A very good Saturday morning to you all.
My name is Rob, a relatively new bird keeper of 3.5 years. My wife and I started with budgerigars (Basil , Pepper, Chilli), then we took in a Quaker (Bailey) last year and very recently a Jardine (Jack).
My wife is the primary carer for the budgies. Bailey was supposed to be "my" bird, that I could occupy when my wife was handling, feeding and playing with the budgies. Unfortunately, Bailey started attacking the budgies when he was about 9 months old. He became generally aggressive and would scream the house down, pretty much all the time. The situation became unmanageable and we took the very difficult decision to rehome him. The budgies weren't happy, Bailey wasn't happy and we were stressed out of our minds trying to keep the peace. After two months of dealing with time wasters, and what I suspect were traders looking to quickly buy and resell (Bailey is a beautiful bright yellow Quaker), we found a lovely lady with Quaker experience and she took Bailey in. We've kept in regular contact and he appears to be thriving. For whatever reason, he couldn't settle with us, but a change of scenery has done wonders for him. We both wish him the best of health and happiness.
Bailey left a big hole in our lives and despite the problems that we had with him, we miss him dearly. A chance visit to a local store for a few £pounds worth of budgie food turned out to be quite expensive because we were introduced to Jack, an incredible, extraordinary, three month old Jardine. Hand reared by a breeder with decades of experience, he took to me almost instantly. Silly tame, curious, affectionate, he was all over me in a safe side room in the store, so a deal was done and he came home with us. The shop also had a gorgeous Conure and a beautiful little Kakariki provided by the same breeder. They were equally tame and affectionate. That man really knows how to raise wonderful birds.
Almost every piece of advice that I have read about introducing new birds to your home say that birds can be traumatised by the confines of the carrier and the journey, they don't want to leave their carrier, they are afraid of the cage that you want them to move into, everything is strange and scary, it takes a few days for a bird to settle ,etc. Jack is not one of those birds. He walked straight out of the carrier into the cage, had a mooch around, something to eat and drink (relief!), played with the toys, then perched, looking at me ( I was quietly sitting on a chair across the room), as if to say "Well come on then, what's the plan?!".
I offered him some fruit and veg pieces and he calmly took them, slowly munching on each one and sat patiently waiting for something else. Nuts and seeds went the same way. So easy, my wife and I couldn't believe how calm and attentive he was. He watches me closely with big bright eyes, trying to suss me out and see if I had anything else for him. Treats were gratefully received, taken quietly not snatched. He is so gentle, even the smallest item, like a de-shelled sunflower seed are taken carefully, without fuss. Such a polite boy!
Some Roudybush pellets arrived from Scarletts and I offered those to Jack. To my surprise he took to them immediately (Mmm, crunchy!) - the budgies and Bailey never did. I hand fed them at first, then dropped some on to a table for Jack to forage for, which he was happy to do. They are in a separate bowl in his cage now, so that I can monitor consumption, but he appears to have taken to them, as much as his seed mix and fresh fruit & veg. I know some birds reluctantly take to pellets (if at all), so again, this has been something very easy for us to do.
Keen to get an expert opinion on Jack's health, I booked him in to see our local vet. We are lucky that our local clinic has an avian specialist, Adam. As is typical when he is about to examine a bird for the first time, he likes to know what is going to happen when the carrier door opens. Is the bird aggressive or timid? Will he immediately fly away? will I have to grab him in the carrier? I said that Jack will probably come out on his own, survey the room and then make a B-line for me, which is exactly what happened. He complained a little when Adam took hold of him, but the indignity of the examination didn't upset him for too long and he quietly sat on my shoulder as Adam and I chatted. Adam said that from what he could feel and see, Jack is in excellent condition, physically and mentally. We discussed avian husbandry, and Adam provided a few tips (gratefully received). Generally, he seemed satisfied that I was doing the right things for Jack.
It is hard for us to believe that Jack has only been with us a week. It feels like he has been here for months, going from strength to strength daily. I work from home, most days, and Jack and I have been inseparable. If I do have to go into work, I can keep an eye on him using a WiFi camera, viewed from my phone. He seems fairly calm and relaxed, but he is very happy when I get home. He whistles a greeting and waits impatiently for the cage door to open. A couple of treats later and a bit of fuss, then he is a happy, cuddly boy again..
My wife was inspired to make a "necklace of many wonderful things", from our well stocked tub of plastic and wooden bits and pieces that we use to make bird toys. I wear that while I work and Jack can spend hours playing with it, When he tires, he loves rubbing his head on my neck and chin. He likes head and neck scratches too. he is getting used to me rubbing his back and I am hoping that this will advance to the point where he will allow me to hold him in two hands, if for example I need to handle him more firmly. I don't think it will take long as our trust and friendship is building rapidly.
