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Post by yasmin on Aug 12, 2016 23:53:42 GMT
I was caring for 16 degus, 6 budgies, 2 gerbils and two cats after two of my four degus had live litters (adopted 4 "female" goos – actually had 3 females and 1 male, and the three females became pregnant before I figured out that "Sienna" was actually "Sean"). That was almost 5 years ago. A great deal of work, vet bills, $$$ in additional cages, etc. but I have never once for even the shortest moment regretted keeping all of the babies to live their lives out with their moms or dad. (However, not sure my husband feels the same way. He gets especially perturbed when I ask him – once a month, for the past 3 months – if I can adopt three 7-year old Chinchillas brothers that have been at our local humane society all summer. Got an empty cage now, you know; however, so far his response has been an adamant "No".)
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Post by winic1 on Aug 13, 2016 1:44:50 GMT
I currently have: One Dog, on pills for feet itching 2 Cats, one on urinary diet, getting supplement by syringe, one on calm diet and going back to vet for overgrooming to the point of sores (it's allergies, but the vet is stupid) One Guinea pig (one cage) Three degus, one probably pregnant (one cage so far) 8 Budgies in two cages, one 5' flight, one smaller (Satan is homicidal and cannot live with the rest) One Canary (one cage) Two pairs of parrotlets (2 large cages) Six Owl Finches (one 5' cage) 10 Zebra finches (one 5' flight cage) 14 Society finches (one 5' flight cage) 3 Spice Finches + 2 owl finches (one cage) 2 Green Singer Finches, getting ready to breed (one cage) 2 Black and White Mannikins (one cage) And three new Zebra finches in quarantine in back bedroom, each in their own small cage. 1 goldfish (one small tank) 1 18 year old son, college sophomore 1 14 year old daughter, high school sophomore, also takes dance classes 6 days a week totaling about 12-14 hours 1 Husband with permanent issues from a severe concussion several years ago.
And me, who lately is getting worse and worse with my mysterious illnesses and disabilities, so hubby is doing the daily maintenance on almost all of these.
So, I REALLY don't need baby degus, even tho they would be so cute and so cool.
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Post by Bexi87 on Aug 13, 2016 4:08:22 GMT
Oh Winic, I wish were we in the same country and I could actually offer some help rather than just moral support!
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Post by bouncy on Aug 13, 2016 5:19:12 GMT
I do love the name Satan for your homicidal budgie
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 13, 2016 5:27:07 GMT
ROFL!! If he is as bad as his name implies . . . I wouldn't want him, TBH. Is he nicer to people?
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Post by bouncy on Aug 13, 2016 7:46:38 GMT
We have 2 cats and a dog. The goo situation will be contained. where and how is another matter. Crunchy!
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Post by winic1 on Aug 13, 2016 12:22:30 GMT
I do love the name Satan for your homicidal budgie Her name is, well, was, Buttercup, as she is mostly yellow, and tradition has the budgies named after natural things (they have been Sun, Sky, Thunder, Forest, Prairie, Jungle, River (who was called George because "we needed a George"), Lake, Frost, Snowflake, Snowfall, Snowdrift, Sprite (as in the woodland fairy thing), Smoke, Zebra, Stallion, Lily, Bluebell, and Buttercup). But, she quickly got renamed as this bird would flap wildly, hovering in the middle of the cage, screaming. SCREAMING. Thoroughly demented. She was bought to be a companion for Lily, who had had a prolapse (and I managed to save her and correct it) but therefore couldn't go back into the big flight where her oversexed boyfriend Bluebell was. Only this crazy bird would do the flapping and screaming thing, and beat up on poor Lily. Put alone in her own cage, she hovers and screams. Put in sight of another bird in a cage, she does it worse. So, she became Spawn of Satan, or just Satan, for short. Finally, one day, after Lily had passed, I got fed up with the extra bird in the extra cage who was not happy no matter who she was in with or not, and tossed her into the big flight. It worked. She took up with Bluebell, who had been the overpossessive overprotective boyfriend to Lily. The two of them kept each other in line, and were so busy obsessing with each other they ignored everyone else. Over time, the number of birds in the big flight has decreased, and the male to female ratio has unbalanced, as the females tend to pass sooner even tho there is no breeding or egg laying going on. (when you get them young at the pet store, you can't always tell so it's luck of the draw.) Twice I stopped Satan from attacking another female who evidently got too close to "her