What pet has two legs and takes a bath in a glass of water? Chico was my parakeet and he did – anytime he could find a glass with something in it!
Did you have a bird as a pet when you were growing up, or do you have one now?
Many parakeets are family pets and a lot of them talk. Mynah birds can be some of the best “talkers”. Did your parakeet or mynah bird talk and how many phrases or words did it know?
I lived in an apartment in Waco while I attended Baylor University and worked full time. I needed a pet, so I got a beautiful blue parakeet and named him Chico. I left Chico in the apartment while I worked. The apartment did not have central heat, so it got really cold during the winter.
Chico got very sick the first winter. I took him home to the family in Rockdale. I really thought he would die, but at least he would have a warm home! His nose was very swollen and I had no idea what to do for him. There were no parakeet vets at that time.
Daddy took over Chico’s care, doctoring him faithfully. Much to everyone’s amazement, Chico gradually improved. When he was completely well, I asked if they could just keep him, as I would probably have a repeat of his illness by my having to leave him alone all day.
By then, my entire family was attached to that parakeet, and Chico became a permanent part of their lives. He had the complete run of the house during the day, and was only put into his cage and covered at night.
Did your bird stay in a cage most of the time, or was it allowed to fly about the house?
Was your bird’s cage in the house or hanging out under a tree? Most parakeets love water – did yours?
Chico LOVED to play in the water, and he always took his “bath” in any glass that had enough water left in it!
When the family returned from church one Sunday, Chico had gotten his tail into a bowl of candied sweet potatoes that had been left out on the counter. Then he flew to his cage to eat, and so many seed stuck to his tail that he was “grounded” until we came home and washed him off. You can imagine what a sorry looking bird he was when we saw him! Talk about a “dirty bird!”
Did your parakeet have a favorite family member? Or did it have one that it just did not like?
Chico soon learned each member of the family, and he knew who to go to when he wanted certain things. If he was in a playful mood, he would go to daddy when he was reading the newspaper, and pretend to fight. Daddy would shake him off and Chico would go back over and over and over – you get the idea – pesky bird!
If he wanted a little TLC, he went to mama. She was the one Chico wanted to let him out of his cage each morning. She could put her hand in and he would hop on, then ride around on her shoulder while she cooked breakfast, cooing and talking into her neck. If anyone else stuck their hand in, he would bite a plug out of it!
Chico loved to ride around on the end of mama’s brush when she was painting, so she spent a lot of time repainting where his tail had messed things up!
He loved to sit on Susan’s shoulder and “read” with her. When she would turn a page, he would act like he was really reading it, nodding and bobbing his head.
With Tommy and Tanya, Chico was more playful. One of his favorite things to do was to throw whatever he could off the table and he would never tire of this as long as he had an audience. If I happened to be balancing a check book, he would pick up cancelled checks and drop them over the edge – hopefully not one I needed for tax purposes. He loved tossing coins off, too!
And any mirror had an attraction that he just could not resist. He would talk and mutter to himself for hours in front of a mirror! I bet your parakeet does the same thing!
ANSWER to question “what does it mean if your parakeet throws up at you?” It means he considers you part of his family and he is going to feed you!
If I left while it was still light, I could forget about getting him in his cage before I left. But as soon as I came in after dark, I would begin looking for him. He was usually perched on a curtain rod, but not always.
I would catch him and put him into his cage and cover him. Chico would always begin “talking” and I just KNEW he had a girl friend in there with him! His favorite saying was to “smack” about three times and say “give me some sugar” and “Chico is a pretty bird”.
Was your parakeet mischievous and did he try to scare certain people?
Chico definitely had a mischievous streak! If anyone showed any fear of him, look out! Once my aunt and uncle came to spend a week with us when my cousin Larry was small. The Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds” had just come out and Larry had seen it. Needless to say, he was deathly afraid of Chico since he was “a bird”.
So EVERY TIME Chico could catch Larry in the hall, he would fly directly to him and land in his hair, scaring Larry to death. He didn’t do this with anyone else, just Larry! Larry would run and scream at the top of his voice. As soon as Larry and Chico reached the den where everyone else was, Chico would fly off and look so innocent – but, he had had his fun!
Was your bird a biter? Chico had a weakness for biting earlobes. Every time he got on mama’s shoulder in the mornings, he would “cuddle” up to her, and he would be so docile and talkative, holding his beak against her neck. She would think how sweet he was, and that surely that day he wouldn’t bite her when he flew off!
That parakeet could be so sweet and innocent and cuddly one second, then he would almost take a plug out of mama’s earlobe the next. He would fly off instantly – knowing full well exactly what he had done! There was no way I could catch him then. I tried a few times, but finally admitted defeat and gave up.
Chico got outside one time and the family was scared to death he was lost. His cage was put outside and he was called. It wasn’t long before he flew back to the front porch, and finally went into his cage!
Chico, the parakeet family pet was loved by all for many years.
What words did your parakeet or mynah bird know? 2 or 3 or 100+?
I had a friend that had a mynah bird she kept by her chair and the telephone. That bird could sound just like the phone ringing, and my friend saying “Hello” and he could laugh just like her! Share a story about your bird in the comment section below!
Who remembers the old party line telephone service?
As you know, I grew up in the country and we were on a party line with 3 other families. If I remeber correctly, our “ring” was one long and 2 short rings. Oh, for the good ol’ days!! As it happened, one of our nosy neighbors kept two parakeets by her telephone, so I would always know when she was listening in on my and Dan’s dating conversations!
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