Parrot and People Parents.

[kaylayuh]

For those of you that had your birds before you had your children, how did the birds adjust to having a baby or babies around? I'm not having children for a while, but I see so many ads for rehomed parrots because people just had a baby and I'm interested in seeing how other parrot owners adjusted.

 

[Angelicarboreals]

I don't have any small children, but I do have an 11 year old stepson that came along many years after I first started owning birds. My stepson knows that he isn't to be in the bird room unless either I or his father is present, and he is very respectful of the birds and wants to help out as much as he can when he comes to visit. Personally, unless there is some extra situation that is presented when a child is born (such as the child has asthma or a health condition where they cannot be around animals) I personally feel like rehoming a pet simply because a child is born is a very unfair thing to do, both for the animal's sake as well as the child's.

I have never been without some type of pet, and we had everything from dogs to cats to birds to hamsters when I was very young and all throughout my childhood. In many ways being surrounded by animals growing up made me the person I am today and gave me an extra sense of responsibility that I think is lacking these days. My parents never once gave up an animal because they had kids, and I would never do it either.

 

[Danita]

I am going to bump this up, maybe someone else can answer this for you too

 

[Zeb]

I think it's bull.

I had my B&G macaw downstairs, and one bird room next to my daughter when she was a newborn. She never cried or woke up from the birds...I actually think that she recognized the sounds from within her mommy. ( I am positive she could hear it for 9 months! )

The birds did just fine. My female eclectus liked to watch her in her bassinet.....with me, of course.

She is now 2, and she's never been bitten badly by the birds. She knows which ones to leave alone, and there are a few she is friends with. She holds both the eclectus, one of the lovebirds, and the caiques. The "scary" ones, like my amazon and macaws, she talks to. Oddly, she is a little scared of the cockatoos....who just want to play with HER so badly!

 

[kaylayuh]

Thanks for the answers!

I think it's so sad to see birds rehomed because people have had children. I personally don't think I could or would ever do that.

 

[Karighan]

Usually, the rehomings aren't because of the baby itself, but because the woman is pregnant. There's sicknesses you can get from bird feces that are deadly to the baby during pregnancy.

 

[Anne & Gang]

a lot of times, the people are just unwilling to try it out...or they do not have a reliable partner to help..it can be very daunting to be on your own, have birds and then also have the added responsibility of a baby..however, I do not agree that birds should be rehomed when a baby comes along..many families do make it work and work well.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Usually, the rehomings aren't because of the baby itself, but because the woman is pregnant. There's sicknesses you can get from bird feces that are deadly to the baby during pregnancy.

Just like the claim with cat poop and cat litter? All false

 

[Chantilly Lace]

Just like the claim with cat poop and cat litter? All false

Yep! Meat and soil are more dangerous than cat poo...but you don't hear people talking about not eating meat or gardening when pregnant!

 

[Renae]

I know a guy and his wife, they both breed and raise birds (they have quite a lot of birds), and they had birds before having (2) kids and they managed perfectly fine. They are just 1 example, I know a few others that have managed birds and kids fine, too. It may be easy to some, while not so much to others, that is not to say I am for people re-homing birds if they fall pregnant, I too feel great sadness when I see birds being re-homed (before the baby is even born) because they don't think they will have the time and etc.

 

[kaylayuh]

It makes me sad to see cats rehomed for that reason, too. Especially since there are so many safe ways to clean up after your birds or cats to avoid getting toxoplasmosis.

 

[bubblelady]

Just like the claim with cat poop and cat litter? All false

Actually, not totally false, although not an area of huge concern. My ex is a public health veterinarian & we talked about all kinds of "interesting" diseases He told me that while a woman may contract toxoplasmosis from cat litter, she is at just as much--if not more--risk from eating undercooked meat. Changing cat litter may expose you to the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, but it is also found in raw meats or unwashed root vegetables So, the warning against kitty litter should include a warning against rare meat and unwashed carrots! Truth is, most of us have probably had toxoplasmosis at some point so it is not of much concern, but there is truth to the need for caution.

Toxoplasmosis: Cat litter and Pregnancy
If you are pregnant you have probably heard that you should not change cat litter during your pregnancy. You may be wondering why. Changing cat litter puts you at risk for contracting an infection called toxoplasmosis. There are several ways that a pregnant woman could contract toxoplasmosis but cats are known to be common carriers of the infection. Pregnant women are advised to not change cat litter if at all possible. The effects of the toxoplasmosis are mild to the mother but may cause miscarriage, congenital defects, damage to the eyes, brain, or other problems.

 

[SandraK]

Usually, the rehomings aren't because of the baby itself, but because the woman is pregnant. There's sicknesses you can get from bird feces that are deadly to the baby during pregnancy.

Yes, as there are sicknesses you can get from changing cat litter IF you inhale while doing this (I don't know anyone in their right mind who would do this). A former sister-in-law would make her husband change the cat litter every time she got pregnant using the above as a reason for not doing it herself. And yet she would wash the baby in the kitchen sink and feed the cat on the kitchen counter so the dog wouldn't eat the cat's food. Forgive me but I would no more feed the cat on the counter than I would wash the baby in the kitchen sink, after all the cat's paws had been in the litter box. Then again, this same woman didn't have a microwave until her fourth kid because she'd read that microwaves were bad for unborn children; she almost had a cow when I pointed out that cable t.v. worked on microwaves because the t.v. was her baby-sitter.

Unless it is a serious health problem for the new child I think the rehoming because of a new baby is a crock.

 

[mariec]

That's an interesting question. I have a lot of surrenders because of new babies, not babies so much but young toddlers.

We just recently had a TAG come in for giving the baby a really nasty bite through the cage bars. I have a young autistic son- who due to his lack of pain recognition (he doesn't care or notice nips, burns etc- and learn from the experience like normal) we've had to work hard at learning how to keep him and birds safe.

There are ways, bird rooms, plexiglass, child fencing, hanging playstands, etc to make it work, or at least help greatly.

I think some people just don't want to try, there are those that try and don't feel it's working well enough, and there are those that just don't have the space or means to keep "trying" to make it work. With a new baby or young toddler some people don't feel like they have the weeks or months to train and experiment with a really child aggressive bird- they feel the risk is to great....

It breaks my heart sometimes when you have people who have really tried and still haven't found a way to make it work....some birds can be highly aggressive towards little ones and in the end I do understand that no matter how much someone loves their bird- a human baby/toddler/child has to come first.


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[cosmolove]

I don't have kids but Ralphie has lived with me, my mom, my dad, and my little brother (16) the whole time I've had him. My older brother brought his kids in and ralphie gets jealous when I'm with them and threatens to bite them but its only when they invade his space. He's just kept up on top of his cage now or on his perch so they can't reach him until they understand boundries.

 

[Sparky04]

I can't speak from experience, no small children here. My sister's only a year younger then me. But I got my first bird when I was three. He was a budgie. My parents supervised me with the bird of course, but I was very gentle and respectful of him. I think in most cases, you can keep your birds and have a baby.

 

[Julsiebean]

I respect parents who have to make difficult choices, even if they aren't popular. Being a parent is hard stuff, and sometimes things just have to give. Often spouses aren't on the same page. It is a really slipperly slope once you start judging others who are dealing with sensitive cicumstances you haven't encountered. Trying to find a bird a new home is a responsible thing to do opposed to letting the bird suffer, setting it free etc. It isn't always so black and white.