THE BIRD THREAD - Post birds, discuss birds or even sniff birds.

[SuiSui1]

 

[Gay Mouth]

Hoopoe

 

[Newman's Lovechild]

 

[Chicken In A Pot]

Hey I have looked at this thread and you guys seem really knowledgeable about keeping birds. I have always wanted to keep a conure in my life time. I know this is like a 30 year commitment. I was wondering if you guys had any tips in keeping them and what the most ethical way of getting said conure is?

So let's start with the things you will have to give up in life: teflon cookware, most air fryers, most hairdryers, candles, anything with a strong scent, hairspray, perfume/cologne, bleach, powerful household cleaners, and pesticides. While not necessarily constantly, they can often be loud. This usually necessitates detached housing so as not to piss off shared-wall neighbors. Individual birds can be louder than others, and you never know what you're going to end up with. They are flock animals and will want to be with you all the daylight hours. While that's not possible even for my spoiled birbs, there's always annoyance about that issue. Sometimes they scream when they don't get their way.

They cannot be neutered, so you will eventually have to live with a sexually mature animal that will be a sexually frustrated asshole 1-2 times per year. They also require veterinary care, most vets aren't very good at treating birds, and the avian specialists are not cheap. It is necessary to feed them a good pellet, but you should also feed them fresh vegetables and a bit of grain and fruit for interest and optimal nutrition while also being super careful to limit nuts. seeds, and fruit because they're nowhere near as physically active in our houses as they are in the wild and thus they can get heart and liver diseases. There are human foods that will kill them and you have to make sure they don't try and steal them from you when you are eating them. They are hoodlums and will want to steal your food.

A good cage for a conure is not cheap. Even if you have your bird out a lot during the day, they will need a safe, secure cage for when you are not around, for when you are doing something that isn't safe for them to be a part of, and for sleeping. You have to clean it often because they are prone to illness from dirty conditions. They need lots of toys and stimulation. The entire purpose of parrot toys is to destroy them, so you need to replace them often. They need lots of different types of perches for good foot health. You will have to decide whether to clip wings or let them stay and you will have to secure your windows and doors to prevent accidents. They poop every 15-20 minutes. They will bite you. Even if they love you, even if you can help them understand biting is not optimal, you will still be bitten. They don't like it if you go on vacation and it's not easy to find a trustworthy pet sitter for a bird. If you wish to travel a lot, get that out of your system before you get a bird.

I really love my birds, but they are a lot of work and I've had to change my lifestyle in many ways to accommodate them. I always start by discussing the not so fun aspects of being a birb servant because the average parrot in North America cycles through 5 different homes in its lifetime - and many of them never get close to their species' life expectancy due to neglect. A lot of people over the last 2 years got birds when they were at home due to all the coofyness, and now they are inconvenient. Our local parrot rescue has more surrendered birds right now than in the 12 years they've been in existence. It truly sucks.

 

[Coldgrip]

They don't like it if you go on vacation and it's not easy to find a trustworthy pet sitter for a bird. If you wish to travel a lot, get that out of your system before you get a bird.

This really needs to be emphasized. As members of the parrot family they will go nuts if you don't interact with them. Far, far too many people don't realize that and their bird winds up pulling out it's feather and destroying everything it can.

 

[Gay Mouth]

I have never owned and will never own a parrot for all of those reasons, but I do have an anecdote from a relative who for a time owned a yellow crested cockatoo. They’re so intelligent, sexually mature and live so long, it seems like 90% of exotic pet birds are like fucked up foster care kids with trauma and mental issues and a mystery past that they remember and affects them. He loved the bird, they would hang out constantly and were good pals, aside from a problem that happened with more and more frequency and ferocity.

This particular bird had some sort of obsession/hatred of feet. Maybe he was kicked once; we don’t know because my relative was probably his second or third owner. But this bird would like, sneak up on his owner while asleep, walk to the end of the bed, move the blanket away from his feet, and bite his toes. I think once he but his big toe so hard it pierced through his toe. In the end he just couldn’t manage the constant attacks and he was rehomed once again.

I think they’re smart enough they get really attached to their owners, so being surrendered is a little heartbreak. Please don’t buy a parrot unless you can deal with how different but intelligent they are. They live like 60 years; most people can’t keep a marriage together that long so be as selective as you would be deciding to get married, or your going to create a fucked up orphan bird with some hilariously specific trauma.

 

[Diet Coke 4 Life]

See, I read about cockatoos biting toes and my brain immediately goes 'that's what steel toed boots are for. Protecting the toes from the bitey-bitey bits.'

But seriously, grand points being brought up in this thread. If you must have a hookbilled friend, please consider getting a rescue rather than a newly weened bratling, and give some poor bird a forever home for the rest of its little life.

Or do what I'm going to do if I manage to outlive the Feathery Asshole Overlord of my home, and invest in a canary. Same no-teflon/candles/aerosol products/etc, but no bites and singing rather than shrieks calling to the Ancestors of Yore through the curtain of time.

 

[anliteralidiot]

Hey I have looked at this thread and you guys seem really knowledgeable about keeping birds. I have always wanted to keep a conure in my life time. I know this is like a 30 year commitment. I was wondering if you guys had any tips in keeping them and what the most ethical way of getting said conure is?

Find a local breeder. Don't go to a petstore or Facebook or whatever. And do a shitload of research.

Like you'll see people telling you to do research, and it doesn't hit you just how much you have to do until you're in a weeklong tantrum because the food is too soft, and it's setting off hormonal shit in their brains. Find some parrot boards to post in for help.

I have a green cheek conure, and I love him to bits, but he tests me. Right now we're having a bad week because he's bored with his food, but he doesn't want to try other food.

 

[WolfeTone]

 

[SuiSui1]

 

[Diet Coke 4 Life]

Didn’t get potato camera in time to snap a picture of the robin that I had in my yard, so compensated with some cute Carolina wrens.

 

[Diet Coke 4 Life]

Sorry for the double post, but funny thing happened this morning.

I think when my goblin left the garage door open yesterday is when it got in, but today when I returned from taking said goblin to the den of wretched crotchfruit (school) I discovered a very alive and very panicked mockingbird flitting back and forth in said garage, perching on the spare tires and wheelsets I have dangling from hooks on the ceiling.

No picture due to spending more effort to get said stupid feathered friend to get itself out of my residence.

 

[SuiSui1]

 

[SuiSui1]

 

[WolfeTone]

 

[SuiSui1]

 

[Chicken In A Pot]

A Pearl in a pear tree...

 

[Diet Coke 4 Life]

Feathery asshole is unimpressed. With everything.

(Pearl is adorable, BTW)

 

[XYZpdq]

 

[not william stenchever]

I think the philosopher Diogenes would have liked Turkey Vultures. They may eat carrion but it allows them to spend most of their time gliding serenely and catching thermals, making them seem almost care free.