Keeping birds as pets

[Lothlorien]

Anyone able to share insights about keeping birds as pets, particularly budgies?

Dogs were a large part of my childhood and I have really missed that – and just having a pet in general. It’s hard to have a dog here while renting an apartment and also my lifestyle wouldn’t be good for a dog, so I’m considering birds. Have never had a pet bird and don’t know any bird keepers, so it’s new territory all around!

Initial research has me leaning towards getting one or two or three budgies (all males or all females). One might get lonely while I’m at work, so two would be good so they have companyrk, three might be too much of a handful?.

I’d like smaller birds that can be a bit interactive without being destructive or very high maintenance. Obviously need to clean their cage at least weekly and make sure they have food, water, toys, vet visits… but the main thing is that I’d like to be able to go away for a weekend without needing to arrange a pet sitter.
Also, is it ok to keep birds in an apartment where the kitchen isn't a separate room? I think they'd be happier in the living room than in my bedroom (doesn't get as much natural light). But I've read that kitchen fumes can be harmful or even fatal.

Is adopting birds a good idea? Not sure how attached they get to the owner and how challenging it may be for them to adjust to a new home? There aren't any birds up for adoption in my area in present, but I could ask about being put on a waitlist of sorts.

 

[alexikeguchi]

I grew up with cats, but my older son developed an affinity for birds after a family trip to Costa Rica when he was eight. He did really diligent research, convincing me of his seriousness, and he ended up settling on a quaker parrot/monk parakeet. The birds are small enough to be comfortable indoors, usually sleep well through the night, and have the capacity to learn a few phrases. Our first bird lived up to her billing, so we got a second to be her pet. We kept them in separate but adjacent cages to start but let them approach each other during the day, and they took to each other very well; they live in large colonies in the wild, so they're very sociable.

Fast forward, and my son is now 23 and living in another state. I am the primary owner of the two birds, and I quite enjoy them. They have very strong "personalities" for such tiny animals and are able to clearly express what they want with their behavior. When one of my sons is back home, the birds will wait outside his room until they get attention from their long lost friend. The younger bird developed a decent English vocabulary, and my favorite trick is that he says "hello" whenever my cellphone rings. They are very easy to care for, and we do leave them alone for a couple days at a time periodically with no trouble. We board them at the vet for longer trips, and they actually seem to enjoy the change of scenery. I can't speak to adopting birds since ours were youngsters when we got them.

I hope you find a good match and enjoy your birds!

 

[gkelly]

Question: How much time do they spend in cages and how much time are they free to move about the room or the whole house?

 

[alexikeguchi]

For safety (as both of them have managed to get stuck behind large furniture and appliances), we leave them in the cage while out at work. However, they roam pretty freely in the evening. They have a specific spot on one of their perches where they always sleep in exactly the same position, so they stay in the cage overnight as well.

 

[Buzz]

My crazy work schedule is the reason I have cats not dogs.

 

[Vash01]

My nephew got a bird (a parakeet, I think) as a birthday gift from his parents (my brother and his wife) on his 10th birthday. He had been begging his parents for a pet. They decided against a dog (too much work for my SIL) and a cat (they had a cat for over 12 years and after he died they didn't want to adopt another cat.). I think cats make wonderful pets though I have never adopted a pet because of my schedule,.

It was a beautiful bird with orange, red, green colors and was lovingly named Otis by his owner- my nephew. It was a guard bird (or something like that). Otis would scream any time he felt a stranger's presence in the house or even outside the door. Whenever I visited, they had to make sure that he was in the cage. I was afraid of him because when they had another guest- a relative- Otis had kind of attacked him as soon as the guest came out of the bathroom (he was not seriously hurt, and he was my sister in law's brother, so it was easily forgiven). OTOH when my friend and her husband, who were total strangers, visited the family, Otis happily sat on the shoulder of my friend's husband. That was a big surprise.

Otis was a beautiful bird and I loved talking to him from outside the cage, but I would never come out of my room if he was not in the cage. I posted his photo in my office. When I was not visiting them, I missed him.

He was in the cage most of the time. He used to go to sleep as soon as the sun went down.

My sister in law and my nephew were safe with the bird. They used to feed him. They could take him out, play with him, and even talk to him. He would sit on their hand, shoulders, heads, etc. My brother and my other nephew were also safe. It was only an outsider that the bird did not like. He was almost like a dog who guarded the house.

The family used to leave the bird in the backyard and he was on his own for short periods. He could fly around but he was always brought in after short periods. When the family went on vacation, they used to leave the bird at the Vet's office.

 

[sk8pics]

We had a canary when I was young, and I remember its singing as being very cheery. I also remember my mother getting up and not uncovering the cage and trying to tiptoe around so the bird would not wake up and start singing its little head off. This rarely worked for long.

I have heard a lot of anecdotes about people keeping parrots and other similar birds happily, and they are good company. You read the occasional story of a bird telling someone to f*ck off. I think there was an escaped parrot that told the firemen trying to rescue it to f*ck off.

