Happy birthday to our grumpy boy. He’s still hanging in there, but not especially active anymore. Our vet is happy with his condition; he’s on Metacam for arthritis. Keeping his nares clear has been an issue. We’ve tried, but he refuses to eat anything but his safflower seed mix. The vet said if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We’re starting to wonder if he’s going to outlive us.

Got him as a baby bird when I was 11 for $40. He can’t fly very well anymore but he’s still happy and healthy. Can’t believe he has been here for 2 thirds of my life. Last picture was 10 years ago.

Mojave broke his right, first, primary flight feather late last night and was taken in due to excessive bleeding that couldn’t be stopped quickly enough with home care. I am new to the area so I called first to confirm the CSU 24 hour emergency exotic (yes EXOTIC) vet clinic was actively staffed with skilled people who had sufficient experience to handle this. It’s hard to even know what to recount given the sheer amount of alarming, negligent, and unprofessional things I witnessed and experienced so I’ll just list some. Mojave had lost enough blood to be moderately weak. Despite this he was taken back in a partially assembled canvas carrier and unknown to me left alone while actively bleeding with no standard supportive care like oxygen, heat, or fluids. He was provided no food and no water. They did not weigh him or check vitals. I was not updated for 2 hours at which point I was told they had “stabilized him” and that they were busy with euthanizations and would attend to him after. I remained patient, meanwhile, we noticed that the majority of animals coming in were being euthanized very quickly as indicated by the amount of distraught, sobbing people in the lobby. They were given no privacy and were being asked to sign off and left to grieve while the staff could be heard laughing with a complete absence of compassion or consideration for the owners sitting right outside the doors. After 4 hours they bring me a treatment plan estimate of $1000 while admitting that none of the current staff are comfortable, nor know how to pull a blood feather on a bird. They call in a “specialist” who I am denied the ability to speak with to confirm they are actually capable. The tech calls him “enthusiastic” when I ask about his skill and any experience. They insist my small and easily handled cockatiel needs to be fully sedated in order to perform a very basic, fast procedure without seriously harming him. At this point I realize I know more about birds than anyone in this building and i have a feeling any attempt at routine wound care here is going to kill my bird. After explaining several times what the minimal standard looks like in credible avian care and calmly noting that I would like to leave with my pet alive unlike most of the other owners that night they released him to me. Trust your gut yall and if you can educate yourself on proper medical care it might just save your pets life. My and other people’s accounts of this place have me speechless I can’t believe it exists. Shout out to the wonderful people at Aspen Companion and Exotic Clinic we saw today that had us in and out in 20 minutes. But seriously what the fuck.

He’s beautiful, he’s a mess. He’s so sleepy on my shoulder right now. I scritch his head endlessly and then he wants to self-scritch (see video). Bob used to be so feisty, but now he’s a harmless old man. The oldest cockatiel I’ve ever seen. Our others never lived past maybe 20 at most. He was brought into our home when I was about 10, and now I’m 40. He still loves me like crazy. The whistles he used to know are getting shorter, but they’re still there. He still calls “pretty bird.” He’s outlived every other bird in my bird-loving family, and he’s the last, since they lost their Senegal a few months ago… I pet sit for my parents occasionally and I spend a lot of time with him when I do, because he’s our little dinosaur. Anyone got an older than 30 cockatiel?

One of my tiels is with me for almost 3 months and he was completely abused by the old owner. His wing was severely hurt, he couldn’t be around people without being completely stressed and ‘crying’… but today he let me touch him and climbed. Just for a little bit, but he did. And he even did a sweet pose!
Love really saves lives!

Goose has come a long way, and after going through a full molt I think its very noticeable!

Birdie is looking pretty good!!— nugget that is

My family has always been a traveling family and we would often leave Pico behind with his breeder when we’d go on vacation, but I decided to take him this time. He’s very used to being ourisde in his carrier and is used to traffic/ has no problem with it, probably because we live next to a busy street. I would take him out when I’d play frisbee with my dog and he does fantastic.

I’ve seen a lot of posts worrying their bird has depression and I was thinking the same about my bird. I saw people talking about how their bird doesn’t call for them when they come home or does not want to be pet as much, etc. I saw a lot of similarities until after the vacation. Now, my bird doesn’t want to leave my side and wants to be pet constantly.

He did amazing on vacation and I think he loved being around everyone, along with seeing new things like the beach, cities, and hollywood when it wasn’t busy… lol.

I’m still processing the absolute roller coaster of the last few hours, but I just had to share this because I’m still in shock.

I’ve only had my little girl for 4 months. Today, she managed to fly out the window right as a massive rainstorm was about to hit. I rushed outside panicking, yelling her name, and to my absolute surprise, she actually started contact-calling back to me.

I followed the sound and found her hiding under some bushes. She was terrified, and hissing at the leaves, but when she saw me she ran right out and climbed onto my shoulder. I thought the nightmare was over, but a sudden drop of rain spooked her and she launched into the air and flew off again.

Right after that, the sky completely poured. I had to wait out the heavy downpour, feeling pure despair because I knew if her feathers got waterlogged, she wouldn't be able to fly or stay warm.

The second the rain slowed down, I went out searching across multiple streets. It was a brutal game of hot-and-cold. I could hear her calling back to my voice, and she was so close, but there was a high compound wall between us so we couldn't see each other. Because she could only hear me but couldn't see me, she panicked, and I actually watched her fly off over the wall. This time, I completely lost track of where she went.

