A couple of months ago, Cory and I decided to add another cockatiel to our home. We thought that Rocky could benefit from a feathery friend, and we were excited about the idea of having two! So we went to our favorite exotic bird store, Omar’s, and picked out a little baby to reserve. Then, after a long wait while he grew up a bit, we finally got to take him home 2 ½ weeks ago.

We named him Samson. He’s really quite adorable, and it has been fun to watch his personality emerge! Best of all, he and Rocky are getting along very well and Rocky seems to be happier with little Sammy around.

Fortunately, having two birds has not been much more work than having one. We moved them to quite a large cage, which certainly takes longer to clean, but the larger cage (with plenty of toys) and the fact that they have each other now has made it easier to keep them entertained. Rocky doesn’t scream quite as much, but the real benefit has been the joy of seeing the two of them interacting and playing together. Lately, Samson has taken to singing and making other really cute bird chuckly-noises, which always makes me smile.

Shortly before we decided to get Samson, my pet mouse named Nilly passed away. She was about 2 years old, and lived a happy life, as far as being a mouse goes. So now we are a one dog, one cat, two cockatiel household. And we love each of our pets dearly!

Here’s a picture of Samson, and another of him and Rocky in their new cage.