In This Chapter
- Understanding the special needs of pet birds and the extraspecial needs of adopted birds
- Deciding whether you can accept the noise, the mess, and the high care needs of birds
- Meeting the different types of birds and what they’re like
- Finding bird rescue groups and shelters with birds that need homes
People don’t often realize just
how difficult birds — particularly large parrots — are to keep, maintain, and
tolerate. The noise level alone is daunting, let alone the constant care,
cleanup, and social interaction that large birds can require. For that reason,
many, large parrots and other birds have been abandoned to bird rescues and
animal shelters. Even smaller birds, which have fewer aggressive care needs
than larger birds, wait in shelters to be recycled into new homes.
But of course, adopting a bird
doesn’t do any good if like the original owner(s) you end up having to abandon
the bird yet again because you can’t handle the required living
arrangements either. In that spirit, this chapter tells you the good, the bad,
and the ugly of what it means to adopt a bird and explains the characteristics
of many different kinds of parrots and other birds, so you can determine
whether bird ownership really is for you. If you decide that it indeed is, then
check out the last part of this chapter for information about tracking down
national, regional, and local shelters and rescue groups that have birds
waiting for new homes with humans who understand what they really need.
Understanding Your Adopted Bird
“SQQQUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWKK!!!!”
Yikes, what was that horrifically loud, piercing noise? Oh, nothing, just the
cockatoo.
That noise, however may be
indicative of your spending only four hours with him today, and he doesn’t
think that’s enough. He probably wants you to deliver another snack, and watch
out, because he just may decide to try to nip off the tip of your finger — he
wouldn’t be the first cockatoo to remove a sizeable chunk of human flesh.
No, this loud, demanding, and
sometimes bloody scenario isn’t an attempt to send you shrieking in the
opposite direction . . . well, not exactly.
Remember
Birds, unlike many of the other animals I talk about in Adopting a Pet For Dummies, essentially are neither domesticated nor cut out for confinement. To be successful as pets, birds require very clean, spacious conditions and specialized training from the get-go. They need lots of handling, interaction, hands-on treatment, training, a regular schedule . . . and even then, after they hit adolescence, they become difficult anyway. Like small animals, birds often are affectionate only during their baby years, but when they grow up, they won’t have patience for cuddling, stroking, and other such biped nonsense. A sexually mature bird may consider you his mate, but beware the large parrot who fancies to you. Male parrots aren’t exactly romantic with their mates. Many adult women are chased around the proverbial desk by amorous parrots, and if one catches you, watch out. He can bite, and hard. You’ve seen those big beaks.
Adopted birds of all shapes and
sizes more than likely have aged past the cuddly baby stage, and in most cases,
were relinquished because people couldn’t live with their seeming rude
behavior. Adopted birds experience many behavioral issues related to neglect,
too much confinement, and improper care. Some start pulling out all their
feathers until they’re virtually naked. Others injure their own skin, fight
incessantly, or try to bite any human body part that gets within striking
distance. And yes, some make noises louder than any human can make.
By adopting a bird that has been
relinquished, you’re agreeing not only to acknowledge that bird’s behavior
issues but to do your best to resolve them, so your bird and the humans with
whom he lives can be healthy, happy, and sane.
Remember
When birds don’t get the attention they need, they become even more difficult. Some people argue that birds aren’t meant to live in cages, but rescuing a pet bird in need of a home is an act of kindness — as long as you can give the bird a good life — because once treated as a pet, birds have little chance of survival if returned to the wild.
Some adopted birds are difficult
to hand tame, especially if they’ve never been hand tamed before or they’ve had
bad experiences with human interaction. Some prefer the company of other birds,
as long as they have plenty of room to move around, claim their own space, and
interact with plenty of room to flee when necessary. Other birds prefer to be
alone. Personality clashes and fights can lead to unhappy results, including
injury and even death. In other words, adopted birds need you to provide the
appropriate, safe living and social environment for them.
