My daughter's Budgie "Sky" in June
A few months back, we lost our Budgie Horizon due to my ADD ( another story, but I’ll save it for later if at all). Once everyone stopped being rightly upset with me, we decided we needed to go buy another budgie to give Raindrop a companion, as she was very sad and lonely after Horizon died.
So, off to the pet store we went, with the strict understanding that we were buying a family pet, and I told my daughter in no uncertain terms that she was not getting a pet budgie of her own, as she was pestering me for one earlier before we left.
She was finally fine with it, and we went and looked around. My Hubby, AKA “The Mundane One” of the family, is the smarts in the family ( literally…he’s a genius) and I am was not a pet bird kind of person, so I defer to his judgment on such matters.
While there looking at the health and nicest colored choices to chose from, we noticed a smaller blue budgie. He was ragged looking in his tail feathers and sitting off to one corner of the cage not interacting with the others much, but we were drawn to his blue coloring.
The lady at the pet store said he was hand tame because she had taken him home for a little while as the other birds were picking on him. Though he was cute for having most of his tail feathers missing, hubby was apprehensive of a bird that the rest would pick on, as it usually means the birds see that bird as a weakness to their flock for safety, and that could mean he’s unhealthy, and a risk to the other birds, which is why they pick on them..to essentially, get rid of them. Knowing this, we looked at him anyway because he was so cute, and my daughter was sad for him. The lady brought him out on her finger and he came right onto my daughters hand when she said “UP!” and he just sat there looking at her, cocking his head from side to side. They spent the next 5 minutes or so interacting with him looking at her most intently, and while my husband was looking at other choices… They went and fell in love!
I could see it in her eyes. Her eyes sparkle when she is happy. I could tell when she brought him to her nose and said “kisses” the way we do with our other budgies and he responded by rubbing his beak on her nose, giving her a little love peck, that it was going to be hard to let him go.
She was giddy with the thought of him coming home, but it immediately turned to disappointment when Daddy chose another bird, because she knew we said it would be a family choice, and she wasn’t getting a bird of her own. Having ADD she is just not responsible enough at 8 to have a living pet in her room that requires constant attention.
While Hubby was looking at the other bird, I talked quietly to him and said.. “look at her honey, she loves that bird…she has enough allowance money in her account, I think we should let her get him. I know I said we wouldn’t, and it’ll be like “giving in”, but it will be easier if we offer rather then have her beg, because she’s going to, and then we’ll have to say no. We’ll keep him down stairs with the rest. What do you think?”
He was still worried about the birds health, but too could see the affection they had for each other. So, like “the meanie” that he is….when we left the store, we had two new budgies- Sky and the soon to be named “StormCloud”.
We came home and got them settled in respective cages, and immediately the girl was hand feeding Sky, carrying him round on her shoulder, and making bed nests out of cardboard boxes for him. Over the weeks thought I thought her interest would wean, it never did. In fact the opposite occurred and she drove us crazy always asking, “Can I hold Sky now!? He’s lonely, look at him, he needs me!”.
I swear they are like Elliot and ET.
Then, a few weeks later Sky got really sick! We are not sure why. The Girl was scared to death, and she got sick as well, a slight fever, sad, upset, crying, worried beyond belief. She could not eat unless she knew Sky was going to be ok.
We thought Sky the budgie was a goner on May 24th. But after a few hours of treatment with warmth and a concoction hubby made up of rehydration drink (lemon juice, sugar, potassium & other salts) and honey with a little baking soda to buffer it, he improved tremendously.
We sat vigil around this tiny little bird, all watching and waiting, hoping he’d get better. Our family and Friends on Facebook checking in, wondering and worrying too.
He convalesced in a covered hospital cage with a heating pad under it for about 24 hours, sleeping most of the time, until he felt better enough to go back with his cagemates. By the beginning of the day on May 26th, he’s was eating like a horse and playing with the other birds he was clearly feeling better, though looking a little ragged!
