Birds

Who has birds, and what kind of bird(s)

I love birds. Tyler and I had a lovebird a few years ago. He was the best, unfortunatly he died pretty young, but he was a PJ's pet bird so who knows what he died from.

Mushu was Tyler's traveling partner. He loved car rides and also kept him company while he was away for work and away from family.

Tyler and I want another bird in the future, but I don't know if thats very realisitic since we are big into weekend hiking trips. A bird might not enjoy being alone for two days at a time.... although Mushu was ok with being left alone for 14hr days if we kept the radio on. Nope talk me out of it!!

So tell me about your birds, their personalities, their quirks and if sometimes they annoy the hell outta you? Ha ha

We currently have one bird, a whiteface Cockatiel named Joey. (Well, Joseph, but Joey is what we call him.) I purchased him when I was a junior in highschool, possibly? Don't really remember. We had him when we had Sadie, which would have been in '06...so he'll be six years old in May.

Honestly, we probably shouldn't have him. He hardly ever gets out of cage time and little one on one interaction. I purchased him as my bird, but he hates my guts, so he has been a "family bird" for quite some time now. I've struggled with rehoming him multiple times, but I always end up deciding not too because he seems happy. He sings, he talks, he whistles, he plays with his toys, he has a healthy appetite, healthy feathers, no bad behaviors, and shows no stereotypies, so he's stayed. I think there is enough human (and dog) traffic by his cage that he still feels part of the family, even if his handling time is limited.

We call him our alarm system, because if he sees anyone pull up into our driveway he starts a shrill whistle. That warns the dogs, who will then run up to the door and start barking. Joey will either continue his whistle, or join in with barking. LOL
He whistles the Phantom of the Opera theme song, barks like a dog, wolf whistles, and says "Joey's a pretty bird!" He also can say "Wesley!" (the name of my younger brother, whom Joey has claimed as his mate).

He's a booger. If we hold a conversation by his cage, he has to join in with random little noises and jibber jabber (what I'm sure he thinks we sound like when we talk). He'll even through in hand movements (with his feet) if we start gesturing. Cracks us all up.

I think the most annoying thing he does is when he plays with his bell. He'll stick his head up inside it and chew around on the dinger-thing and whistle a really shrill whistle. Its funny, but when you're trying to concentrate on something it is also very annoying. LOL We just have to say, "Joey!" and he stops, looks at us, and does something else. All around, he is a very quite bird, though, and for that I'm thankful. I have since come to realize that I am NOT a bird person, and birds being birds tends to drive me up the wall.

Picture of Joey:


With my brother, who was not happy with me LOL:

Birds are annoying. first and foremost.
We have a lesser sulfur crested cockatoo named Napoleon

(not him. but looks like him) lol

He is one of the most smart, funny, sweet, quirky pets you could ever have.

Firstly, it is ALWAYS like having a two year old in the house.
the good and the bad parts of that lol

Bad parts?
He is messy. Cleaning their cages is annoying, flinging their food (which many find very fun) is messy, they like to groom themselves in water and splash around.

He is loud. and not just "aww he is talking" but "OH MY GOD WHY ARE YOU SCREECHING IT IS 6 IN THE MORNING!?!"
Some of it you can teach, like "shhh".. but you can never really get a bird (especially a large one) to be quiet. They are birds, calling is what they like to do

He is (this will also be featured in the "good" section). They will open latches to their cages, make the noise of your cell phone so you come running, tip their food bowls over, curse to get attention, and just be general pain in the butts that don't listen because they are too smart to "obey"

They are social smart animals. That means, you are their flock and their "mate" and to a bird.. there is no bond closer. They WANT to be with you all the time. They like taking showers with you, eating at the same time as everyone, being part of the conversation, sitting by you while you watch TV, playing games with you etc.. while this "can" be good.. this is also a GREAT responsibility.

Birds that are ignored will not just be sad. They will hurt themselves, pluck out all their feathers, and just become general menaces.

- He is expensive. His cage costs a small fortune, even though he barely spends time in it other than sleeping lol also if something goes wrong, exotic vets are $

- We have left him for weekends before (all of us) and he has done ok. He was visibly sad the whole time, but we had somebody stay over the house with him (he does LIKE visitors/strangers) and he did ok.
I do NOT think he would have been ok with just somebody coming over and feeding him. Thank goodness we found a housesitter that stayed over, even just her being around, watching tv, eating, etc.. was nice for him so he wasn't alone

- Having a huge tantrum. His call can be heard from 52 stories down, 1 block away. I know this for a fact.

GOOD PARTS

- He is smart. the kind of smart that makes you scratch your head and wonder what is going on in that head of his. He knows plenty of tricks and uses words in contexts.
As in, if you have food, he says "gimme some please!" or "NOW!"

- He is funny. not like woops funny but like, he is intentionally humorous. He will throw something off his cage at the dog. My mom will laugh, he will laugh..and then do it again and look back at her.
He will talk back to us, play games, make fun of us, imitate us, imitate the tv, the microwave

- We can share food with him lol they eat everything that is healthy for us. Fruits, veggies, meats, etc..etc..
Napoleons favorite food is eggo waffles

- Long lifespan is a plus. He will likely be with us until like forever lol

- He can talk. Not as well as an african grey, but he certainly does talk, and sing, and buzz, and beep, and ring, and bark lol

- He is cuddly. Cockatoos are VERY VERY cuddly. He loves to be stroked, petted held, loved on, scratched, kissed. all of it.

