Although the cats make up the larger majority of our household pets, the birds definitely demand the most time, and are the most expensive (initially).  Our roost currently consists of seven, spread between Cockatoo's, Amazon's and cockatiels.  Thanks to them all the house is never quiet, although not always in a good way.

Sunny was known as "the old man", as Kristy got him in 1980 and brought him into our relationship (they were a package deal).  Several people have commented that they had never heard of a cockatiel living as long as he had - over twenty years.  He passed away at the age of 20 as Kristy comforted him on the morning of January 3, 2001.

Spice & Milli were a mated pair.  They made their way into our home (and our hearts) in ways to long to explain in this little section.  They were very active at making baby chicks, and parented 60 chicks, always the joy of the local pet store, who found homes for all of them.  We don't know how old Milli was when she came to us, but she lived a fulfilling six years, and passed away peacefully on September 15, 2004. Spice continued on for another five years, finally joining his beloved mate, to rest next to her on December 30, 2009.

Rikki is a small bird with a BIG attitude.  He is a Goffin's Cockatoo.  They are often referred to as two year old children running with scissors and caffeine for blood.  He was born on October 8, 1999 (David's birthday - I think we were destined to get him), and Kristy fell in love with him at first sight, when he was just a four week old chick with no feathers.  He has an ever growing vocabulary, is very well mannered, and LOVES his Kristy.

Sparky is David's cockatiel, and was born in second clutch produced by Spice and Milli.  He is missing a couple of toes, which made him unsellable, so David took him in as his own.  They are best companions, and Sparky eagerly sits on David's shoulder, regardless of what he's doing.

Monet and Merrie are the second bonded that we have.  Although they haven't produced any chicks yet, they do a lot of "practicing" to get ready for parenthood.

Freckles was a baby gray pearl.  Kristy had hoped to mate this one but it wasn't meant to be.  Freckles took ill and passed away on March 31, 2001 from heavy metal poisoning (zinc) that we didn't discover on her cage until after she passed away.  We were really getting attached to her, and she will be missed.

Griffin (aka Griffy): Our last avian addition is a Yellow Naped Amazon.  We adopted her from an elderly couple no longer able to devote the time to keep her.  She has bonded well with Kristy, but would rather take a large chunk out of James.  She was born February 9, 1991.

Chicks.  When Milli and Spice were making babies, they were a regular fixture in our house, at least for the short amount of time between hatching and Kristy taking them to the pet store (which is usually when they are two weeks old).  With the passing of Milli, our house is now empty of this exciting addition to our household.