We're working on the step up, set down. From a perch he can step, hop and short-fly to my hand. He is a little unsteady (he's still only a baby), but he is improving all the time. He is learning to fly to my arm and shoulder, and a table top perch too. He really enjoys learning and is quickly expanding his knowledge of his surroundings, being curious and inquisitive. Small treats like de-shelled sunflower seeds are his favourites, small enough that our fun training sessions move at a decent pace. As an extra special treat for doing something especially awesome, a pine nut and lots of praise is the reward. He gets those when he goes back into his cage for bed time and our meal times. Reluctant at first, he now understands that when I put him back, he gets a pine nut and it is working really well.
Vocally, he is very active, but it is mainly soft and low volume (and very cute!). Before his cage opens in the morning, he greets me with lots of different whistles, pips, squeaks, and purring noises. He makes the same noises when I put him away for bed time, before I cover him.. There are other noises that could potentially turn into human voice mimicry, but he is probably far too young to start doing that. It would a lovely bonus if he did talk, but I would not be sad if he didn't as he has so many other wonderful attributes. That being said, he appears to be learning some of the whistles that I make - they are tuneful and almost pitch perfect, so he could be a talker when he has grown up a bit.
To finish, I will say a bit about something that amuses and irritates me in equal measure. I believe that Jardines were "discovered" in central Africa by William Jardine Jr, in the mid-1800s. He brought one home to the U.K., introduced it to his mates who said "wow, that's new!". He replied "Yeah, my dad named him after me - the Jardine Parrot". I bet the indigenous people of the Congo were very relieved. They'd probably been calling it "thing" for thousands of years. Probably not, but Jardine Jr could at least have sounded them out before attaching a common name. Western arrogance. At least budgerigars were effectively named by the native Australians. I didn't know at the time, but Billy J also named his bird Jack. Pure coincidence, but we tried a few names on our lad and it seemed fitting
Wow, a long intro! Thanks for sticking with me and I look forward to sharing further experiences with you all, contribute to the community and gain valuable knowledge from it. I'd love to hear from fellow Jardine keepers, and I will be checking out all of the forums for any information that will help me to be a better bird daddy for my Beautiful Baby Jacky Boy!
Best wishes,
Jack (Peep!) & Rob
My name is Rob, a relatively new bird keeper of 3.5 years. My wife and I started with budgerigars (Basil , Pepper, Chilli), then we took in a Quaker (Bailey) last year and very recently a Jardine (Jack).
My wife is the primary carer for the budgies. Bailey was supposed to be "my" bird, that I could occupy when my wife was handling, feeding and playing with the budgies. Unfortunately, Bailey started attacking the budgies when he was about 9 months old. He became generally aggressive and would scream the house down, pretty much all the time. The situation became unmanageable and we took the very difficult decision to rehome him. The budgies weren't happy, Bailey wasn't happy and we were stressed out of our minds trying to keep the peace. After two months of dealing with time wasters, and what I suspect were traders looking to quickly buy and resell (Bailey is a beautiful bright yellow Quaker), we found a lovely lady with Quaker experience and she took Bailey in. We've kept in regular contact and he appears to be thriving. For whatever reason, he couldn't settle with us, but a change of scenery has done wonders for him. We both wish him the best of health and happiness.
Bailey left a big hole in our lives and despite the problems that we had with him, we miss him dearly. A chance visit to a local store for a few £pounds worth of budgie food turned out to be quite expensive because we were introduced to Jack, an incredible, extraordinary, three month old Jardine. Hand reared by a breeder with decades of experience, he took to me almost instantly. Silly tame, curious, affectionate, he was all over me in a safe side room in the store, so a deal was done and he came home with us. The shop also had a gorgeous Conure and a beautiful little Kakariki provided by the same breeder. They were equally tame and affectionate. That man really knows how to raise wonderful birds.
Almost every piece of advice that I have read about introducing new birds to your home say that birds can be traumatised by the confines of the carrier and the journey, they don't want to leave their carrier, they are afraid of the cage that you want them to move into, everything is strange and scary, it takes a few days for a bird to settle ,etc. Jack is not one of those birds. He walked straight out of the carrier into the cage, had a mooch around, something to eat and drink (relief!), played with the toys, then perched, looking at me ( I was quietly sitting on a chair across the room), as if to say "Well come on then, what's the plan?!".
