How Did You Become a Bird Person?

[Mitchan]

When my mom was a young teenager she got a cockatiel (who passed away only a couple of years ago - he ended up staying with my grandmother for 32 years!), so her having a soft spot for birds, I grew up with untamed cockatiels in the house. When I was a little bit older but still a young child, my parents got a Brown headed poi. He did not care for me or my siblings at ALL and never let me hold him or get too close to him, so I wasn't too thrilled about him either

Fast forward until I was about 15. We hadn't had birds for years, but my mom's friend knew she and dad liked birds, so when she had to rehome her lovebird she thought of us. I convinced my mom to accept because, being a naive teen with no bird experience or knowledge at all, I thought "he's greenish blue, just like my hair, I'm sure that'll be cute for selfies" I of course expected my parents to take care of him and that I could just hang out with him when it suited me. Well.... Turned out they couldn't even take him out of his cage because our dogs were chasing him around. I felt bad for him, started researching birds, took him up to my room to allow him to fly every day, learned a lot about parrots, became his sole caretaker and grew to care about him and his well-being more than I had ever imagined.

It was a REALLY bad initial reason to want a bird. If I had known what sort of responsibility I was getting myself into I'm not sure I would have done it, but on the other hand I'm also really, really happy that it ended up that way. I'm still very young now at 23, but I've done so much for my birds and I will always continue to go out of my way to keep them happy and healthy. I went to school for animal care/zookeeping to learn more about birds, training and ethology. I won't consider a full time job unless from home because I feel a need to spend as much time as possible with my birds. I keep learning and researching and talking about parrots and their behavior and needs every day. I spend most of my money on my birds and their needs and most of what I think about in life is parrot enrichment. I never hang out with my friends two days in a row because I don't want to be away from my birds more than neccessary. I regularly climb the steep hill outside my house to cut down trees and branches for my birds' aviaries and to gather healthy wild berries for them. I have a parrot tattoo with at least two more coming...
And I wouldn't have it any other way. I was very lucky to find my way into the bird world this way, and my late lovebird Pippin was probably lucky he managed to lead my way there. A young teenager getting a bird because it'd make for cute selfies would probably VERY rarely end up with that very kid devoting their life to caring for birds, eh... Definitely don't recommend that beginning to bird ownership. I was the stupidest.

 

[nu2birds]

I had never had any experience with birds at all.............and then when I was 14 years old, we drove down to Oakley California to visit my cousins and aunt and uncle. They were having their house painted and the painters tore down a huge vine (probably Ivy) and in it was a birds nest with three baby birds. I put the babies in a Kleenex box and my cousin made up some kind of liquid cereal to feed them and I fed those birds around the clock from California all the way back to Washington. That diet must have been terrible, but it's all I knew how to make and they seemed to be thriving. They fledged out completely and began flapping their wings. I remember lining them up on the deck railing and gently nudging them off as they learned how to fly, first barely able to stay airborne but a few seconds to finally being able to fly from the deck railing over to the nearest tree a few days later. I turned them loose at the end of the summer, and they came back and visited almost every day for a few months and then gradually visited less and less. But watching them grow and then begin to prepare for flight all fascinated me, plus these little guys really seemed to know me and like me and trust me. It was an experience I never expected to have and it's one which has stayed with me over the years. Later I met a friend who turned me on to Lovebirds..........another bird I never even had heard of. He was very enamored with Lovebirds and would take me to stores and we would look at them and handle them. He had two Peach face, but I began falling in love with the Fischer's and Black Masked. Anyway, years later I ended up with my two boys that I have now, two Fischer's named Jasper and Baxter, who are screaming as I type this in the background because it's almost 8:00 pm and it's past their bedtime, but it's so hot I am trying to keep the window open as long as possible before i close them all up.......sheesh!

 

[camelotshadow]

A wild crow befriended me & it was like no other bond I ever knew.

 

[BirdManDan]

Growing up we never had pets except fish until we all were about 10 or older and even then it was a couple of guinea pigs! I have always loved birds and wanted a macaw as an adult even then it didn't happen till married life when my wife surprised me for my birthday with he opportunity to rescue two of them. After checking them out we decided to rescue both of them so they could stay together! In the beginning they were so cage aggressive but I patiently worked with them and now they are awesome and go with me everywhere especially Tiki my B&G! That was the beginning of our bird rescues. Since then we have rescued just under 100 parrots, rehabilitated them and kept them for a long time but realized we couldn't keep them all if we wanted to keep helping other birds so we started finding good homes for them! Homes that understood the responsibilities of what proper parrot ownership really meant and what type of diet and enrichments/activities they needed as well as the time commitments it would take to keep a parrot. Once they agreed to that, we would consider rehoming if the home passed after a home environment visit!

