Do you have birds as pets??
04-08-2010, 06:36 AM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: California
Posts: 1,435
We have a backyard aviary with zebra finches and 4 quail.... have had the finches for 5 years and they do fine outside...My husband built nest boxes for them and they have lots of babies....the quail just lay eggs and don't sit on them, but all the birds love to eat the broken eggs....
04-08-2010, 07:05 AM
#32
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Clearfield, UT
Posts: 570
Originally Posted by QBeth
Originally Posted by Rhonda
I love to go in the pet shops and look at the birds. Went in PetCo and they had cockatiels in an open cage. You could interact with them if they were willing. It is so much fun! The pet store we used to go to isn't there anymore. They had birds that would sit on your shoulder and go with you through the store. They had a Cockatoo named Sonny that would hold a conversation with you. He was so funny! He would walk all over the cash register and ring up the numbers and just laugh!!
04-08-2010, 07:12 AM
#33
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 150
[ETA: re: parrot rescue groups] I've heard of them, but wouldn't be able to tell you how to get in touch (might try your local animal shelter or humane society or an avian vet's office). I've also heard that screaming is a major reason parrots and similar wind up in rescue.
DH and I, after multiple visits to the local bird store, pretty much agree we wouldn't be able to cope with anything in the hookbill category due to noise.
DH and I, after multiple visits to the local bird store, pretty much agree we wouldn't be able to cope with anything in the hookbill category due to noise.
04-08-2010, 07:43 AM
#34
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Salem Iowa
Posts: 15,666
I bought my first cockatiel from a pet store close to us and I also bought my first pomeranian there. We spent alot of time there and got to know the people. Their birds were hand raised and when you went in they would let you go in and handle the birds before you bought them.
The one that is in business in the same town now they get their birds from the same lady I bought my cockatiel from. she told me she wouldn't sell to some pet stores but this one she does because they are very good to their animals.This breeder hand raises her birds and she familiarizes them with being around people.
I have no problem buying from a pet store. But it is good to get to know who you are buying from and not to just walk in and take something without any background.
A lot of taming issues are more about the owner than the breeder. You have to put time into the process and not expect instant success. Also we have never forced a bird to do anything he or she didn't want to except for when you have to clip wings or toenails etc. Then there is a right way and a wrong way to do that.
When we got our Snickers my daughter got her brother for my granddaughter. They didn't spend much time with him and he would bite and didn't want to come out of his cage. I handled him some when they first got him but because noone spent any time with him he became unmanageable.
We talk to Snick several times a day and she gets treats like crackers and apples etc nearly every day. Glen cleans her cage every other day or so and opens the whole side of her cage while he does the cleaning. Sometimes she flies and alot of the time she climbs on his arm or follows him around the cage while he wipes the bars down. We always do this in our bedroom because she had landed in front of our dog Molly's nose a couple of times when I had her out in the LR when we first got her. Molly is a bird dog and has killed birds outside so I don't want to take any chances!
Even tho I can't let her out in the Living room I sometimes put my hand in and she likes to sit on my hand while we whistle together. This is a big deal to her.
When we first got her we had Alley cat. Not sure if Alley would hurt her or not we would take her into the bedroom at night with us and bring her out in the daytime. So this has become our routine. She goes to bed when Glen goes to bed and comes out when he gets up. Sometimes when I go to bed she will holler Pretty Girl over and over to get me to stop and whistle with her for awhile. Some nights she doesn't like to stop! She is very demanding at times! She will scream til I talk to her and she won't stop til she gets the attention. When I have gone out to the kitchen to cook and she can't see me she starts screaming and when I can't stand it anymore I get the stepstool and put it in the kitchen doorway and put her cage on it so she can see me and she is happy! Spoiled bird! I would get her out more often than we do but she likes her cage and refuses to come out unless it is her idea!
My DD got a new cage and gave us her old one which is bigger than the one I have and Snickers wanted nothing to do with it. She likes her little territory. I hung a rawhide shoe in one corner and she bats at it with her beak and as it swings she turns her head all the way around and catches it as it goes around and bats at it again. It is her punching bag and boy does she work out some aggression on it!!! LOL I bought these 4 plastic rings (several shapes) and she works and works on them to put them where and how she wants them. I also bought a toy from the pet shop that is 4 toothbrushes with small rings on above the head of the toothbrush. She works and works and has put one toothbrush head through one of the 4 plastic rings!!! How she manipulates them is just amazing to watch. She is very persistant and spends hours moving things to her satisfaction.
Because I work on my quilting everyday at my work desk all of my animals including Snickers think their world isn't right unless I am in my place! LOL
It is pretty cool to come home and walk in to Snickers hollering Pretty Girl over and over again and the dogs are carrying on because they have been alone and now you're home!!! Can't say I'm not loved!!!
The one that is in business in the same town now they get their birds from the same lady I bought my cockatiel from. she told me she wouldn't sell to some pet stores but this one she does because they are very good to their animals.This breeder hand raises her birds and she familiarizes them with being around people.