man". Serious attacks, intent to cause injury. Then, a few months ago, early morning, I hear way too much flapping and calling, more like screaming, coming from the big flight, which was still covered from the night. I go check, and Satan has been attacking Jungle. She has Jungle pinned to the floor of the cage, and is ripping feathers out of her neck trying to get to the neck itself. Jungle is all bloody on her face and neck. Satan is smeared with blood all over her head. She actually broke off part of Jungle's lower beak as well as causing many other cuts and scratches. I tell you, that d**n bird has never been so close to being tossed out the door to deal with the cold and the hawks and all. But my daughter would have seen the yellow feathers in the yard, and how do I explain that? (okay, put her in a box, put that in a backpack, take the dog for a walk up into the woods (about a thousand acres just up the road), in the middle of the woods toss the d**n bird, put box back in backpack, walk back home, dump box in recycling to remove all evidence, gee honey, Satan died while you were at school and I buried her already....) So, Jungle was isolated and medicated and has recovered, and returned to the flight. Satan was put in a cage, where she screamed and flapped. So, I pulled Bluebell, who was getting a bit aggressive, having lost his insane girlfriend and having only 2 females out of 7 other birds to choose from, and put him in with Satan. They seem to be doing okay. Tho every time I hear screeching or something banging (toys) I can't help but quickly check to make sure she isn't attacking Bluebell. And that is how I have a budgie named Spawn of Satan.
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Post by goolover on Aug 13, 2016 12:58:44 GMT
Where's satan gone mum...........'BACK TO HELL, WHERE SHE CAN BURN FOR ALL ETERNITY'.....rofl
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Post by winic1 on Aug 13, 2016 13:09:53 GMT
Where's satan gone mum...........'BACK TO HELL, WHERE SHE CAN BURN FOR ALL ETERNITY'.....rofl HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (if she hurts Bluebell, it's Hawk time, for sure.)
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 13, 2016 19:17:11 GMT
Can't help but wonder if she had some NASTY breeding/raising conditions. That's pretty abnormal behavior! I love bird, I really LOVE birds, but your description raises my ire, LOL! I totally understand the threatened "hawk" treatment. LOL!!
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Post by goolover on Aug 13, 2016 20:04:04 GMT
She may just have literally been a 'bad egg' lol. Imagine if you did open the door and flung her to the hawks.....the news would read 'HAWk KILLER AT LARGE'..........town baffled by a sudden incline in local bird deaths!
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Post by winic1 on Aug 13, 2016 20:42:17 GMT
We got her as an adult bird from a pet store (hate buying birds, but the nearest bird rescue that takes budgies is hours away), because I needed to be sure I got a female to be poor Lily's companion. So who knows. We got three beautiful white with a patch of bright blue budgies from the little mom'n'pop store in town, because they'd had them a year, in a small cage with no toys or room or anything, they had night frights for several months, and at the start would only fly 6 inches out from the perch before turning back to it, because they'd never been able to fly any farther. While the rest of my 'flock' would do their morning and afternoon warbling together (they all talk/sing/warble together periodically throughout the day, having enough to see flock behavior is so cool), one would sit next to the bars in a corner and talk to himself. Obviously harm done by their long, boring, tiny confinement. (we considered them rescues even tho we paid for them, as we rescued them from that horrible life.)
But Spawn of Satan is in a class by herself. She knows how to socialize, she knows how to be a bird, she's just thoroughly demented in an evil way.
Sitting in my sunroom just this week, something large and brown moved right outside the window on the hillside. I look over, and there, not 10 feet from me, through the window, is a Red-Tailed Hawk (which are HUGE), mantling among my wildflowers. One less chipmunk in my yard. We have Red-Taileds, Marsh Hawks (Northern Harriers), and Red Shouldered Hawks all living right here. And various owls, falcons, etc. My friend had her baby Toy Yorkie on a leash just outside her garage at night when she felt something whooosh! past her ear. An owl was trying to snatch her puppy right off the leash.
Poor Satan wouldn't stand a chance. She's just really lucky that I am such a good person.
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Post by Bexi87 on Aug 13, 2016 23:16:59 GMT
That sure beats the pigeons and crows that I have outside my house
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