In mid August of 2002, a budgie owner asked me for help. She used to keep budgies for many years since then and she adored her birds. A few months before she contacted me, her daughter became ill due to the couple of budgies living in their home. The woman tried everything to heal her daughter's asthma because they didn't want to give away their birds. There was no improving of her daughter's health, so a hard decision has been made: the birds had to leave.

But there was a problem about the couple. At that time the about nine years old female who was named Eule - this means "owl" in English - was blind. That's why her former owner wanted to give her to a good home that's suitable for disabled birds. My bird room is a good place for handicapped budgies and I decided to give Eule and her husband Max a new home. On 08/16/2002, they became members of my flock.

Eule was a greywing in light mauve, so her body was coloured in a light violet. In fact, it reminded me a bit of lilac flowers.

After her arrival, Eule made herself familiar with the new surrounding on her own and I didn't disturb while she was carefully walking around in the bird room. The next morning, I showed her where she could find food and water in this chamber. She learned it very quickly, she was an amazingly intelligent bird! It was less than 24 hours ago since she has moved into her new home, but she already started to take her place in the flock and nibbled on carrot, lettuce, cucumber and fresh fruit. I was so glad to see that she could deal with the life in her new home! Despite of her handicap, she was a lively and happy bird. Like all hens, she exactly knew what she wanted.

A few days later Eule fell in love with the charming Rudi who was married to two (!) other hens at that time. Eule took her chance and conquered his heart. He seemed to be her shadow, the happy couple was sticking together all day long. In September, Eule became ill. I brought her to a vet who is specialized in treating birds, but it didn't help. Her illness finally became so bad that I had to take a hard decision. On 11/08/02, I brought Eule to my vet who put her to sleep. It was very hard for me because she was a friendly and lovable bird despite of being heavily disabled. This tough budgie lady had a wonderful life and she found real love in my bird room. The only thing that's sad about the story is that this true love wasn't meant to be for very long. Rudi and me, we both miss Eule and carry our memories of her with us in our hearts.

Eule's exact age was unknown. She was found in the street by her former owner nine years before Eule moved into my bird room.