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Pets(and why the world is a better place because of them)


Yy4u

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Pets. Most of us grew up with them. Our companions in childhood. Bundles of unconditional love.  Sometimes our only confidant. Always our best buds.
I have grown up with and have owned a menagerie of them. Dogs,cats, iguanas, turtles, fish and most recently ... birds. All have their pros and cons. Dogs with their loyalty, cats with their aloofness, fish do not really care, but iguanas do show emotions(moods). Birds. There is no pet that can compare to the mighty bird. If you are lucky enough to have one in your life...Kudos! If you aren't, you don't know what you're missing! They are tiny, feathered puffballs of pure love, devotion. They can be clowns and in the same breath, will defend their "mate"(you) against any thing/one they perceive to be a threat, even animals much much bigger than they are(anyone ever deal with a Blue jay?).
    Most birds are very vocal, this is their nature, so do not expect a bird to be "quiet". Lovebirds do chatter, but it is on the quieter side of the scale as opposed to say, a Macaw, who's cry can be heard for miles. Lovebirds have a high-pitched tweet/trill that some may find "annoying', I find them much more soothing that a quaker scream,lol. They are not talkers but can mimic sounds and they can learn tricks!
    I have had cockatiels(2), a quaker and now a Peach-faced Lovebird. Their body is a bit smaller than a cockatiel and they have a very small tail, so their overall appearance is tiny. They are a very social bird and must have it everyday in order to survive/be tame. My baby,ChopStix, is a juvenile(2-4 months) and is just getting used to her(his) cage/new home. Right now her plumage is very pastel but will brighten as she matures. She can get to be as old as 20, but the usual lifespan is 10-15 years(depending on care/environment). She was hand fed/raised and is tame, but adjusting to her new home so she is shy. I will trim her flight feathers so she wont get hurt when handled(take flight and panic), this will tame her further as she will become dependent on humans to travel.





I love birds and look forward to our journey together.

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Don't get me wrong, cats are great companions too. Ours sensed that I was unhappy about the loss of my quaker parrot, she tried her best to cheer me up. She would hang out with me more than the missus and was very cuddly to me,lol. Pets are great no matter the species, just a freind in a different skin/coat.

:D

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I grew up with birds for pets.  We moved around too much to risk cats and dogs and the limitations of finding pet friendly rental housing every 8 months or so.  I bred white indian sacred doves for awhile at one point.  Later bred budgies, finches, lovebirds and helped co-found the Kansas Avicultural Society.  I was their first magazine editor.  Eventually went without birds for awhile and have one budgie these days, named Buddy.

 

Then there is the cat.  Before all the moving when I was very young, I had a siamese named Mia.  After the first move, I got Mia II. And then, no more cats for a couple decades.  Today we have Captain, a tabby with one bad eye (you don't notice unless you look closely).  He'll be five in November.  Prior cat was an inbred runt with no tail and six or seven toes on each paw....named Last Chance (just called her LC).  Was told she'd only live a couple years, but she lived 9 years.

 

Fish too, BTW, but only three in the tank at the moment.  I recently downsided from a 40 gallon to 15, so it's something I can manage given my conditions.

 

Back to birds....I keep thinking about getting a Green Cheek.....or a Sun Conure.

 

Dogs ?  I've not been fond of dogs, but probably because I had one only once briefly as a kid...and it was taken away from me when we moved (again).  Friends and nurses keep telling me I should get a service dog these days.  Probably not a bad idea, but I don't feel ready for that.

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A friend of mine told me of a family that had a cat that had the worst luck. It was always getting stepped on, falling off things, even getting run over(and surviving). They nicknamed it "Broken Kitty"...
<_<

I am having to babysit my new  charge to get her used to her new home. Already made her a custom bed,swing and rope bridge. She finally found her voice after playing some lovebird videos for her,lol.

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Like Westie we too had birds in our crass menagerie.  Four to be exact (was it five?) Several dogs, rescue, stray, borrowed, or otherwise; countless goldfish; some lizards (anoles mostly), a couple frogs, and a snake.  Only the hardiest of the big legs ever really stood a chance however, and our backyard was marked with Popsicle crosses.  The dogs served faithfully and without cats. I miss them.

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Pets truly do make the world a better place, I've been lucky enough to have our family dog Daisy in my life for the last 11 years, as well as a bunch of fish. Its strange how one animal (us) domesticates and uses other animals in such a way, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Also hello all, sorry I've been off-forum for so long!

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     As a child,then young adult, I grew up with dogs. Mutts and purebreds(American Eskimo), brindle Pit Bull(sweetest thing in the world, but hated the mailman). During these times I also had rats(white males), turtles(store bought & wild). Dogs are fairly easy to maintain as are the other pets I've mentioned.
     I've also had fish(freshwater only), form Bettas to freshwater crabs(5 star escape artists) and pygmy albino catfish(they "blink"!). I started out with the usual bare tank>plastic plant>real plant as I learned good husbandry for fish. I eventually ended up being able to set up a tank(5-75 gallon), planted with fish and have it stable enough to sustain itself without doing much more than feed the inhabitants and top off the water. I ran a 55 more than 3 years like that.
     The "trick" is to strike a balance between fish & plant. This includes choosing plants that not only clean the water and look great but also supply food to some of the inhabitants. Loaches to take care of tank snails(they leave everyone else alone), catfish, crab, shrimp, algae eaters to do the brunt of tank/environment cleaning/maintenance, plants to absorb excess ammonia/waste and oxygenate the water(some not all), even the "ornamentation" used provide shelter/base for plants/fish and can be used to grow certain algae/moss that adds to the view.
     The types of fish and plant and ornamentation must be compatible with one another and placed in a proper configuration that allows for future plant growth as well as defined "paths" for the fish to follow/hide.
     It all sounds complex, and it is, but once you know what goes where(research/read/reconnaissance), it is surprisingly easy to design and run a successful tank.
     And now I am learning bird husbandry. I have recently acquired a juvenile Peach-faced Lovebird named Squeaker, cause that is what her chirps sound like,lol. She is very sweet and timid but she is learning to trust me(and that what I eat sometimes tastes good,lol).
     She is very smart and curious and will investigate anything new in her cage with gusto. She even is learning to tease the cat(oi). She talks to me(I have no clue what she is saying but it is quite a lot apparently) and I talk & whistle back. I hope to have gained her trust enough to set on my finger/shoulder in a month or so. I am hoping she can be taught tricks later on.

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I had 2 cats, one of which we had since she was a new born kitten. The other we adopted from a family friend.

 

My female cat (the adopted cat is a male) passed away 3 years ago (when she was 18) of renal failure. She was a cancer survivor and she had cataracts, but that did not stop her. She adapted and lived her life to the end. 

 

I miss her terribly, but I know she had a good life with me and the family and now she is up in Heaven looking down.

 

Dare I say, she was an inspiration to me...it just goes to show you, you don't have to give up just because you have something physically wrong with you.

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