It really doesn't take that long to clean my parakeet cage. It's not even a very difficult task if I put freezer paper in the bottom. A 3M sponge with one Scotch-Brite side makes the whole chore a breeze. But somehow, I don't get to it once a week, as I should. I'm very steadfast about cleaning out their feed and water dishes, but I just don't get to the cage as often as I should.
So I wonder if this is why my female budgie, Dabadi, is sick. There were two other budgies living in the cage, though we moved one to a cage of his own in Monet's room where we have been working on finger-training him. Dabadi's mate, Dabadee, is still in the cage with her. I noticed that he was paying extra attention to her, and I wondered if maybe she was nesting. She spent a lot of time in her nest, so I figured that was it.
Until three days ago, when I noticed that she was listless and her rear-end was a bit pasty. I began changing the water twice a day, making sure she had grit, and watching her closely. She seemed to stabilize.
Today, however, she seems very listless and her rear-end is very pasty and looks sore. Dabadee has been caring for her, feeding her, preening her. I decided to make an extra-comfy home for them, so I gave the entire cage a thorough scrubbing, put fresh millet sprays in the cage, and went out to the yard to look for some pine branches.
While I was out there, I decided to pay a visit to the bunnies, who are Monet's project. Monet is an animal-lover and keeps good care of his fish and budgie. Just this morning, he told me how much he likes his budgie and how he gave her clean water and food before he came down to eat his own breakfast. Apparently, Monet is not as fond of the bunnies. Two of the three had gone on to be in bunny heaven! I was so terribly upset and am now quite depressed. I feel now that I have no business working towards an open house. Our yard, not yet planted, is full of scrubby underbrush. Of course, this is an open HOUSE and not an open YARD, but I do so wish it were beautiful and inviting. Gardens are so peaceful and magical to me. I had such high hopes for these bunnies, for the gardens, for a symbiotic relationship between the bunnies and the red worms.
I'm struggling with whether or not to keep the last bunny. I think that I should bring it into the house, but the mess that they make with their bedding is so difficult to handle, and the guinea pigs already make those messes.
No more animals. I say it, and I hope to mean it. Jane Goodall would be so ashamed. :-/
I feel so very sad.
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