Companion Birds Add To Our Lives In Big Ways

Companion birds of any of the species commonly kept as pets really add a lot to our lives. Those people who do not own birds simply have no idea how rewarding having a loving companion bird can be.

Often people come into my home and see me interacting with one of my birds and say, “I had no idea birds had so much personality!” Well, that is simply because they have never been exposed to parrots of any kind that were tame and loving.

In fact, birds are so beneficial for people that if you walk into most nursing homes, you’ll find several budgies or cockatiels in the residence. The people living in these homes surround the birds and talk to them daily, watch them play and cavort about their cages performing their cute antics. Some of the residents even spend time teaching the birds to talk. The quality of life of these nursing home residents is greatly improved by the presence of feathered friends.

I know when Mother was in the hospital recently, she missed our birds a great deal. Once she returned home, just seeing her FIDs (feathered kids) or in her case feathered grandkids, really perked her up and helped reduce the level of pain she was experiencing from her surgery. Not only were our birds happy to see Mom, she was so happy to see and hear them chirping and talking to her.

Birds are great companions for people who live alone. They do not require the outdoor walks in cold, rainy, or snowy weather which dogs require and they don’t require smelly litter boxes that cats need. Small birds take up very little room and really are not messy.

Birds are also great for apartment dwellers, especially smaller birds such as budgies and cockatiels. These small species are not noisy and any apartment with “no pet” policies will permit small parrots as residents. You can easily tell I am a huge fan of companion birds. I’ve lived with at least one bird for the past 30+ years and can’t imagine not enjoying the companionship of one in my home.

Right now my little birds, the budgie pair named Ziggy and Honey, are having a family of their own. So far, four of their six eggs have hatched and the babies look like little aliens with huge heads, huge closed eyes, bare pink skin and somewhat transparent bodies.

The oldest one is just one week old, so very soon it will begin looking like a bird as it develops down and then pin feathers. While I don’t recommend that everyone breed their companion birds, I have allowed Ziggy and Honey to have a  family because I already have good homes waiting for tame loving budgies.

If you have a companion bird and need one-on-one advice or coaching, I’m always happy to help. WIthout proper care and knowledge of household dangers, it is so easy to lose a beloved bird.

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About the Author: Nora Caterino, known as the Mississippi Bird Lady, or just Bird Lady for short, has trained, raised, and lived with birds for over 30 years. You can subscribe to access news, articles, videos, forums, and receive unlimited one-on-one advice and coaching for one full year. For one-on-one coaching and advice, simply join the Elite Parrots Club at http://www.eliteparrotsclub.com/talking.php

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Main Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.