lbechtle@uceng.UC.EDU (laurie bechtler) (11/03/90)
While budgies aren't nearly as noisy as parrots, they can certainly do their best to emulate them. My parakeet has a "rooster-mode" call of two quick blasts of his loudest notes that he uses just in the morning. That's ok during the week, but I like to sleep in on the weekends, and in a 1-bedroom apartment there's just no place far enough removed from the bedroom for the bird. But by covering the cage and placing it on the floor in a dark corner, he learned to be quiet even on Saturday mornings. Now any sort of cover -- even a small square of cloth that barely covers the top of the cage -- gives him the signal to be quiet, even on Saturday mornings when the sun has been up for 4 hours and I haven't, even with the cage 4 feet from the bed. He may emit a little peep, saying "Aren't you getting up yet?", but he saves the screeches until I get up. Birds are smart! By the way, he's almost 7 years old -- standard 'keet. I hope he lives to 15 (or more)! He's traveled nearly 10k miles, by my estimation, because I bought him in Colorado, and 4 to 6 times a year I take him with me to visit my parents, a 350 mile round trip drive. He seems to enjoy the vacation, and he loves their house. (Fortunately they don't mind letting him fly around.)