One holiday gift-giving season, I got a budgie. I was perhaps eleven years old. I had asked for one of those tiny little birds when I saw them at the pet store. Blue and white, he (or she, I’m not sure) was so cute. I had wanted my own pet bird ever since I had to take care of my aunt’s parrots for an extended summer vacation in Jamaica. The large exotic parrots were expensive, but the pet store had plenty of small parakeets (budgies are part of that family). My parents got me a small book from the pet store on caring for birds. My budgie had his own white wire cage with a baby-blue plastic bottom. I gave him water and seeds every day. I took him all over the house with me. I let him out the cage into the small laundry room. We played together.
And then the Florida winter brought a cold front. I put my little budgie in the warmest spot in the house, near the water heater. I grew up in Florida, we had no heat at the time, just blankets. It’s Florida! It’s not supposed to be cold! I covered him up at night with blankets to keep him warm. Each morning, I greeted him, changed his water, and added fresh seeds.
One night in January, an unexpected cold snapped the air with an extra chill. I bundled tightly under my own blankets. My feet finally warming up, my mind tired with worry, I fell asleep. The next morning, budgie lay on the bottom of the cage motionless. I stared at him for a long while, wondering what to do. I found him a box and buried him.
I didn’t get another budgie. I didn’t want another budgie. I simply didn’t know what else I could have done to care for my budgie through our Florida winter without heat. There the budgie lay motionless — despite all my efforts.
Holiday gifts don’t always last the season. Yet, the memories and the lessons often linger.
If you do get a budgie, take a lesson from my story. Here are some books so you will know what to do.
- Parakeets And Budgies – Raising, Feeding, And Hand-Training Your Keet
- The NEW Budgie Book!: Everything you need to know to have a happy, healthy parakeet!
- Budgies: A Guide to Caring for Your Parakeet
