The Birds, The Birds

When my parents thought they would never be able to have children, they found many things to keep them busy and to try to satisfy their desire to nurture. They sponsored scouting, they were teachers, and somewhere along the way they decided to raise parakeets.  By all accounts my dad seemed to be more all in on that project than Mom, but it was a project they did together.

I have heard stories about the hours Dad spent at the library researching how to breed crosses to get various colors of parakeets.  Mom reports that they were always trying for lavender which in the 1950s was a valuable color.  They drove to pet stores and bird raisers in Iowa and perhaps other places.  I am not clear about how long this project went on.  They had a chicken coop that Dad provided with heat and cages at our house in Thomson, IL.  All this said, I don't remember those parakeets.  My cousins have said they remember the last pair Blondie and Dagwood when I came along, and I am not sure whatever happened to them. I have no memory of those birds.  They were gone before my brothers came along.

My family moved to Rockford, IL when I was starting kindergarten.  I missed Thomson and my free ranging life in the village.  I missed my friends and I wanted a dog.  My mom was expecting a baby that winter and a dog wasn't in the picture. So, we got a parakeet which I named Pretty Boy.  Pretty Boy was blue and we taught him to say his name.  We let him out of his cage and he would fly around and land on outstretched fingers and the available head or arm.  I didn't do much parakeet care, but I observed it.  Not closely, but I was there.  Pretty boy died when I was in Junior High.  By that time we were on our second dog and I was a dog person for sure.  But, I always have had a soft spot for birds.

Being a pet person in my adult years I had hamsters briefly.  I lived for many of my adult years with cats who slept on my bed despite my allergies that caused me sinus infections and bronchitis. When the last cat died I vowed not to put myself through that again.  I loved the cats, they were sweet.  But, I like breathing more.

In  my single life I have considered pets.  I have a betta fish which seems to be the single woman's pet.  I like the fish. I keep her clean and fed.  But, there is not a lot of noise or interaction. She is a good listener.  Fish are low maintenance.  I sort of want a dog, but I have to consider my allergies, I like breathing.  I also don't have a fenced yard or access to the backyard easily.  I would have to buy an expensive purebred and I just haven't decided to commit to that. 

I have investigated parakeets on and off. There were always things that gave me pause.  Acquiring healthy birds was one thing that stopped me. Getting all the various pieces of things that I would need was another consideration.  Cleaning up and caring for these birds and finding someone to watch them when I travel were things that gave me pause. 

Then I was home alone. Alone.  Not going anywhere. No travel for the foreseeable future.  And dogs were in short supply.  Online I found all the bird supplies I needed.  I found that I could get birds from a name brand pet store in my town. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take my chances.  I will say that they collectively aren't the healthiest birds, but they are recovering. One is breathing hard.  They were very quiet for the first couple of days after I brought them home, I feared finding one or more of them dead every morning when I uncovered the cage. But, now they are chattering and seem happy.  I can be sympathetic to breathing issues.

I have two parakeets.  I have named them Achoo and Abu which are words that my grandson said.  I might have named Achoo, Paraclete if I didn't think that was profane.  Achoo is mainly white with a yellow head. He/she has lavender markings on its breast that make a cross of white.  I will try to take a picture and share sometime. Abu is blue.

Parakeets are noisy and messy and require a certain amount of daily effort.  They are wild birds that I am trying to tame so that they will land on my finger and perhaps say a few words.  They don't love me like a dog or cat would.  Two birds together make them happier and healthier, but less likely to talk and a little less friendly toward me, but less dependent.  Parakeets aren't for everyone.  But, for me, at this time and place they were a good decision.

I have realized that I am a caretaker. I like things to need my care.  The birds satisfy that need in me to take care of something.  Existing alone can become sad and depressing.  At least it was that way for me.  I don't believe for a minute that most of you would want birds.  They are a lot of work and they smell.  But, for me, the cure to loneliness and depression, at least a step toward a cure is these birds.