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

fashionfobie

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It is probably because I say things like, "I'm not sure if the birds will like that." "I had a good day with Pi today." "Oh! Yay! My birdies' secret santa presents came!"
 

flyzipper

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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.”

:rofl:
A writer that I enjoy flipped that to our birds' perspective...

Parrots are not refined, nor are they unrefined, they are the kind that keeps a human.
 

cnyguy

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We should give proper credit for the "She was not quite refined..." quote. It was originally attributed to Mark Twain. He undoubtedly didn't have Avian Avenue in mind when he came up with it, but it certainly is appropriate here.
 

Donna turner

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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.”

:rofl:
I’ve always loved that line. I kinda think of myself that way
 

DORIS123

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Because i let them live a cage free life and have the whole living room dedicated to them and clean up their poo every day, tolerate them poo on me, bite me(which i am still working on with them). Browsing online everyday to find ways to entertained them. Sing to them everyday and head bob them, and dance with them when the neighrboura are looking into our units. Take them to the vet for regular check.up whcih i dont even bother to do.my own check.up. Just love them so much!!!!!
 

Teckechick

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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!
We go to Niles in Chicago. I keep missing Dr. Scott when he is in the Springfield area. Springfield is only about a 45minute to an hour drive.
 

fluffypoptarts

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People think I’m a crazy bird person because:

1) My birds are my top priority.

2) I spend a lot of money on my birds.

3) I spend a lot of time with/on my birds.

4) I talk about my birds a lot.

5) I have a lot of bird pictures and figurines in my office.

6) I would do anything for my birds.

7) I have two dedicated bird rooms.
 

outmaww

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I have a big collection of pretty funny and colorful dangle earrings. I was well-known for it around my friends and family and even colleagues who saw me on a daily basis. People I barely know are now coming up to me and asking, "What happened to your earrings?? I liked those!"

My baby no longer allows me to wear them lol. People can't seem to fathom giving up fashion for my new little friend!
 

faislaq

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I have a big collection of pretty funny and colorful dangle earrings. I was well-known for it around my friends and family and even colleagues who saw me on a daily basis. People I barely know are now coming up to me and asking, "What happened to your earrings?? I liked those!"

My baby no longer allows me to wear them lol. People can't seem to fathom giving up fashion for my new little friend!
I used to paint my nails all the time; I had over 50 colors at one point! But I stopped wearing it when we got Pistachio & haven't painted them since. 'Stachi is no longer with us but the way Buzz beaks my nails I worry he'll try to crack 'em like a nut so I try not to draw attention to them. :unsure1:

My wedding and engagement rings live on a holder in a closed cabinet lest the diamonds get pulled out and anted & the only earrings I have worn in years are the stainless body jewelry type that screw in. Hubby's wedding band is in the sofa where Bug dropped it. Again. :shrug2:
 
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Shezbug

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Many things that I was well known for are no longer a part of my life, I have made so many changes to make life safe and also comfortable for my birds that many people who have known me for a long time have been really shocked at the every day changes they now see I have made for my birds lol.
I used to love jewelry of any sort and I would wear a lot of rings (all have sentimental meaning), hand carved wooden earrings and other fancy dangly earrings, hand made bead and crystal items along with other Native American jewelry of all sorts that were gifted to me, all are gone and packed away now, I wear no jewelry except for some boring plain sleepers and SS body jewelry.
I always loved pretty smells and 24/7 I had incense and stinky candles burning, I used to wear perfume every day, use scented sprays in my linen closet, have smelly plug in things in some rooms too and now I struggle to breathe when I walk into a shop or room that has this stuff to scent the air- I can't believe I used to enjoy trying to find oxygen through the stink of these chemicals lol.
I used to use a lot of house cleaning chemicals filled with scents and other bad things- these are not allowed in my house since I gained bird family members again.
No more open house for friends leaving the local pub (was right across the road from my house) at closing time, no more late night parties, visitors or charcoal BBQ's at the back door, friends pets are no longer welcome at my home (one or two exceptions have been made), dangerous kitchen items (teflon) have been removed or replaced with safe options much to my mothers disapproval (lol she needs her non stick fry pans to be able to cook). I even had the gas outlets for LPG heaters removed as they are not as safe as natural gas heaters so I did not want anyone forgetting and bringing home a gas heater.
These are just the main things that make it obvious I am the local crazy bird lady, there are so many more things that can identify me as that weird bird lady... I order special food items in that we do not normally have available here or I get comments on the healthy contents of my shopping trolley and I get asked what kind of yummy healthy things I am making and my reply is nearly always something along the lines of a foraging box/skewer, bird bread or bird breakfasts and then I have to explain when they ask what kind of fancy dish it is- some of the looks I get are simply hilarious :laugh:
Phone calls are always fun, Burt really likes to yell out (repetitively) "hello" while I am in the other room on the phone and sometimes he does not stop saying it unless I put them on loud speaker and ask them to say hello back or unless he decides it is better to scream like he is being murdered then start up with the desperate calls of "mum" scream "wanna come out" scream "I love you" and that honestly causes some serious stress for some people talking to me so I have to explain it is my bird and I am sure more than half of them think I am lying and I am just a horribly negligent nasty mum to my little kid :roflmao:
 

faislaq

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Burt really likes to yell out (repetitively) "hello" while I am in the other room on the phone and sometimes he does not stop saying it unless I put them on loud speaker and ask them to say hello back or unless he decides it is better to scream like he is being murdered
:loltears: Oh Burt! Of course you need to say "hello". What is mommy thinking? :embarassed:
 

