Post by weelouie on Oct 9, 2016 2:22:06 GMT
Louie was the last budgie I had before adopting a whole cage full yesterday. My parents bought him for me on my 13th birthday, many years ago! That was back in the early eighties. He was the first budgie I saw who had pale grey markings on his wings and head, instead of the usual black. He was a lovely turquoise colour. When he came to live with us, he was very young. He hadn't learned to eat from a dish yet and we had to sprinkle his seed on the bottom of the cage for a while. Since he was so young we decided to see if he could learn to talk.
We hung Louie's cage in the kitchen at eye level near a busy doorway. The cage was hung from a pulley so that we could cover him and raise his cage to the ceiling at night (cats). We sat down as a family and decided that we'd all say the same phrase to him as we passed his cage: "Hello, Louie!". Day after day we all repeated this phrase to him. It took about a month before we started to hear him say it. He had a favourite little round bell on a ribbon, and whenever he spoke, he spoke to that bell. But once he learned that first phrase, Louie learned new words much faster. My parents were Scottish, so they'd call him "wee Louie" and that became his second phrase. Louie always spoke while making his natural burbling sounds, so until we got used to his speech, it was hard to understand him. Often he'd say "Louie-louie-louie-louie-lou-EEEE!"
Louie became an accomplished mimic, and we no longer had to repeat phrases to him. He learned what he heard around him: dishes clinking, my father's tuneless whistle, the cats meowing, someone calling the dog. Listening to him was like listing to a tape recording of household sounds. My father would whistle whenever my mother played the piano, and Louie learned to whistle when he heard the piano as well. He also learned to swear with a Scottish accent, courtesy of my father watching his favourite teams lose on TV. My brother jokingly called him "budgiebrain" while passing his cage. Soon Louie learned to make up his own sentences with words he'd learned. My mother taught him "Louie's a pretty wee boy". Louie picked up the word "Daddy" as well. Soon one of his favourite expressions was "Daddy's a budgiebrain!" Always, Louie spoke to that beloved bell, whose ribbon had to be replaced a few times. He'd even feed the bell. We never kept a mirror in his cage because conventional wisdom at the time stated that they won't talk if they have a mirror.
Louie was also very tame, and on Sunday mornings after breakfast we let him fly loose (after shutting the cats away). There were seven of us in the family, and Louie used to do his rounds going from one head to another, preening hair and chattering. But, his favourite person was my dad. Dad wasn't much of an animal person, but he became fond of Louie and would sit with Louie on his finger, above Dad's morning coffee. Louie would talk to Dad's nose just like he did with the bell, and a couple of times he tried to "feed" my Dad's nostril! Many times Dad would unwittingly take a sip of his coffee, not realizing that Louie had left a little extra "cream" in it.
Unfortunately Louie only lived about five years. He developed a huge, fast growing tumour in front of his vent, and we had to take him to the vet to be put to sleep. I feel very lucky to have had such a beautiful, friendly and talented budgie in my life, and I still miss him to this day.
We hung Louie's cage in the kitchen at eye level near a busy doorway. The cage was hung from a pulley so that we could cover him and raise his cage to the ceiling at night (cats). We sat down as a family and decided that we'd all say the same phrase to him as we passed his cage: "Hello, Louie!". Day after day we all repeated this phrase to him. It took about a month before we started to hear him say it. He had a favourite little round bell on a ribbon, and whenever he spoke, he spoke to that bell. But once he learned that first phrase, Louie learned new words much faster. My parents were Scottish, so they'd call him "wee Louie" and that became his second phrase. Louie always spoke while making his natural burbling sounds, so until we got used to his speech, it was hard to understand him. Often he'd say "Louie-louie-louie-louie-lou-EEEE!"
Louie became an accomplished mimic, and we no longer had to repeat phrases to him. He learned what he heard around him: dishes clinking, my father's tuneless whistle, the cats meowing, someone calling the dog. Listening to him was like listing to a tape recording of household sounds. My father would whistle whenever my mother played the piano, and Louie learned to whistle when he heard the piano as well. He also learned to swear with a Scottish accent, courtesy of my father watching his favourite teams lose on TV. My brother jokingly called him "budgiebrain" while passing his cage. Soon Louie learned to make up his own sentences with words he'd learned. My mother taught him "Louie's a pretty wee boy". Louie picked up the word "Daddy" as well. Soon one of his favourite expressions was "Daddy's a budgiebrain!" Always, Louie spoke to that beloved bell, whose ribbon had to be replaced a few times. He'd even feed the bell. We never kept a mirror in his cage because conventional wisdom at the time stated that they won't talk if they have a mirror.
Louie was also very tame, and on Sunday mornings after breakfast we let him fly loose (after shutting the cats away). There were seven of us in the family, and Louie used to do his rounds going from one head to another, preening hair and chattering. But, his favourite person was my dad. Dad wasn't much of an animal person, but he became fond of Louie and would sit with Louie on his finger, above Dad's morning coffee. Louie would talk to Dad's nose just like he did with the bell, and a couple of times he tried to "feed" my Dad's nostril! Many times Dad would unwittingly take a sip of his coffee, not realizing that Louie had left a little extra "cream" in it.
Unfortunately Louie only lived about five years. He developed a huge, fast growing tumour in front of his vent, and we had to take him to the vet to be put to sleep. I feel very lucky to have had such a beautiful, friendly and talented budgie in my life, and I still miss him to this day.
