Adoption Application In

[WikiWaz]

My significant other and I talked about maybe adopting another parrot. We work with our two rescue budgies everyday and we get the hunch that since they are bonded to each other, they may never love us and interact with us the way we want them to. It may happen, it may not and we can't force it.

We heard on Next Door someone surrendered a cockatiel after she found it outside being chased by a hawk. The cockatiel flew into her front door and she was able to bring it inside. She looked for the owner for 2 weeks before surrendering it to the shelter. There is also one male pineapple conure and one male GCC conure at the same shelter, both are 8 years old. Both my significant other and I are not jumping into new adoption, rather we are going to take several visits with the parrots and possibly making a decision. We told each other an application is NOT a commitment to adopting one.

I think we may want a conure because we want the fun, playful personality, but are worried about the noise a conure can make. That is one of the reasons we want several visits at the shelter, to see if we can handle the noise. We've heard that conures can be aggressive to other birds though. I don't know if it will be the same, but our passed cockatiel was aggressive with all of our budgies but we were able to train him out of it.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[scrape]

Lovely. I get so excited to meet new birds.

 

[camelotshadow]

Cockatiels are the least aggressive as most parrots go but you might have had the exception.
Sometimes budgies will gang up on tiels.
Budgies can be little relentless chippers but the tiels size would give him an advantage if attacked but the budgies.

Conures are inquisitive. They will likely want to interact with the other birds. It might not be aggressive but a conure can seriously injure a budgie & a budgie could bite a toe of a conure badly.

Any birds of different size need to be separated & monitored closely if out together.

Good you keep an eye out at the rescue if you are looking to take care of another bird.

Both tiels & conures are louder than budgies. Budgie sounds are very frequent but I don't find them loud.

You will have alot more work but your budgies have each other so it might be nice to have a bird that may want more interaction with you.

We love pictures...Good Luck...

 

[WikiWaz]

Cockatiels are the least aggressive as most parrots go but you might have had the exception.
Sometimes budgies will gang up on tiels.
Budgies can be little relentless chippers but the tiels size would give him an advantage if attacked but the budgies.
We strategically picked two boy budgies to be in the same room with our cockatiel because our cockaatiel was so mean to our previous female budgie. We always monitored them (my cockatiel Bowie and female budgie Rayleigh) when they were out together, but if I left the room for a quick moment to grab a glass water or use the bathroom, the male cockatiel would mount the female budgie. So we thought two boy budgies would knock down the cockatiel's aggressive attitude. Unfortunately, we didn't consider that two budgies would bond with each but not us. *shrug* ah well.

Conures are inquisitive. They will likely want to interact with the other birds. It might not be aggressive but a conure can seriously injure a budgie & a budgie could bite a toe of a conure badly.
It's good to know that a conure beak could take off little budgie toes.

Any birds of different size need to be separated & monitored closely if out together.
Absolutely.

Good you keep an eye out at the rescue if you are looking to take care of another bird.
I just can't justify going through a breeder when I know how many parrots out there need homes, as much as I sometimes guiltily think how easier it would be to get a parrot without hangups or behavioral issues.

Both tiels & conures are louder than budgies. Budgie sounds are very frequent but I don't find them loud.
We remember how loud our cockatiel could be if he was in his cage and mad he couldn't come out. He could be SO loud if he wanted. But I understand conures can be louder so we'll see.

You will have alot more work but your budgies have each other so it might be nice to have a bird that may want more interaction with you.
We were thinking that too.

We love pictures...Good Luck...

 

[Momof3litt]

Exciting!

I can't speak to cockatiels, but I have budgies and a GCC and I find the budgies much louder than my conure. His voice is louder, bit he calls very infrequently. The budgies chirp and yell all day, especially the male.

My budgies are also a rehome/rescue pair and i got my GCC for the same reason you looking - because I realized I would not ever likely be able to handle/train them the way I wanted. Getting my conure has made a HUGE difference in my budgies though - they have watched him closely and become much braver in their own handling as a result. My conure is a baby though, so the budgies have been here since day 1 for him. Make sure you find out about the histories of the birds you are thinking of adopting, re: interactions with other birds, aggression, etc.