Knowing What Adopted Birds Need
Birds need. They need a
lot. And if you don’t have the time, the patience, and a high tolerance for
loud noises and an occasional painful bite, you may want to reconsider your
dreams of owning a great big parrot to add a tropical flare to your living
room. When they’re well managed and they get plenty of exercise, stimulation,
interesting toys, positive structured social interaction, and a varied
nutritious diet, many birds make fine — if loud — pets. The larger birds can
work well in a home where people work at home or for businesses where activity
exists during the day and the night is peaceful, assuming noise isn’t a
problem. But birds also are messy, scattering their food, splashing in their
water, spreading dust and feathers far and wide. And the more unhappy, unsatisfied,
or bored they are, the louder and more destructive they become.
In short, here’s what most pet
birds need from their pet owners (that’s you). Adopted birds need all these
things (see list that follows), perhaps even more urgently than a bird that has
always had all its needs met, for them to adjust to their new homes and to
learn that humans are sources of good things and a safe environment:
- Freshly prepared food, including fruits and vegetables, raw and cooked, and a prepared diet with complete nutrition, according to your particular bird’s needs (for more on what your bird needs to eat, see Chapter Caring for Your Adopted Bird).
- Fresh pure water — replenished at least daily or when it becomes dirty or your bird uses it as a toilet, which can mean more frequently.
- A clean cage that sometimes requires daily cleanup. If you also want a clean environment, add to the daily cage-cleaning, sweeping up or vacuuming the area surrounding the cage — even if you have a cage with a seed-catcher.
Feathers float and seed husks and messy fruits and vegetables will be flung.
- Things to chew. Constantly replenish chew toys as they’re destroyed or become old news and boring. Note: Bird toys are expensive, and in some cases, you need to replace them weekly.
So happy together (or not)
|
|
Assuming adequate cage space is provided (and
potential exceptions are noted), bird expert Nikki Moustaki in Parrots For
Dummies (published by Wiley), indicates the following birds are most
likely to get along with each other:
|
Moustaki says the birds least likely to get along
well with other birds (and prone to fighting) are:
|
- Things to climb on, swing from, and play with. Adopted birds may have a lot of excess energy, and they need an outlet so they don’t get anxious and stressed.
- A cage . . . a big cage. The bird needs to have plenty of room to flap around, climb around, and have different areas to hang out in.
- Time out of the cage, including perches and a play area outside of the cage large enough to climb around on.
- A whole lot of attention, interaction, training, and even discipline. Parrots spend much of their lives doing a darned good imitation of a child in the throes of the terrible 2’s, and they need at least a few visits from you for training and talking every day. The more time you can spend with your bird, the better. A large parrot would probably prefer to hang out on your shoulder all day long, if you’d let him, but even small birds need you to pay attention to them for at least two or three 15-minute sessions every day. Adopted birds may need an extra degree of patience during this integration time because they might not trust humans.
Finding a Breed that Suits You
can do more damage when they
bite, and thus are not normally good pets for homes with children. Smaller
birds still make a mess and often spend much of the day twittering away, a
sound that you either enjoy because it’s so lovely or hate because it irritates
the heck out of you. Small birds are easier to care for, however, and make
better pets for beginning bird owners. Although every bird is an individual and
generalizations always come with exceptions, here’s what to consider about
different types of birds.
Choosing for health and temperament
The type of bird you choose (see
the sections that follow) has a great deal to do with how you and your bird get
along and interact, but if the bird you choose is unhealthy or has an
undesirable temperament, the particular kind of bird hardly matters. Before you
whisk that pretty bird home, take a good hard look for signs of health problems
and temperament problems. With birds, the two often are related. A bird with an
anxious, aggressive, or fearful temperament may look unhealthy because he’s
plucked his own feathers or bashed himself around in the cage. A bird with a
health problem may be nippy, aggressive, or fearful, because he doesn’t feel
good.
