Tortured
After three (3) days, he brought the lovebirds to my house including the almost dilapidated breeding cages. We just hang the cages on one side of my driveway’s wall and put some black plastic material on top to at least protect them from rain and heavy sunlight.
Honestly, I was not so excited that time. In many occasion, I am irritated because they are too noisy the whole day. I didn't even bother changing their water on a daily basis. I put plenty of birdseed mix in every cage enough for their 3 or 4 days meal. To cut the long torturing story short, they are neglected as if they never exist.
Catching my attention
While I am getting ready for work one morning, I noticed that almost all of them are busy biting the sides of their nesting box as if they are trying to get something. Then one of the birds made a good strip (nesting box is made of plywood), stuffed it under its wing and climbed all the way through its nesting box. It is when I realized that they are building nests. That very incident made my feelings changed for them. I immediately looked for probable nesting materials and that is when I provided them bamboo strips (which I discussed wrong in my nesting materials topic).
From that point on, unknowingly, I am spending more and more time with them. I started researching from the internet how to take care of lovebirds correctly. I see to it that I clean their water and food containers on a daily basis. I don’t give them so much food anymore and started providing them nutritional supplements. I also learned to give them vegetable meals, etc… and hey, I’m not getting irritated with their noise anymore! It is as if, their non-stop chirping habits became music to my ears.
The excitement continues that even my wife developed the bad habit of frequently peeking into their nest boxes, counting the eggs, expecting to see some hatched eggs though we know that they are not yet due. It seems forever to hatch because of the excitement. Until one day, one very good day, we saw a chick. And then another on the third day, until another, until all of them successfully hatched 2 chicks each.
Continuously checking for the status of the chicks, I am so impressed that they are growing so fast. That prompted me to make a flight cage. After around 6 to 8 weeks the chicks showed some signs of independence, so I transferred them to the flight cage. That is when my daughter, Sachie, asked “Are we going to sell them?” and without hesitation I said “no”.
One of the breeders partner died
One night, I noticed that one of the birds is outside of its nesting box. It is a very unusual situation because they are usually inside their nesting box after around 6pm. I simply observed but later on decided to open the cage and check on the bird. To my surprise it didn’t move. So I took it and that is when I learned that it is so thin and looking very sick. I really don’t know what to do and I simply put it back to its breeding cage.
The next morning, I checked on the sick bird again. It is still on the same position where I put it. I didn’t bother getting it again because its partner is beside him. That is when I realized that the sick bird is the male one. Still don’t know what to do, helpless and just hoped that he will soon be okay.
After office, I dropped by to a pet shop planning to buy some meds. I asked the seller for recommendation and offered me antibiotics. Having heard of antibiotics made me hesitate and did not buy the medicine; I just planned to take the bird to a veterinarian instead. Unfortunately, when I reached home, the bird is already dead.
Everything really started when he died
Loosing a bird is sad, but seeing its partner alone in the cage is sadder.
I couldn’t stand seeing the hen alone in her breeding cage. I decided to transfer her to the flight cage together with the young birds so she wouldn’t feel alone. After several days, I could still feel her sadness as if she is feeling out of place together with the young birds.
I checked for breeders from the internet, and contacted the ones near in Pateros, where I live. Most of them are breeding Agapornis Fisheri or commonly called eye-ring lovebirds. Quite frustrated, an office mate gave me an advice to go to Cartimar, giving me assurance that it is the place where I could buy a partner for my non-eye ring lovebird.
But after several minutes, one of breeders whom I contacted thru text messaging sent me this exact message “Sir, will you be interested in buying my proven pair? Dark blue personata cock and pastel blue fischer hen. I will give it to you for 2.5k... it is just that my daughter is in the hospital.”
The very last sentence moved me, and I can still remember the feeling until now. The very first thing that comes into my mind is to help this guy. I don’t know this guy really, but I felt some sincerity and I felt his need to raise money. But I don’t have plans to invest to new birds, especially of different specie. I just needed a partner for my hen.
It took me several minutes before decided to reply. And so I did, “I’m not really looking for additional birds, just a partner for my peached face lutino. I want to help you but I couldn’t afford to buy a pair for 2.5k. Might as well offer me your available young eye-ring lovebirds equivalent to 2.5k”.
After a few minutes, he replied and gave me a list of mutations, which I couldn’t understand at that time; in short he is offering 5 young birds. Without hesitation I replied, “Ok, just give me your exact address and I will pick it up tomorrow morning, Saturday”. Hey, I don’t even have a cage to house these birds!
So the next day, I went to the address that he gave me and finally met him. His name is Carlo from Manggahan, Pasig. That is the first aviary I saw and I am so impressed. After “hi” and “hello’s” I asked for the condition of her sick daughter. He said she’s in the hospital for more than a week already because of some viral infection. While having a conversation about her sick daughter, he’s preparing a few Zesto carton boxes. I eventually learned that those boxes are meant to cage the birds for me to carry back home.
That is when I realized how ignorant I am in this hobby or business. But there I am ready to pick up 5 new young birds and of different specie from what I already have.
While catching the birds and putting the birds inside the juice box, Carlo won’t stop thanking me. He then learned that I am not really into birds and I am just looking for a partner for my hen. He is so thankful that he added 2 more young birds for free.
On my way back home, I saw a pet shop selling lovebirds. I stopped by and asked for a matured non-eye ring cock. Luckily, they have one. White Face, Turquoise, matured proven male only for 200 pesos. Funny isn’t it? I put him together with my lutino hen inside a breeding cage hoping they would like each other. After barely two months, I have two new beautiful white faces chicks.
Really, I’m not ready
This is really the funny part; I don’t have a cage to house the eye-rings which I bought from Carlo! I then decided to just put them on the small flight cage together with my young non-eye ring lovebirds.
Fortunately, I have plenty of used ply boards which came from the CEO of the company where I work. It came from a big-big cabinet, dismantled when she decided to transfer to a new house. She offered it to me for free, because she knows transforming second hand materials is one of my hobbies. And since it’s a Saturday, I then started to make my very first pairing cage. (You can see the picture of this in Pairing my Lovebirds topic).
And you know what? I never stopped making breeding cages until all of the second hand plyboards are consumed. Ten (10) breeding cages and two (2) small flight cages. But it didn't stop from there. I now have 16 breeding cages for my lovebirds, plus 4 cockatiel breeding cages and one 2 feet x 2 feet x 5 feet flight cage.
When everything happened so fast…
Unplanned…
As if you are just being driven by events…
Can we call it fate?
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