Rescues
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (63643)
United States
April 9, 2013 7:56pm CST
Austin has developed quite a large population of green parakeets.
Now, these are those cute little budgies, these are true parakeets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Parakeet
They are pretty enough birds, I first saw them one day when I was still working at the Health Department. A lady I had some training with a few months before told me they weren't parrots but parakeets.
What do I know about birds? Cat food?
Well, a few months ago, my vets rescued one of these things.
These people feed orphan squirrels, heal injured doves, rescue young grackles that are on the ground.
Nobody is sure if these birds are released pets or if they have traveled north for better food, but they now live in town. But if they are escaped pets or truly wild animals, they shouldn't be easily caught.
So this one might very well have been an escaped pet that hadn't been out long enough to go feral.
They don't have it in the cage with the budgies, the 3 the vets have were given to them because the owners couldn't take care of them anymore. I'm guessing the bigger bird might kill them.
This cage was previously used to house an injured dove until it recovered and went away.
Have I mentioned these are my "old hippy" vets?
4 people like this
5 responses
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
17 Apr 13
My grandmother raised parakeets. I used to think they were quite pretty too. Actually I still think they are pretty but since I have a phobia about birds I would never have them as pets.
Until I read your discussion I never gave it much thought but I have never heard of parakeets being anywhere but in cages. I guess they must have a natural habitat somewhere but I sure don't have any idea where it might be.
Even if these birds were released pets wouldn't you think that was too many to have accidentally escaped?
I'm with you, I think a birds true function is to be cat food.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
17 Apr 13
I know they are breeding in the wild, this isn't THAT dissimilar to where they come from.
I'm not afraid of birds... I'm just not that fond of them either.
Honestly, the ONLY thing that really scares me are grills on the ground. Inside like a floor heating grill or outside like a drainage grill.
I know people around here are raising chickens, but I don't want to go there either.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
17 Apr 13
That reminds me of when I was a child. Me and my grandmother would go walking up town to window shop. They had steel grates that covered basement openings in the sidewalk. I was always afraid to walk across them and would go around.
My cousins used a bird to terrorize me when I was young. They would get the bird all riled up at me then let it out of it's cage. It would fly at me and sometimes land in my hair and get tangled in it. Ever since then I have been afraid of birds and anything else that flew toward me.
@GardenGerty (160949)
• United States
10 Apr 13
I find this very interesting. I like your old hippie vets. My husband would do stuff like that as well. He picks baby possums out of trees and takes things off of skunks' heads. He also thinks he "danced with wolves" as a small child. Not sure about that. I keep thinking I would like to own a bird again.
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
10 Apr 13
That would be so cool to see! We have some pretty birds here but no parakeets, green or otherwise, unless you go to a pet store. Your story is making me want to raise birds again. But, after having to feed nine babies at once, maybe not. It's horrible when nine screaming babies all want food NOW.
I'll just be content to watch what we have around here, the bluebirds, bluejays, cardinals and redwrens, with the occasional peacock, of course. I haven't seen my buddy yet this year. I hope he comes back. My farmer neighbors have new additions, though -- turkeys. Yep, now I get to hear their gobble gobble gobble all throughout the day. I'm assuming they belong to the farmers, actually. Who knows? Maybe they're wild turkeys. I know they do roam these mountains.
I think it's awesome that you have "old hippy" vets. That's so cool! Around here, I haven't seen any older than 40ish so they may be "young hippies" but no originals. 
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
10 Apr 13
Why would anyone want to rescue a grackle? I consider them pests simliar to house flies and mosquitoes. I don't know one good thing about any of the three.
1 person likes this