I attribute the recovery to SuperDaddy… if it were up to me to administer fluids every 10 minutes via dropper. We would have been having a moonlight funeral for him in the back yard that first evening!
As Sky felt better,my daughter felt better, and things started to look up. Though we were really sure it was only a matter of time and had prepared her for the worst to come.
Sky on the Mend
A few days later, with a complete recovery, things went back to normal , or as normal as things can be for an ADDventerous family, and we soon put Sky’s illness behind us.
The birds all seems to be doing well together and spending time together as birds do, so we housed the three of them together in our bedroom, where my husband spends most of his time due to his chronic illness. He cares for them, talks to them, and as a family we gather and play with them daily.
Three is definitely a crowd when you’re trying to figure out mating pairs and it seems that Storm and Raindrop had decided that Sky was the odd man out, more than they decided he was ok and liked him. They had been picking on him a bit the last week or so, and we’d discourage the behavior, and were about to rearrange budgies this weekend into pairs when we purchased Lightning ( A white Budgie) last week, and quarantine was over. We were going to put Raindrop and Sky together as Storm and Lightning seemed to hit it off well, and we liked the idea of the color combo in any future baby budgies.
Then yesterday, hubby called me in the house when he was napping in the early evening, as he was startled awake by a budgie crying out in distress. Sky was on the bottom of the cage, very stressed out, and looking very ragged from being picked on…seems they decided to peck and peck at him, until he sort of just gave up emotionally, and retreated to a place away from them completely. We are not sure if they had been stopping him from eating, and that was why he was so weak, but we thought he was looking pretty bad.
We immediately separated birds and switched things around, and made a recovery bed for him, since he is so tame he rarely flies at all. the girl has him trained to perch and stay where she puts him.
All day yesterday hubby started trying to feed Sky and bring him back to health, but we were not sure it would work again. Again our daughter began to get worried and sick physically, with a mild temp, an unable to sleep well all night. SuperDaddy once again sacrificed the little energy he has in a day to play budgie doctor and try to nurse this little bird back to health again.
Lastnight at 11:00 pm or so, I posted on twitter “the kids are screaming & won’t go to sleep & Hubby is helping keep our daughter’s budgie alive! #didishavemylegsforthis!?”
We kept on through the night, Me watching hubby care for Sky, but after more than a full day, we needed sleep. So we put him in his cage and went to bed at 5 am. He seemed to be worse then just broken spiritually from being tossed out of the flock, and tired and hungry, so we’re not sure what it was, but he was very weak. We had decided that at that point there was not much more we could do for him if he had no will to live any longer, and couldn’t fight this illness. We left it up to him and went to sleep wondering what the morning would bring.
Then, at 9:30ish the girl came into our bedroom and woke me asking if Sky sitting on the bottom of the cage shaking and trembling and squawking like a Canadian goose ( literally) was a good thing…I told her, no it wasn’t at all. She was devastated, and thinking the bird was going to die, hubby shot up out of bed and went and brought him back to the make shift cardboard bed the girl made for him.
They tried to feed him more over the next hour or so, and then he started to get worse again. It seemed like everytime the girl spoke to him, he’d perk up. when she got really sad, he’d get really weak.
I told her she needed to let Sky know she loved him, and he needed to try really hard to get better, because she loved him and wanted him to stay with her.
And she did,and we waited a little.
When I posted on facebook at noon, he seemed like he was on death’s door. I wrote “Watching my darling hubby hold my sad baby girl’s sick budgie. They are crying as he dies & saying ily & goodbye 
very sad day here.”
At that moment, my daughter was bawling & my hubby was holding sky cradled in his arms & thinking he was on his way out, as he had seemed to have some sort of small seizure just then.
My son was laying on the bed with his face buried in the blankets, trying not to act like he cared, and doing a very poor job of it. So, Daddy held the bird, and I laid in bed with the kids in my arms, kissing them, and telling them we needed to say goodbye to Sky. But, my girl refused to say goodbye. I cried inside for her and this life lesson and a few tears slipped past though I was trying not to, and they streamed down my cheek.
