What makes you "that crazy bird person?" (Open discussion!)

[Spyglass29]

For many people, it's the fact that I simply own them.
For others, it's the fact that I put my birds before anything else and love them more than anything else in this life.
Or for some, it's because I sniff them and make up weird nicknames for them.
I could go on and on about what I think makes people see me as "the crazy bird person" but I'm not going to bore you with a 200-page book about how much I love my feathered kids

So let's chat! What makes you "that crazy bird person?"

 

[Spyglass29]

One more thing: I don't mean "crazy bird person" as someone with a flock of, I don't know, 30 parrots, with an entire house dedicated to their fids. I think the definition of "crazy bird person" is someone that loves birds/parrots enough that they're willing to put up with them and love them. Doesn't matter if you have one bird, no birds, or 50 birds.

 

[Pixiebeak]

My friends and family would say because I put up with the noise( happy chatter boisterous) and mess .

The fact I'm not freaked out if I manage to make it out of the house with bird poop in my shoulder.

 

[Mizzely]

Because I've given up a corner of my living room to my bird and have stuff hanging from the ceiling for him.

 

[sootling]

Because I've given up my bedroom to 4 flying Sky Chickens (aka budgies), and scream "I LOVE YOU" to them every morning when I leave for school/summer camp/volunteer work. Or just telling them how much I love them every 5 secs. Point is, I want them to know they're loved no matter what

 

[AussieBird]

It's because I have a lot of random bird facts and it's pretty easy for me to identify lots of parrots. If someone wants to know what type of bird they're looking at they generally ask me.
I've also spent a fair amount of money on my birds recently. I know non-bird people would see that as weird.

 

[cnyguy]

Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I talk about Ralph and Scooter at great length, to anyone who will listen. At the grocery store where I regularly shop, there are a few cashiers who, whenever they see me in the store, will ask me how the parrots are doing. I suppose I must have mentioned the birds a few times when I was checking out. Get me started talking about parrots and I'll go on and on and on... Crazy bird person? Who, me?

 

[Sparkles99]

I'm not crazy. I asked my budgies earlier & they totally agreed. My friends & family are totally unfizzed by them.

 

[FeatheredM]

Me just being quiet and shy unless birds come into subject and also that when I get bit I don't freak out. I just deal with it, but honestly pulling away suddenly gets the bird thinking that biting works.

 

[flyzipper]

I bought my latest home with my birds in mind.

Typical conversation...

Random person: [puzzled look] you live there by yourself -- what do you do with all that space?​

Me: [matter-of-factly] I have birds.​

Random person: [puzzled look]​

 

[scrape]

For many people, it's the fact that I simply own them.
For others, it's the fact that I put my birds before anything else and love them more than anything else in this life.
Or for some, it's because I sniff them and make up weird nicknames for them.
I could go on and on about what I think makes people see me as "the crazy bird person" but I'm not going to bore you with a 200-page book about how much I love my feathered kids

So let's chat! What makes you "that crazy bird person?"

Typically any person is surprised to hear that I have three birds, and even more surprised to hear that I have a cockatoo. I think I probably get that label when they start saying "my aunt used to have a medium green bird" and I immediately start telling them which species it is. Being able to differentiate between species is a bird-lover skill. Most people just call it a "big red parrot" or something of the sort.

Some people probably think I'm crazy for having Lovie. It takes a special person to share a room with a Too.

 

[Khizz]

Because I take time every morning to give them a healthy breakfast which is varied and planned out, then proceed to make myself coffee and coco pops

 

[Teckechick]

This is a great thread!

We get strange looks for several of the things already mentioned. But we get the most you people are crazy looks when it is time for a vet trip. People just don’t understand why we drive all the way to Chicago and back “just” to take the birds to the vet. They are family to us and deserve the best care we can provide. That kind of care isn’t something we can get locally!

 

[taxidermynerd]

My dad thinks I'm a little bit crazy because Jade will tolerate me but she has a wicked bloodlust for his hands, he has to keep them in fists when she's around so those vulnerable fingers aren't out in the open!

She's fine with his shoulders, lower arms, etc though. And he still gives her almonds from time to time because she has him wrapped around her talons!

We jokingly call her a little demon bird, but she's MY demon bird!

 

[SunTruth]

To be honest people were already finding me weird before my family even got a bird. So if I mention I now have a parrot they do not appear to be more surprised than they already are, but still they are curious and ask questions.

I think that a lot of people really like parrots, and we do not appear crazy but rather interesting

 

[Dona]

Mark Twain said-

“She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.”

 

[Pat H]

This is a great thread!

We get strange looks for several of the things already mentioned. But we get the most you people are crazy looks when it is time for a vet trip. People just don’t understand why we drive all the way to Chicago and back “just” to take the birds to the vet. They are family to us and deserve the best care we can provide. That kind of care isn’t something we can get locally!

Are you West of Chicago? What vet do you use there? [Dr. Scott McD?] It would probably be about a 2 1/2 hr drive for us, but we used to have one in Dubuque, IA, and one in Dixon/Sterling, IL. They are really few and far between!

 

[Pat H]

Mark Twain said-

“She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.”

I was just trying to remember that quote-- LOVE IT!

 

[Pat H]

When I used to raise LBs, here's a short story--
Going to go 'out on the town' w/ a friend for New Years Eve.. so I was in kind of a distracted hurry. Fed and watered my birds [in the bird room], dumping waters into a large bowl to carry it to the sink. Before I did that, fed the baby LBs, but one was missing??? Looked everywhere, then happened to look in the bowl of water-- there it was, it's little head sticking above the water line! AAAAHHHH... Dried her off, but concerned if she was ok. Put her in a coconut shell in my purse since we were leaving. At the party, someone teased me about having birds-- boy, were they shocked when I opened my purse to show them the baby bird!
LOVED IT!

 

[fashionfobie]

Mark Twain said-

“She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.”

Good one! I actually have this as my bio on Instagram. It is me in a nutshell!