My 3 do all spend the day out together, but the budgies mainly stick to each other and the conure sticks to me. However, they need to be VERY closely supervised - the budgies get very pesky sometimes and if the conure snapped at one, he could kill them. He is twice their size, with a much stronger beak. I make sure to separate them at certain times, like for meals or when the bird "shower" (it's an electronic water thing where they bathe) is running. The first time I had it out, Argo (conure) got bossy and tried to monopolize the whole thing and the budgies tried to jump in with him - that was asking for trouble and I've separated them for bathtimes ever since.

 

[WikiWaz]

Exciting!

I can't speak to cockatiels, but I have budgies and a GCC and I find the budgies much louder than my conure. His voice is louder, bit he calls very infrequently. The budgies chirp and yell all day, especially the male.

My budgies are also a rehome/rescue pair and i got my GCC for the same reason you looking - because I realized I would not ever likely be able to handle/train them the way I wanted. Getting my conure has made a HUGE difference in my budgies though - they have watched him closely and become much braver in their own handling as a result. My conure is a baby though, so the budgies have been here since day 1 for him. Make sure you find out about the histories of the birds you are thinking of adopting, re: interactions with other birds, aggression, etc.

My 3 do all spend the day out together, but the budgies mainly stick to each other and the conure sticks to me. However, they need to be VERY closely supervised - the budgies get very pesky sometimes and if the conure snapped at one, he could kill them. He is twice their size, with a much stronger beak. I make sure to separate them at certain times, like for meals or when the bird "shower" (it's an electronic water thing where they bathe) is running. The first time I had it out, Argo (conure) got bossy and tried to monopolize the whole thing and the budgies tried to jump in with him - that was asking for trouble and I've separated them for bathtimes ever since.

Thanks for your advice, I will ask about the histories of the GCCs at the shelter to see if they had aggression with other birds. And yes, our two budgie boys can be so loud! We had bird-sitter joke about the budgie boys and their 'domestic squabbles'...the bird sitter wasn't wrong, when Wisp gets mad at Sprite he SCREECHES at him, and it can be heard all throughout the house.

 

[WikiWaz]

On another note we may consider adopting a guinea pig, again not sure but Joe (my significant other) and I are talking about it. We're not rushing into anything.

 

[WikiWaz]

On another note we may consider adopting a guinea pig, again not sure but Joe (my significant other) and I are talking about it. We're not rushing into anything.

Not to sound cruel, but a guinea pig has a shorter lifespan than a GCC or cockatiel, and sometimes life throw unexpected curveballs at you.

 

[Zara]

Glad you´re not rushing into anything, there´s plenty of time to decide who will be a better fit for your family

No matter what happens, you have to keep in mind that the budgies will still need their time dedicated to them, for you to carry on reading to them and interacting with them. Buying toys, treats etc. Especially if you bring home a new bird, they all have to be treat equally. I have one hen that does not want much to do with me, but she gets treat just like the other birds, they get equal toys, treats, foraging and flight time.

 

[WikiWaz]

Glad you´re not rushing into anything, there´s plenty of time to decide who will be a better fit for your family

No matter what happens, you have to keep in mind that the budgies will still need their time dedicated to them, for you to carry on reading to them and interacting with them. Buying toys, treats etc. Especially if you bring home a new bird, they all have to be treat equally. I have one hen that does not want much to do with me, but she gets treat just like the other birds, they get equal toys, treats, foraging and flight time.

Yes, thank you. We are not going to ignore them.

 

[WikiWaz]

Update: the conures we were considering were placed on hold by other potential adopters. The guinea pig we wanted was adopted.

There is a new GCC at on the of the shelters, who looks like he would need a lot of work. The adoption coordinator said, "He doesn't know how to be a bird". The backstory is the GCC was left in his cage and never let out. We plan on meeting this GCC in the next two weeks.

But honestly, I have my reservations. I'm trying my best with Sprite and Wisp, but they don't seem interested in human companionship and trying to ignore my resentment about it. I'm not sure I want to add another bird that needs rehabilitation to the mix, especially if we will end up with three parrots that do not care for humans.

 

[scrape]

Update: the conures we were considering were placed on hold by other potential adopters. The guinea pig we wanted was adopted.

There is a new GCC at on the of the shelters, who looks like he would need a lot of work. The adoption coordinator said, "He doesn't know how to be a bird". The backstory is the GCC was left in his cage and never let out. We plan on meeting this GCC in the next two weeks.

