I finally done it! I'm getting my first round of birds today! As of this typing, they are in Portland at the distribution center. I cannot wait to get them!! I've been missing my birds. I had birds back in 1992, and that was the first and last time I ever had any cage birds. It used to be I could walk into any pet store and I'd see cages full of birds. All different kinds. I used to go to pet stores just to see what kinds were available that day. But birds have not been available for a long time now. Thanks to the 2008 recession is what I learned. Now, I rely on the internet to provide me with different kinds of birds. Mostly I like to have finches. But I don't want no run-of-the-mill zebra finches or society finches. I like the much more exotic ones.
I also noticed the price of birds has gone up tremendously since I last had them. In those days, I could get a pair of diamond doves for $40. Now, I can't even get one for that price. Now I see them and they cost over $100 each! I should never have gotten rid of my birds!!! I've been regretting it since I had to give them up. Back in 1992, I had just gone to an exotic bird expo, and came back with a load of new birds, when I got this job with a couple named Patti and Chris Shultze. It was OK though. I really wanted that job back then. It was a babysitter/nanny/housekeeping job. I was probably the world's worst babysitter back then. I was young, naive, and didn't know really how to handle kids very well. I didn't have any of my own then. But I thought I would have that job forever and ever. Patti and Chris talked a lot about me staying there, helping them with a business they wanted to open, and even moving to Hawaii with them. They said there, I can have a huge aviary with all kinds of birds. It would have been a dream come true for me. So, on that note, and trusting them implicitly, I sold all the birds I had.
Well, that job started to fall apart for several reasons. First of all, my family was not too happy when they heard I was awake until 3:30 AM working on their laundry. Though Patti at first felt bad about keeping me up that long, it didn't help the situation any with my family. Especially with my sis. Second of all, Patti was always in a bad mood because she had bad migraines. Third, and I admit this myself, I was not mature enough. As an 18 year old at the time, I was a bit too much like an overgrown child myself to live up to their standards of child-rearing. I did some things back then to those kids that, looking back on it today, makes me cringe. Nothing really majorly bad, but enough that it makes me cringe now that I've grown up some more. I acted more like their bigger sister than a babysitter who should have been respected by them.
Anyway, I have regretted getting rid of my birds ever since I was released from that job. Now, I want them back! I am so glad I took Katrina's advice. Of course I still intend on getting a puppy. It just won't be right now. I can't seem to think of anything but these birds and a bird expo I plan to go to next month in Hillsboro. And a future of having a house FULL of birds of different kinds! Not just finches. I also plan to have a lot of softbills and hookbills too. I want them ALL!!! I want to be the Bird Queen of Tillamook. hehehe! Besides, there'll never be a dull moment with them.
Anyway, these are the birds I have coming today...
Red-Eared Waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes)
These were the very first cagebirds I ever got for myself. I got them at a pet store in Lakewood, only they were mislabeled as "St. Helena Waxbills". Though the two species are very similar, and sometimes interbreed in the wild, they are not one in the same. Whereas St. Helenas have very pronounced stripes all over their body, Red-ears have barely visible stripes and a pink underbelly. I like these birds because of their sweet little twitters and peeps, and their acrobatics.
Easily one of the most beautiful finches in the trade. I find their colors very fascinating!
I used to have a male-female pair of these back in 1992. But unfortunately, because of that job at Patti & Chris's, I sold them too. I didn't even get to have them for a full month!! Damn!!
Also known as "diamond sparrow", it is not a sparrow. It is a true waxbill finch. I always wanted some of these, but never got any.
Another species I've always wanted but never got, because I was never able to find them in pet stores! These are also known as long-tailed finches too. They have a beautiful, melodious song.
I used to have some of these too back in 1992. I loved their cute little tweets.
I never had any kind of parrotfinch before, but I saw some of these at a pet store and thought they were gorgeous!!
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