Just getting silly

We have another new family member.

Ian's been wanting a cockatiel for a little over a year now, and despite a few doubts, we got him one for his birthday last week. Except it wasn't fully weaned by his birthday, so we had to wait 3 more days (until Steve's birthday) to actually bring it home.

I don't understand birds. He's huddled in his cage acting like we're trying to kill him, and from what I can gather from the internets, that's totally normal. But, I fucked up a little at first, and now I'm trying to run damage control. See, with other small animals that live most of their lives in cages, like rats and guinea pigs, it's important to take them out of their cages for bonding time right from day one. So that's what I did with bird. Apparently that was wrong. Birds want to be left the fuck alone for the first couple of days to adjust. Oops. So, damage control in the form of talking to bird, singing to bird, and feeding bird has ensued.

My doubts about Ian's ability to care for the bird are being slightly solidified, and most of it is my fault. I think he had this picture in his head (despite us telling him different and even reading the cockatiel care book we got) that the bird was going to come in the house, start singing and repeating everything he said, and be content to sit on his shoulder while he plays video games. Yeah, not going to happen. One good thing to happen, is that not only do I not mind spending time with the bird that I'm pretty much sure has decided I'm a devil, I actually kind of like it. Despite the bird's obvious contempt of me. But, I'm also keenly aware that Ian really needs to accept the responsibility of taking care of the bird.

Starting with bird's name. Ian was having a really hard time thinking of a name for the months leading up to getting the bird. I told him to wait until the bird arrived, and then he could see what the bird looked like- to help find a fitting name. Ian doesn't think like that. He needed a name. So I suggested Kai (pronounced like eye, with a k in front). It's a Maori word for food. I thought it would be funny. Maybe the bird is right, I am a devil. Anyway, once Ian discovered it was easy to spell, he was cool with naming his bird Kai. Until the day after the bird arrived. Now the bird's name is Sensei Kai, or just Sensei.  But Ian hasn't given us the 100% yet.

Our menagerie has well and truly started. I think next will be a frog or lizard of some sort. Steve really wants a snake, but I'm not sure I could deal with that. Actually, right now we're maxed out of animals for a bit. Toby needs some serious training, and Sensei needs some time to cope. Plus, we need time to spend with each of our babies.