Post by Robynbaskin on Jun 23, 2018 0:01:03 GMT -5
Hello,
My name is Robyn, and 20 years ago I have a wonderful and charming green Quaker bird named Baskin (as in Baskin and Robyn, tee hee). He was a wonderful and unforgettable member of my family that anyone who knew him loved him and misses him. How I lost him is a sad story, but I will share so you do not make the same mistakes I did. I neglected to trim his wings in time and he became brave in his flying (he could never really land well - he had to land in my hair to stop). One evening, as a cold front was blowing in, I opened the back door with him on my shoulder (his normal spot) to let my dogs in from outside. He decided to take that time to fly outside. The wind took him and he squawked and landed hard on a post in the fence. As I was going to get him, the wind caught him as he tried to fly back to me. MY family and friends searched for him all night and for days afterwards. I was teaching at a school and the next school day I posted some flyers with pictures and reward so the kinds and parents of the neighborhood could see it in case he visited another home. He was very social and only disliked my stepdad, so he never met a stranger. As the day went on I made sure to spread the word and eventually a kid came up to me after school wanting to see the picture. Upon seeing it, he smiled and said, "That bird is at my house!" My heart jumped and we eagerly talked about the events leading up to him having the bird. He told me how this bird was in the tree in their yard, saying, "pretty bird" and "popcorn!". The kids called their mom out to see him and she flew at her, landing in her hair, saying, "Good bird, pretty bird, Step up!" The family was entertained all night with his antics and offering him food (I was thankful they did not feed him anything he could not have). Over the next couple days, his aunt was visiting them and fell in love with him. The kid told me that his parents owed her some money from a loan she gave them and took the bird as payment and went back to Corpus Christi, where she lived. I asked him to speak to his parents and tell them I would offer to pay the reward, including the amount they owed her to get him back. I would travel to Corpus to get him. He said he would let his parents know and have them call me. That night I was not able to sleep, especially since I did not get a call. I saw the boy being dropped off in the morning and went out to the car to speak to his dad. His dad became nervous and very defensive, saying the bird was large and purple with green feathers (motioning like a cockatoo), and they did not have it anymore. I still told them I would like to see the bird and would pay them a reward or pay off the loan to his sister to have the bird returned to me, handing him a flyer. That afternoon, the parent came to withdraw his child and they moved out of the area. A nightmare trying to call and contact them to no avail. I tried to go through police and report him stolen, but nothing came of it. My only thing that keeps my hope alive is that hopefully the lady who took him home to Corpus cared enough to research about his breed and care. I am hopeful he is still alive and happily entertaining his new family.
Needless to say, I have tried to consider getting another Quaker, and took in an abused rescue green that never spoke or bonded with me. She was loud and annoyed my husband and stepson (I was single with Baskin). When my father was dying of cancer and I was gone for 3 weeks, they did not feed her and she died. While married, I refused to get another Quaker. Shortly after I lost Baskin, I had a dream of Baskin and he talked to me saying "I do not want you to be sad, so I have a friend I want you to meet". He flew away and a cute little blue Quaker came up and said, "Hi I'm Elvis! Baskin said you were nice and for me to come live with you!". This dream had me searching for blues to no avail. I could never find any and did not live near any breeders. After years of trying, I gave up actively searching and just figured the opportunity would present itself.
