Cookie, belongs to Aileen's  7 year old son, Kenny. She said, "We did not get Cookie from a pet shop. He was flying around our backyard while we were gardening. He flew on top of a cage and looked inside. I went over there to catch him and he did not make a fuss. I guess he was looking for food and water because when I put him into a cage, he immediately began to eat and drink. He also took a bath! Cookie is the cleanest little boy in this house, even cleaner than Kenny! Cookie loves to take baths, which means I need to change his drinking water about two times a day. His favorite foods are apples, oranges, egg whites but his favorite treat is bananas. He gets banana mush all over his beak and feet then he goes back into his cage and takes a bath. Cookie loves spending time outside his cage so that he may go exploring. His favorite thing to do is destroy anything he can get his beak into. Pieces of wood, cardboard, papers, clothing...anything. We try very hard not to let this happen but its hard some times. Cookie likes to whistle the Mexican Hat Dance song and the Andy Griffith theme song. Even though he sometimes  mixes them both up,  he still sounds great!"

Tiffany would like to tell us about her lovely birds, Mojo, a cockatiel and Jojo, her budgie. Tiffany said, "We bought Mojo around 3 years ago from a pet store. He had never been handled and would give me nasty bites!!  We hand tamed him and now he's the best bird! He's so so loveable now. Mojo and can also talk. He says pretty bird. Later on we bought Jojo,  a blue female budgie as a companion for Mojo. The 2 birds get along quite well. About 2 months ago, Mojo  flew out of our front door into the massive trees opposite our home. I was crying so much because I   really didn't think I would ever get him back. We went and knocked on every neighbor's door and asked to check their gardens. We found him at the last house we went to. He was sitting up on a high branch eating berries. I was very lucky to find him."

This is my good friend Cheryl's new Quaker Parrot, Baby. Cheryl said, "Quakers are quite a bit larger, louder and somewhat more aggressive than my cockatiels. Baby will fly over to the cockatiels' cage and then chase them around. We start out everyday with "Hello Baby" several times.  Baby hasn't talked yet but understands step up and give me a kiss and NO BITE. When Baby bites I say NO BITE and put him in his cage for awhile. All my birds have freedom to come and go in and out of their cages, so being put back into the cage is something they don't like. So far Baby has become attached to me and won't  go to anyone else. I love birds, all kinds and I am in the process of making one room in my house an aviary. As with my cockatiels, I give clean dishes and food and water everyday. I am very big on keeping cages, toys and everything else clean. After much reading I learned that it would help keep them healthy. Cleanliness also cuts down on vet bills. It is a lot of work cleaning and disinfecting multiple cages but the rewards outweigh this. At the present time I have 4 cockatiels,  4 eggs ready to hatch in a few days, and one Quaker. We are planning on getting a blue crown conure next month and a indian ringneck after the first of the year. Yep we are a bird family. If you are interested in a Quaker please read up on this bird. They are not allowed in several states. "

Petie and Sweetie are owned by Ashlee. Her mom sent us this photo. She said, "My daughter, Ashlee has two beautiful parakeets that she would like to share with you. Her green parakeet's name is Petie. Petie is 6 months old. He is just learning to whistle a little. Sweetie is her blue parakeet and she is 1 1/2 years old. The two parakeets hang out with our other two cockatiels, Faulker and Phoebe. Both sets of birds have their own cages but insist on all being together! They get along great together and are very happy and content little birds! Ashlee says that their favorite food to eat is broccoli and they also like to eat salad too. Petie and Sweetie like to swing a lot and sit on the living room chairs and watch TV.  They like to listen to music and try to sing along. Ashlee usually leaves the radio on for them while she is at school to keep them happy."

Julie had this to say about her cockatiel Jo Jo. "He is an awesome bird. He will follow me around all over the house, and he loves to sing to my toes. I don't know what it is about my toes, but he  definitely has a foot fetish! Jo Jo loves feet! He will sing for hours to my toes. He follows me from room to room and he  even likes to take a shower with me. He sings and whistles all the time, and says things like "Come on Jo Jo", and "You want a drink". His favorite snacks are  Cheerios, but he also loves pumpkin seeds, biscuits and pizza crust. His favorite toys include a mirror that hangs in his cage and plastic rings that dangle with a bell. He likes to make the bell ding. He pretty much has the run of the house. Jo Jo is a good watch bird also, If someone pulls in the driveway, he's the first to know!  Jo Jo is an awesome companion and very loved!"

This is Poco, Mary and Megan's white faced gray cockatiel. Mary said, "Poco was hatched on June 3, 2004 and we brought her home when she was three months old. We had visited her for six weeks at the shop until she was old enough to come home. She was a hand fed baby and is very tame. We did a lot of research to prepare ourselves to be cockatiel owners and are having a wonderful time getting to know each other!  Poco is always happy to come out of her cage to be with us but she is very good about going back in too! She is starting to enjoy getting very wet from a mist bottle but she hasn't taken a "real" bath yet. Poco  prefers to be on one of our heads for her baths. It's quite a sight! Her favorite foods are broccoli, toasted seven grain bread, cooked whole wheat cous-cous and puffed cereals. She loves to play with Q-Tips and our bamboo chopsticks! Meal times are her favorite time to be with us because we allow her to wander freely at the table, watching her carefully of course. She is fairly quiet, but each day there is a little more chirping. She doesn't talk or whistle, but her chirps are so animated it sounds like she is telling a story!"