My first experience with handfeeding came in the form of lovebirds and tiels. My friend raised them and was always in need of a handfeeder. So I learned how to handraise the smaller birds for her. At any given time, I had an aquarium full of little feathered wonders. While I was handfeeding one clutch, my older son asked me if he could have one for his own.

Actually, he ended up with two. He named them Freckles (male) and GooseBump (female). They were in his room most of the time. When he got home from school, he would let them out so they could fly all over. We reminisced lately about how they would jump around on him while he tried to do his homework, how they would run across his books to demand attention, and how they were able to actually talk and say his name.

Things in our lives changed and we moved to Tucson from San Diego. We built the lovebirds a huge cage so they would have lots of room. Well, they decided to settle down and raise a clutch of babies.........over and over and over again.......

They were great parrot parents. No one was prouder than Goosie of her babies. she was lovingly (?) called piranha bird as she was so protective of her clutches. She could fly out of her nest box faster than any bird I have had experience with. Freckle would just be there for her. What a Great Daddy.

When she had enough of them and wanted me to take over, she would let me know. She trained me well so that I would take the babies at about 3-4 weeks and finish handraising them. They made the cutest babies. I really loved handfeeding and taming these little ones. I still keep in touch with a couple of people who bought them.

The very first baby they had I gave to my Mom & Dad. They were living in a mobile home park and were not allowed to have pets.....But Francie was welcomed. Even though they did not take her out of her cage enough so that she became cage-bound, she had the best life. They adore her. That was always the topic of discussion when we talked.

In 1996, my father passed away. Not only was I dealing with my grief and my mothers', I was seeing Francie go through her own passage of mourning. My mom was astounded that this little bird missed my dad also. For a long while after I had to return to Tucson, I know that this little bird was the only reason my mom got up in the morning. Pets for older citizens really make a difference. I gave my mom another lovebird that I had been handraising while I had been staying there. This one was used to being held and let out of the cage to scamper about mom's home. Thank heavens for Sweetie & Francie for my mom.

Tragedy struck GooseBump in February 1998. She started having seizures. Thanks to someone on my list, I found out that ideopathic epilepsy is not uncommon in pied peach front lovebirds. We went through alot the following 11 months, Goosie, Freckle, my vets, my hubby and I. We learned alot about this disease, mostly the hard way......

Cary & I had visited his older son in Santa Cruz in August and I had promised Goosie that if she made it thru a very awful ordeal, she could have the "Santa Cruz" mansion that we had stuffed in the backseat of our car and hauled all the way back to Tucson. She made it thru an egg binding emergency so we gave her & Freck the cage. Until she could no longer keep from plummeting to the bottom during her seizures.

Goosie went to the Rainbow Bridge on December 27th, 1998 after spending the last three days of her life in my hands. Something that this "piranha bird" would have never let me do. What a gift she gave to me. I tear up at the thought of being able to actually kiss her little head and back without coming away with bloody lips.

I have kept a log of her illness and will outline her trials below.

I worried that Freckles would become depressed and either die or become despondent. I have had alot of experience with birds needing time to grieve. So, I went out and got him a brand new cage, toys and perches. I set him up with his own bachelor pad. So far, he is doing well. I am keeping an eye on him just in case. I really feel that he can be turned into a pet quality sort of guy. I know he misses her, we all do, but so far, so good.

We Love You, Goosie.......

Mom, Dad, Freckle and the Fids