Looking for tips on getting a bird

[Zoomies858]

Hi. I used to have budgies but they've unfortunately passed away. I made a lot of rookie mistakes with them, such as being too touchy when they were scared of me, placing them in my bedroom instead of a more public area (Several people in my household). I want to get a larger parrot but i'm concerned about the layout of my house. The room that get's the most attention is the living room (Of course), but the part I'm most concerned about is that the living room, kitchen, and dining room are connected. The kitchen is what I'm most concerned about, as I've had a Budgie die of inhaling kitchen-toxins (I was unaware at the time). The second floor is mostly hallway with the bathroom and 2 bedrooms (One being mine), and the third floor are 2 other bedrooms. There is also a basement that a lot of people are in every other day or so (The only problem is the lack of natural sunlight and directly upstairs is the kitchen, although there is a door). What should I do, or is my house just not right for any bird?

 

[sunnysmom]

If you live with other people, are they on board? Getting a bird is really a household decision. It means no teflon pans or appliances with teflon. No candles, incense, febreeze or air fresheners. No smoking or vaping. No hazardous plants, etc. If people are willing to make changes, then usually you can make a room work.

 

[Zoomies858]

Okay. I believe they are on-board. Thanks!!!

 

[Mizzely]

Yes habits and details like cookware, cleaners, etc are usually much more important than home layout

 

[Sparkles99]

I’d consider noise. They may like the idea of a bird, but budgies are melodic. Most larger parrots aren’t. They need to make informed decisions!

 

[conurehrdr]

Noise.. not just the frequency, but VOLUME! Mess, too. The larger birds can be as messy if not more so, than a flock of smaller ones.

 

[greys4u]

Also, no smoking from anyone

 

[Respect]

I was also worried about kitchen fumes as we live in a small house with a gas stove and no HVAC system. But I have yet to have any issues — getting cookware and appliances that are free of PFAS is a must! Stainless steel and ceramic are both great options. Ventilation is also important; even just cracking a window when cooking helps. Air purifiers with HEPA and activated carbon filters can also help, especially if something burns and you need to get rid of smoke. You could also move the bird to another room when cooking if you want to be extra safe, or if something burns and you need to get them somewhere safe. And no birdies out of the cage when cooking! I’ve heard too many horror stories of kitchen-related injuries.

Everyone else makes good points too about what is/isn’t safe and volume. I find most parrots tend to compete with their surroundings for volume — so the louder and busier a house, the louder a bird will be!

 

[greys4u]

If you have to take your birds to another room because of cooking smoke, etc make sure you put a towel in front of the door

 

[Shezbug]

Any set up really can be doable for keeping a bird- the people involved make or break the situation, not the property.

I have a bird living in my kitchen/dining area (no it’s not ideal but that’s a-whole-nother story so poor little budge is in the kitchen till I save more money to cover in my front porch or I trap some clever nasty cats), we have no issues with him being in that room- we have a rule that the window in the kitchen is opened and the exhaust fan turned on anytime any heated appliance (except the kettle) at all is used.
I don’t use or even have any known dangers in my kitchen such as Teflon appliances or under sink chemicals but if at all possible, whenever cooking, we let fresh air in as well as using exhaust fans.


As for you wanting another (larger) bird while living with others, your biggest worry is that those others are willing to happily and voluntarily accept all the changes (chemicals, perfumes, VOC’s, candles, new cooking gear, no fly spray and other aerosols etc) as well as all the mess and noise that parrots bring.

I note others mention mess and noises- I have large and small birds and honestly can accept the louder ear splitting brain rattling screams from my large guys much better than I do the little budgie chatter. I do love all their happy and natural noises but as the big guys literally only sound off a few times (usually once or twice daily) a day and only for a very short time (less than a a few mins till quiet resumes) I have no problems with their noise (my son hates it and his whole body tenses up) but I regularly find myself leaving the room and sometimes even the house to take a break from the budgie who literally is only quiet for a few minutes here and there a couple times each day.
You gotta find out what the people you live with would call a deal breaker regarding bird sounds and also the changes they may be required to make.
Mess: my large birds can individually make more mess in literally minutes than what my budgie can make in 6 weeks lol. Both my large guys now live emptying bowls- food and water and I am actually quite amazed at how far they can spread food… I had to scrape mashed pumpkin off my ceiling yesterday lmao- I don’t even wanna know how Burt managed that!

 

[Zilga]

Mess: my large birds can individually make more mess in literally minutes than what my budgie can make in 6 weeks lol. Both my large guys now live emptying bowls- food and water and I am actually quite amazed at how far they can spread food… I had to scrape mashed pumpkin off my ceiling yesterday lmao- I don’t even wanna know how Burt managed that!

Man, you are not lying here. I don't even have big birds - my biggest bird is a 260-gram pionus - but holy crap, do they make a bigger mess than the tiels and grass keets. It's not even just size; my 60-gram canary winged parakeets make 10x the mess my tiels do despite being half the size, but since they like fruit and are much bigger toy shredders, they're throwing crap everywhere.