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MBS (Multiple Bird Syndrome) AKA Just one more...

LSA

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i wouldn’t have the time to have another bird (with caring for my babies, college, and work), and it just wouldn’t be fair. even if i didn’t live with my parents and had more time, i’m quite happy with the two i have and i plan on it being them two for a while.
Luckily, you're smart enough to know your limits. Some people don't. I congratulate and thank you!
Lots of us avoid it because we know our limits and stick to them. It's the fair thing for the birds! (But I must admit, sometimes it's hard to say no!)

Keep us updated on what happens with the Citron
Debbie took such good care of the Citron that it's beautiful feathers were growing back unbelievably!
The Citron now lives with a man south of Dallas, TX. From what I hear in the short while she's been there, she's quickly fitting into his family! It's a single bird home where she's loved and spoiled.


 

cassiesdad

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Debbie took such good care of the Citron that it's beautiful feathers were growing back unbelievably!
The Citron now lives with a man south of Dallas, TX. From what I hear in the short while she's been there, she's quickly fitting into his family! It's a single bird home where she's loved and spoiled.
...as it should be...:) :heart:
 

analliecat

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Luckily, you're smart enough to know your limits. Some people don't. I congratulate and thank you!
Lots of us avoid it because we know our limits and stick to them. It's the fair thing for the birds! (But I must admit, sometimes it's hard to say no!)


Debbie took such good care of the Citron that it's beautiful feathers were growing back unbelievably!
The Citron now lives with a man south of Dallas, TX. From what I hear in the short while she's been there, she's quickly fitting into his family! It's a single bird home where she's loved and spoiled.

i learned this only a few weeks ago to be honest. i wanted another green cheek, beautiful cinnamon i fell in love with. i even put down a deposit on her. but over the next couple of weeks, cleaning two cages, making sure they both get special time with me, and caring for my kitties i realised that i do not have the time for another bird and probably won’t for a while. the owner was nice enough to give me my deposit back, but when i have the time and patience for a third bird, i may get one. throughout my life they’ll be plenty of birds for me to love if i decide it’s time:)
 
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Linearis

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One is enough for me, she's happy and I'm happy. She's a parrotlet and very bonded to me so she's likely to just be jealous and nippy with a new bird
 

Dona

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Me too Linearis! My Gigi is an only and sure seems happy! I also wonder how she would do if asked to share us.
 

Linearis

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Me too Linearis! My Gigi is an only and sure seems happy! I also wonder how she would do if asked to share us.
Yeah I've felt guilty about leaving my bird alone but I try to spend most of my free time with her (since I can do my own stuff when she sleeps anyway, and me spending time with her sometimes just means me watching vids while I give her scritches) and since a cagemate is probably out of the question... I just got her a bigger cage to put more toys in so she has lots to do. x.x The thought of cleaning two cages, taking two birds possibly to the vet... or even more... Idk, I feel I really don't have the time and more than Lumi would just mean I have less time to spend with her.
 

TikiMyn

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I am good about it, but the urges have grown! They only last for Some time and I know what is sensible, but after bringing Xena home, I keep getting these urges to adopt just one more bird.. a Tiel.. or a conure... or, but no, if I adopt another species they would need a friend and adding two more birds.. nah:laugh: Still, it is fun fantasising about bringing home a sweet pair of Tiels:swoon:
 

Coldbreeze

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I have moods where I look at Alexandrine online. Check out craigslist (there is one currently on there for 700 and only like an hour away from me!) I must really behave on getting another one.. it's so hard!!
 

webchirp

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I have two or three birds that the "E" word was used...euthanize. Bitty was dropped off at the vet to be e'd, the vet said he had too much life left ahead for that and got him to rescue. I have a couple of others that it was mentioned due to inability to place or possible health issues the owner couldn't afford.
 