Shezbug

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:loltears: Oh Burt! Of course you need to say "hello". What is mommy thinking? :embarassed:
It is sometimes a tad embarrassing, my mum has also had to explain the odd noises in the background to some of her clients who ask if she needs to go and call them back when everything is ok lol
 

NEVRM0RE_

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This is an amazing thread!!! I have actually spent most of my life TERRIFIED of birds. Crippling fear. The first time I ever met a parrot I was at a friends sitting on their couch, when I felt like someone was watching me. I turned my head and saw a giant blue and gold Macaw staring me in the eyes with its head cocked sideways and I ran out of the house screaming. About 5 years ago we had some crows in our backyard. They were noisy and the neighbors hated them. One morning when I was gardening I noticed a fledgling crow in my compost pile eating a wedge of watermelon. The crows face got messy, and they hopped down right next to me to wipe their beak on the grass. I went into the house and found more almost spent fruit and the baby happily chowed down beside me. Somehow, I bonded with that baby crow, and the following year she had her own fledglings in my yard. She would come to my deck, we would chat and she would leave her babies in my grass. I felt like she trusted me. Anyhow - she returns every year. I know its her because she has a white stripe accross her chest and one wing. This past spring she came back, as she does with her babes and it was as it always is. One day i noticed that none of the crows including the 1 baby she had were around. I waited for them all day. I assumed that they were teaching the baby how to do crow things. That evening I took my kids to the playground and stumbled upon the baby crow who had passed away. It was devastating. My son helped me put them in a box and bury them in the back yard. My heart ached for the mama crow. I was worried she might think we did something, as she wasn't around. As soon as we buried him she appeared. She came down close to us, and cawed a couple of times. Then she flew away. The next morning, there were crow feathers near the babies grave site (true story, I will attach photos). Mama crow continued to visit daily until the end of June (which is typical for us) ANYHOW that..devastation was what motivated me to adopt our first bird! A budgie. My dream bird is an African grey - but I want a rescue, and I obviously need serious experience first. Bartok is my gateway bird, and he is very loved!!! My crow family has left for the year, and they have been replaced by some even nosier magpies. I never thought of myself as the crazy bird person until I heard my neighbor cussing about my "swarm of constant dumpster hawks" but its a new label I take great pride in!! Lol
 

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Sparkles99

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Is that a magpie in the last photo?!
 

NEVRM0RE_

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@NEVRM0RE_ -- WELCOME to the Avenue!!! :awww:

GREAT story [all parts]. Interesting your area has BOTH species of Crow..
Its funny you should say that!!! Where I live both the magpie, and crow are considered problematic by home owners. Anyway, my partner just keeps his head down from May-September so he doesn't have to explain the "dumpster bird" situation. One of my neighbors even cut down a tree to mitigate the problem, and the birds just mover to another tree in our yard further from their yard.
 

Gimby

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I believe that people on parrot forums aren't crazy bird people at all but instead people looking to enrich their parrot's lives, to give their all to their feathered friends and do the best they can by their pet, who just so happens to be a parrot. Just like dog people and cat people socializing/shopping/training at Petco/Petsmart/Pet Supplies Plus and all those other major chains that dedicate themselves to cats/dogs/small animals, so we parrot people take to forums to provide for our pets. What I'd consider a crazy bird person is somebody who hoards birds whose parrots cages are dirty cages with little to no enrichment and has *DIRTY* not messy but straight up dirty home. I honestly take offense to the term personally but maybe I should lighten up :p. In all I feel like every one on here, despite the number of parrots you may have, as long as they are well cared for, happy and enriched there are no crazy parrot people on here just people trying to provide for their super expensive, AMAZING companions, the best that they possibly can ;) :)
 

Spyglass29

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I believe that people on parrot forums aren't crazy bird people at all but instead people looking to enrich their parrot's lives, to give their all to their feathered friends and do the best they can by their pet, who just so happens to be a parrot. Just like dog people and cat people socializing/shopping/training at Petco/Petsmart/Pet Supplies Plus and all those other major chains that dedicate themselves to cats/dogs/small animals, so we parrot people take to forums to provide for our pets. What I'd consider a crazy bird person is somebody who hoards birds whose parrots cages are dirty cages with little to no enrichment and has *DIRTY* not messy but straight up dirty home. I honestly take offense to the term personally but maybe I should lighten up :p. In all I feel like every one on here, despite the number of parrots you may have, as long as they are well cared for, happy and enriched there are no crazy parrot people on here just people trying to provide for their super expensive, AMAZING companions, the best that they possibly can ;) :)
That's a really good point. Thanx for bringing that up. I think a lot of people call themselves "crazy bird people" because they're kind of obsessed with birds. Like, we'll turn down a fun get-together or family vacation just to stay with our parrots. A lot of non-bird people would call that "crazy".
Sorry if any of this offended you :(
 
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