The other day I went to take the cockatiel’s cage down to feed him and he had a go at biting my thumb. Now that’s not like him at all. He’s not used to being handled, but we have evolved a working relationship where he shrieks when he want to be fed/go out/be covered up or make a noise. I feed him/put the cage outside/cover him or tell him to shut up. When he is in the mood, he clings to the corner of the cage and sings Jan Pierewiet
So I took him to the vet and found out I have a Cockatiel with pneumonia. I didn’t even know that was possible! Poor little soul had a temperature of over 40°. He is on antibiotics and looks like a reject yellow feather duster.
Sick Cockatiel
He’s not a young bird, which may be part of the reason he got sick. Here’s hoping he makes it.
We had a week of load shedding recently – rotational power cuts if you want another term. Level 4, which means the power is off for two and a half hours and on for an hour and a half. All day and most of the night. Not fun. I won’t go into the whys and wherefores. I don’t really do politics here. Someone I heard of lit candles when the power went off and her three year old sang Happy Birthday and blew them out…
I am going to break my ‘no politics’ rule (that didn’t last long…) and provide a link to the Anthem Project. All South Africans are invited to submit their version of our national anthem and I will include links every now and then to particular versions.We are having elections on the 8th May and need all the unity we can get.
notewords 
Aw I hope your wee birdy gets better soon
We hope so too. He is looking a little chirpier today… (Horrible pun – I couldn’t help myself)
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Oh I’m glad you took him in. Our pets only have a few ways to tell us something’s wrong and I’m so glad he ‘told’ you.
That’s funny about the wee one blowing the candles out đ
I hope your cockatiel is better soon! And also that the larger situation is resolved positively sooner rather than later!
Thanks. We’re hoping so too. đ
I hope the poor birdie gets well soon! I listened to the song he sings and imagined a cockatiel singing it, too cute đ
He raises his crest and sings along, bouncing up and down every now and then. My husband always used to say I’m like the mother who is the only one who hears her baby say ‘hello’ when everyone else hears ‘goo goo’. Well, it sounds pretty good to me. đ
I’m hoping he will get over this, and I will try and take a video.
My cockatiel âTJâ has some weird Dorian Gray thing going on where, every time he bites me, he gets more ornery.
They are crazy little birds. đ