DurgaRose

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Sorry to make this so long, but I'm going to be brutally honest here and I hope that it helps someone when they think about adding another bird. There is an old saying, two's company, three's a crowd. Well, that is what it's feeling like to me right now. I'm also having to contemplate doing a rehome with jewel. Chandra knows what I've gone through lately. I've been feeling like the world's worst birdie mom. You think one more cage to clean is a piece of cake, NOT. I felt I was rescuing jewel from that pet store, but was I really rescuing her? At the time I thought I was. Yes, she was in horrible conditions and I saved her from that. But the unexpected happened to me which forced me to see the reality of the situation. If you are going to own a pet, you have a responsability to not only feed it, clean it's cage, buy it toys, give it love, but most of all, you owe that pet vet care!!! A bird is not disposible, you don't say, "oh it's okay, if it dies I'll just get another one!" NOT! Animals have a heart, a soul and they have feelings. Many will argue with me that an animal does not have a soul. Please don't argue this with me, you'd never change my mind. I saw a huge difference when I had to care for 3 rather than two birds. At first, it was very overwhelming for me, I thought it would be easy. But I have to do it no matter how tough it gets when I have days I don't feel good. Yes, health problems have been bad for me lately. No matter how bad I feel, i still have to rise above it and make sure my birds have a clean enviornment. The added expense of a little one is something you'd think would be very easy. I still saw a huge difference. More pellets, more bountiful harvest, more chop to be made, more birdie bread to bake, more food dishes to scrub, more poop to scrape, and the list goes on! One day reality hit me like a brick wall or a huge slap in the face. Unexpectedly I had all three drop sick within a very short time frame. I never dreamed that would happen to me. I should have realized it could happen, but I was blind to it all. When one falls ill and you can't get them the care they need, there is NOTHING WORSE than to have to sit there watching something you dearly love suffer and knowing you can't help. To some ppl, it doesn't bother them, but when I love something, I love them with every inch of my heart and soul. If it wasn't for the help of a few angels I'd have lost one of them and I'd have never gotten over it. I'd have blamed myself and carried that heavy load on my shoulders for the rest of my life! That made me realize, I wasn't really rescuing jewel like I thought I was because I wasn't able to financially afford vets bills for all three in that short span of time. I really beat myself up for it. I hated myself because I wasn't helping jewel when I took her from that nasty pet store, not when I couldn't help her either. PLEASE...PLEASE....THINK before you buy. THINK before you adopt, sadly, I didn't think it all the way through. Oh but I thought I did! Three has become too much for me financially. The financial problem for me lies with vet care. I've seen birds live in smoke filled rooms, seed diets, filthy cages and they never fall ill. I keep mine clean and I've dealt with problems nonstop lately. If you cannot afford the vet care that they deserve, please don't take that bird home. They deserve medical treatment just the same as you or I do. Imagine how it would feel to die a slow miserable death when it could be prevented if you could pay the medical bill. If I rehomed jewel it would kill me because I am all she knows outside of that pet store. I can't handle the thought of her being scared when a new owner walks away with her. I can't take that fear away for her and that would rip me to shreds. But I'm not doing her any service if I can't pay her vet bill and get her to the vet if she becomes sick. So no, I really wasn't rescuing her like I THOUGHT I was. I could kick myself for not realizing it when I got her. I should have walked away and concentrated on caring for the ones I already had. I've had to accept the fact that I can't save every animal I find that needs help. It really upsets me that I can't. I try, but I discovered it doesn't work that way. A part of my heart knows that it would be best for jewel to go to a home that I KNOW can afford her vet care but a part of my heart cannot let go. Thats a difficult spot to be in. It pulls heavily on my heart. It's made me feel one inch tall as a bird owner. It's not easy to have to turn and walk away when you see a bad situation but I've learned that there comes a time when you HAVE to. If all of mine become ill at the same time again I honestly don't know what I'll do and that is a very scary thing to even think about. It petrifies me. PLEASE don't hand your bird to just ANYONE either. Have respect for the bird and it's future. When a person resell's their bird and makes a profit from it that is bird flipping, not rehoming. It's not about money, it's about the welfare of the animal. They deserve a home full of love, compassion, and care. If you want to make a profit, then please don't adopt any animal because an animal does not deserve that. What do I do about my mbs problem? I don't know. I would be extremely picky about where she would go and I don't know of anyone willing to take on another bird right now that can afford vet care and be able to give her everything she needs. I swore I didn't have mbs, but our recent medical problems made me see things in a whole new light. Once again, Please think before you buy, and think before you adopt. Don't do what I did.:(
Wow, my heart truly goes out to you and your situation. Your post has helped me A LOT, more then I can express in words. Currently I have two birds, a Lovebird and GCC. Several months back I put a deposit down on a third bird, but I have been having health issues with my little Lovie and it is heartbreaking to see him go through a phase of plucking and mutilation (that all began when he had a blood feather removed, he was fine until that) My stress triggers his plucking and mutilating habit and it has been a miserable situation with many vet visits. My Lovie, Kiwee, is extremely bonded to me and is actually far more demanding of me then my Amigo, my Green Cheek Conure. However, I know Amigo gets jealous of the attention given to Kiwee. They do co-exist okay, they are hardly best buds but I feel in general they enjoy each other to chirp back and forth to. I even got to where I can have them out together but with CONSTANT supervision. I devote AT LEAST 6 hours a day to them and out of cage time. I put down a $400 nonrefundable deposit on an African Grey last spring (my "dream" bird) and came to terms a few weeks ago that he will be too demanding and it wouldn't be fair to the AG or my current two. So I decided to go with an Indian Ringneck instead (my other dream bird!) But decided today that no matter how badly I want a 3rd bird, due to the situation with my current two I just can't do it. I have to come to terms that I lost $400 that could be going towards Kiwee's vet bills. It took a year to get to a point where I can have Kiwee and Amigo out together, which I felt was a great accomplishment. What would happen if I tried adding a 3rd? the dynamic would be completely thrown off. Just like you said "two's company, three's a crowd" I thought of that very saying just the other day. I hafto ask myself, why am I not satisfied with what I have? I love my two babies so dearly, they are everything to me, and take A LOT of time and work. The more birds added the more the ones you already had suffer. It isn't fair. Despite knowing that, it has not been easy coming to terms that I will not be bringing my baby Ringneck home in a few months. But its posts like yours that keep me grounded in reality and makes me love my Kiwee and Amigo even more.
 