Some people are willing to adopt
birds with health and temperament problems, but because of the added veterinary
expenses involved and the even greater time commitment special-needs birds
require, you had better know what you’re getting into. You always need to take
your bird to the veterinarian before making an adoption official (for more
about this process, see Chapter Caring for Your Adopted Bird). Only a vet can truly tell you whether your
bird is healthy, but as a first step toward finding a healthy bird with a good
personality, here are the signs that your bird is in good health and has a
suitable or at least trainable temperament:
- The bird needs to have bright full plumage with no bare spots or missing or broken feathers. Cockatoos have a bald spot under their crests, which is normal, but bare patches on the chest, cracked quills, and raggedylooking feathers can be signs of ill health or a behavior problem.
- The bird needs to have clear, clean eyes and a clean shiny beak. Cloudy eyes or any discharge from eyes or nostrils can indicate a health problem. If you can get a look in the bird’s mouth, you should see a clean dry tongue without white spots or ulcers.
- The bird’s vent, or rear end, needs to be clean and dry.
- The bird needs to act alert and react to you. A tired or listless bird may be a sign of a health problem.
- When you interact with the bird, he should seem interested in you, not frightened half to death or aggressively trying to attack you. Even birds with good temperaments can be loud and needy, but you want to avoid extremely fearful or aggressive birds, which can be difficult to manage.
Go large: Macaws and cockatoos
Large parrots — fluffy white
cockatoos with their dramatic crests and brightly colored macaws with their
huge hooked bills and superior talking ability — are the most challenging birds
to keep as pets. They can live 80 years or longer and produce the most
incredibly loud sounds. When they bite, it really hurts. That said, some people
nevertheless are willing to put up with the less attractive aspects of owning
large parrots and provide them with what they need.
Cockatoos come in 18 different
species and many more subspecies, ranging from just over a foot in height to
more that two feet. When cockatoos are babies, they’re famous for being cuddly
and adoring. As adults, however, that kind of behavior rarely continues, and
people find themselves dealing with an emotionally sensitive bird with huge
care needs that emits a dust to which many people find themselves very
allergic. Sensitive and needy, cockatoos require plenty of interaction and
tolerance to noise. Some of the more common types of cockatoos that you may
find in need of adoption are _ Moluccan cockatoos are the most common
type of cockatoo, and they’re one of the loudest of the large parrots. They
require constant social activity. If they don’t get it, they become neurotic
and can turn to self-mutilation.
- Sulfur-crested cockatoos are another common type of cockatoo, which actually refers to several different kinds of cockatoos with yellow crests.
- Umbrella cockatoos are slightly smaller and all white. Charming and affectionate, umbrella cockatoos also are incredibly loud and easily displeased.
Remember
Rescue groups are overflowing with cockatoos, because they’re so incredibly difficult to keep. Please be sure that you’re really ready for the noise, mess, time, expense, and emotional commitment cockatoos require. Macaws come in 17 different species and range from one foot to more than three feet in length. These birds are smart, good at talking, and can develop interesting and complex relationships with people, but they’re also incredibly loud and can easily dismantle an entire fancy wooden ($30) bird toy in 20 minutes.
Macaws are prone to periods of
all-out shrieking and screaming, usually around sunrise or sunset. Your
neighbors probably won’t be fond of these times of day. Some common types of
macaws that are likely to be up for adoption include:
- Blue-and-gold macaws are the most common type of macaw. Because there are so many of them and because they tend to be moody and sometimes unpredictable, many are abandoned to rescue groups.
- Military macaws, another common type, are a little smaller than the blue and gold. They’re green and tend to be very outgoing, but they’re also easier to train and socialize than other macaws — not easy, mind you, just eas-ier.
- Greenwing macaws are among the largest of the macaws. Greenwings are about 35-inches long with a huge beak. They’re less prone to nipping and unpredictable mood swings.
- Scarlet macaws are a brilliant scarlet red and can reach 39 inches in length. Scarlet macaws are smart, feisty, and they bite hard and are prone to random nips for no apparent reason.
- Hyacinth macaws are the largest of the macaws. Bright blue, they sometimes exceed 40 inches in length. Although very sociable birds, they can play rough with their formidable beaks, which are capable of easily biting off a human finger. These birds are not for novice bird owners.