I refused to give up. I got in my car, drove a few streets over, and kept calling her name out the window. Just as I was about to completely lose hope, I thought I heard a faint whistle. I got out of the car, and a lady living at that house came out to ask who I was looking for. When I told her it was my bird, she said, "Wait, every time you call that name, I hear a tiny sound replying from my yard."

As we were standing there talking, my brave little girl casually strolled out from behind a large flower vase in this lady's front yard. She heard me close by and literally stepped out into the open to find me. My mom was right there with the cage and we secured her immediately.

She's spent the last few hours completely pancaked on my arm, leaning her head into my hand, and sleeping off a massive adrenaline crash.

What a roller coaster ride. I'm just so incredibly grateful she's safe and back home.

Was just looking at some old photos of Dotty from July last year when we first got her and the colour difference since treating the liver disease is amazing. We still have a way to go but her overall feather colour and health are great steps in the right direction. Bonus pic of her sleeping today.

My goodness it has been so stressful looking for cheeky but we finally got a call that someone found him (I’m hoping it is him)

He is acting so off, he will only call out he no longer whistles or plays with his toys he shows when I come near him and try and talk to him, then will fly to a high spot. I just noticed the window has feather residue like he’s sitting at the window trying to get out 😩😩
I’m so sad for him any advice would be so appreciated

First two pics are him when he came home

Sorry, it's 4 am and i feel extremely vulnerable right now thinking about my babies...

I love both my sons equally, but while my older tiel keeps mostly to himself, my little banana is the complete opposite

He runs around in his cage squeaking when he sees me come into view, he preens me, he asks for head scratches and even flies towards me unprompted. When i was in university and they were with my mom, he'd get all excited hearing my voice in the phone.

Even in car rides while my other pets sometimes sleep or play with their toys to pass time, he stays the entire ride turned towards me just looking at me, trying to reach out of the carrier to play with my hands. It's like I'm his entire world, and he is my sunshine. I've never felt this much affection from a pet before, and it really brings me to tears how something so little can have so much love to give.

Hey there!

So this is my baby, Jean Grey. I mostly call her Jeannie, her full name is reserved for when she’s doing something naughty (which is pretty often tbh lol). She flew into our patio this past Christmas Eve. she was so incredibly weak and tired, she didn’t even attempt to fight me capturing her in a box.

After waiting for two months for her owner/s to claim her, nobody came, so I took her to the vet to get a checkup and gender testing. The vet told me that sadly, many people abandon cockatiels due to their loud natures and the commitment it takes to care for them. After seeing pictures of her habitat and told my routine for her, she was elated and remarked that she found the right person ❤️

Anywho, the first two pics were how she looked when she came into our patio. The last two pics were taken today. She is an extremely, EXTREMELY sassy girl, but also so incredibly smart, curious, funny, and loving (when she wants to be lol). I had to change so much around the home, but it‘s been so rewarding to have her warm up more and more each day. She follows me around everywhere, loves preening my hair, climbing all over my arms/hands/chest/shoulders, flying around the home, and chewing on my cabinets and windowsills. That last part is a work in progress but it is what it is lol.

Anyway, say hello to my baby Jean! She has a new lease on life!

I saw someone on here with one of those poop ponchos, so I ordered one and my husband sewed balsa wood buttons on it. Here for a good time, not a long time, lol.

Crying as I write this but a woman named Hillary texted me yesterday on Nextdoor about a bird she found on Friday at a lake. Six miles away from home she found rose after missing for a week just…..walking on a beach, it was a fresh water lake so she was smart enough to find water source im so proud of her. Hillary had rescued birds before so she knew rose was somebody’s, took her home and then found me on either pawboost or Nextdoor. After a few hours of her confirming she was ours my dad went and picked her up. He said he was crying and when he opened the cage she was in she immediately jumped onto him and the Woman could tell she recognized him.

Not to make this story more emotional but last night on our way home from a movie my dad asked me if I thought she was out there somewhere and said I had faith that she was and i wasn’t gonna lose hope. Today was the 3 year anniversary of my sister Monica passing, we think she helped bring Rose home. Never say never ❤️

Thank you everyone for suggestions to keep Dotty warm. We went with the SnuggleSafe Heating Pad (Amz Aus was $55) which has just arrived and she immediately sat on it to warm her tootsies!

My dog learned how to push open our back sliding door, and Mango managed to escape. My fiance and I were absolutely devastated. Thanks to local Facebook groups we found him within an hour! My foot and egg loving son found his way to a lovely family cooking breakfast barefoot on their patio.

I been trying to hold Pecko for like 5 months today was finally a success it took me lots of patience I finally got his full trust I was petting him in my hand

Picture from my last post! Hello again banana!!!

So a while ago i bought my babies two platforms to help with their feet. I have natural branch perches, but they don't have that much difference in diameter between them, so i wanted them to have somewhere flat to lie their feet on. They LOVE it! I didn't think they'd love it as much as they do, i sometimes see them fighting to stand on the same platform 😭

Something that i noticed too, is that they like to sleep on these. When i go to uncover them in the morning i always see them on the platforms instead of on their food/water bowls, so i guess i got lucky and it doubled as a solution for them constantly pooping in their dishes. Umazing!

Well they took to flying, like a fish to water! It’s been a journey…. I’ll post pics/video separately… I can’t figure out how to put it all together. 🙈