We’re not sure if he was stroking out or what. But after that, and seeing the reaction of our daughter melt in my arms in a puddle, begging Sky not to die, hubby decided to not let him go gently, as he couldnot stand watching his little girl hurt so deeply. Words cannot say how much right then I loved this man! He’s not only my daughter’s hero, he is MY hero!)
Now, all day hubby has been crop feeding him with a syringe from a ink refill kit for printers and that little bird is hanging on right now!
I’ve never seen a small bird fight so hard to live. We’ve tried to nurse hurt wild birds back to health before, with no success. Hubby is amazed at the spirit to live this little bird has demonstrated thus far. It is truly phenomenal.
A part of him is mad at me for letting us buy him, but I see how much The Girl loves Sky, and though this is hurting her, and is a major roller coaster of emotions for us all right now, I would not go back.
Yes, if we wanted to be upset, this little bird is messing up our weekend beyond belief in ruining our plans for the day.
Yes, this little bird is causing everyone heartache. Yes, my hubby is hurting emotionally for his little girl hurting, and this whole ordeal is sucking the limited precious energy hubby has in a day physically and mentally. But still, I don’t think I would change a thing.
Garth Brooks says in a song “…and, now, I’m glad I didn’t know, the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance, I could of missed the pain, but I’d of had to miss the dance.”
This…right here…right now…this weekend… fighting to try and keep this little bird alive.. this is “the dance” folks.
Sky was the runt, and very badly picked on by the other birds in the store, no one would have wanted him as a pet like that, even we didn’t… but she did.
In the 4 months sky has been wit a part of our family, he’s been a wonderful joy to the girl, and a great companion too. Sitting on her lap reading books with her and everything!
It sounds strange, but I think that bird is trying to fight for her!!!! They love each other so much! He has taught her patience, and gentleness, and how to care for a budgie as a pet, and she has given him unconditional love. He has taught my very hyper often careless 4 yo boy to be more gentle, and aware as well. He is a blessing.
IT is now almost 10 pm, and though he seems to be doing a bit better, he is still not out of the woods yet…so we are keeping on keeping on, trying to save our daughter first love from an untimely demise.
Hubby is still crop feeding him, and trying to keep him warm. The girl just had a few minutes “visitation” with him in the bedroom as I write out these final things. he’s chirping at her, though he is weak.
SuperDaddy Crop feeding Sky at about 7 pm
I don’t know if he’ll make it…if he lives and breaths on love alone He will! But if he doesn’t make it… there is one thing I do know. The lessons this little bird has taught us by being present in our lives is profound and amazing to me, and I am in awe of this universe, and the way life works.
I hope he makes it. I’d rather not have to grieve with/for my daughter just now in her young life…it will be difficult & hard I know. I’d prefer neither of my children cry or ever feel hurt or pain in their lives, yet I know that can never be.
Through all of this our 4 year old is being quiet, as per his usual way of dealing with stuff and is drawing a lot of pictures of Sky in his magna doodle.
But if that bird does die this day, I will chose not to grieve hard, but to be thankful for the lessons, and love he has given this family.
Sky has been the recipient of the wonderful caring nature of my husband, which I’ve always known, but can always use a reminder of. Sky he’s taught my daughter responsibility, and given her love and laughter and smiles, as he did for my son as well. Sky made me stop for a moment. Brought me to the “now”, and s reminded me to still find the good in our day.
Thank You Sky, you are one amazing little being.
I don’t know what lives you’ve lived prior to this one, but I am choosing to beleive that this lifetime was who/what/where you needed to be.
Perhaps you needed to find and know unconditional love and acceptance even in the worst of circumstances, from a pure heart in the form of my little girl who thinks you rule the world. And, perhaps when you do leave this plane of existence you will have complete your journey, and acheived enlightenment.
I’d like to think so.
Namaste Sky, Namaste