Talking about Amazon parrots and African greys
Amazon parrots and African greys
are medium-to-large birds that are the enthusiastic talkers of the parrot
world. However, because of their long life spans, social needs, occasional
tendency to nip, and high-volume method of voicing their displeasure, many of
these intelligent and beautiful birds are abandoned to rescue groups and
shelters.
Amazon parrots are the pretty
green ones, but different species have different splashes of color here and
there. The yellow-naped and yellow-headed Amazons are the most common. They
talk well, are smart, but they’re unpredictable and moody. You may be getting
along just fine, then out of nowhere, your Amazon decides to chomp on your ear.
Ouch! Nevertheless, they like to be out and about, hanging with you on your
shoulder and checking out what you’re doing. The blue-fronted, orange-winged,
and lilac-crowned Amazons are less common but still are frequently kept as
pets, so you may sometimes see them with rescue groups.
The Congo and Timneh African
greys are the two types of parrots with grey feathers of varying shades. The
Congo has a scarlet tail, and the Timneh has a maroon to black tail. The
African grey arguably is the smartest and most verbal of the parrots, and it
can develop intense and interactive relationships with humans. Some even learn
words in context and are happiest with plenty of communicating and interacting.
Greys are among the easier parrots to train because of their intelligence and
willingness to engage in activities with you.
Conures, Quakers, toucans, and other medium-sized birds
Many medium-sized birds seem like
smart and interactive pets without the size of the larger parrots, but watch
out. You may be surprised how loud these medium-sized guys can be. A conure can
blast your eardrums with his exuberant screeching! Quaker parakeets can scare
you out of your skin with their sudden cries. Here’s what you need to know
before deciding on any of these medium-sized birds:
- Conures come in 42 species from across South and Central America and range from about 8 to 18 inches in length. Conures are outgoing and affectionate but l-o-u-d! You may be amazed by how much noise such a little bird can make. Not only are they loud, they also make a lot of noise. Conures also enjoy having another conure, of any species, as a cage buddy, as long as they have enough room to share. (Did I mention they’re loud?)
- Quaker parakeets are docile-looking birds with big mouths. They’re sometimes called monk parrots and they’re good talkers that can acquire large vocabularies. Some states consider Quakers illegal, because they’re so prolific in the wild, including in the United States, from Florida to the Northeast and even into the Midwest. Quaker parakeets are so named because they actually shake and quake, bobbing their heads and looking a little like they’re having a seizure. Not to worry, it’s simply the Quaker parakeet’s way. Quaker parakeets are affectionate and like to be handled, but they’re very loud and make noise for much of the day.
- Lovebirds come in nine species, all from Africa. The most common pet Lovebirds are the peachfaced, masked, and Fischer’s. The peachfaced is the most common and is quieter than most medium-sized birds, but they will whistle and sing. They don’t usually talk. Lovebirds may sound made for each other, but they often fight with each other, unless you find a matched pair that have good chemistry. Lovebirds must be handled daily, or they become nippy and antisocial.
- Lories are happy, busy, vocal birds that require a special diet of soft fruits and flowers, because they can’t crush or digest seeds like many other birds. They require a nectar powder mixed with juice made just for lories and the occasional inset treat (mealworms and grubs).They also have messy wet droppings. If you’ve heard Lories don’t need water, don’t believe it. They don’t get along well with other birds but they need a lot of attention and supervision from you, because they’re likely to get into mischief. Watch your fingers, though, lories can be biters. Oddly, they like to sleep on their backs, so don’t be surprised if your lorie looks dead. He’s probably just snoozing.
- Eclectus parrots come in nine subspecies and are notorious for being loud. One of the few parrots that are easy to sex, the green eclectus are the males, and the red are the females. Their soft small feathers look almost like fur. Eclectus are real talkers and can learn many words and say them often, loudly, and interspersed with shrieking, just for fun.