 

[d_msparkles]

Thank you for the caring work you do for the birds, @BirdManDan!

 

[BirdManDan]

Thank you for the caring work you do for the birds, @BirdManDan!

We don't concider it work. We are just CRAZY BIRD PEOPLE like most of us here!

 

[SquawksNibbles]

Since then we have rescued just under 100 parrots, rehabilitated them and kept them for a long time but realized we couldn't keep them all if we wanted to keep helping other birds so we started finding good homes for them!

How wonderful. You have truly made a huge difference in each and every one of those rescued parrots’ lives Dan. Thank you.

 

[BirdManDan]

How wonderful. You have truly made a huge difference in each and every one of those rescued parrots’ lives Dan. Thank you.

Thanks but we really just wanted better conditions for these poor creatures!

 

[Julie Webb]

Julie, what brings you here? Do you have birds? If so, we'd love to hear about them and what made you become a "bird person!"

Dear Dona, I am so sorry for that! From "the story went on" I thought it still lasts. But thanks for sharing these wonderful memories with us.
TBH, I am not a parront yet but I am looking for the right bird for me, so I am gathering experiences from other people! All these stories are really precious!

 

[d_msparkles]

TBH, I am not a parront yet but I am looking for the right bird for me, so I am gathering experiences from other people! All these stories are really precious!

I love that you are gathering experience here and doing your research! Of course, even after you decide on a bird, another bird may find you. And regardless it will still be full of surprises, but either way parrots are so very special!

 

[Barbara jasko]

My parents being products of the great depression were not animal people so there were no pets until I was 13 and then convinced them to get a dog. By the time I was on my own I was living in apartments with no pet rules and the budget didn't have room for animal care. When I moved to Florida, a boyfriend at the time thought I needed a pet so I got a pair of Zebra finches for a birthday. Eventually that turned into 22 finches. Had to put a stop to that so practiced birdy birth control by having same sex cages. Several years later, my mother-in-law had a lutino cockatiel that she left with us while she traveled the world. What a great bird, very tame and loved to hang with us. Once she returned and took the bird back, of course I had to have my own. This was back in the early 1980's and there was no internet and the books you bought were very outdated. We went to the pet store and bought another lutino cockatiel that was not handfed. I was unprepared for taming the bird. And he never was a luvbug. We did fine together for about 10 years. Then I decided I wanted another bird. Went to the bird store and asked the owner for a small bird with a huge personality.Was living in a condo so large birds were out of the question. He handed me a 6 month old lovebird. I named him Jade and that was it. He was the best bird ever and inspired me to convince my cockatiel to also become a great bird. Jade never left my shoulder and was such a luv. He was the catalyst to my love of birds. Several years later I was volunteering at the south Florida wildlife center and they had a wonderful Senegal there that had been taken away from his owner along with many other animals because of neglect, etc. He was there for 10 months and I had put in an application to adopt him if he wasn't given back to the owner. But he was so I had to have a Senegal. So went back to the same bird store and bought Mango at 10 months old. He is now 17 and the absolute best bird. After that, I became involved more in the parrot community here and decided any birds I got would be rehomes. So in 2005 I got a rehomed GCC and in 2006 a rehomed Meyers. I always have finches. Currently I have a canary and a green roller finch. That is it, as I am getting too old to take on birds that will live past my likely lifespan. If my life situation changes at some point, I will be willing to foster birds. Recently I fostered 3 cockatiels that a friend didn't want anymore. I had them 3 months before I found a great family situation for them. During that time, I got them off the terrible diet they were on, to a pelleted and fresh food diet. Wasn't that hard. End of story, my cockatiel lived to be 24 years old but had to have him put down because of fatty liver disease which he was treated for and then his kidneys failed. Very sad. My lovebird, Jade died 2 years ago at 19 years old. He had been having problems with seizures for a year. We had just gotten back from the vet, he had a seizure and died in my hands. Very sad. I had both of them cremated and are here in urns on the wall.

 

[Dona]

Dear Dona, I am so sorry for that! From "the story went on" I thought it still lasts.

My bird story did continue as I went on to have many birds in the 40 plus years since my first Amazon. Mynahs, finches, cockatiels, canaries, parakeets and caiques, and now one little adorable Linnie.

We can't wait to hear what bird you decide to share your life with!

 

[MagpieDragon]

My bird journey began when I did a school project on magpies years ago...
I actually wrote an essay for it in English and got my best grade yet!