Now, 18 years after losing Baskin, after being bombarded by adorable Quaker videos by a friend who knew Baskin, I considered looking again, since I am now divorced from the my ex bird-killer (he and his son managed to reduce my furbabies by several over the years we were married). So I looked for breeders and could not find any in my area. I was considering travelling up near my sister to go look when I saw a post on facebook from the neighborhood pet store just a couple blocks away that had gotten in 10 baby Quakers. I saw it as a sign and went in to inquire. I put a deposit down to choose, or rather have the bird choose me. Baskin chose me as a baby and our bond was amazing. I wanted that again. I asked about if they get blues, and they said rarely, but I was at a point that color did not matter as long as the bond was there. I never met any of the 10, but suddenly when the birds were brought in so the employee could do a feeding, there were 2 greens and 2 blues!!! I kept to my preference of bonding over color and bonded with 3 of the 4. The smallest little blue seemed the most interested in me and jumped into my hand with enthusiasm when I was trying to pick up another bird, after I had already played with her (assumption of gender at this point). So I decided, she was mine and paid for her. I did not take her home at that time because she was still in pinfeathers and being fed three times a day. I paid to have them continue to care for her for 2 more weeks while I finished the school year. Now she is down to 2 feedings a day, and I am preparing to take her home with me in a few days. She is not weaned yet, but I am willing and able to continue feeding her formula and attempt the transition to pellets. It has been 20 years since I did that (Baskin's breeder had me help with feedings while he was young to help with the bond and he was fully weaned when I took him home). The shop is eager for me to take her home, as am I, but I am worrying about doing a smooth transition from formula to pellets, some seed, and fruits/veggies. Any suggestions on how to ease that transition would be welcome and appreciated. I am waiting until after the weekend so I can immediately take her to the vet for wellness check on Monday. I am looking forward to chatting with other quaker parents and seeing if much has changed in the 18 years gap. I am sooooo happy to be including this new baby into my menagerie of furbabies (dogs, cats, and a horse), to which I do recall how to introduce and supervise interactions between my other pets. I had a cat, 2 kittens, and 2 dogs at the time I got Baskin. They all got along and Baskin would have fun interacting with his furry pals. I intend to instruct my current crew the same way, while strictly supervising and protecting my baby Quaker. By the way, since I do not know the gender of my baby for sure, I decided to keep with the idea of Elvis, but decided to go with a more gender-neutral name of Presley (as in Blue Suede Shoes). So baby Presley and I look forward to our interactions on this forum.
Ok Ok I know I am chatty. Sorry. HAHA
My name is Robyn, and 20 years ago I have a wonderful and charming green Quaker bird named Baskin (as in Baskin and Robyn, tee hee). He was a wonderful and unforgettable member of my family that anyone who knew him loved him and misses him. How I lost him is a sad story, but I will share so you do not make the same mistakes I did. I neglected to trim his wings in time and he became brave in his flying (he could never really land well - he had to land in my hair to stop). One evening, as a cold front was blowing in, I opened the back door with him on my shoulder (his normal spot) to let my dogs in from outside. He decided to take that time to fly outside. The wind took him and he squawked and landed hard on a post in the fence. As I was going to get him, the wind caught him as he tried to fly back to me. MY family and friends searched for him all night and for days afterwards. I was teaching at a school and the next school day I posted some flyers with pictures and reward so the kinds and parents of the neighborhood could see it in case he visited another home. He was very social and only disliked my stepdad, so he never met a stranger. As the day went on I made sure to spread the word and eventually a kid came up to me after school wanting to see the picture. Upon seeing it, he smiled and said, "That bird is at my house!" My heart jumped and we eagerly talked about the events leading up to him having the bird. He told me how this bird was in the tree in their yard, saying, "pretty bird" and "popcorn!". The kids called their mom out to see him and she flew at her, landing in her hair, saying, "Good bird, pretty bird, Step up!" The family was entertained all night with his antics and offering him food (I was thankful they did not feed him anything he could not have). Over the next couple days, his aunt was visiting them and fell in love with him. The kid told me that his parents owed her some money from a loan she gave them and took the bird as payment and went back to Corpus Christi, where she lived. I asked him to speak to his parents and tell them I would offer to pay the reward, including the amount they owed her to get him back. I would travel to Corpus to get him. He said he would let his parents know and have them call me. That night I was not able to sleep, especially since I did not get a call. I saw the boy being dropped off in the morning and went out to the car to speak to his dad. His dad became nervous and very defensive, saying the bird was large and purple with green feathers (motioning like a cockatoo), and they did not have it anymore. I still told them I would like to see the bird and would pay them a reward or pay off the loan to his sister to have the bird returned to me, handing him a flyer. That afternoon, the parent came to withdraw his child and they moved out of the area. A nightmare trying to call and contact them to no avail. I tried to go through police and report him stolen, but nothing came of it. My only thing that keeps my hope alive is that hopefully the lady who took him home to Corpus cared enough to research about his breed and care. I am hopeful he is still alive and happily entertaining his new family.
