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Tree
Top Bird Center
February
2012
Hello!
It’s
almost Valentine’s Day once again and (sigh) I notice that my birds are
starting to ramp-up on their hormonal behavior! Love is in the air and in a few weeks, there will be eggs in
the nest and babies hatching out! Signs of hormonal behavior are many and
vary with every bird, but if your bird is more aggressive, needy,
cage-territorial, or cuddly, those are all signs that birdie is feeling the
hormones. Be patient. Keep your fingers out of the cage. Back off if “Polly” or “Paco” doesn’t
want to play… or wants to play too much… and just wait. This season will pass fairly quickly
and your old friend will return.
This
month I want to share a little bit about lineolated parakeets. Most people don’t know what they are
and these little guys can make wonderful pets. “Linnies,” as we often call them, do look a lot like an
Australian-type budgie (also called parakeets), but they are quite different and they come from South America.
The
basic Linnie color is green with black eyes. However, they come in many beautiful different
“mutations,” the more rare mutations costing a little extra. Color isn’t the only thing that makes
them beautiful though, personality counts for a lot!!! Linnies are generally considered more
“personable” than budgies, lovebirds or
parrotlets.
Linnies
have a stubby tail while the budgie has a long tail. Budgies eat basically a “seed mix” with very little else,
while the linnie can be taught to indulge in many fruits and vegetables. The linne will stand on one foot while
using the other to hold its food.
The budgie does not.
Linnies
live an average of 10 years, but often live much longer in the right
setting. Budgie lifespan is 5-8
years average, with a slightly lower life expectancy for the English budgie.
(FYI: English budgies are a
genetically bred variant of the common budgie from Australia. They are bred to be bigger and fluffier
than the common budgie.)
Lots
of folks are interested in “talking” parrots and both the budgie and the linne
have been known to talk.
There are many videos on YouTube showing both linnies and
budgies talking, but no one can promise that any one bird will talk. It’s best to not get a bird just
because you want it to talk, because some birds just never talk! Here is one video that does show some linnies talking. Cute! And, you can see 3 different colors!
Why
have a linnie? It’s probably more
docile than other birds of comparable size. It’s small, so it requires only a small cage. It’s smart and, although all birds are
unique, it can be trained. The “commitment”
for 10 years is important if you don’t want to be responsible for a parrot for
the next 50 years as in a cockatoo, amazon, macaw, or grey. Small birds come with small voices, so
a linnie is a great apartment pet.
Linnies are still more rare than a budgie or English budgie, so they
still cost a little more, but you get a great bird. And, their habitat and nutritional needs are small… just
like they are.
There
is lots of stuff on the web about linnies for you to
learn more and our staff would be delighted to tell you more. We should have some in the store in the
spring. Come see! If you want a linnie, be sure to put
your name and number on the wait list in the store so that we can call you when
we have some babies!
This
month’s specials:
-20% off all of Deb’s special Parakeet
Mix
-15% off all ladders (in stock)
Happy
Valentine’s Day! (Don’t ya love
it?)
Deb
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