- Other less common birds that occasionally pop up with rescue groups are caiques (pronounced kai-EKES), toucans, mynah birds, vasa parrots, brotogeris parrots, hanging parrots, hawkhead parrots, parrotlets, pionus, and rarer species of some of the more common birds listed above. Each has unique care needs, and any rescue group worth working with can give you detailed care information and make sure you’re prepared for a rare bird’s individual needs.
What about doves?
Doves or pigeons come in more
than 300 species. They populate our urban areas, but some people keep them as
pets, breed them, show them, or raise them as homing pigeons. Domestic doves or
pigeons all are descended from the Rock Dove. Doves are calm, quiet birds, but
they don’t talk and they aren’t very interactive. They may learn to sit on your
finger, but you probably won’t develop the kind of intricate social bond you
can develop with louder, messier parrots.
Parakeets and cockatiels: Pros and cons
American parakeets — also called
budgies — and cockatiels are the easiest birds to own and generally are much
easier to adopt from rescue groups. Because they are easier to handle, rescue
groups will consider homes for these
little guys that they wouldn’t consider appropriate for a larger bird.Friendly,
sociable, and interactive, they’re also not as loud or messy as larger birds,
simply because of their smaller size (see Figure 16-1). But they still scatter
seed and feathers, bite if they’re displeased or frightened, demand attention,
and require good nutrition, a clean spacious cage, and fresh water. They won’t,
however, blast out your eardrums, preferring, instead, to sing and whistle
happily quite often throughout the day.
Parakeets and cockatiels can
bite; they can injure or frighten a small child if they’re treated roughly and
feel forced to defend themselves. They’re delicate and easily injured if
squeezed, dropped, or handled roughly. If they’re loose, they can fly into
ceiling fans, boiling pots of water, or out the window. An adult must be
ultimately responsible for the care, feeding, cleaning, and safety of these
small, happy birds.
Figure 16-1: Parakeets (left)
and cockatiels (right) make friendly and vocal pets.
After you’ve decided that
rescuing a bird is indeed your destiny, and you’ve figured out which kinds of
birds may suit your needs, you’re ready to locate the bird of your dreams. You
have a few options. Although you can find a bird in the newspaper (“free to
good home”), this option is not the most desirable option, because although
such birds may well need good homes, you may not get the full story about the
bird’s health, behavioral issues, or care needs. An animal shelter or bird
rescue group is much more likely to have:
- Evaluated the bird for suitability in a pet home _ Enlisted the services of a vet to check the bird for health problems
- Worked with the bird to determine its personality and other relevant information a pet owner wants to know before making a choice
First, be sure check with your
local animal shelter and rescue group to find out whether they have birds.
Don’t rush to buy the first bird you see. Remember your limitations, your
abilities, and what you’re willing to handle. Think about the kind of bird that
works for you, and then visit birds as they become available, using your head —
and not your heart — when making a decision. Let the experts at the shelter
advise and help you decide about adopting a bird.
If you aren’t sure where to find
a shelter or perhaps want to look beyond your immediate region, use the
shelter-finder resources on the Internet. Many of the animal-shelter resources
can help you search for birds, so I’ve listed them here again, for your
convenience.
- Search by type of bird and your zip code at Petfinder: www.petfinder.com
- Find local shelters at Pets911: www.pets911.com
- The ASPCA maintains a list of animal shelters: www.aspca.org
To find a bird through a bird
rescue group, search the following sites. You’ll find lots of information about
bird care, deciding what kind of bird is right for you, and where to find birds
in need of homes. These sites do not promote bird breeding but rather rescuing
birds that were saved from unhealthy, neglectful, or abusive situations or
whose owners can no longer keep them. Don’t be offended if these groups screen
potential adopters carefully. They don’t want to see their precious feathered
rescues endure any more loss or abuse. It’s all about the birds:
- Foster Parrots is a parrot rescue, adoption, and sanctuary: www.fosterparrots.com
- Bird Adoption.org lists bird rescue groups by state: www.birdadoption.org/groups.htm
- Bird Placement Program, Inc.: www.birdrescue.com
- Avian rescue: www.avianrescue.orgby Eve Adamson
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