I have suffered from depression since I was a child until menopause. Unfortunately I was born with this and I need to treat it medically with antidepressants on a daily basis. But there’s more to treating depression than just pills. Pills can only do so much. They can balance me. But I needed more. He lived alone and needed some kind of company.
I didn’t want to get involved with another person. I’ve had enough bad relationships. I have always liked animals and someone suggested that I have a bird as a pet. I went to the pet store very often to see the pet birds. There were parakeets, cockatiels, cockatiels, finches and more. I didn’t have a lot of money, so I started with a green and yellow budgie, Buddy, and then got a friend for my budgie who was a natural gray cockatoo, Baby. I didn’t know anything about pet birds either. I had a lot to learn. So I bought a parakeet manual and a cockatiel manual.
I fell in love with Buddy and Baby. It was like Christmas every morning (and it still is like Christmas every morning), when I would take the blanket off my bird cages to say hello to Buddy and Baby. They radiated something so special and made everything so bright. Whenever I felt bad, all I had to do was look at my birds, pet them, and talk to them. They made me feel less depressed.
I didn’t realize how smart parakeets and cockatiels were. They are very emotional animals. I was lousy at teaching birds to talk. Even though my birds couldn’t talk, I could figure out what they wanted by watching their body language and listening to the sounds of their birds. I cleaned their cages daily and studied more about nutrition for my birds. It took me years to read Bird Talk magazine to find out what nutrition birds need. Each species may require different foods.
After 8 years my parakeet, Buddy, passed away, and Baby and I were devastated. The baby even cried. He didn’t cry tears, but he definitely could tell by the tone of his crying that he missed Buddy. Buddy was like a father to Baby. Buddy feeds him daily by regurgitating some food to Baby. Regurgitating food to a person or another bird is a sign of love and affection. Baby and I shared the grief of losing Buddy.
About a month later, I went to buy another cockatiel, Beenie, to keep us company. Beenie was only 4 months old. He was still a baby, but old enough to take home. It is a beautiful pied cockatoo. It has white and gray spots all over. Its color resembles a pinto horse. Beenie has more white and yellow on her head than Baby. Baby pushed Beenie a lot, but she slowly but surely got used to him. They started sharing the same cage after a while. But both also enjoy having their own cage and space.
What I enjoy the most is petting my birds. Everyone has their own way of being caressed. The baby likes to have his head and cheeks stroked when he is sitting in his cage or on my lap. And Beenie only likes to be petted when he’s on my right shoulder. I lift my hand to his head and Beenie moves his head to the places he most wants to be scratched and stroked. My birds are so soft and warm to the touch. I really love doing this a lot.
Being able to share your days and feelings with someone else is very special. This really helps beat my depression. Especially with my 2 birds who give me so much unconditional love. Every morning is brilliant when I take off the blanket that covers their cage at night and look at my pretty birds as they sing to me. I look forward to cleaning their cage and spending time with them every day.
