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Lennybird
05-07-2011, 03:21 PM
This is Lenny.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/TurkeyVulture75/aalennybird.jpg

I got him in October. He was born in the middle of August. He came from a pet store in Waterloo, where he was cared for very well. He was about eight weeks old when I brought him home, so I'll put his birthday on August 21st, exactly eight weeks before he became my bird.

Lenny is trained. I don't think he'll ever like having his head or body touched by people, but he has never been afraid of humans. Since the day I took him home, he has been able to perch on hands. My profile picture was taken the day after that. It was more a matter of allowing him to relax and get used to living with people rather than birds.

However, he is always trying to find his reflection in something. He looks to the washers on his perches, the hooks on his ladder, and even doorknobs. All of my mirrors are covered or put away because he gets so preoccupied with them that it worries me. So I brought Carl home yesterday.

This is Carl.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/TurkeyVulture75/DSC01192.jpg

Carl came from a breeder I found online in Pickering. The pet stores in the Durham region didn't have the best budgies - they were either old and unsure of people or sick. This breeder's budgies are stunning and he takes excellent care of them. He has rows upon rows of awards won by his birds. He had a cage with babies that were ready to sell. Carl really stood out for me, and I knew right away he was my bird. He hatched on March 27th.

His wings are clipped for the time being, and once they've grown in again he'll be flighted for the rest of his life. I did the same with Lenny and had great success. Carl has had a day to settle in, and he is a different bird today than he was yesterday. He is active, curious, rambunctious, silly and chatty, whereas yesterday he was quite the opposite. He is comfortable with perching on fingers and he will stay on once he's there, but he is not yet at a point that he will hop on willingly like Lenny does. He'll get there, though. It's only been a day.

Lenny and Carl will be thrilled to meet each other in June when Carl's quarantine in my mom's room is over. They already have something in common: they like ABBA's Dancing Queen. They can hear each other chirping, and they listen to each other. They'll probably start chirping back and forth through the walls soon. The three of us are going to be the best of friends by the time the summer is over.

Budgiekin
05-07-2011, 10:51 PM
Awww, isn't that cute... you've got a couple of Dancing Queen lovers! A very upbeat song for your little guys to chirp to. :P

I bet you can't wait until Lenny and Carl can meet; I just love being able to see the dynamics between newly introduced budgies. (By the way, I'm so glad you were able to get Carl from a reputable source too. :))

I look forward to more updates on your two little ones.

aka.pody
05-07-2011, 11:10 PM
Lenny seems like the type that likes another feathery friend around. I'm so glad you got Carl. It'll be a great time when they meet. I just know it! :D

JuliosMom
05-08-2011, 09:57 AM
They're so cute, I LOVE Carl's blue!! :loveeyes:

Lennybird
05-08-2011, 03:57 PM
They're already chirping back and forth at each other. They're so cute.

Birdymom
05-08-2011, 04:19 PM
Carl's colours are fabulous! They both are just adorable.

Lennybird
05-10-2011, 12:56 PM
Carl is very nicely settled in. He's stopped dragging his bum in his water dish, so I don't have to keep changing it several times each day. He's also getting better about stepping up, but he still has moments that he runs into the corner. He's better about letting me touch him than Lenny is.

nyc-budgie
05-10-2011, 01:22 PM
Love those lacey wings on carl!

Lennybird
05-14-2011, 08:39 PM
With the help of a spray of millet, I can now get Carl to come out of the cage for a bit. He's certainly more snuggly than Lenny is, but he's still shy. He's a little piggie and he eats and sleeps a lot - he is still a baby, though, so that probably explains it.

Lenny is being a brat. It's getting harder and harder to get him back in the cage when I take him out. It's not that he doesn't like it - he loves his cage and all of his toys - he would much rather be out and fly around. He also likes putting his head underneath his bells like they're hats. He's a cutie.

Lennybird
05-23-2011, 01:20 AM
Carl's move-in date is two weeks away and I'm already thinking about how I'll set up the cage for them. I'll definitely have one rope perch inside the cage and one on top for playing, then I'll turn the plastic perches so they're outside of the cage and hang a swing from one and some toys from another. I'll also ditch the food and water fountains for the cups that came with the cage. If I can find a decently sized branch, I'll bake it and make a perch out of it. I like the idea of having one big wood perch with a few branches on it. I'll have the cement perches available for them as well. I think I'll keep the ladder for now.

If I can afford it, I'll get a bigger cage and one with a pull-out tray. My current cage is big enough, but it could be bigger and it's a pain in the butt to clean it because I have to take it apart every time.

Erika
05-23-2011, 02:20 AM
What a gorgeous pair :loveeyes: both very handsome boys!
I am glad you got Lenny a friend :hug: if he was obsessing over mirrors, i bet he will be over the moon to meet Carl!!
I hope you'll be able to take lots more pics for us when they meet eachother :D
What we did, when quarrantine was up for roger and badger, was move the cages together on the last day of quarrantine, so they could get more used to eachother before moving in :)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h231/Checkered_Green/DSC00586.jpg
Stevie (light blue) had a cage full of lady budgies ;)
And yet, he was by far the most excited to see some new boy budgies! You can see how close he is to Badger in that pic :D
If you'll be introducing your two in the evening, you could leave the cages like this together at the end of quarrantine, just a suggestion :D

FaeryBee
05-23-2011, 09:21 AM
Both of your birds are very handsome, I'd love to find one with Carl's coloring. One of the budgies I used to have frequently sat with his head in a bell (like your Lenny) and I loved it. Sunny still only gets on my finger reluctantly (after two weeks). He watches when I play with the shelties on my bed though and seems quite interested :p
Love hearing about your babies!

Lennybird
05-23-2011, 12:50 PM
My favourite thing about Carl's colouring is that he has one non-spangle feather on his wing. You can see it in the picture I posted. I hope that it doesn't change when he moults.

Lennybird
06-05-2011, 11:29 AM
The two of them have met. Pictures are on this thread:
http://talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=72514
Carl is becoming more comfortable with being out. He still tries to fly, but he's very clumsy because he's clipped, but he lets me help him get wherever he wants to go. He and Lenny loved each other the second they met, and he's starting to trust me more because he sees that Lenny already trusts me so much. He still has a long way to go, but he'll get there.

ParakeetGarb
06-05-2011, 02:55 PM
Carl is just beautiful!

Lennybird
06-18-2011, 05:10 PM
Carl is much more tame than he was a few weeks ago. He landed on my head the other day (I doubt he meant it, but he did) and yesterday he kissed my nose and preened my hair after he watched Lenny do the same. He still won't sit on my shoulder, but I'm working on it. Also, Lenny has finally stopped moulting! He was always his perky self throughout the entire moult, but he seems relieved, and he looks gorgeous.

Lennybird
07-06-2011, 05:44 PM
Carl is now going through his first moult, and unlike Lenny who barely noticed his moult at all, Carl is one very cranky bird! My brother and my dad took care of them when I was visiting family in Vancouver, and I came back home to find that Lenny accidentally broke a blood feather on Carl's head. Carl was not happy at all, but within a few hours they were back to being the best of friends. I can tell Carl sometimes finds Lenny annoying, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much.