings remain yellow, the rest of it is a particularly unappealing shade of bright pink featherless, scraggy flesh. Believe me ....NOT NICE!! Poor little thing belongs to my friend who for the last 6 months or so has been working shifts in a care home out of town. Due to a combination of her long and unsociable hours, the distance between here and there, and a public transport provider unable to deliver a service that goes anywhere near supplying her needs, she has been forced to stay out of town for 2 or 3 days at a time. Consequently her much beloved budgie has been left home alone for very long periods. And this, we believe, is the root cause of poor little Abbie's recently acquired, nasty feather plucking habit. Or at least this is the reason we deduced after scouring the Internet this afternoon. Abbie doesn't have a little friend to share her cage. Apparently she did once have a companion but she was very aggressive toward him and consequently he packed his little bags and left her for a more appreciative mate. And so, aware that Abbie is in dire need of nurturing we sat ourselves down and carefully considered the options;
1. My friend should give up her work and stay home to care for Abbie. Great idea but both she & Abbie need to eat therefore not practicable
2. My friend (and Abbie) should move nearer to her work. Yep that's what she has been trying to do for the last 6 months without success.
3. I should look after Abbie.
WHAT!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............ but I don't 'do' caged birds. I tend to think it's a bit cruel to keep a bird in a cage and it totally unsettles me to be in an enclosed space with a bird flapping around my head, in fact it freaks me out BIG TIME.
But something had to be done and, as school is closed for summer I am home for the next 5 weeks or so. So here we are, Abbie and Me, warily getting acquainted. Her cage is cleaned and sat on a pretty little table cloth atop my sideboard. She has her own uplighter above the cage and her own little radio next to the cage. I believe she was bred here in Scotland, so to make her feel at home, I have her radio tuned to Radio Scotland. She has an especially well embroidered tablecloth to cover her cage at night, I'm sure she will appreciate the embroidery and understand that such finery is reserved for honored guests. Apparently she has never been a bird who likes to fly around the room, so that is one trial we are saved from, and when her cage is cleaned she just sits in the corner and squawks at me. Really glad about that because much as I want to do my best for her, close physical contact of any kind is just not an option. Our first evening is drawing to a close and, well... it seems to have gone OK. Now as I have said, I am not a budgie sort of person, so if anyone has any ideas on how to cultivate a good new growth of feathers, as quickly as possible please, please share it with me.
Tags: 360 import, budgie, birds
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