RANT If you can't take care of them....

[EkkieLu]

@Tyrion Thank you. I can't seem to make her understand. I have to just distance, myself, I think - for my own mental health!

Good girl Tanya!

 

[Hawk12237]

I get having a family pet and having the child help but I agree with you. Wow... why on Earth would you LET your kid do that to a bird?? I can't imagine she let a three year old roam around alone so she must've been watching them. It always bothers me when people are irresponsible and blame the animal. Sam Axe HATES having his tail touched because someone did that to him. They were lucky because Sam Axe is more inclined to run away than to bite.
I can remember going to avian stores with friends and having to tell them not to pet the birds that they don't know. Most of them were pretty good about it.
The local store here mostly has smaller-medium birds, which worries me a bit because they're all friendly babies and I worry that people don't understand that that sweet baby will grow up, much like a person. But I can only hope that they get great and loving homes. I mean, Tibs was left there because he preens a bit too rough. I had to laugh, and it was one of those "You call that a bite?" because I've been nailed by plenty of birds, and being preened too hard is nothing.

Some people just don't pay attention to their kids. And some don't teach them respect.
I got my first parrot at 19. A macaw ( lou) , it actually belonged to a friend of family. We grew up with that family and went to school with them.
a tragic auto accident claimed the entire family one afternoon.
One of the older daughters was not in the car that afternoon. I remember the devisation..
I was asked to look after Lou while everyone ( including myself) digested all this. After a while the older daughter said " keep lou, take care of him, I can't deal with it right now. " I wasn't at all prepared for this, though I knew Lou and have held him quite a bit prior, I just wasn't ready.
But he ended up being with me another 36 years.
Point of this story, is my daughter's were born and raised around lou, and major, ( major Mitchell cockatoo I got a few years after lou.) I had no problem teaching my daughter's about parrots. Yes they gotten bitten a couple times, but they learned. Now they're around 30, they both own parrots as well. Ringnecks and caiques.
A child can learn the ropes of parroting, with proper guidance.

 

[SandraK]

Agreed as well. My daughter doesn't know life without a pet. She was born when we had a cat and it really made me angry when people said that now, when I have a baby I have to get rid of the cat. And it was so obvious to them. They coulnd't understand that I didn't do it before baby was born. I didn't get rid of the cat, in fact after few years I adopted another one. My daughter thanks to this learned how to be gentle, empathetic and responsible (when she was like three or four years old I tasked her with telling me if the cat's bowl is empty).
I think it is very important that parrents put some strict rules in child's head, regarding dealing with animals. My daughter from the youngest age would never touch a dog or a cat without asking owner's permission. And she knew she had to be gentle. It was very simple explanation from me: animals feel like people. If you are not gentle, the animal will hurt. She understood.

I've grown up with at least 1 cat in the house, my own family has always had a cat and everyone survived infancy in spite of "the cat". I think it goes back to an old wives' tale about cat's smothering babies because they'll sleep on them. Author Stephen King put a very different spin on having a cat and a child and the story made the hair on the back of my neck (hackles, I guess). His story follows a family with a child and how the cat always wanted to sleep in the same room as the kid. Only Stephen King could do it - the cat was protecting the child from the troll that lived in the house. Trolls were known to steal children's breath.

 

[Imogena]

I think it goes back to an old wives' tale about cat's smothering babies because they'll sleep on them.

Oh yes, here in Poland we also have this superstition. Plus germs. Lots and lots of germs from a cat. The cat who lives indoors and is a very clean animal. But no, germs are the threat. This old auntie with bad teeth doesn't have a single germ in her mouth that's why she may kiss a newborn all over the face and hands. But a cat has billions of germs. Each and every germ is a killing machine.
And Stephen King is a master.

 

[Hawk12237]

Love Stephen King... pet cemetery was spooky.
I always had this fantasy that my older birds that passed away and buried in back yard, would suddenly come back to life!
New movie...zombie parrots...ha ha ha haaa.
And will they bite? Ohhhh, exciting!
( Ok I lost it there for a moment...wifey gave me a strange look when I said that!!! Like ...are you ok dear?)

 

[Imogena]

Stephen King does this to people.

 

[Clueless]

Stephen King does this to people.

Yeah.

I went to Maine because of him (in a roundabout way).

Love Stephen King... pet cemetery was spooky.

I wouldn't read that book after dark.

 

[Imogena]

I really do not want to go off topic here, but... have you read Duma Key? That was a masterpiece. How psychological true when the main character was fighting with himself after the accident (Stephen King used his own experiences here), and then how subtly at the beginnig King was introducing that something spooky is going on on the island. Wow. I read it, then I listened to it as an audiobook, both in English and in Polish. And I will come back to it again.

