Cindy said, "I received Byrd in the summer of 2004. The last thing I wanted for a pet was a bird! In fact I had never even thought of owning one. I came to be the happy owner of Byrd by accident. Some friends of ours were over and were talking about this bird that they had in their basement! I was shocked and said that this was no way to treat any pet and if they didn't want it I would take it. A week later I had "Bart" who was very nasty. Bart and I spent hours getting to know one another. Soon we became to love each other. One surprise led to another AND then came the eggs!!!! Yikes my bird was not a Bart! With all the things Bart had been through I couldn't fathom completely changing her name, For lack of imagination, I started calling her "Byrd". Byrd is a very loving girl and often demands a lot of attention. She loves my son and will go to him every chance she gets. Byrd is not very fond of baths of any kind, but is starting to check out showers by sitting on my hand and slowly working her way up my arm. She is doing well and makes me laugh.  She loves to have breakfast at the table in the morning.  Byrd is a fussy eater and if she could,  she would live on millet seed alone. I hope in time she will like all those great foods I read about. I also hope that one day she will surprise me and talk."

  Kari's bird Gabriel is an amazing little survivor. Kari said, "One Sunday evening I decided to go to a  24 hour department store. I heard a bird, glanced up and saw a cockatiel. I talked to him and he started following me wherever I went. An employee told me that he escaped  when somebody took him out of his cage to buy him. I stopped by the store on  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday., The cockatiel was always there flying and he would always follow me around. I got close to this bird several times, but something would always happen and he would fly off. One time he almost took a piece of granola bar from me. Each day I left the store with a heavy heart. The employees were complaining, kids were chasing him and throwing things at him and everyone was trying to catch him or kill him. A store employee told me that the management was going to shoot  him due to state board of health rules regarding food. On Thursday night I stopped by the store again. I found out that he had flown into the window. A manager threw a box at him and hit him with it and he had gotten stuck in the fly trap sticky tape. He  was very tired, terrified and flying erratically . I sat down at a table in the snack area and I just prayed, "Lord, if  you want me to care about this bird and rescue him, you are going to have to help me." I walked to the front of the store and saw Gabriel  trying to get a pack of crackers. I reached out and grabbed him.  A manager came to put him back in the cage and I said "No way! this bird is coming home with me and I'm not paying a dime for him!"  I bought a cage, food, dishes etc. and a blanket to wrap around him because it was so cold outside. Those first few days were rough. Gabriel slept for days. He also drank a lot of water. His right foot and leg was black and I was worried that he would lose it. However, he has recovered completely!  What a blessing it is to hear Gabriel whistling and chirping every morning when I get up! Due to his rough start, he has been very reluctant to get too friendly. He does eat millet from our fingers and has just started giving our fingers kisses. Gabriel loves mirrors and bells. He has learned a couple different whistles but his favorite is the wolf whistle.  My favorite thing about Gabriel is that he makes sunshine.  Gabriel whistles and chirps everyday. It makes  me feel like it is spring and the sun is shining!"

Skittles is a Crimson Rosella. Rosellas are native birds of Australia. Skits belongs to Kelly's husband Chris. Chris wanted a bird of his own to bond with because Kelly already has 2 wonderful cockatiels that consider her mommy. Chris said, "Skittles was hatched July 16th 2004 and came home the following October. She loves to sing! She sings when she wakes up in the morning. That's how we know she's ready to start her day. Skittles isn't as snuggly as a cockatiel, but she does cute things in other ways. She loves to hang upside down on her toy and squawk loudly! She loves to take a bath, which she does in her water dish about every other day. She splashes water everywhere! Skittles likes me more that Kelly. She loves it when her dad rubs her belly and talks to her. If Kelly takes her out of the cage when her daddy is at work, Skittles will attacks her. Skittles is a wonderful and beautiful addition to our flock."

This is Odie and she belongs to Charlene. Charlene said, "Odie is a girl but I'm not sure how old she is. She found us in a pet shop when we were looking for another companion. Odie was in an open cage with 4 other cockatiels. I went over to her, started talking to to her and made kissey-kissey noises.  Odie walked over to me and cocked her head to one side to listen more carefully. I asked Odie if she wanted to go home with us and she chirped happily. Bringing Odie home  was a great decision. She's so happy to be away from that noisy pet store. I give her  fresh veggies and water every morning. At night she  gets seeds with more fresh water. I think Odie loves her  new home. I bought her a lot of toys and she lives in a nice big cage. Her favorite toy has a bell on the end of it. She also likes to sit on top of my head. I just love her! She gives me kisses and I  scratch her on the back of her head. She's the most wonderful bird in the world!"

Gizmo, Cheetah and Sierra are owned by Kim and Victor. They said, "We adopted Cheetah, the gray bird on top of the cage, in August 2003. As he got older he learned to say his name and how to give us kisses. Cheetah is the most talkative bird of the 3.  We loved Cheetah so much that we knew we had to get him a companion. So we adopted a cinnamon cockatiel, Gizmo. She was only about 3 weeks old when we got her. It was great because we got to handfeed her. Our attachment to her was special because we were like her parents. Cheetah was really good to her teaching her how to clean herself and how to eat different foods. They get along together very well. Gizmo isn't as vocal as Cheetah but she is very affectionate. Finally we have our lutino cockatiel, Sierra. We also adopted him when he was about 3 weeks old. The chemistry between all three birds was almost instant when we brought him home. Once again, we hand fed Sierra and Cheetah took control teaching him where the food, water, and toys were. Sierra is still young but he is starting to become more vocal like Cheetah. We can't wait till he starts talking."