When hearing the word pet, most people think of a dog, cat or maybe even a fish. However, freshman Taylor has her own version of the word pet. Mattheis has birds as pets—and she has not just one but eight birds.
“Well, there’s Sunny, and I picked that name [because] he has a bright yellow head. And then there’s Blue, which kind of gives it away. He’s Blue. And then there’s Mango. I got him from someone else, so I didn’t choose his name. And then there was a Blueberry, but I changed it to Sky because I don’t like the name Blueberry. And then there’s Kiki. I don’t know where I got that from. I came up with it, I think, or I saw it somewhere. And then there’s Clue because I had no clue what was going on with him. And then the other two, I let my friends pick, and it was Peep and Burb,” Mattheis said.
Matthies got into birds when she got the first one for her eighth birthday from her aunt, and over the years her flock has grown. Among these birds, Mattheis has two different breeds: parakeets and cockatiels.
“A cockatiel is much bigger than a parakeet, so that’s mostly how I tell them apart. Plus, they have like these little mohawks so that also helps,” Mattheis said.
Other than parakeets and cockatiels, Mattheis has had a parrot and a scarlet macaw.
“We adopted a scarlet macaw, and then we had to get rid of him because he was aggressive towards males, and he tried to bite me in the face. I was pretty sad about that, so then I got my first parakeet for my birthday that year,” Mattheis said.
Each of her birds, no matter the breed, comes with their own challenges.
“Well, making sure all eight birds get fed is hard because if they are like flying around and stuff, they are really hard to get back in their cages once you let them out because they don’t really wanna go back in,” Mattheis said.
This is not the only set of challenges Mattheis faces when taking care of these unique pets.
“I mean, all animals are messy, but birds are particular because they are constantly shedding feathers and they flank seeds everywhere. Plus, they’re really small and hard to catch when they misbehave or when you want them to stop doing something,” Mattheis said.
Mattheis doesn’t see herself increasing her flock anytime soon, but she still doesn’t rule it out.
“They’re just really messy and loud, but if I did get another bird it would probably be another parakeet or maybe a quaker parrot. I’ve always wanted one and they’re really cute,” Mattheis said.
Even though there are a lot of ups and downs to taking care of these fun pets, for Mattheis it’s worth it to have a built-in best friend in the end.
“Even though my birds are sometimes difficult to take care of, I love them and wouldn’t ask for any other pet,” Mattheis said. “They’re the perfect pets for me because they’re fun, energetic and entertaining.”