_____

QUIRKS
- his favorite food is eggo waffles, he also enjoys apple slices
- he is scared of the dark (we leave a night light on for him)
- he sings himself to sleep sometimes
- he speaks spanish (we don't) we think his last home did lol
- he is cage-free. His cage is open during the day, he spends most of him time on top of it on his playpen or in my moms room.
he walks around the house as most pets would, on the ground.
- he is potty trained and returns to his cage to "go"
- his favorite activity is to sit on your lap while you watch TV
- We bought him on the side of the road. The man selling us mangoes didn't have change for a $50 and offered us the bird. He had him in a shoe box.
- He has a pretty high pitched girly voice lol most cockatoos do
- He learns very fast. clicker training is a breeze to him and teaching him a new trick takes all but 5 minutes
- He loves to lay on his back on your lap lol
- I honestly think he KNOWS he is smarter than the dogs

It's hard talking about him. because as much as we all love him and as much as our house would be empty without him.
I don't think these birds are right for anyone. Like, I can't imagine EVER thinking it is a good idea for somebody to go out and buy one
and the more I am around him the more I think "wow..these really are creatures that were not meant to be pets" but there are plenty of birds in rescue that NEED homes, so I digress.

but still, especially when it comes to larger birds (which really are a LIFETIME commitment) I would really really seriously be careful before deciding to bring on home
It's not a new pet, it's a lifestyle change lol

I have a Congo African Grey named Caesar. They are a lifetime commitment since their lifespan is similar to that of a human . They take a lot of patience and their care is not cheap. Getting one is definitely a decision to take seriously. They are wonderful, intelligent, amazing creatures and I would be lost without mine.

For the most part birds are not for the faint of heart. Especially the larger parrots.
Like Fran said its like having a permanent 2 yr old in the house only for 30+ years (for the larger parrots).
I currently have 1 parrot. 1 Female Senegal who is about 10ish years old named Cleo. Who came all the way from Texas.
Her quirks are many. LOL
She is definatly NOT one to want to be on you. Her idea of spending time with you is to hang out on top of her cage and chat with you.
When she wants something, just like a 2 yr old, she DEMANDS it. And keeps demanding it until you give her what she wants.
If she doesn't like something she lets you know.
She loves to talk, grumble, make beeping noises (like the trucks that beep when backing up), phone rings.
She is a live in comedian.
She talks to herself. Even changing her voice to answer herself, she started this after my male senegal died.
She is constantly learning new words, phrases and how to use them correctly.

Bad parts.
She makes a mess out of her water dish (taking baths and dunking her food). Behind her cage the walls are covered in splattered food.
She is an escape artist. I finally fixed that problem, she is now the Alcatraz of bird cages. It even has a lock with keys to it.
She is a trouble making instigator, who thinks its hilarious to get others in the house in trouble.
She can be super and I mean SUPER loud for being a little thing.
If she doesn't like you, you will know it.
She has mood swings.
They are big attitudes in small feathery bodies.

Keep in mind the bigger the bird, the harder they bite. Some birds are big enough to amputate a small finger or break a bigger finger. So watch them around little ones.

And like Palmetto said, they are wonderfully intelligent and amazing creatures that I couldn't imagine her not being here.

I have three birds, 2 white winged parakeets and a Quaker parrot, and both species have their pros and cons, as well as just general bird pros and cons....

The 'keets, Pickles and Kiwi...

Cons--
the NOISE! When these two get going they can get *really* loud for such small pets, they are easily louder than both dogs combined. They are the worst in the middle of the night if you disturb them. They as very annoyed by people moving around, turning a light on, etc, anywhere near their cage at night and get very pissy and insistent. They are also attached to my husband, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but when he went away on business last month they called for him ALL MORNING, starting at 5 am.

They are messy! One of the keets enjoys a bath in her water dish and they both occasionally dip their food in their water dish. They also throw food out of their cage, though if you ask the dogs this is a "Pro." You have to keep on top of cage upkeep. Smaller birds might mean smaller poop but it also means a faster metabolism and more frequent pooping. Also, when you handle them you just have to expect to be pooped on and plan accordingly.

They can be stubborn and sassy. You have to convince them to do something, because if you try to make them do something they don't want to they have no problem biting you and can easily draw blood.

They are very suspicious of new things. It takes.them.forever. to trust new objects, and I bought four playground things before I found one that they don't think is the devil.

Their vet care is expensive. They routine "wellnes" care costs more annually than the horses routine vet care did.

They are much more stoic when sick then dogs, so that often signs of illness can be easily missed until its too late.

Their stuff--toys, perches, quality food, etc, can be harder to find depending on your location than dog and cat stuff. A couple of the best local places either stopped carrying bird stuff or severely reduced their inventory. Right now in our area Petco actually bas the best selection.


Pros

They are just fun, interactive little pets. Its awesome to hear then imitate new sounds and have them converse with you.

They have made me a better pet owner since they are more if a challenge than the dogs.

You don't have to walk them in the freezing cold like dogs, don't have to deal with litter boxes, vomit and hairballs like cats, and don't have to go out in the cold to feed and break ice in buckets, etc, like with horses.

Their poop is the least offensive of all pet (other than fish) poop IMHO.

They do like to cuddle sometimes.

No fur to deal with. They do molt their feathers, but they can't hold a candle to lab hair.

They are very comical little critters.


Yoda the Quaker parrot has most of the same pros and cons, with a few unique to him:

Cons-

Quakers are very territorial when it comes to their cages, more so than other species. If you try to just reach in there to get him out, you will get bitten, and if you push it, he will draw blood. We have to let him come to us.

He is much harder on toys than the keets. Since getting him I now know why people make their own parrot toys. This is kind of a pro since its fun to watch him shred them and find toys I know that he will really live tearing into.


Pros--

Yoda is much more bold than the keets. He will investigate and accept new things much more readily.

He is quieter but is also starting to mumble and hopefully talk soon....