About Diva (or is it Buddy?)

I mentioned in my introduction that it was a little rescued cockatiel that got me thinking about birds again after lo these many years. At first, I thought this cockatiel was a she (so we named her Diva because she was a bit stand-offish and demanding, but sang beautifully). However, as you'll read below, my new-found friends on the Bird Lovers' forums convinced me that Diva was a he-va. SO! Diva became Buddy. Eventually, I decided that if I was going to devote myself to a feathered friend for the next 20 to 30 years, I wanted to start fresh. So, last Thursday, I determined that I would re-home Buddy and buy a Caique as my forever friend.

Below, in memory of Diva/Buddy are excerpts of my diary that I started on Bird Lovers Online to record Diva/Buddy's time with us.

Diva was rescued from neglect by my daughter's college roommate (who first neglected and then, upon mid-year graduation, abandoned her) on January 30, 2009. She had just spent five days in a box of sorts with her friend (fellow cockatiel) and my daughter had caught her and clipped her wings so that I could have an easier time taming her. She was looking pretty bedraggled when she arrived, but not neurotically frantic. She and her friend were pretty calm, and settled down pretty fast after we got her (large, cheap) cage put together. (I want to get a better cage, but this one was free.)

Diva's friend departed via Craig's List to a good home the next day. She's been alone in her cage since.

We immediately bought pellets for Diva, and vitamins (liquid). Though I have read that liquid vitamins aren't the best because they break down quickly and might foul the water, yet I felt she an needed immediate boost to her immune system, etc.

I also put into the cage (the next day) broccoli and apple. She didn't touch those for about four or five days. Then, she pecked at them once or twice. Two days ago, she began to tear them to shreds in a systematic fashion. Today, she was eating much of the broccoli as she tore it apart. She also went down to the bottom of her cage to consume large pieces that had fallen there. Same with the apple. She takes big bites, moves them around on her tongue, and then drops large chunks to the ground. (I hope she's getting some of it into her! )

I am an author, so I am home all day working. I've been sitting by her cage almost daily for about 10 hours a day. I talk to her and mostly leave her alone except to feed her. I have been discouraged at her slowness in *liking* me. We have left the main cage door open and she's been crawling around the outside of it frequently. She's taken short flights, but never to us purposefully--except once. A few days ago I was writing nearby her on my laptop, sitting on the floor and not paying attention to her at all, when she suddenly flew to the laptop monitor, perching on it and looking straight at me. I didn't move; she flew back to her cage after less than 30 seconds. Still, it was encouraging!

A day or two before that, again with me sitting on the floor, she worked her way over to me via a trail of sunflower seeds (I'm trading on her addiction to seeds as I train her). She eventually plucked about three seeds from my hand that day.

However, those moments have not added up to real trust yet. When I get really close to her cage and talk to her, she trembles, puffs out, or preens. She's clearly uncomfortable.

One mistake that I made about three days ago was to come up and shut her cage door while she was crawling around on it, and then force her to step up on my hand. She really did not recover from that invasion for about two days. Only yesterday did she freely come out again, and that, I think was partly because I hung a favorite toy on the OUTSIDE of her cage where she had to come out to get it.

So, my prayer is that she will REALLY come to like me soon. That's what I'm wanting: a real companion bird who sits with me by choice and cuddles. I'm hoping that her early neglect hasn't ruined her for life. My plan is to give her a couple of months serious effort, and then evaluate our relationship. If she never bonds with me, I'll probably re-home her with someone she can like.

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Today, I removed all seeds from Diva's feed cup for the first three hours of her day. She had a nutribar (seeds with pellets and fruit and veggies) to gnaw on (which she did) broccoli (promptly shredded and consumed) and an apple wedge, as well as vitamins in her water (which I do twice a week). I also had seeds scattered on the floor near a perching spot for her.

She flew to my monitor THREE times this morning! I was thrilled. The first time, she stayed about 30 seconds. The second, she stayed longer, relaxed, and pecked at the lock mechanism. The third, she sat even longer and looked more relaxed. I offered her seeds in my hand, and she looked hard at them, but then flew back to her cage. Later, she flew to the floor and came up to examine the side of the computer. She seemed very relaxed on that trip.

Also, about 10:30, she really began calling in shrill tones. I let her calm down, and she did a wing display. I praised her (Oh! So beautiful!) and then put some seeds into her feed cup. She's contentedly munching now.

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My next questions are going to be about bathing and toenail clipping.

Since Diva's not stepping up yet and I can't get her away from her cage, I've been putting a 9" square glass baking pan in the floor of her cage. She hasn't touched it in six days (I change the water daily), tho I know she's seen it. What to do? Mist her? Wait for her to be tamer and then we can shower together? She IS dirty from the time in the box; 'specially her tail feathers. Yuck. I'd just love to get her cleaner; I'll bet she's never had a bath in her life. Ideas?

