BrokenWing
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« on: February 16, 2009, 03:03:58 pm » |
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Brokenwing Chronicles Joey
This is going to be hard, and the beginning is kinda funny.... My wife plays cards with a bunch of other hens once a month. She came home on night all excited, "I just met this bird, he can sing and whistle and I don't mean just a few words, he can sing the whole song". I stood looking at her, I knew what was coming... "I want one"..... "No", I said, "no way are you going to cage and keep a bird that is intended to fly the skies freely", "No". As I stood in the pet shop "having no idea what I was doing" looking at the birds a young man came to help me. "I am looking for a cockatiel, I hear only the males talk so I am looking for a male". The young man looked around, "well" he said, as he took a gray tiel of the perch and looked at his tail feathers, "I can't ell if this is a male or not", "but this a nice little bird". One bird caught my eye, I said "what about that pure white over there", "oh the latino, I know that one is a male"... So I walked to get a closer eye, this bird was just gorgeous, and as smooth as I have every seen. "Your sure this a male?", "yep, very sure", "Okay...I'll take him". Here was this round cage, nice looking, it hung from a hook, of coarse I would have to put a hook up and it read, Cockatiel starter cage, everything included, toys, dishes, perches, everthing... "Okay" I said, that was easier than I thought. I ran to the truck so the bird would not get cold, it was a bitter winter outside, I turned the heater on high and sat at red lights saying "Common.....Common, this bird is going to get sick". We arrived home and I placed everything on the table, Rose Ann came home, "well, I said there's your bird".... She set the cage up and opened the box and took her bird out, "what ya gonna name him honey", I asked... Well, I think I am gonna name him Joe, she took the bag of "now don't laugh" of bedding and filled Joe's seed tray, she filled the water and I put a hook up and hung Joe and his cage up.. 2 days later Joe was acting funny, "he looks hungry", I said, Rose Ann checked his dish, "his tray is still full, somethings wrong, you bought a sick bird". "where the bag you got the seed from" I asked, "its not seed, I think its some sort of grain"... As I read the bag, "this is bedding", I said.... Out the door she ran to the pet shop.....a big deep breath.... I opened Joe's cage door, I hate seeing any bird caged, and out he came and hung onto the side, hmmmm I thought, I am going to add a perch on the outside, so I did so and Joe was soooo happy.. My wife hit the internet to learn all she could learn about Joe. One day as I sat watching TV, here came Joe flying to me, landed on my shoulder... I cringed thinking oh boy, now I am gonna get bit. Joe just sat there preening, Rose cam by and said "step up" and Joe done so and away they went, soon I heard wings coming and Joe was right back on my shoulder. I said, "uh oh" we have a problem, "I looked at Joe and said, Your mommas baby"... Joe was a very quiet bird, very active, but very quiet. Rose found a breeder not but 5 blocks away, "lets get Joe a friend", "NO", I said..... On the way to the breeders home..hehehehehe Rose fell in love with a little Pied Tiel, the breeder swore this bird was a female, perfect Rose said, not for breeding, for companionship... She named the new bird Molly.... Well, almost a year later, Molly began to talk and Joe laid an egg and became Joey. Joey brought us to other bird people, strange how that works, once ya get a bird, ya get new bird friends.... The next thing was a new cage, "round cages aren't good", Rose said, so the our kids got a nice large square cage, away they would both fly to the round cage, and again, and again, finally I took the round cage down and put it in the basement. Then the phone rang, a bird friend of Rose Anns had 7 Tiels to re-home, she asked if we could take them Then the phone rang again, and again, and again... One day, Joey was acting strange "Arty. Come here quick" Rose said, "what's that hanging out the bottom of Joey's butt", say hello to our first vet bill, Joey had a prolapse. And again, and again...welcome to my our first training class, we were taught how to return a prolapse. Our vet said, "Arty, you do this very well, you should get into animal care more, volunteer at the wildlife center".... That's when it all began. Our home was filled with birds, and I was become a rescuer.... Joey's prolapse continued, surgery was needed, the vet was going to attach the uterus to the inside cavity so it would stop falling out, much money....and.....it didn't work.... I found Joey in the bottom of the cage, I knew she was ill, this time...very bad....I sat holding the uterus in and out it would pop... Away to the vet, Joey didn't come home that day, not alive anyway, I cremated Joey that evening... Again, our vet pointed the finger at the breeder, "they keep trying to create the perfect bird".... The picture's that I have of Joey are all on floppy, none of our computers have a floppy drive, but soon I will have them transferred onto a rom... Joey...was 15 years old, she passed away 3 years ago, Joey....brought me to the rescue world and in a certain way...brought me to the bird forums... Joey.....was perfect...in every way...to perfect....
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