But honestly, I have my reservations. I'm trying my best with Sprite and Wisp, but they don't seem interested in human companionship and trying to ignore my resentment about it. I'm not sure I want to add another bird that needs rehabilitation to the mix, especially if we will end up with three parrots that do not care for humans.

I think it's good you have realistic expectations! You might communicate that to the shelter, it might help them find you a good fit!

 

[javi]

Your right bird will come along. I prefer tiels over green cheeks as their energy and attitude is a better match for me. I used to breed green cheeks and though I loved them they are just too ADHD for me.
If you decide to get a guinea pig remember that they are herd animals and should be kept with at least one other guinea pig. Kept solitary they will suffer.

 

[WikiWaz]

Your right bird will come along. I prefer tiels over green cheeks as their energy and attitude is a better match for me. I used to breed green cheeks and though I loved them they are just too ADHD for me.
If you decide to get a guinea pig remember that they are herd animals and should be kept with at least one other guinea pig. Kept solitary they will suffer.

We have decided against the guinea pig for now.

Tomorrow, we are driving 2 hours south to meet a 7 month-old, hand-raised turquoise GCC that we found on Birdsnow. The backstory is that the owner's dog passed and he wanted try to a parrot as a pet after seeing cute youtube videos. Now, the owner feels like he doesn't have enough time for the conure, and the conure only gets let out a max of 1 hour a day. So the conure is screaming for attention. The owner seems pretty upfront in that he doesn't like the flock calls and that he did not realize how much work goes into bird ownership. But he does seem to care a lot about his conure being placed in a good home.

I showed the owner my toy and perch storage, along with my past cage setup for Bowie. He replied, "Oh wow you definitely are bird people. That puts me at ease".

We didn't want to be swindled again after Bowie: long-story-short we were told Bowie was 1.5 years old when we bought him, but necropsy suggested Bowie was a senior cockatiel.
The owner provided us with proof of purchase so we know the turquoise GCC was hatched 4/8/2021 at Bird is the Word in Batavia, IL.

At the expense of sounding like a terrible human being, my family is a bit burned out from rescue parrots. We don't want to add another bird terrified of humans to our flock. So that is why we are going this route. I don't know if I would call it a "true" adoption, but we would be rehoming a bird that needs a good home and not purchasing a bird from a breeder, so that's a win in my book. I'm not saying ALL breeders are terrible, I just worry that the big breeding mills selling untamed birds in pet shops add to the issue of bird homelessness. When those pet-store birds are not what people expect or are a spontaneous purchase, they sometimes get neglected and abused.

So fingers crossed for us, please!

 

[WikiWaz]

We have decided against the guinea pig for now.

Tomorrow, we are driving 2 hours south to meet a 7 month-old, hand-raised turquoise GCC that we found on Birdsnow. The backstory is that the owner's dog passed and he wanted try to a parrot as a pet after seeing cute youtube videos. Now, the owner feels like he doesn't have enough time for the conure, and the conure only gets let out a max of 1 hour a day. So the conure is screaming for attention. The owner seems pretty upfront in that he doesn't like the flock calls and that he did not realize how much work goes into bird ownership. But he does seem to care a lot about his conure being placed in a good home.

I showed the owner my toy and perch storage, along with my past cage setup for Bowie. He replied, "Oh wow you definitely are bird people. That puts me at ease".

We didn't want to be swindled again after Bowie: long-story-short we were told Bowie was 1.5 years old when we bought him, but necropsy suggested Bowie was a senior cockatiel.
The owner provided us with proof of purchase so we know the turquoise GCC was hatched 4/8/2021 at Bird is the Word in Batavia, IL.

At the expense of sounding like a terrible human being, my family is a bit burned out from rescue parrots. We don't want to add another bird terrified of humans to our flock. So that is why we are going this route. I don't know if I would call it a "true" adoption, but we would be rehoming a bird that needs a good home and not purchasing a bird from a breeder, so that's a win in my book. I'm not saying ALL breeders are terrible, I just worry that the big breeding mills selling untamed birds in pet shops add to the issue of bird homelessness. When those pet-store birds are not what people expect or are a spontaneous purchase, they sometimes get neglected and abused.

So fingers crossed for us, please!

We did take him home! He's such a cute little bean and we love him to death!

 

[scrape]

That's great! Congratulations!

 

[WikiWaz]

That's great! Congratulations!

Thanks!

 

[WikiWaz]

@javi Very ADD indeed!