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Introduction
Discussion Forums
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Merlin the Cockatiel
Merlin is my normal gray cockatiel. I got Merlin on Dec. 22, 1998 as a Christmas gift. I received Merlin as a chick, so my dad and I had to hand feed him. He has been a pet that I have gotten to raise on my own and watch him grow, so he is my special little boy. Since Merlin grew up around me and my family, he is very tame with me. At the moment, Merlin's wings are clipped. Personally, I hate to do this to him because its not fair to the bird but after some horrible experiences with another bird and even one with Merlin, I have opted to do this. At first, I wanted to teach Merlin to whistle a couple tunes, and he indeed learned them, but along with those, he also learned how to imitate several sounds such as the phone ring, the parakeets, and my sneeze. He also learned how to say a few words in English such as Merlin, come here Merlin, and come here Merl. He also knows how to say a few words in Spanish as well. He makes 4 other sounds which I find kind of funny. One is imitating the sound I make when I eat (chewing/munching sound), the other is making kissing sounds when I kiss him, another is imitating the sound of talking. Since he can't make out all the words we say when we talk, he just imitates the sound real quick pretending to talk. He imitates the sound of laughing. When I laugh, he does too. He also imitates other sounds I make, and he has also invented his own little whistle's and songs. Each time he makes them, they are different, but for the most part, he keeps the general idea of it in tack. Anyway, you get the picture. I have also invented a few games of my own that I play with Merlin, and he seems to enjoy them too. Once involves me running around on the ground and him chasing me (sounds weird but true), the other is him playing with a pen. He picks up the pen and loves to roll it around in till he drops it on the ground, and the other one is a maze type of game. I make up the maze with a few boxes and pillows, leaving a series of trails that Merlin can take, but only one that leads to the outside. Most of the time, Merlin manages to get to the middle of the maze, but then squeaks for help, but there have been sometimes in which he has made it out by himself. I haven't played this game in sometime now though. How I got Merlin and Why... I received Merlin sort of like a surprise,
but not entirely. I had been wanting a cockatiel since a while. Even though I
already had budgies, it was something about the cockatiel that I really liked,
and I especially wanted a baby. I didn't think I was going to be able to get a
tiel, even though it was near Christmas. It was about 4 days before Christmas,
when my dad finally said that the following day, we were going to go get my new
baby cockatiel. I was extremely happy and surprised. The next day, Dec. 22, we
went to this place called the Bird Warehouse which is not very far from where I
live. We asked if they had any baby cockatiels and they took us to this pin
where 3 baby tiels were in. 2 of them were cuddling up in a corner, and the
other one was all alone in the other. Guess who the loner was? Yup, Merlin. I
asked to handle one of them, and they handed me Merlin. He was still very young,
pink, and was scared. I felt bad for him, specially since he was all alone, away
from the others. I wonder why? As my dad talked to the owner of the place, I stayed holding the terrified Merlin in my hands. As it turns out, we ended up taking Merlin Home. I could of chosen a more rare species of tiel, but I chose Merlin because there was something about him that made me want to take him home. That day, I took an empty aquarium, and made it nice and warm for Merlin. I sang to him, and he was still scared, but had become more use to me by the end of the day.
Merlin's Cage & Diet For now, Merlin has a semi-large parrot cage with cockatiel spaced bars. The cage is round and provides a lot of space. In the cage, he has 4 full perches, all of different sizes. He has a white water fountain cup, and a seed cup. The water cup is towards the bottom of the cage, while the seed cup is near his fav. perch. At one side of the cage, he has his large piece of cuttlebone. At the bottom of the cage is where the rest of his foods go, as well as some of his fav. home made toys. We will be getting Merlin a new cage soon. The cage will be about the same size, squared this time, and with an opening at the top to set up a nice perch for Merlin to be out on. Merlin's Diet: For his water, Merlin has a white water fountain. The water fountain is cleaned and the water is changed on a regular basis. In his seed cup, Merlin has a mixture of parakeet seeds, to parrot seeds. His seeds always come with little bits of dried fruit and crunchy treats which he likes. Around his birthday, Merlin receives a special Honey Covered seed treat as his cake. At the bottom of the cage, he usually has a piece of spray millet and broccoli. We also give him Mango, which he really really Loves. He sometimes also eats apple as well. Merlin is also supplied with a large piece of cuttlebone for a source of calcium and it also goes help in keeping his beak in nice shape. As you can see, Merlin is a
very special bird to me. As of April 3, 2002, Merlin is 3 years old.
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