My Cockatiel likes to Sip Scotch!

We adopted a cockatiel. Interestingly, we discovered he liked scotch - a sip or two nightly. Is it any wonder, his name was Basil, named after the character in Faulty Towers. His favorite food is spaghetti (without sauce).

Then we adopted a female cockatiel only to discover that she liked dry white wine! Her name was Truffles - fits, doesn't it? Her favorite meal is potato and chicken (white meat only).

They are much older now and don't imbibe much any more but then again Truffles is over 30 years old and Basil is not too far behind. But they still enjoy their food just as much - people food that is! Yes, they also eat seeds. And, yes, they've had babies - we kept 3, one died so the family of four enjoys checking out the latest and greatest at meal time - Mighty Might and Baby Bird are quite territorial. Mighty Might is a mommy's boy while Baby Bird is Mighty Might's great protector despite the fact that Mighty Might is older - we have some serious "tete a tetes" sometimes!

We have a fabulous veterinarian, Anne, who is quite liberal in her ideas about pet care; she's reknown worldwide for her expertise on the care of birds.

She believes in providing birds with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. She was a little astonished that our cockatiels liked chicken, pork chop, steak, and spaghetti - but hey, if they like it, they should have it. She advised us on the foods not to give cockatiels such as avocado. And through the years, Anne has taught us a great deal about the care of our little feathered friends. They are such a joy - always glad to see us. Cockatiels, she said, are the birds which behave most like dogs - they love to be where you are even it is just to stare at you!

One of the areas we differ in opinion with Anne is on the subject of flying. We allow our birds to have free reign and fly. They do. After all, that's what they were born to do - fly! We believe that is why our cockatiels have lived so long - combination of diet and exercise - isn't that a novel notion?

So there's the lesson for all of us - diet and exercise to live a long life with a little imbibing to loosen the joints once in a while!