A few years ago when I was out in the barn cleaning stalls, I heard this noise on the metal roof clicking around.  We have wild peacocks and all kids of black birds that come around and stomp on the metal roof scaring the heck out of the horses but this was different.  It was small little steps and fast.  I looked up and saw this beautiful small orange bird.  It was not a normal wild Nevada bird, but something very colorful and pretty.  I reached for it and it moved quickly out of my way also striking at me with its beak.  I went on cleaning but it was still there on the roof.  I got a ladder and was able to grab it and screamed for Jill to get some sort of crate to put it in since it was biting my hand like crazy.   Jill immediately fell in love with this little bird and we put some water and chicken scratch (all we had) for it to eat.   The next morning when we checked on our new treasure, it could barley stand up.   We called around and found the Ark Animal hospital on Rancho specialized in birds and would be able to see it right away.   I immediately took this beautiful bird to see the Doctor and when I got there they took the bird in but did not give me much hope.    They called an hour later and said the bird had died because it had an empty stomach and we got to it too late.  Love birds have a very small stomach and must have escaped from its cage or was let go probably too long out in the wild.  Jill was heart broken and started looking around for us to get our own love bird. 

We checked out the pet stores and then came across a local bird club that was having a show and sale at the Zelza Shrine Temple.   Many breeders were there with all types of birds, but we were favoring this little sweet love bird with the very happy face.    What we were told was to find a bird that had been hand raised so you could hold it.  Also, Love Birds would bond to one person or another bird, so if you wanted it to bond to you, the advice was to get only one bird.    Finally after holding many birds, we came across a breeder we liked and in the cage was a family of love birds and we fell in love with a beautiful peach face.   The breeder said it was a female, someone else there said it was a male and so we really did not know what it was but we took Jill’s new love bird home.  Love birds need lots of stimulation and would require being held a couple of hours per day.   We named our bird Zelda, after the place where she/he came from.   Jill and I both would hold the bird and talk to it.  The wings needed to be kept clipped in order for the bird not to escape.   During the day we would take the cage out side on the patio while we were mucking stalls.  I was walking up the path from the barn and noticed that Zelda was sitting on top of her cage.   As I got close, boom, she flew away!   My heart stopped as I  watched our new pet fly away thinking of the demise of the orange love bird.   Then I heard a screech and noticed that Zelda was still in her cage.   Apparently, she had a boyfriend, another bird who looked just like her who was visiting.   For the next few weeks this little bird would come around and even if Zelda was in the house she would scream happy bird songs so we would put her out to visit with her friend.    Then we went away for a few days and Zelda did not get to go out and visit with her friend.   It was winter and very cold and when we returned, Zelda’s friend was no where in site.  She was very depressed and would call out to him but we never saw him again.   We bought her a bird buddy ( a cloth thing that hung in her house) and she would cuddle with it but it was not the same.

In the mean time, Zelda bonded to me and when she would go over to Jill, would bite her and get in her hair.  If Zelda was on my shoulder or in my hands and Jill would come over, she would click at her, tuck her wings down and get in attack mode.  Jill was not allowed to get near me if Zelda was holding court.  Zelda would scream from her cage wanting someone to talk to but no one would talk back.  She would repeat her name to us also could say “step up”.    At the pet store I saw this really neat cloth bird house for her cage that was a little nicer than just the bird buddy .   Once I got it she would sleep in it and seemed to really enjoy having a little privacy.  Soon after, we noticed that Zelda was very protective of her cage and got agitated when we got near it.   One day I looked in her house and there was a little egg.  I nicknamed her EGG LAYER and at this point we finally confirmed she was a female.   Unfortunately now that she has her little house and started laying eggs, she no longer will allow me to hold her.  When we would change out her food, she would try and bite your fingers.    One of the things that this little bird needs is daily stimulation and since we can not let her out at all Zelda became very lonely.   I became very attached to her and was not about to just let her be given to just anyone.  We tried to find someone who would take her and Jill came up with a couple of people and I just would not approve of the move.  Finally, after much prodding to give her a better life and not wanting to just dump her onto someone else, I checked with the Gilgrease Nature Sanctuary to see if they would take her.   They said they would be glad to take her and give her a good life.   Jill was out of town and so I reluctantly made the drive to see where Zelda would be living.  As I drove up to the entrance I expected Zelda to be silent and depressed, but  Zelda was screeching and chirping as she must have heard the other birds.  I did not hear a thing, but she did.  As luck would have it, they just so happened to get a male bird earlier that week that looked like her old boyfriend who used to visit.  They placed the two cages next to each other to see how they would react.  Zelda started cooing and chirping loudly, flapping her wings and showing off.   The male was very excited and moved closer to her cage to see his new friend.  

I cannot say enough nice things about the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary.   They are a non profit organization that relies on donations to support all the creatures they have.  As you know, Jill and I rescue pot bellied pigs and I know how hard it is to keep up.   The Sanctuary even has a pair of pigs they provide for.  People are such smucks and the female pig was thrown over the fence as it must have been unwanted.    It makes you angry how people are but thank god for people that are there to rescue and provide a good life for the creatures who can not take care of them selves.   

It was a very tough thing for us to do in giving up this beautiful bird, but she is so much happier with her own kind that I know we did the right thing.  All things work out for a reason and Zelda was meant to be paired up with her new friend and not just a single bird.   

If you want to visit or donate to the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary, they are located at 8103 Racel Street in Las Vegas.   You can also check out their website www.naturesanctuarygilcrease.org.