Poppy & Family

Poppy turned two at the end of last October. Up until Hurley (Poppy's mommy) died a couple of months ago, the family of three was inseparable.  They hung out together, ate together, and as HurleyBird continued laying her (infertile) eggs, the entire family of three took turns on sitting duty and protection detail.  Poppy enacted the roles with as much dedication as her parents.  The family of three interacted with and had friendships with the other birds and animals in the room, including Hurley's sister Hazel, but they were definitely a unit.  When Hurley died, we were all very sad.  Poppy and Darwin (daddy) went through a very obvious quiet time of mourning.  They remained very much a team through that process.  Losing Hurley was a real tragedy for all of us.

After their mourning period started to subside, I noticed that Hazel (Hurley's sister) seemed to have stepped into the family unit.  This intrigued me.  Even more intriguing, Hazel and Darwin were not courting/mating or indicating in any other way that they were pairing up.  Hazel and Poppy did not either.  Nobody is courting or mating.  They simply reformed their family unit with the aunt stepping into the mom's role.  They have formed a definite family of three.  

Hazel on sitting duty

Hazel continues to lay infertile eggs, which are now a family project.  Darwin and Poppy have contributed equally to sitting and protecting duties, just as they did for Hurley.  I am a little surprised by this behavior but find it so interesting to watch.  Initially Hazel moved in to Hurley's laying spot (the bottom corner of the same cage Poppy was hatched in).  They cared for her first two eggs in there for almost two months.  One morning last weekend, I went in to find that the family had moved into one of the guinea pigs' hidey boxes on the floor.  The whole family moved and resumed their egg protection duties in that location.  Poppy is the most militant protector and if one of the guinea pigs or rabbits gets to close to the entrance of their box, Poppy runs right up to the with her wings spread, beak open, trying to look absolutely terrifying. The guinea pigs and rabbits remain unimpressed, giving a glance and apparently deciding it's not worth worrying about, then resuming their hay munching.  I laugh so hard when I see her trying to be ferocious to the mammals who don't care.

Poppy, having been raised in this environment and spoiled and coddled by her cockatiel and human parents, has some massive self-confidence and quite a little attitude. She really thinks she is the center of the universe. She shoves into whichever feeding station she would like with no regard for the birds she is shoving out of the way. She will stand on top of her parents/aunt even though she's the same size. We all adore her, but she is a bit of a spoiled brat. She's not mean. She doesn't start fights or try to hurt anyone, but she definitely thinks she owns the house, and the other birds in the room let her get away with it. She loves attention!  Despite her diva-ish tendencies, I am impressed by her commitment to family and the fact that she puts in the same time and effort as Darwin, Hurley, and Hazel to the family.

Darwin, guarding the box

We have no idea how old Darwin or Hazel are, because the people who dumped them didn't know, but I hope I still have many years left with them. I am curious to see if they will remain in the current family configuration or if it will evolve to a Darwin/Hazel coupling.

I love so many things about birds--cockatiels especially, but my favorite has always been their family structure. I love the way that both parents contribute equally to the egg/chick care. They form these intense, deeply emotional bonds and care for each other in the most touching ways. They represent everything that is beautiful about long-term true partnership-type relationships. They groom one another, feed one another, show affection, and show in hundreds of little ways every day how much they love and respect their partner. I am often humbled by the depths and purity of their love and commitment to their partner/families. 

These families will remain together happily until death, if they have the option. It breaks my heart to think of all of the families that were ripped apart so the babies could be sold into (in most cases) lives of lonely despair trapped in a cage, and so that humans could profit from their pain. IT IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE VILE WAY THAT SLAVE FAMILIES WERE RIPPED APART AND SOLD.  Humans have no right to take claim or to sell anyone else's babies/family.