Fast forward one week later and a lot of research about a cockatiel and this is what my boys looked like this morning when they were informed that Flint the cockatiel was being taken back to Petco.
Yes, I am a horrible horrible mother. I broke the hearts of both of my boys before they competed in the Pinewood Derby this morning.
Now, let's back up about 3 months ago. Cam has been checking out books about birds forever. We have been reading about birds and learning about birds for months. In all of that reading not once did we read anything about cockatiels not being able to handle the fumes that are produced from non-stick pans. Since last week every single article online and every book I have flipped through has placed this warning in great big giant letters. I know you can't believe everything you read but when it is printed in great big letters on the brochure that they give out at Petco along with the Cockatiel, I'm pretty sure it is true.
As I dug a little deeper into my research it seems that they are also sensitive to drafts (meaning they can not be placed by an air vent, a window or a door). They are sensitive to smells. No more scentsy, bleach cleaning products, scented candles...some sights even said perfume and cologne.
When we got Flint from Petco the sales person told me that his wings had just been clipped. Silly me, I believed this sweet person. The first time I tried to let him out of his cage and allow him to "play" on his birdie playground (yes, we now own one of these) he flew all over my house. I had a heck of a time getting him back into the cage. Actually, I had to call a neighbor that probably thinks I am total spaz because a bird flying around my house just about put me over the edge.
So, somehow I was going to have to get a bird that could fly into a small box so that I could take it to the vet to have its wings clipped that were not clipped so that I could train it so that it could playground and be tame enough for Cam to play with it so I could take a trip to the store to get all new pots/pans/baking sheets/cake pans etc.... and throw away all of my scented candles, scentsy and perfume. Meanwhile, I couldn't open any windows or doors because there is not a single spot in my house where we spend time that is not near a window or a door.
My stress level shot up about 100 times over. After a few days of debating, we decided to take the bird back for a full refund. That's about the only good that came out of the whole situation. I learned that if you buy a pet from Petco, you have 15 days to bring it back for a full refund. However, I will never buy another pet from Petco. Also, I will never own another bird. Yes, Cam earned the bird. However, as you can see from the picture above, he is considerably less upset than Colin. Cam wanted Flint to have a safe home to live in and we made Cam well aware that we did not think we could provide the right type of care for Flint.
Cam was actually very understanding. He did cry a bit but then quickly moved on to thinking about what he might be getting in exchange for his bird since he did work so hard to earn it. We agreed that a promise is a promise and he did get something in it's place. No, it's is not a living creature. Thank goodness.
Stay tuned. And, goodbye Flint.
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