slo’s WEDNESDAY 3/29 poll - Pet Bird

[1420Elexismc]

I worked with animals for 10+ years. I was in the bird room a lot and only one there ever caught my eye. He was a Senegal Parrot and the sweetest little thing. They are not as loud as most parrots(almost sounded like he was murmuring/mumbling more than talking). He was the only bird I would have considered having as a pet-otherwise I am happy to admire them from afar lol!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I don't have one now, but we did when I was a very young kid. I don't remember what kind.

 

[scbruno]

Never had a bird as a pet only dogs.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I love birds outside, I do not love birds inside.

 

[DVCjj]

Nope - no birds or pets of any kind. We’re not pet people.

Ooops...taking back my "Like" (though each to their own) as I just don't have pets 'now' in my life.
Understand everyone feels differently depending on life style.

 

[slo]

I have 3 parrots.

Zeppy is a blue and gold macaw. She is ~30 years old. We've had her for 10 years on March 23rd. A friend gave her to us when she started plucking her feathers because he had gotten a puppy. Zeppy lived in a commercial garage (a horrible place for a bird) and when the puppy arrived, everyone stopped fussing over her and started to play with the puppy. She was jealous and showed it by plucking and she stopped talking. When I picked her up to take her home, she started talking and didn't shut up the whole way home.

Everyone thought Zeppy was a boy, however, she started laying eggs about 3-months after she moved into our home. The vet attributed that to better food and a better environment. She has started climbing off of her cage and wandering through the house since my DD carries her around on her shoulder. Since we have a new puppy, we have to only let her out of her cage when we are around to watch her. She used to be out from morning to night. Her favorite thing to do is to play in the blankets on the sofa. She tosses it around and giggles the whole time.

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Igor is a jenday conure. He is ~12 years old. We assume that he is a boy since he has never laid an egg and has tried to mount my hand... bad bird. We purchased him from PetSmart as a baby.

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To round out our flock, we have Joey, a Timneh African Grey. He (DNA tested, so we know he is a boy) will be 16 on April 3rd. He was rehomed to us when our Congo African Grey, Chief passed away suddenly. My friend's mother was looking for a good home for him because she had cats and was afraid that she wouldn't be able to protect him from them, so he remained in his cage for 5-years before she found us.

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All of our birds talk and they pick up new things all the time. Igor has the smallest vocabulary and Joey has the largest. He will only talk when no one is in the room with him. When we are with him, he sits and listens to us and then repeats what he hears when we aren't in the room. It took me 2 weeks to teach him to whistle the chorus of Foo Fighters, My Hero, and he came to us being able to whistle the theme to Hawaii 5-0.

They are all characters in their own right and we love each of them.

Oh, and in memory of Low Key, I will call myself out on this long post.

Thank you so much for sharing this - I loved reading it and seeing the pictures.

 

[ronandannette]

Ooops...taking back my "Like" (though each to their own) as I just don't have pets 'now' in my life.
Understand everyone feels differently depending on life style.

You just need to undo your "like" by clicking on the icon again under my post...you don't need to notify me about it.

 

[DVCjj]

You just need to undo your "like" by clicking on the icon again under my post...you don't need to notify me about it.

Oh thank you. I'm so poor with posting and (obviously) unposting. I need all the help I can get.

 

[E&Cmom]

I do not have a bird. The only time I had a pet bird was as a very young child. Not sure a bird would go over well with our cats.

 

[CynBeth]

I don’t just a dog but have a friend with an African Grey.

 

[tvguy]

Before we got married my wife wanted a Macaw. Does anyone really want a pet that will out live you?
My neighbors across the street had 3 birds, but got rid of them due to allergies to bird dust.

 

[loves to dive]

One of my brother's had one while we were growing up. We also had a greyhound and cat at the same time. The bird knew how to open her cage door and she would fly around the house. When she would settle down the dog would catch her in her mouth and very gently carry her to one of us kids to put her back in her cage. I think the bird kind of liked being in the dog's mouth because she got out a lot. I'm not a fan of birds, my brother's liked to take the one we had and tangle her in my hair.

 

[easyas123]

I have thought about getting (rescuing) one but remember the morning squawking at my brother’s house and think maybe it’s not such a good idea after all, lol. There’s also something about seeing a bird in a cage that makes me sad, too. If I had one I would want it to have a lot of space and activities. There’s one I see on IG that actually flies outside but comes right back. Idk how safe that is but the bird seems happy!

I've never had a desire to have bird inside - we've had chickens, ducks & geese over the years- but my husband has always wanted one. Always. But as you mentioned above, I'd feel bad about them being "stuck" in the cage so often (we have and will always have dogs). I know some people have them out and about, but for those of you who do is there any trick or training associated with that? Not really interested in bird poop around the house! That and I was under the impression that many of the larger pet birds had a very long life span, and didn't know if that was something I should take on.

Interesting to think about though.

 

[_19disnA]

Someone who used to live in our neighborhood had some sort of large bird that would sit outside and constantly make loud screeching noises. Very annoying and worse then having dogs constantly barking. Fortunately they moved and took the bird with them !!! No idea why anyone thought that would be a good pet to have.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I love birds and love to watch nests online. I would like to have a cockatoo or a hyacinth macaw, but do not feel comfortable having a bird that cannot fly free. Putting them in cages or restricting their flight to a house just does not seem right.

 

[fla4fun]

My sister had a budgie that was really smart, and when he passed, she got a lovebird (don’t remember the circumstances, but there was a reason why there was only the one). Both passed away before she moved out. I don’t have any pets and she now has a cat.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

No, I was never a pet bird person. We always had dogs.

 

[disneychrista]

As a child I got a parakeet for my birthday. The cats liked him a little too much, so he went to live with my grandma.

Now I enjoy the bird that come into my yard. Though same issue the cats that also visit my backyard, also enjoy the birds.

 

[Sweettears]

I’ve had several pet birds however they somehow always end up in the oven.

Not a fan of the live variety. Voted other

 

[LilyJC]

I love birds, but we are currently down to one. My husband is not a fan of the noise, so this one will likely be our last feathered pet. Our most recent birds include the special needs budgies I rescued that actually lived so much longer than we all expected; our rescued Maximilian Pionus that was an amazing talker but unfortunately came with high cholesterol and unexpectedly passed away; and a Congo African Grey I took care of for a missionary family (he hated my husband ). Loki is our 9 year old Dusky conure that we’ve had since he was a baby. We were told Dusky’s are a quiet conure, but definitely not (maybe compared to a sun conure ). He talks a little and loves to give kisses. He was my oldest’s, but she isn’t so much a nurturer so he’s my bird now.

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I honestly would never recommend a bird as a pet unless one does tons of research for the specific species. They are high maintenance, emotional pets that are loud, make a huge mess, and can be quite destructive.