Also, her toenails are LONG. Do we humans clip them, or do aspects of care like rough perches or their own grooming practices take care of this? (I know about not clipping veins in animal toenails; just wondering if/when I need to do this for her.)

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So, for the last two days, Diva has flown into the adjoining bedroom (we have a study and a bedroom adjoining). Her cage is in the study; tho her wings ARE clipped, she can still fly. Anyways, she flew into my bedroom, which is good 'cause her cage isn't right there.

I can get her to readily step up, but I can't pet her at all. She pins her eyes, hisses and bites with one finger anywhere near her head. She will sit on my hand for quite awhile, but she's not comfy there... constantly looking around and wanting to see other birds, etc.

I am truly wondering if she's going to warm up to me or not. I'm going to do my best for a few months, but I'm not totally sure that this is the friend that I'm hoping for.

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Well, time for a new update. Diva takes two steps forward and one step back, it seems. Sometimes, like yesterday, she is playful and comes very near me as I work on the floor near her cage. Other times, she's fretful and stand-offish, like today. I guess we all have our cranky days, though, huh?

On Friday last I bought her a new play gym.































She has yet to do more than peck one seed out of the OLD dish that I also put onto it to entice her. I have noticed that she never touches anything new for at least 48 hours.

I have ceased letting her fly into the other room where she is "dependent on me" and gets up on my hand. I've decided that she feels threatened during those sessions, rather than taming. On good days, when I sit on the floor and work near her cage, she will come down, walk around on the floor, peck a bit at my pants and computer, and eat some seeds. She'll make several such rounds during an 8-hour day. (I'm an author who sits for hours near her, since she's in my work room.) I really think that I'm building trust by NOT extending my hand, but letting her get more and more comfortable with coming out, exploring slowly, and finding that getting near me doesn't mean uncomfortable interactions.

And today I ordered a new cage that I've had my eye on at Ebay. I bought the cage because, after about two weeks of research, I've decided I don't ever want a big parrot. I'll be getting a parotlet or conure at the biggest. The cage I bought was a large one for Diva, and so I feel confident that whatever bird I end up with will be comfy in this cage. Here's a picture:






















(After getting this cage, I decided to buy Pippin, my Caique, and rehome Buddy when Pippin is ready to come home, in late April. Therefore, Buddy will never use this new cage.)

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On the forum, someone responded to the above post: "Lovely cage and play stand (love the little food cup too). I just watched the video, too cute! Most hens just coo, and your birdie is repeating the same thing, if it starts talking, you have a male. My 'tiels will bow and open their wings like that when I mist them with water from the spray bottle. It really looks like she is trying to bathe from the perch. Those are the motions they do in a bath bowl as well, dipping thier chest in and standing up straight again and repeating the process over and over until they are soaked. Then they shake like a dog and preen until they are dry."

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That was how I found out that Diva was Buddy. Sigh. More excerpts follow:

About sex: yikes! A male??? Diva has several calls, and I've been doing the girl-whistle, you know like guys do to a good looking girl? She's (he's???) starting to imitate it. Wow! How DO we teach them to talk. I do see bars across her tail feathers on the undersides, which makes me think she's a hen. Hmmm. She often displays her wings and sings like in the video. Next time she does it, I'll peek under and see if I see dots.

Uh oh.

I just read this on Cockatiel Cottage: "Body and courtship behavior provide other clues to help determine gender. Males will pull their wings back to form the shape of a heart when whistling. Males also tap on cage bars, food dishes, toys and other surfaces to attract the attention of a mate."

Diva does all these things a lot. I think Diva is a him... Wow. David would be good, but it's my son's name. Rats! I loved the name Diva. Hmmm. Something new to think on though!

So, hmm. Molting. How old are they when they get "adult" colors? I think Diva is about 10 months old, from what my daughter tells me of her (his!) history. She says that when her roommate first brought the birds home, they were "not fully fledged." I suppose they COULD have been molting then, but I'm thinking that my daughter would know the difference. So if he (sigh) is nine or ten months old or so... when should the molt be?

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So, I woke up and tried a few names on him. Today, he will be "Buddy." That's a name of faith because I want him to be my buddy. Also, it works to say "Buddy-boy." This day has started REALLY well. Buddy often flies first thing in the morning. This day he flew to my husband's desk. My husband had him step up, which he did nicely. He sat on my husband's hand but was nervous. Then I slowly came over and got him on my hand. Buddy was visibly more relaxed. He let me take him for a walk into the other room. We stepped up (ladder exercise) for a few minutes, looked around, and then began to walk back into his cage room in my study. He then flew gently and gracefully to his cage. A GOOD experience all 'round. VERY encouraging!

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Later that day, Buddy flew into my bedroom again. I took the play gym in there and had quite a long session with him. It started well, but I prolonged it too long, and he got tired and nippy. I should have quit while I was ahead.

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It was at this point that we decided to go onto a date to DJ Feathers... and the rest is (well) it belongs to a future (and shorter) post!