Bird-Bird

So the birds are alive this morning!

And why did I think they would die? It is because I thought I quite possible had killed them when I cleaned their cage yesterday afternoon. It was entirely past due for cleaning, and frankly I was sick of looking at the poor things dirty in their cage. I nominated Nick's little (bratty) sister to help, and she did so with minimal whining and throwing of fits. I did the brunt of the work, and 90% of the dirty work. Mainly because I wanted to get it done fast, but partly because I wanted it done right. However, I was under the impression that birds weren't finicky about what washed their cage.

That was the case until I got about 95% through the cleaning process, and she finally piped up with a "You know you can't use dish soap to wash the cage right?" I seriously only had two toys left to wash and I was not about to turn back and wash everything with a different chemical. I felt that if I made sure to rinse everything well after washing it with the soap, they would be fine. And they are! They woke me up bright and early at 6:30am, as people were bustling about the house in order to get things together for their trip. And they have not stopped chirping and singing love songs to each other since!

The dog feels like it is harassment and he is huffing every five minutes or so, but I am just happy to find them alive. Although they are the two most anti-social cockatiels I have ever met, they don't deserve to die a horrible and painful death via Dawn dish detergent. So for your viewing pleasure, above is the only bird that will allow me to photograph it normally. Hre name is Boomer, and if you know Battlestar Gallactica, you will know it's not a masculine name. The other bird's name is Starbuck, and he is a male, but they thought he was a female so he was named badly. Oops!