One thing is that some species are very long lived, so depending on how old you are and the typical lifespan of the bird you get, you might need to consider what happens to the bird if something happens to you.

 

[ballettmaus]

I had three budgies as a child/teenager, one after the other. The first two were from the same pet shop and they both died at the age of 2. The third one was from a different one and lived to be 8 years old! He was a very social guy, so I had to spend a lot of time with him since he was by himself.

If you want them to be tame, you have to spend a lot of time with them at the beginning and carefully let them get used to your hand.

My grandparents had two, one male, one female. My best friend also had two, I believe also one male and one female. I don't know if I would go for three as every budgie I've met was very active and liked to chirp. And they have a very loud voice!

My dance teacher had one of these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockatiel
He was really attached to her. She could walk around with him sitting on her shoulder and he would not take off. (Poor guy died when her apartment caught on fire)

 

[MacMadame]

I tried having birds when I had an apartment and I didn't have good results. So that others don't make the same mistakes that I did, I will share my experiences.

I started out with larger birds. What I found out is that they need a lot of social interaction or they get bored. Also, if something goes wrong with them medically, there often isn't much you can do.

I had several keel over and die without warning. Also, if you let them out of the cage, it's a good idea to clip their wings. I had one get his claws caught in a curtain and, in freeing him, his leg was broken and had to eventually be amputated. If I'd been better about clipping his wings, that wouldn't have happened.

Each time I lost a bird, I would get a smaller, cheaper one. My final bird was a parakeet and he lived many years and was quite happy. I probably should have started small and worked my way up!

 

[Aussie Willy]

Getting two is a good idea. They do need a partner. Birds such as parrot types live in flocks so they are social animals.

 

[Japanfan]

Also, if you let them out of the cage, it's a good idea to clip their wings. I had one get his claws caught in a curtain and, in freeing him, his leg was broken and had to eventually be amputated. If I'd been better about clipping his wings, that wouldn't have happened.

That doesn't seem right to me - clipping a bird's wings might be akin to removing a cat's claws. But I'm not sure, maybe it is less severe of a procedure.

I agree that it's best to have two birds. Though I wonder about the ethics of keeping birds in a cage, unless they get time to fly outside the cage. We had a canary, Tinkerbell, for many years while I was growing up. She did sing beautifully and we did let her out of the cage from time to time, but in retrospect she must have been lonely.

 

[MacMadame]

That doesn't seem right to me - clipping a bird's wings might be akin to removing a cat's claws. But I'm not sure, maybe it is less severe of a procedure.

It's nothing like that. It's like getting a haircut. You just cut the feathers on one side so the bird can't fly very well. And you have to do it over and over because they grow back. Like hair.

 

[Lothlorien]

Thanks for all the input & stories.
Off to the pet store soon!

 

[BYTCH]

I endorse getting birds wholeheartedly and a budgie would be a great choice. I had parakeets I loved because they sing so pretty. Years ago when I was working long hard days and weekends and couldn't be at home to take care of a dog I got a cockatiel so there would be some life in the house. She could be left alone and required minimum care and would sit on my shoulder and take seeds off my tongue. Then my friend who also had a cockatiel went away and I baby sat her BJ for a week. Well after the BJ went home, my bird started laying eggs lo and behold she was knocked up!! Seduced and abandoned. Two eggs hatched, it was an extraordinary experience watching them grow to adult hood in 6 weeks. I gave one away, and later when my world got too hectic (my mother was dying) I gave the other two away. They lived happily for years.

Two years ago my roommate (D-Day) got a hand raised baby Amazon parrot and WHOA Nellie, our life has changed! For your question, he is very high maintenance and if you aren't prepared to spend lots of time I wouldn't recommend a parrot because you will probably have to keep it caged. Larger birds have a rep for being mean/biting and it is probably true for lots of them because unless you work with them and bond with them they probably won't be friendly. From the beginning my roommate made a point of having Morpheus greet every visitor and sit on their shoulder so he loves to interact with people. Morpheus is quite a personality with an extensive repertoire of talking (WTF? I'm a very good boy, are you a good boy? Watcha doin? Wanna cookie? etc.) and wonderful whistles, and singing, he barks just like the dog, and burps and snores like my roommate and, and, and. He just runs the show here and is endlessly entertaining but my roommate does all the work--and there's a lot of work cleaning up after a parrot and keeping him entertained.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I had a lot of parakeets over the years. Definitely have a pair as they are sociable. They are sweet pets but usually only live about 8 years. Don't keep them in your kitchen as certain smells can be fatal to them.

If you allow them to fly around remember that they can easily fly out a window or doorway & be gone. Or they could fly into a wall & break their neck.

My last pair woke me up about 2:30 a.m., one night. They were in their cage in the other room, covered, as usual.

Suddenly they started thrashing around in their cage so I had to get up & go & uncover the cage to get them to calm down. And then it hit: a 5.7 earthquake that they had felt coming at least 3 minutes before it started to shake.