I offered him some fruit and veg pieces and he calmly took them, slowly munching on each one and sat patiently waiting for something else. Nuts and seeds went the same way. So easy, my wife and I couldn't believe how calm and attentive he was. He watches me closely with big bright eyes, trying to suss me out and see if I had anything else for him. Treats were gratefully received, taken quietly not snatched. He is so gentle, even the smallest item, like a de-shelled sunflower seed are taken carefully, without fuss. Such a polite boy!
Some Roudybush pellets arrived from Scarletts and I offered those to Jack. To my surprise he took to them immediately (Mmm, crunchy!) - the budgies and Bailey never did. I hand fed them at first, then dropped some on to a table for Jack to forage for, which he was happy to do. They are in a separate bowl in his cage now, so that I can monitor consumption, but he appears to have taken to them, as much as his seed mix and fresh fruit & veg. I know some birds reluctantly take to pellets (if at all), so again, this has been something very easy for us to do.
Keen to get an expert opinion on Jack's health, I booked him in to see our local vet. We are lucky that our local clinic has an avian specialist, Adam. As is typical when he is about to examine a bird for the first time, he likes to know what is going to happen when the carrier door opens. Is the bird aggressive or timid? Will he immediately fly away? will I have to grab him in the carrier? I said that Jack will probably come out on his own, survey the room and then make a B-line for me, which is exactly what happened. He complained a little when Adam took hold of him, but the indignity of the examination didn't upset him for too long and he quietly sat on my shoulder as Adam and I chatted. Adam said that from what he could feel and see, Jack is in excellent condition, physically and mentally. We discussed avian husbandry, and Adam provided a few tips (gratefully received). Generally, he seemed satisfied that I was doing the right things for Jack.
It is hard for us to believe that Jack has only been with us a week. It feels like he has been here for months, going from strength to strength daily. I work from home, most days, and Jack and I have been inseparable. If I do have to go into work, I can keep an eye on him using a WiFi camera, viewed from my phone. He seems fairly calm and relaxed, but he is very happy when I get home. He whistles a greeting and waits impatiently for the cage door to open. A couple of treats later and a bit of fuss, then he is a happy, cuddly boy again..
My wife was inspired to make a "necklace of many wonderful things", from our well stocked tub of plastic and wooden bits and pieces that we use to make bird toys. I wear that while I work and Jack can spend hours playing with it, When he tires, he loves rubbing his head on my neck and chin. He likes head and neck scratches too. he is getting used to me rubbing his back and I am hoping that this will advance to the point where he will allow me to hold him in two hands, if for example I need to handle him more firmly. I don't think it will take long as our trust and friendship is building rapidly.
We're working on the step up, set down. From a perch he can step, hop and short-fly to my hand. He is a little unsteady (he's still only a baby), but he is improving all the time. He is learning to fly to my arm and shoulder, and a table top perch too. He really enjoys learning and is quickly expanding his knowledge of his surroundings, being curious and inquisitive. Small treats like de-shelled sunflower seeds are his favourites, small enough that our fun training sessions move at a decent pace. As an extra special treat for doing something especially awesome, a pine nut and lots of praise is the reward. He gets those when he goes back into his cage for bed time and our meal times. Reluctant at first, he now understands that when I put him back, he gets a pine nut and it is working really well.
Vocally, he is very active, but it is mainly soft and low volume (and very cute!). Before his cage opens in the morning, he greets me with lots of different whistles, pips, squeaks, and purring noises. He makes the same noises when I put him away for bed time, before I cover him.. There are other noises that could potentially turn into human voice mimicry, but he is probably far too young to start doing that. It would a lovely bonus if he did talk, but I would not be sad if he didn't as he has so many other wonderful attributes. That being said, he appears to be learning some of the whistles that I make - they are tuneful and almost pitch perfect, so he could be a talker when he has grown up a bit.
To finish, I will say a bit about something that amuses and irritates me in equal measure. I believe that Jardines were "discovered" in central Africa by William Jardine Jr, in the mid-1800s. He brought one home to the U.K., introduced it to his mates who said "wow, that's new!". He replied "Yeah, my dad named him after me - the Jardine Parrot". I bet the indigenous people of the Congo were very relieved. They'd probably been calling it "thing" for thousands of years. Probably not, but Jardine Jr could at least have sounded them out before attaching a common name. Western arrogance. At least budgerigars were effectively named by the native Australians. I didn't know at the time, but Billy J also named his bird Jack. Pure coincidence, but we tried a few names on our lad and it seemed fitting
Wow, a long intro! Thanks for sticking with me and I look forward to sharing further experiences with you all, contribute to the community and gain valuable knowledge from it. I'd love to hear from fellow Jardine keepers, and I will be checking out all of the forums for any information that will help me to be a better bird daddy for my Beautiful Baby Jacky Boy!
Best wishes,
Jack (Peep!) & Rob