DurgaRose

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I think it is in the individual and how they handle the situation. I tell my friends all the time that I know I appear to have 'lost it' with spending all of my money on the 'stray' birds. BUT, this is what I choose to do and I will not be judged or labeled for helping. If I start rehoming my flock and bringing in more then yes I have a problem but I don't do this and yet I am still labeled and people that are close to me worry terribly.

I don't know, all I do know is that I take care of what I have here and I spare no expense on my personal birds as well as the 'rescues' that walk through my door. Do I have 12 birds under my roof right now? YUP Does this label me as having MBS? To some Do I care? NO

Perception is a funny thing....
Perhaps you feel ok and it's manageable... But how are your birds? We need to put them first. Just my opinion. I could justify getting another but I know it's unfair to my current babies. My limit is two.
 

DurgaRose

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I thought I wanted more. I started out with my lovebird pair and let them raise a clutch of 5 babies, I gave one bonded pair to a good friend and had planned on giving the other bonded pair to a friend of hers who had experience with birds. That fell through, so I still have them, plus the parents and the single baby...5 total. I really wanted a GCC and a Cockatiel, I wanted a cuddly baby GCC and to possibly rescue a male tiel ( fell in love with the way they seem to serenade whoever or whatever they are whistling to)

Anyway, I chose to get Lyric (GCC) first and wait about 6 months to a year for a tiel...now, although i find them adorable I have no desire to add another bird...I am happy and stay busy enough with what I have, I don't feel that I could provide enough time for more, at least not at this point in life...maybe years from now.
I have a lovebird and a green cheek conure. My lovebird alone takes a lot of my time and attention. He's very bonded to me. Even though they're small they take a lot of work. My conure is a little angel (most of the time!) :joyful:
 

Travis726

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Thats funny there is an acronym for it. Having recently finally got over my case of G.A.S (Gear aquisation syndrome aka just 1 more guitar) i instantly had the thought "i should get him a friend" after our new family member came home and has been well... perfect.

I stopped myself if for no other reason i did the same thing with a dog in the past... the 2nd one made me realize how lucky i was on the first one.

So for now its just Freckle for us.
 

TheBirds

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This is all so true. I currently have five; three very old budgies, a conure and a cockatiel. I sometimes think that birds are like potato chips - you can't stop at one.
It's so bizarre but true! Before our Pacific Parrotlet arrived on the scene, additional birds hadn't even crossed my mind. Yet here I am, perusing the MBS thread, agonizing over what additional bird (or birds ... o_O ) to add to the mix. It doesn't help I have two cages just waiting for new addition(s) .. although one was intended as a flight cage (it seems such a waste to have a big beautiful flight cage that's only going to be used *some* of the time :unsure1: ).

When it comes to MBS, though, do the kinds of birds factor in as well as the number of birds? I feel like it should. A macaw, cockatoo, and an African Grey vs a Parrotlet, Lovebird, and GCC .. same number of birds, but a day in the life each of the owners of those groupings of birds would look and sound very different, wouldn't it? If this has been discussed earlier in the thread, forgive me, I haven't read all 14 pages as yet :)
 

Travis726

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Thats funny there is an acronym for it. Having recently finally got over my case of G.A.S (Gear aquisation syndrome aka just 1 more guitar) i instantly had the thought "i should get him a friend" after our new family member came home and has been well... perfect.

I stopped myself if for no other reason i did the same thing with a dog in the past... the 2nd one made me realize how lucky i was on the first one.

So for now its just Freckle for us.
I made it almost 3 months... lol (Luna just got out of quarantine). She (she if i had to guess) has made me realize how unique Freckle has been. She has come a long way, at first she wouldn't come out of the cage. I have her stepping up and targeting now but it took a little patience.
 

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scrape

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Does MBS go away? Or should I say, how do I get it to go away?
 

Karen

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Does MBS go away? Or should I say, how do I get it to go away?
I've never quite understood MBS. I can't get past the figure I come to when I start multiplying vet bills, food bills, accessories, my space, my time etc. to even think about another bird. Two used to be my limit, now its one.
 

Sparkles99

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Maybe it depends on species. This may be foolish, but I totally intend to get 2 budgies. Vet bills sound like a great way to cure it: the vet, not just for curing animals. :D I've yet to experience this phenomenon, but maybe spending time with your current birds &/ or other pets will help take your mind off of others. :)
 

fluffypoptarts

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Maybe it depends on species. This may be foolish, but I totally intend to get 2 budgies. Vet bills sound like a great way to cure it: the vet, not just for curing animals. :D I've yet to experience this phenomenon, but maybe spending time with your current birds &/ or other pets will help take your mind off of others. :)
The larger the bird, the bigger everything else becomes! To some extent, the species does certainly matter. Two macaws require more than two parakeets, but all birds require a certain amount of time and money.

I think two parakeets isn’t a bad thing so long as you have the resources. Most birdies appreciate having a friend of the same species around!
 
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