 

[Hawk12237]

I really do not want to go off topic here, but... have you read Duma Key? That was a masterpiece. How psychological true when the main character was fighting with himself after the accident (Stephen King used his own experiences here), and then how subtly at the beginnig King was introducing that something spooky is going on on the island. Wow. I read it, then I listened to it as an audiobook, both in English and in Polish. And I will come back to it again.

Duma key I have yet to read. Someone else told me that bit was his best yet. Now I have got to read it! Also a game of thrones fan.

 

[Rain Bow]

That reminds me of this oldie but goodie!

Baby has to go - got bird

We just got a new bird so the baby has to go. Two year old female, answers to the name, Chelsea. She is good around other kids, doesn't scream too much, mostly potty-trained & weaned. She has all of her shots and is free to a good home. She likes men and women and will go to both. Limited vocab, but can say a few words. Good eater, enjoys a varied diet. Believe me, we hate to get rid of her, but we are afraid she might hurt the new bird, and we couldn't let that happen. What if the baby smothered the bird trying to hold it? Worse, licking food out of the birds mouth or eating out of it's dish? What if she bit the bird!! We really cannot take that chance. I know it's possible to raise a baby and a bird together, you just have to watch them real carefully, but the whole idea just scares me. We just can't take any chances. A bird could catch a disease from a baby! I mean, without that diaper, they tend to poop anywhere they want to. That is so unsanitary! What if the bird got salmonella or E.Coli from eating the babies droppings? YUK!! Babies can be sooo messy, you know how they fling their food all over the place. I don't want my bird eating the baby food off the floor!! What really worries me is when babies get older, about 13, they tend to get really hormonal and very tempermental. They can be a real handful and are very hard to read. It's possible to live with a hormonal 13 year old child but very tricky. You can't even get them fixed like you can a dog or a cat. This is another reason we don't feel up to the ownership issues. So I am trying to find a good home for her. I hate to take her to a shelter, but it may be my only option. My husband is really putting the pressure on me. So if you are interested and you think you can give her a good home, or know of someone who would, please drop me a line.

 

[SandraK]

Love Stephen King... pet cemetery was spooky.
I always had this fantasy that my older birds that passed away and buried in back yard, would suddenly come back to life!
New movie...zombie parrots...ha ha ha haaa.
And will they bite? Ohhhh, exciting!
( Ok I lost it there for a moment...wifey gave me a strange look when I said that!!! Like ...are you ok dear?)

Yeah.

I went to Maine because of him (in a roundabout way).


I wouldn't read that book after dark.

Pet Sematary was good but very very creepy. I am SO glad that we have a platform bed so nothing can hide under the bed or reach and grab an ankle if I go potty during the night.

 

[Clueless]

Pet Sematary was good but very very creepy. I am SO glad that we have a platform bed so nothing can hide under the bed or reach and grab an ankle if I go potty during the night.

So thankful I didn't read your post before going to bed last night. . . .

 

[Tazlima]

So thankful I didn't read your post before going to bed last night. . . .

Pbffft. Amateurs.

Everybody knows you're supposed to take a flying leaps from the bed to the middle of the room (and back) so that if there IS something underneath the bed, your ankles are too far away to grab.

Of course, that's a young person's game. I can't really manage flying leaps these days, so I just store lots of boxes under the bed. That way, nothing else can fit!

 

[Clueless]

Pbffft. Amateurs.

Everybody knows you're supposed to take a flying leaps from the bed to the middle of the room (and back) so that if there IS something underneath the bed, your ankles are too far away to grab.

Of course, that's a young person's game. I can't really manage flying leaps these days, so I just store lots of boxes under the bed. That way, nothing else can fit!

Great thought!

 

[Imogena]

Great thought!

But remember, you cannot let your hand drop from the bed. All of your body must lie on the bed, no part can reach outside the bed frame. If not... you know what may happen.

 

[SandraK]

But remember, you cannot let your hand drop from the bed. All of your body must lie on the bed, no part can reach outside the bed frame. If not... you know what may happen.

My bed has the sides and bottom tucked in (drives hubby crazy) and the bedspread or blanket cannot hang loose to the floor. They must also be tucked in.

@Clueless You and I would be fine sharing a house with our hubbies gone. Fred is driving from Vegas to TX via AZ and has been gone for about 10 days. The storm door is locked, the front door is locked and dead bolted. The door from the garage to the laundry room is locked. The door from the laundry room to the kitchen is locked. Both the side door and storm door are locked/dead bolted. Sliding door is locked and has a bird perch at the bottom to make it harder to open.

Um, I also sleep with my fully charged cell phone on my night table.

 

[Clueless]

I used to look under every piece of furniture and all closets. If I heard a noise in the night, I didn't want to drive myself nuts with my active imagination.

 

[EkkieLu]

glad you enjoyed it! LOL

 

[Hawk12237]

Lol....if my wife ever were to say choose between me or the birds....I will surely miss her.

 

[Snowghost]

Omg these stories just break my heart.