Needless to say, I have tried to consider getting another Quaker, and took in an abused rescue green that never spoke or bonded with me. She was loud and annoyed my husband and stepson (I was single with Baskin). When my father was dying of cancer and I was gone for 3 weeks, they did not feed her and she died. While married, I refused to get another Quaker. Shortly after I lost Baskin, I had a dream of Baskin and he talked to me saying "I do not want you to be sad, so I have a friend I want you to meet". He flew away and a cute little blue Quaker came up and said, "Hi I'm Elvis! Baskin said you were nice and for me to come live with you!". This dream had me searching for blues to no avail. I could never find any and did not live near any breeders. After years of trying, I gave up actively searching and just figured the opportunity would present itself.
Now, 18 years after losing Baskin, after being bombarded by adorable Quaker videos by a friend who knew Baskin, I considered looking again, since I am now divorced from the my ex bird-killer (he and his son managed to reduce my furbabies by several over the years we were married). So I looked for breeders and could not find any in my area. I was considering travelling up near my sister to go look when I saw a post on facebook from the neighborhood pet store just a couple blocks away that had gotten in 10 baby Quakers. I saw it as a sign and went in to inquire. I put a deposit down to choose, or rather have the bird choose me. Baskin chose me as a baby and our bond was amazing. I wanted that again. I asked about if they get blues, and they said rarely, but I was at a point that color did not matter as long as the bond was there. I never met any of the 10, but suddenly when the birds were brought in so the employee could do a feeding, there were 2 greens and 2 blues!!! I kept to my preference of bonding over color and bonded with 3 of the 4. The smallest little blue seemed the most interested in me and jumped into my hand with enthusiasm when I was trying to pick up another bird, after I had already played with her (assumption of gender at this point). So I decided, she was mine and paid for her. I did not take her home at that time because she was still in pinfeathers and being fed three times a day. I paid to have them continue to care for her for 2 more weeks while I finished the school year. Now she is down to 2 feedings a day, and I am preparing to take her home with me in a few days. She is not weaned yet, but I am willing and able to continue feeding her formula and attempt the transition to pellets. It has been 20 years since I did that (Baskin's breeder had me help with feedings while he was young to help with the bond and he was fully weaned when I took him home). The shop is eager for me to take her home, as am I, but I am worrying about doing a smooth transition from formula to pellets, some seed, and fruits/veggies. Any suggestions on how to ease that transition would be welcome and appreciated. I am waiting until after the weekend so I can immediately take her to the vet for wellness check on Monday. I am looking forward to chatting with other quaker parents and seeing if much has changed in the 18 years gap. I am sooooo happy to be including this new baby into my menagerie of furbabies (dogs, cats, and a horse), to which I do recall how to introduce and supervise interactions between my other pets. I had a cat, 2 kittens, and 2 dogs at the time I got Baskin. They all got along and Baskin would have fun interacting with his furry pals. I intend to instruct my current crew the same way, while strictly supervising and protecting my baby Quaker. By the way, since I do not know the gender of my baby for sure, I decided to keep with the idea of Elvis, but decided to go with a more gender-neutral name of Presley (as in Blue Suede Shoes). So baby Presley and I look forward to our interactions on this forum.
Ok Ok I know I am chatty. Sorry. HAHA
I'm in Australia and our quaker is a blue girl called Bonnie.
