Charlie, 2009-2022 (picture heavy)
Aug 31, 2022 13:37:58 GMT
Marianne Marlow, stevex, and 3 more like this
Post by magpie on Aug 31, 2022 13:37:58 GMT
Some of you will be familiar with the sad events of this past weekend. Essentially my Charlie possibly could have been saved but no avian specialists within 30 miles were taking on new birds and, even when I got one to offer to guide my regular vets over the phone, they refused because the practitioner working that day had a phobia of birds. Charlie passed on Sunday after being my constant companion and feathered friend for 12.5 years.
I bought Charlie with a now-ex girlfriend in 2010 as we decided to buy a pet together. I had wanted a blue budgie as that was the colour of the two I'd had growing up but as I was standing looking at the selection of birds in the top cage, I looked down and saw this one single white bird alone in the bottom looking sweetly up at us and I knew we had to bring him home. He was four months old at this point.
Within a few years it became obvious that Charlie had some kind of feather deformities and he lost the ability to fly. I was never able to get it confirmed due to lack of access to an avian specialist but my regular vet said he probably had French moult. I got him a tall cage for exercise and was able to keep him happy and entertained as I have worked from home for the entire time I had him but over the years with improvements to diet and supplements his feather quality began to improve again and, by 8, he did recover the ability to fly although he didn't very often.
He always loved a good cuddle of his bars. You'd often see him giving himself a head rub or scratching his body across them to massage himself.
In the last few years he also realised that he can lie down (!) which he'd often do next to me on my bed.
As you can tell, he was very tame with me and we were best buddies. He'd always hop on my legs whilst I was working and nibble at my pockets or run up to my shoulder to preen my beard or you'd just hear his constant happy chatter filling the house. I'm devastated to lose him, of course, but so grateful to have had so many years together. He would have turned 13 in December.
"Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky"
I bought Charlie with a now-ex girlfriend in 2010 as we decided to buy a pet together. I had wanted a blue budgie as that was the colour of the two I'd had growing up but as I was standing looking at the selection of birds in the top cage, I looked down and saw this one single white bird alone in the bottom looking sweetly up at us and I knew we had to bring him home. He was four months old at this point.
Within a few years it became obvious that Charlie had some kind of feather deformities and he lost the ability to fly. I was never able to get it confirmed due to lack of access to an avian specialist but my regular vet said he probably had French moult. I got him a tall cage for exercise and was able to keep him happy and entertained as I have worked from home for the entire time I had him but over the years with improvements to diet and supplements his feather quality began to improve again and, by 8, he did recover the ability to fly although he didn't very often.
He always loved a good cuddle of his bars. You'd often see him giving himself a head rub or scratching his body across them to massage himself.
In the last few years he also realised that he can lie down (!) which he'd often do next to me on my bed.
As you can tell, he was very tame with me and we were best buddies. He'd always hop on my legs whilst I was working and nibble at my pockets or run up to my shoulder to preen my beard or you'd just hear his constant happy chatter filling the house. I'm devastated to lose him, of course, but so grateful to have had so many years together. He would have turned 13 in December.
"Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky"
