A Trip to... the Truth!

These days, I'm becoming more of a frequent visitor of a bird supplier company. Ever since I've been keeping my own parrot, I hardly pass a pet store without paying a visit and having my eyes feast on the birds. It's funny to think that I'd never stopped at the birds' section or cared whether a pet store sold birds before. It's been different... since the presence of Sun-Ray.

This particular bird supplier company, from what I 'accidentally' found out, supplies birds for one of the major Pets Wonderland outlets in Klang Valley. That fact aside, the reasons of my comming by on that day varied; from looking at every species of birds (from Macaws to African Greys to Senegals to Lories - you name it!), to selecting the best formulated diet (equivalent to kibbles for your dogs and cats), to surveying a bigger cage for my 'tiel (while hoping to get a new one as his companion!), to sharing my interest with my siblings (it was their first-time visit), to having the "Uncle" to neatly trim Sun-Ray's feathers (making them neat from my amateur-ness).

Photo: Sun-Ray gets extra anxious on car rides. My baby loves watching the scenery, but definitely hates balancing himself!

I ended up buying a can of egg food - certainly an excellent food during the molting process - and asking the "Uncle" not to only make Sun-Ray's feathers look good, but also to trim them so short that my cockatiel couldn't fly as far as one-metre distance. I was pretty pleased, as Sun-Ray only landed on the ground everytime that naughty little birdie thought he could get from one place to another by himself.

Photo: Egg food is always a cockatiels' favourite. However, every cockatiel acts differently to new food, especially if one acquires an older bird. As for my eight-month old 'tiel, he took a look at it and instantly knew it wasn't his favourite mixed seeds, so he backed off. I had to do what other cockatiel owners would do - mixing a portion of egg food with some Cockatiel Diet or Cockatiel Treat. Needless to say, within a week, Sun-Ray could eat just the egg food itself with gusto!

I seized the opportunity to inquire about my bird's gender. Very much to my surprise, the middle-aged man told me that Sun-Ray was female. Asked he knew about it, he taught me to observe Sun-Ray's long tail. In pearl cockatiels, females have barring pattern underside the tail feathers. Males, on the other hand, have one solid colour.

It was very hard to digest at first, especially thinking that it was time for me to teach Sun-Ray to talk before. Somehow, I had an explanation for his... HER behaviour of liking - and getting cranky when settled in - dark places. Even without a male, given the right circumstances, female cockatiels are able to lay eggs.

Photo: My cockatiel... is a hen, not a cock?

By the day I'm writing this entry, I've already come to terms that my young 'tiel is a she. I still appreciate her for what a wonderful pet bird companion she is, and am loving her more and more each passing day.