I have gotten the feeling that I have offended quite a few of you on this site. I can understand how this has happened and I apologize. I know that singling out Carolyn as being so helpful to me was not the best thing I could have done. If I may explain myself. When my first clutch of eggs were laid and hatched I had many questions and was also a participating on TC. One of the administrators there was not very helpful and critized me for what I was doing with the parent tiels. I was also occasionly visiting this site and asked a question and Carolyn responded in such a kind way and as I have said and always has good advice.

I am sorry not to have mentioned all of you. It is because of all of you that I no longer go to TC and only use this sight. I am envious of the friendships that you have formed on this sight and know how much you care for your birds and how helpful and encouraging you all are to each other. It is a comfortable place to be with no negative attitudes. I am thankful for all of your encouragement and advise. If I have offended any of you, please accept my apoligy. I certainly did not mean to and I hope you can give me another chance. I send happy chirps to all of you.

Don't worry, I doubt that you've offended anyone. We're pretty laid back on this board!

were glad ur here

No you haven't offended me....so no apology is necessary as I see it...
Some members know more about stuff being asked than others, so sure your going to chat with them... chat with me any time... my time is all my own.

thank you Jan--so tell me about your birds and how you got started with them.

Ok here goes... My 1st bird was many years ago, a tiel who didn't like men and had been kept in a cage in a darkish place.... I luved his colouring....
He was a nasty bird when we 1st had him, over time he came to like me and my daughter, but my husband was a no-no! we had him many happy years... he died, I had a normal grey within a few weeks, which I still have. he talks, whistles is great company... but since he was around 3 months old he has been a feather plucker... still is 14 years on... Next I researched Parrotlets, I was really taken with them so I bought 2 girls...a green and a blue... 6months later I added a little boy P'let, next I gave a home to a yellow tiel, who was found out in the wild, didn't know a thing about him... he has been with us around 6 years, next came the budgie another bird found in the wild, so we gave him a home also... this is how I've collected my small flock...
I'd never part with any of them, but boy I never intended to have so many.... how did you come bye yours?

My husband had birds as a child and we would always look at them in the stores. I was sort of fascinated with the idea of having one so we seriously started looking. We first looked at p'letts but the baby we were looking at kept biting me. Guess the little one could sence my uneasiness. Next we looked at a conure. We had a new pet store in Dover and we went in there one day to find that the owner was hand feeding 3 little tiels. She cnvinced us that this was a great bird to have so we ppicked out one and put a deposit on what turned out to be a girl. We visited her almost daily until she was weaned. Actually, I think we brought her home a little early but we didn't have any problems. We had handled her so much that she was tame with us. I did a lot of reading about tiels. We soon decided that we wanted another, a boy this time. So the search began.

I found a breeder in Texas who had the perfect boy. She also wanted to send us Bitsy. So weagreed. The boy who we namedSporty wasn't weaned yet so we had to wait. Unfortunatedly, my husband opened Tweety's cage when she was outside and she flew away. We were devasted. Danny had lung cancer and wanted a tiel now, was getting anxious. So we found someone in Baltimore who had babies that were ready. I told him it would be best for us to get 2, so we would have 4 when the ones came for Texas. He did get to see the birds from Texas before he died but never had a chane to bod with any of them. Anyway we lost Smokey and Bitsy from Texas and Roscoe (named after my husband) mated as we had 3 chicks. We kept one from that cluster. Unfortunately, again we lost Smokey who was really my bird. so now we have Bitsy, Roscoe and Snowflake plus our 4 chicks. I haven't kecided if I will keep one from this clutch.

I love my tiels. If it wasn't for my son who now lives with me, I probably would get a couple more, or at least one more and a turquoise green cheek conure.

Wow that's a good story....
thanks for sharing...

How have other members come into birds?
Why not share with us here!

I used to keep pet rats for many years, they are fantastic pets but their lifespan is two years... That meant a lot of heartache and loss. After my last girl died I decided that I couldn't take anymore of losing a beloved pet every two years, and started looking around for an alternative that would suit my character... Not easy lol.

A dear friend of mine talked me into cockatiels, she is quite knowledgeable because her mom was a breeder years ago.
I did a lot of research and decided that their hippy approach to life was what I needed
It was such a bad time in my life when I got Bubu, well it seems ridiculous maybe but he helped me to get better. I don't know where I would be today if I didn't get so lucky and have my flock.

I find my birds also are a great deal of comfort. Smokey who everyone called the mean bird was my best companion. We understood each oher. When he had a bad day, I would just leave him alone. He never ran from my bad days. He often wanted back out of the cage at night and would come and sit with me for a while. There were some nights he would go to bed with me and sleep on my shoulder or arm all night.

On ther other hand, my two dogs who hav always slept in bed with Danny and I will have nothing to do with sleeping in the bed since he died. Puddles (female, who was clearly his dog) sleeps in the living room. Buddy (male, and my dog) sleeps either in the hallway between my son's and my bedroom or in his room. If I have a night when I sleep in the living room he sleeps there with me.

I am going to start a new thread under general talk about how people have gotten their birds. I think it will be fun.