Regardless, we would have gone had not we had an"incident" on Saturday. You see, some months ago, a friend asked me to look after her finches while she was out of town. Darling Wife accompanied me to care for the wee beasties on several occasions and fell in love with their adorable appearance and lively chatter. We've wanted a pet for sometime, but we aren't "cat people." Aquariums are nice, but they are mostly decorative; fish are not exactly interactive pets. And while we would both like a dog, we are not currently in a position to acquire or care for one. We'd never considered fowl. But DW thought about them while we were on our mountain adventure and declared she wanted some when we returned. We researched varieties, lifespans, needs, costs, and obligations and purchased cage, supplies, and four Orange-Cheeked Waxbill finches.
They are the cutest little critters.
Their names are Sal, Ro, Goddy, and Helga. They paired up immediately: Sal with Goddy and Helga with Ro. Sal and Helga didn't get along well, but they stayed clear of each other, so all was peaceful and happy. We observed them awhile and adjusted the perches and food to accomodate their preferences, and they began to look healthier and prettier every day.
Then, Sal and Helga began to bicker. It was occasional at first and seemed to occur when Sal would sing or exhibit signs of courtship behavior. As the weeks passed, Sal became more expressive, and Helga became more agitated. They began to quarrel, flying wildly about the cage, knocking each other down, and scaring the guano out of the other two. Our little flock was divided.
The manager of the local pet store told me this was a mating conflict. He assured me that it was temporary as mating season is almost over, and they will probably be permanently bonded by the time it comes around again. However, we would need to separate the agitators for the next month or so.
We bought a new cage and prepared to segregate the flock. This is not an easy task. They are fast and do not like to be touched. Plus with the exception of Helga, the other three finches look almost exactly alike. We tell them apart by personality and behavior. When they are madly flying around the cage trying to escape a grasping hand, there is no way to determine who is who.
We decided to try to remove Helga and Ro because Sal was the one trying to mate, and we thought it would be best to leave him and Goddy in the cage they know. We also determined to aim for Ro first because we could both keep our eyes on him from the beginning, and if we successfully caught him, we could get Helga afterwards.
After much frantic chasing, I managed to capture one of the tiny birds and put him in the other cage. Bad luck, it was Goddy. This was not surprising as Goddy is the worst flyer of the four and tends to become shocked and still when scared. So now we had to try to nab Sal, which would be difficult; he's the best flyer of the bunch. And sure enough, I ended up with Ro. Goddy was still stunned, so we thought we'd grab him, put him back in the main cage, and then try for Helga.
But it turns out that the space between the bars of the new cage was too wide, and as I attempted to secure Goddy, Ro squeezed through the bars and flew down the hallway. This would never do! We had to exchange the new cage. But first, we must get them all back into the old cage.
A search of the rooms located Ro in the window of our bedroom. Despite our worst fears, he proved easy to catch, and we returned him to a much relieved Helga. But as we were trying to recapture Goddy, he made a bid for freedom as well, this time pushing past my arm and out the cage door. But as I said, he's a poor flyer and didn't make it far. We caught him at the glass door in the living room.
You can imagine how upset DW and I are at this point. Birds are flying everywhere, and our nerves are shot. We exchanged the cage for a finch flight cage that is not as attractive as the last one but is better designed for our feathered friends. We also bought a net. Returning home, we went at it again, and this time we got Helga first. And then by pure accident, we managed to get Ro as well. Success!
Sal is put out that his friends and enemies have been removed. He calls to them across the room and sticks his head out of the bars nearest their cage. He also grows quiet and still if they sing or call back in any way. But beyond that, everything seems to be fine. Helga and Ro are more active in their new cage than they were in the community cage. We think that Sal's actions were an attempt to steal Ro from Helga, and the pair seem more confident without this fluttering threat.
So, what we thought were cheap, low-maintenance, unobtrusive pets have now multiplied into two cages, twice as much work, twice as much money, and chattering birds from both sides of our living room. And our entire Saturday disappeared with nothing accomplished but the restoration of peace within our bird community.
Given all of this, we were simply not up for church yesterday. We hope to be able to explore a new church experience this weekend.
2 comments:
I don't know that any pets are easy, really... I thought cats were supposed to be simple. Then I got Maude.
Anyway... hope the bird situation gets properly sorted out.
You are right, of course. Even plants can be less simple than one might suppose. Living things have needs, and one ignores them at his or her peril.
But there are compensations for the trouble. Helga has begun nest construction, or something similar. It is quite amusing to see the tiny little bird picking up long pieces of grass, dragging them around the cage, and strategically placing them in the corner. Sometimes it requires a great deal of fussing to get them just where she/he wants them. But she doesn't like being laughed at, so if you visit, you'll have to content yourself to an amused smirk.
I'm sure Maude brings you equal joy along with the trials.
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