Novosibirsk woman lives with flock of budgies in Soviet-era apartment

When we hear stories about people who have a menagerie at home, it«s usually made up of cats. Well, maybe some keep more than one or two dogs. Or ants in ant farms, which were trendy some time ago. We don»t often hear about other living creatures residing in urban apartments in large numbers (cockroaches don«t count). NGS correspondents visited a »Khrushchyovka« where, along with a young owner and a couple of dogs, a whole flock of parrots coexists.

‘I thought I had to wait’

Angelina is a 3D sculptor, modeling figures for a 3D printer. Making figurines and programs for their printing suddenly became her main source of income — models can cost from three hundred to a thousand dollars. However, these orders are mostly one-time.

‘I don«t have a higher education at all, I taught myself modeling. First, I did a lot of manual sculpting, but when I realized I physically couldn»t achieve super fine detail, I bought a computer, a tablet, and started learning modeling from YouTube tutorials. Then I bought a 3D printer,’ Angelina said.

The girl lives in a one-room «Khrushchyovka» with two adult dogs, Dedulya and Dusya, and a whole flock of 11 budgerigars. According to her, animals were always in her parents« private house, most often stray and abandoned ones that just wandered into the yard.

‘When I started living alone, the burden of responsibility at first didn«t allow me to take animals. I thought I had to wait, circumstances had to align. I needed to find a place where I would live perfectly. But then I thought: what if I don»t find such a place where everything is perfect? In the end, I got birds. And it was one of the best decisions in my life,’ Angelina smiled.

The elderly Dedulya and Dusya also came from almost the street: Dedulya, for example, was treated in a shelter for severe dermatitis, after which Angelina took him in. Later, Dusya joined Dedulya«s company.

‘She«s a momma with a purpose’

The first budgerigars appeared with the girl about three years ago. She wanted to get a couple, but it turned out to be just the beginning.

The first two parrots — Devochka (Girl) and Stanislav — had to be taken as a pair. Devochka, by the way, is the most respected in the flock and holds a high place in the parrot hierarchy. Perhaps as the eldest.

After some time, Angelina got a friend for Stanislav, but it unexpectedly turned out to be female. Thus, Emochka appeared: from «yema», which translates from Spanish as «yolk».

‘It ended up with two girls and one boy. I decided it was unfair to the girls that there wouldn«t be another boy. So Tosha appeared,’ Angelina said. ‘He is the most active bird, but he has some psychological issues because he lived in solitary confinement for 2.5 years. He doesn»t sense the personal boundaries of other parrots, can impose himself on them, and they might aggress towards him: like, don«t be so pushy. But after about six months, Tosha adapted.’

The fifth and sixth parrots — blueish Snezha and yellow-green Vitalya — appeared «for the soul» and were supposed to be the last. Snezha, Angelina clarified, is a very active intellectual: she always thinks up where to climb and constantly gets into the closet through all sorts of cracks.

Her goal, according to the girl, is to have offspring. Parrots look for narrow and secluded spaces for this — in nature, they breed in hollows. Apparently, the cracks between the closet doors, in the opinion of the actively breeding-desiring Snezha, are perfect for that.

‘She literally constantly thinks and calculates where to climb. Vitalya creates an illusion of activity and just supports his woman. And I have to barricade the closet because Snezha has found all the cracks that can be found and that I didn«t suspect. She really wants to give birth to children in this closet, she»s a momma. And with a purpose,’ the girl joked.

But so far, despite the formed pairs and regular mating, chicks do not appear in the flock. Such is parrot nature, the girl explained: for eggs to be laid, the future momma needs to first create a conditional nest for herself.

After Snezha and Vitalya, three more birds appeared. Angelina went to a pet store for food and saw parrots living there in terrible conditions. Thus, Konstantin, Lola, and Arkady came to her.

‘He was hanging on the side of the cage,’ the girl recalled. ‘Arkady was the smallest, the cleanest of all, and looked like an angel on a dump.’

The tenth — to balance the number of males and females — was Persea. However, she was very ill and couldn«t be saved. But then another pair appeared: the former owner of Vitalik was leaving the city and offered Angelina to take his parents (the parents of the parrot Vitalik, of course, not the owner). Thus, the last two budgies were added to the flock: Rada, who had to be treated for an abdominal tumor, and Sergei.

‘I«ve always been bad with names. That»s clear from my first parrot, who is called Devochka (Girl). I decided to call the males with ordinary male names. I think it sounds cool: Stanislav Angelinovich, Konstantin Angelinovich,’ the girl smiled. ‘I can even distinguish them by silhouette in the dark, I know their body physics, how they all move, what pose they sit in, how long each tail is.’

‘I see my future only with birds’

Angelina«s usual day starts with walking the dogs and feeding them. Then she prepares breakfast for the flock: besides standard store-bought food, it»s greens, all sorts of tree branches, various sprouted cereals, vegetables, and fruits. For example, the birds« favorite dish turned out to be beets — they can eat it always and in large quantities.

It so happened that many birds in Angelina«s flock are weakened, usually they came to her sick. Therefore, besides average monthly expenses of 7,000 rubles (about $80 at current rates) on food, the girl spends quite a lot on treatment. According to her calculations, over almost three years of having the flock, from 300,000 to 500,000 rubles (approximately $3,300 to $5,600 at current rates) were spent on treatment.

Plus daily special alaminol (disinfecting) cleaning and a constantly operating bactericidal recirculator — a device for disinfecting air from bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms.

The girl talks about all her winged pets in a blog and Telegram channel called «Pusiny Peki»: peki is short for parrots, and Pus is Angelina«s long-time nickname in an online game. Her videos are educational and sometimes very funny. The only thing is, it»s recommended for users over 18 to watch them.

One of the important parts of the blog is advice on keeping birds and conveying the idea that birds are individuals.

‘I want the flock to be constant. For that, new birds need to be introduced, but I don«t want to introduce them from outside. There»s a big risk that you buy a parrot and it has megabacteriosis — that could destroy the whole flock,’ Angelina also explained. ‘Most likely, with our treating veterinarian and under her supervision, we«ll choose the females with the strongest health, and I»ll keep three chicks. I see my future only with birds.’

On January 12, NGS told how in the city of Ob, local residents found a sick Spitz abandoned in the cold. The dog was treated and taken home, and the former owner of the Spitz, who was caught on surveillance camera, is now being sought by residents to punish under the article of the Russian Criminal Code on animal cruelty.