Darling's Story

Darling was our very first cockatiel and the reason there is a Birdman of Boca's Backyard today.  He and Barney were the very first birds we rescued. 
     One of Birdman of Boca's co-workers mentioned over lunch one day that his father had two of the meanest cockatiels on the planet.  While telling Birdman of Boca about how they would always attack people, the co-worker mentioned that his father was planning on just opening the cage to let them go that night.  The idea of birds raised as pets just being turned loose didn't feel right to the Birdman of Boca.  So he told his co-worker that we would take both birds.  When he got home and told me that we were going to be the proud owners of two cockatiels I thought he was joking.  I mean, I was afraid of birds so why would I want two cockatiels?  Then when he explained the situation I agreed that we would take the birds in while he looked for another home for them.
     That night we drove over to his friend's father's house.  The birds were throwing such a tantrum that you could hear them two houses down.  I started having second thoughts about even letting them into our home for one night. We walked into the sunroom where their cage was and the cockatiels immediately tried to attack us through the cage bars.  Seeing the terror on my face, Birdman of Boca's friend told us that he would understand if we didn't want to take them and that he would just set them free. Even though I wanted to be as far away from these two nasty cockatiels, we still agreed that we couldn't let that happen so we took them.
     The ride home was torture for both the birds and me.  They did not like being in the car so they screamed nonstop.  I had to sit in the back holding the cage with these two insane birds so they didn't get hurt.  I had a full blown migraine at the end of the 4 mile drive home.  When we arrived home, Birdman of Boca went to fill their food dish.  Barney decided that he wanted to sample Birdman of Boca...so he did.  Barney obviously liked how Birdman of Boca tasted because after that Barney would try to bite him whenever he was anywhere near the cage.  Barney never tried to bite me, though.  He realized that if he hissed at me I would be so terrified that I would leave him alone. 
     One of the first things we did was to seperate Barney and Darling.  That seemed to calm things down a bit.  The next day we were able to find a home for Barney.  I think that some of his anger issues had to do with being named after a purple dinosaur.  Birdman of Boca disagrees with that theory.  His new owners renamed him and soon were able to rehabilate Barney. 

     Darling was another matter.  As hard as we tried to find him a new home, we couldn't.  Darling had managed to escape the cage that first day and we could not get him back in it.  So while he stayed with his cage, he lived on the outside of his cage.  Darling would hiss and snap at anyone that went remotely near his cage. Darling also whistled nonstop.  From the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep.  His favorite whistle sounded like a car turning over.  It drove us nuts.  I finally had enough one day so I decided to try to whistle back at him.  That shocked Darling so much that he stopped whistling.  After a few moments, he started again. So I whistled again and he stopped.  Then he decided to come over to me and check things out.  I was terrified! I mean here a mean cockatiel has flown over and landed on my shoulder and is staring at me.  I didn't know if he would bite or what.  But Darling just got very comfortable and stayed sitting on my shoulder quietly.  From that day on I was Darling's human. That's how we refered to Darling's and my relationship.  Darling was never my bird but I was always his human. If I was anywhere in the house, he had to be with me.  The moment I left his sight, Darling would start calling for me. Darling could sense my presence so well that the moment I stepped foot on our property, he knew and would start calling to me. Suffice it to say I had no choice but to get over my fear of birds.

     Darling was also very jealous.  Now he would allow Birdman of Boca to feed him without attacking.  However, if he tried to kiss me Darling would throw a tantrum.  Darling was quite the chaperone.  When Birdman of Boca and I sat on the couch, Darling would always be on my shoulder between us.

     Birdman of Boca and I discovered that many people believe that it is ok to turn their pet bird loose when they tire of it.  It is not.  Plus with rehabilating Darling, we discovered that alot of love and patience can turn the meanest bird into the sweetest bird.  As we shared Darling's story with others, we became known as the "Bird Rescuers".  Friends of friends would know someone about to "set free" a pet bird and they would let us know.  And so our flock began to grow.