 

[metalstitcher]

My bird journey started after we got married and where looking to add a new member to our family. We decided a smaller bird would be best for our family at the time due to being a caretaker for my husband's grandma. I did a year and a half of research before we decided a lovebird would be a good fit for us. We went to the bird farm in the city over from us looking at all the babies they had. It was like a cuteness overload on crack. I loved every second of it. My husband could believe how loud baby sun conures could get. They had 5 of the in a nursery area and they where jumping and squawking lol. I wanted to take them all home. They took us to the lovebird area in the back and this little blue gray lovie landed on the cage right in front of me just staring at me. I was literally in awe of this little bird and told the assistant I would like to take this one home. He got her for me and then brought out Bo from the other nursery and I was so smitten with him. 17 years later they are my babies and my life has been so enriched by everything I have learned from them and their companionship is something I could have never had with another pet.

 

[Max83]

I'am always been an animal person, from when I was a little child I was more into dogs and horses than other children.

My passion from birds started when I adopted an african grey and understood how smart are these animals. Never find the same level of capacity to interact with humans or understand our emotions in dogs or cats, and I love deeply my german shepard...
I always hope that all the humans could understand how animals are in deep...that are not like toys or only "tools for go to hunting sport"..sadly is not possible, I've tried many times to incourage people to treat them with more respect, but some people seems like blind or deaf and think that they need only water and food and they are ok but I'll always try!

Maybe it's off topic but I really enjoyed the reading of Konrad Lorenz books, if someone want to try them.

I really like this forum and all the precious information I've found here

 

[Julie Webb]

I love that you are gathering experience here and doing your research! Of course, even after you decide on a bird, another bird may find you. And regardless it will still be full of surprises, but either way parrots are so very special!

Yeah, I pretty much realized that! So far I've had dogs and cats, but parrots seem like totally different thing! Gotta admit that this guy is "guilty" for my wish to become a parront! I found him quite by accident!
wingsNpaws - YouTube
What he does with his Smokey seems like a magic! And even though I am aware that not every owner nor parrot is able to do all these stuff, still these videos seem very educational and beautiful to me!

 

[faislaq]

Yeah, I pretty much realized that! So far I've had dogs and cats, but parrots seem like totally different thing! Gotta admit that this guy is "guilty" for my wish to become a parront! I found him quite by accident!
wingsNpaws - YouTube
What he does with his Smokey seems like a magic! And even though I am aware that not every owner nor parrot is able to do all these stuff, still these videos seem very educational and beautiful to me!

I like him He's got lots of good tips. You could definitely have worse parront role models!

 

[Julie Webb]

My bird story did continue as I went on to have many birds in the 40 plus years since my first Amazon. Mynahs, finches, cockatiels, canaries, parakeets and caiques, and now one little adorable Linnie.

We can't wait to hear what bird you decide to share your life with!

Amazing, your life is definitely full of precious and memorable moments! I think you should write a book on all the adventures you've had with your birds, because I suppose there were many!
I can't wait either!

 

[Sylvester]

A bird person? You mean I have to tell Fred that he is a bird and not a little feathered person?

 

[BeanieofJustice]

I was raised with horses, cats and dogs (in that order) and fish. I had lots of fish when I was younger, and I had a female bearded dragon (Igor - until my biological father decided that little girls shouldn't have lizards and traded her) but, I had a fascination with birds. I remember watching Alex and other African Greys, I adored cockatiels - I wanted one desperately as a kid. I loved crows and ravens too, and wondered at their intelligence. It was Alex's intelligence that interested me more than his words. And when my biological father would leave me at pet stores, I would do what shopping I needed to in the fish section and then go watch the birds - from my favorite one, I recall they had two Hyacinths in a big glass cage on display and a huge bird section that was up the stairs.

At the time I was with a guy who wasn't an animal person, and I told him that I wanted to get a bird (at the time, it was either a cockatiel or an AG) and he was against it - until he learned I wanted a rat and he had me choose. So, after that, I went to my family friend's former "rescue" to help out. She had just rehomed an AG, and the cockatiels were ones that she'd bred years ago. She offered me a female Eclectus - and then I met Sam (Archie - until he said the name Sam and she agreed that that was his old name, which, was the name of my heart dog and my little sister that miscarried). Sam was miserable with her, and she was excited to find him a home with someone that he picked. While he was beautiful, it was something beyond that that drew me to him - something sad and gentle about him, and when she walked in on us, she was surprised that he was taking stuff from my hands. And then he started screaming "ma" at the top of his lungs when I'd leave (he could see my car from where he was). But, I was nervous about taking a macaw home as my first bird, so I decided that if I kept visiting after around a year, and I got a job, I would take him home. I lived with my mom at the time and she wasn't sure about birds - but, she's an animal person and she could see he was unhappy where he was, so we cleared out the guest room and turned it into a bird room. She brought him home herself while I was at work and surprised me when I got home.

Long story short, she wanted her Eclectus back, but was absolutely thrilled that Sam picked me, and I've been a parront ever since