I have no problem buying from a pet store. But it is good to get to know who you are buying from and not to just walk in and take something without any background.
A lot of taming issues are more about the owner than the breeder. You have to put time into the process and not expect instant success. Also we have never forced a bird to do anything he or she didn't want to except for when you have to clip wings or toenails etc. Then there is a right way and a wrong way to do that.
When we got our Snickers my daughter got her brother for my granddaughter. They didn't spend much time with him and he would bite and didn't want to come out of his cage. I handled him some when they first got him but because noone spent any time with him he became unmanageable.
We talk to Snick several times a day and she gets treats like crackers and apples etc nearly every day. Glen cleans her cage every other day or so and opens the whole side of her cage while he does the cleaning. Sometimes she flies and alot of the time she climbs on his arm or follows him around the cage while he wipes the bars down. We always do this in our bedroom because she had landed in front of our dog Molly's nose a couple of times when I had her out in the LR when we first got her. Molly is a bird dog and has killed birds outside so I don't want to take any chances!
Even tho I can't let her out in the Living room I sometimes put my hand in and she likes to sit on my hand while we whistle together. This is a big deal to her.
When we first got her we had Alley cat. Not sure if Alley would hurt her or not we would take her into the bedroom at night with us and bring her out in the daytime. So this has become our routine. She goes to bed when Glen goes to bed and comes out when he gets up. Sometimes when I go to bed she will holler Pretty Girl over and over to get me to stop and whistle with her for awhile. Some nights she doesn't like to stop! She is very demanding at times! She will scream til I talk to her and she won't stop til she gets the attention. When I have gone out to the kitchen to cook and she can't see me she starts screaming and when I can't stand it anymore I get the stepstool and put it in the kitchen doorway and put her cage on it so she can see me and she is happy! Spoiled bird! I would get her out more often than we do but she likes her cage and refuses to come out unless it is her idea!
My DD got a new cage and gave us her old one which is bigger than the one I have and Snickers wanted nothing to do with it. She likes her little territory. I hung a rawhide shoe in one corner and she bats at it with her beak and as it swings she turns her head all the way around and catches it as it goes around and bats at it again. It is her punching bag and boy does she work out some aggression on it!!! LOL I bought these 4 plastic rings (several shapes) and she works and works on them to put them where and how she wants them. I also bought a toy from the pet shop that is 4 toothbrushes with small rings on above the head of the toothbrush. She works and works and has put one toothbrush head through one of the 4 plastic rings!!! How she manipulates them is just amazing to watch. She is very persistant and spends hours moving things to her satisfaction.
Because I work on my quilting everyday at my work desk all of my animals including Snickers think their world isn't right unless I am in my place! LOL
It is pretty cool to come home and walk in to Snickers hollering Pretty Girl over and over again and the dogs are carrying on because they have been alone and now you're home!!! Can't say I'm not loved!!!
04-08-2010, 07:50 AM
#35
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Salem Iowa
Posts: 15,666
LOL I built an aviary one time and I would not do it the way I built that one!! I made it 3' square and 6' high. It was great size wise to put branches in and they could fly in it. But it was too tall for me to reach across the top and we had parakeets that were't tame. They would find a way to get out and we had a devil of a time catching them! They would land on the top of the cage and run from you and I couldn't catch them without help! We always used bath towels to catch them but it took a couple of us at least to corner them! LOL
04-08-2010, 08:36 AM
#36
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 38
lol birds/ parrots? I have 14 of them.
I have a birdie alarm clock no need to set one in this house. it is my goffin cockatoo, Birdie. at 7am every morning he sounds off. and has ever since I have had him. He is a re home with us and have had him for 8 yrs and he was in 2 abusive homes prior to me.
Merlin Umbrella cockatoo announces bed time every night. with nite nite.
another re home I have is my blue and gold macaw sydney. She was 9 when she came to me she is now 14. a previous owner had her in their bed room at some point. it is so embarrassing if we have a stranger in or outside on the porch as you can hear her. she does the whole routine of someone having s**. first time I heard it I about died, we had company over and I very quickly told them she was a re home and lord only knows what she does.
the other is my Fluffy, moluccan cockatoo. he cusses up a storm and not nicely we are his second home and he is now 19. the phrase that I have yet to figure out is " I want to eat the wow wow"
also sydney will start everyone to screaming so she can tell them to shut up and the other thing that happens is she yells "help" and Birdie adds "come here"
and my all time favorite. escapees. You would think that they would tattle on one getting out, right? nope they stay as quite as a mouse so the escapee does not get caught unless I catch it.
sydney wanted out one day and I told her she had to wait as I was doing laundry and putting it away. I walked through the room to put laundry up and she was in the cage. walked back through about 15 min later and she helped herself out of the cage.
I have a birdie alarm clock no need to set one in this house. it is my goffin cockatoo, Birdie. at 7am every morning he sounds off. and has ever since I have had him. He is a re home with us and have had him for 8 yrs and he was in 2 abusive homes prior to me.
