# I'm going to be the crazy bird lady. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912 "2011-12-21T02:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/1 "2011-12-21T02:57:22Z")
I have two budgies. My apartment manager has two budgies. My apartment manager also has a new baby who seems to be allergic to birds. Budgies need new a new home so I said I’d take them. It was either that or let them go to the SPCA where they’d likely sit for months, end up split up and spend their lives being re-homed. Is four a flock? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/2 "2011-12-21T03:07:45Z")
Naw. My wife and I had so many herps at one time the heating bill alone was $250/month. We finally decided that enough was enough and stopped permitting them to reproduce, and also stopped replacing them when they died. We still have quite the collection of chams and beardies, though. Just make sure that you don’t die alone. They’ll escape from their cages and eat your eyeballs out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/3 "2011-12-21T06:32:41Z")
Remark inspired by another thread I saw on this board recently (sorry, no cite): Be prepared for someone to ask what a budgie is. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/4 "2011-12-21T06:53:16Z")
No they won’t eat your eyeballs out! Okay, I have absolutely NO evidence to back that up, but yer ded, right? Just a bit o’ protein 'mong friends. If you want the okay to an aviary, Martha Stewart has been doing it for ages. My Late Great **Basilio** ; the Spanish Timbrado Canary (who was a total dear I will ever endear and endour in my heart) is a joy I want to collect for the future. Imagine a little pip of a bird, totally dedicated to being a good Dad (he adopted, I guess you’d say)? They can bring sunshine into your life as much as many species. Go Crazy Bird! ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/5 "2011-12-21T12:28:18Z")
You’re only a true bird lady when you’re also feeding a flock of feral budgies outside… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/6 "2011-12-21T12:33:42Z")
We once had six lovebirds in the house. Granted, four of them were babies of the other two, but still… Nothing wrong with four budgies. You get different interactions when you have more than just two birds. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/7 "2011-12-21T14:07:38Z")
Me and my friend jointly owned eleven budgies at one time. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/8 "2011-12-21T14:08:47Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Remark inspired by another thread I saw on this board recently (sorry, no cite): > > Be prepared for someone to ask what a budgie is. I forgot about that! That was in another thread that I started about my little flying monsters. A budgie is a small parakeet. It’s short for Budgerigar. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/9 "2011-12-21T15:24:32Z")
Be very careful! I heard a rumor that… [spoiler] …Vacuum Cleaners Suck Up Budgies! 😉 [cite (at 3:55)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcHL8efKKPE) [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/10 "2011-12-21T18:29:42Z")
I heard about a Budgie that got cancer, but he died from the tweetment. But corny jokes aside, why call them “Budgies” when there is the perfectly good word “Parakeets” avail to use? I had never heard “Budgie” as a Parakeet until quite recently and to me “Budgie” means [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgie_%28drummer%29). So now do you see why this issue could be if not traumatizing, at least a little bit unsettling? And quite unfair to these magnificent feathered friends? So please reconsider your use of “Budgie”, (unless it’s the drummer “Budgie” for Siouxie and the Banshees, of course) and kindly use the word “Parakeet” to describe these fine birds. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/11 "2011-12-21T19:47:10Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > I heard about a Budgie that got cancer, but he died from the tweetment. > > But corny jokes aside, why call them “Budgies” when there is the perfectly good word “Parakeets” avail to use? I had never heard “Budgie” as a Parakeet until quite recently and to me “Budgie” means [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgie_%28drummer%29). > > So now do you see why this issue could be if not traumatizing, at least a little bit unsettling? And quite unfair to these magnificent feathered friends? > > So please reconsider your use of “Budgie”, (unless it’s the drummer “Budgie” for Siouxie and the Banshees, of course) and kindly use the word “Parakeet” to describe these fine birds. All Budgies are Parakeets but not all Parakeets are Budgies. > **[Parakeet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parakeet)** > > A parakeet is any one of many small- to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers. > The name parakeet is derived from the French word perroquet, which is reflected in some older spellings that are still sometimes encountered, including paroquet or paraquet. However, in modern French, perruche is used to refer to parakeets and similar-sized parrots. > In American English, the word parakeet usually refers to the budgerigar, which is one species of pa... ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/12 "2011-12-21T20:31:47Z")
Oops, I stand corrected. Budgie it is then. (sorry [Budgie](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=CA9&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1236&bih=556&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=UELKDXgVlD53ZM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgie_%28drummer%29&docid=4c9ZFX-Askx0FM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Siouxsie-budgie-oakland-np.jpg/220px-Siouxsie-budgie-oakland-np.jpg&w=220&h=354&ei=U0HyTuawF8ft0gGx0PmBAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=193&vpy=53&dur=2930&hovh=283&hovw=176&tx=99&ty=128&sig=112942115207151458413&page=1&tbnh=119&tbnw=76&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0), I tried :o ) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/13 "2011-12-21T20:46:12Z")
My aunt and uncle at one point had 33 birds. Six of them were large birds (parrots). THAT is crazy bird lady! Four budgies is adorable 🙂 Do they perch on you? You need to try to get them to perch and see if they can carry you away! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/14 "2011-12-21T21:16:10Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My aunt and uncle at one point had 33 birds. Six of them were large birds (parrots). THAT is crazy bird lady! > > Four budgies is adorable 🙂 Do they perch on you? You need to try to get them to perch and see if they can carry you away! 😃 I don’t have the other two yet, they are moving up to my apartment on Friday. I’ll take videos of them all meeting for the first time. When I just had one budgie, she would sit on my shoulder and scream bloody murder right into my ear ( I think she liked the echo) but then I decided to get her a friend and got a totally untamed budgie from the SPCA. She loves him more than she loves me so she’s not interested in hanging out with me anymore. The two of them spend their time hanging out on the various budgie playgrounds I have, go for the odd fly around the room and spend the nights in their cage. The new budgies are coming with their own cage so the two new ones will spend the night in their cage and hang out in the day with Budgie and Chirpy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/15 "2011-12-22T02:02:45Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > But corny jokes aside, why call them “Budgies” when there is the perfectly good word “Parakeets” avail to use? Because as a technical term “parakeet” is not interchangeable with “budgerigar”. Any long-tailed parrot can be accurately referred to as a “parakeet”, meaning the big “pirate bird” macaws are _also_ parakeets (along with many dozens of others). Thus, “budgie” more accurately identifies the species in question. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/16 "2011-12-22T03:26:03Z")
What began as a joke, ended up learning something new. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/17 "2011-12-22T03:47:51Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > When I just had one budgie, she would sit on my shoulder and scream bloody murder right into my ear ( I think she liked the echo) Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! Good on you for helping 4 creatures with one act! ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/18 "2011-12-22T04:15:38Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! Yeah but if you chuck a budgie (or four budgies) down the quarry they fall back up. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/19 "2011-12-24T02:47:48Z")
The eagles have landed. They’re babies! I didn’t know how young they were. According to the manager, they are 8 months old. They still have their baby markings and ceres (nose colours). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912/20 "2011-12-24T03:02:15Z")
Shouldn’t there be photos here? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-be-the-crazy-bird-lady/606912.md?page=2)