Merlin Umbrella cockatoo announces bed time every night. with nite nite.
another re home I have is my blue and gold macaw sydney. She was 9 when she came to me she is now 14. a previous owner had her in their bed room at some point. it is so embarrassing if we have a stranger in or outside on the porch as you can hear her. she does the whole routine of someone having s**. first time I heard it I about died, we had company over and I very quickly told them she was a re home and lord only knows what she does.
the other is my Fluffy, moluccan cockatoo. he cusses up a storm and not nicely we are his second home and he is now 19. the phrase that I have yet to figure out is " I want to eat the wow wow"
also sydney will start everyone to screaming so she can tell them to shut up and the other thing that happens is she yells "help" and Birdie adds "come here"
and my all time favorite. escapees. You would think that they would tattle on one getting out, right? nope they stay as quite as a mouse so the escapee does not get caught unless I catch it.
sydney wanted out one day and I told her she had to wait as I was doing laundry and putting it away. I walked through the room to put laundry up and she was in the cage. walked back through about 15 min later and she helped herself out of the cage.
04-08-2010, 09:17 AM
#37
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Salem Iowa
Posts: 15,666
Originally Posted by Moppet
lol birds/ parrots? I have 14 of them.
I have a birdie alarm clock no need to set one in this house. it is my goffin cockatoo, Birdie. at 7am every morning he sounds off. and has ever since I have had him. He is a re home with us and have had him for 8 yrs and he was in 2 abusive homes prior to me.
Merlin Umbrella cockatoo announces bed time every night. with nite nite.
another re home I have is my blue and gold macaw sydney. She was 9 when she came to me she is now 14. a previous owner had her in their bed room at some point. it is so embarrassing if we have a stranger in or outside on the porch as you can hear her. she does the whole routine of someone having s**. first time I heard it I about died, we had company over and I very quickly told them she was a re home and lord only knows what she does.
the other is my Fluffy, moluccan cockatoo. he cusses up a storm and not nicely we are his second home and he is now 19. the phrase that I have yet to figure out is " I want to eat the wow wow"
also sydney will start everyone to screaming so she can tell them to shut up and the other thing that happens is she yells "help" and Birdie adds "come here"
and my all time favorite. escapees. You would think that they would tattle on one getting out, right? nope they stay as quite as a mouse so the escapee does not get caught unless I catch it.
sydney wanted out one day and I told her she had to wait as I was doing laundry and putting it away. I walked through the room to put laundry up and she was in the cage. walked back through about 15 min later and she helped herself out of the cage.
I have a birdie alarm clock no need to set one in this house. it is my goffin cockatoo, Birdie. at 7am every morning he sounds off. and has ever since I have had him. He is a re home with us and have had him for 8 yrs and he was in 2 abusive homes prior to me.
Merlin Umbrella cockatoo announces bed time every night. with nite nite.
another re home I have is my blue and gold macaw sydney. She was 9 when she came to me she is now 14. a previous owner had her in their bed room at some point. it is so embarrassing if we have a stranger in or outside on the porch as you can hear her. she does the whole routine of someone having s**. first time I heard it I about died, we had company over and I very quickly told them she was a re home and lord only knows what she does.
the other is my Fluffy, moluccan cockatoo. he cusses up a storm and not nicely we are his second home and he is now 19. the phrase that I have yet to figure out is " I want to eat the wow wow"
also sydney will start everyone to screaming so she can tell them to shut up and the other thing that happens is she yells "help" and Birdie adds "come here"
and my all time favorite. escapees. You would think that they would tattle on one getting out, right? nope they stay as quite as a mouse so the escapee does not get caught unless I catch it.
sydney wanted out one day and I told her she had to wait as I was doing laundry and putting it away. I walked through the room to put laundry up and she was in the cage. walked back through about 15 min later and she helped herself out of the cage.
My grandma had a parakeet she taught to talk. She taught him to say things like Diane clean up your room and other saying with her grands name in the phrase. She was trying to teach him to say Jesus loves me and at the same time she worked on teaching him I love root beer. He got them mixed up and he would say Jesus loves beer!!! She had to quit trying to teach him that one!
04-08-2010, 10:31 AM
#38
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 3,672
I have always wanted a parrot!! But they are so darn expensive![/quote]
I know this sounds weird, but get a chicken! You can order a single pullet right now, you will get it when it is about 5 months old. I had 6 hens in my hen house, and I could pet all of them, they would come like little dogs when called, and best of all, you will get the gift of an egg 6 days a week!
Racoons got into my henhouse and killed them all, so I just buy my eggs now, but I sure liked my hens, I do miss them, but who really needs 3 1/2 dozen eggs a week?
I know this sounds weird, but get a chicken! You can order a single pullet right now, you will get it when it is about 5 months old. I had 6 hens in my hen house, and I could pet all of them, they would come like little dogs when called, and best of all, you will get the gift of an egg 6 days a week!
Racoons got into my henhouse and killed them all, so I just buy my eggs now, but I sure liked my hens, I do miss them, but who really needs 3 1/2 dozen eggs a week?
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