Multiple Parrots

[Trueeast]

I was just curious for you parrot owners who have more than 2 parrots how do you make the time to be sure they are all getting the time and attention they need. This whole post is kind of hypothetical. We currently have our awesome TAG Gandalf and our little goofball G2 Obie. Luckily they both get along rather well and things are pretty easy going. Not to say it isn't difficult sometimes dealing with their neediness. When we first got Gamdalf people kept telling us parrots are like chips you can't just have one, I never put much stock in that but now I'm realizing how true it is. Now most likely we won't be getting any more parrots because I would rather be sure that we are giving our current birds everything they need and more. However there is this awesome catablue macaw at our local bird store that I have fell in love with. My question is how do all you multiple parrot owners do it? Again you don't need to worry about me going out impulsively buying a macaw because that's just not what's best for us now but who knows in the future!

 

[Birdman666]

Mine are outside the cage 24/7 so there is no issue with not enough out time.
They get tree time outside just about every nice day. They each get handled and get one on one time every day.

A macaw has higher attention needs... My two big macs get held more, more often, and longer than my amazons or my CAG. (All of which want to be held some, but then want to go back down and play on their playstands.) Those two want to be lap birds, big time. They will self entertain just fine, but they prefer to be picked up and with you...

In some ways it's about setting a routine and flock structure for them, and then sticking with it. It doesn't have to be rigid. But there should be one. (Generally, this is when things happen... )

 

[Trueeast]

My other issue with another bird is Gandalf is not a typical grey she actually behaves more like a too minus the screaming. She self entertains very well in her cage but when she's out she is my little Velcro bird she always wants to be with me. Now Obie on the other hand likes to be scratched but is way more interested in flipping around on his java tree. My girlfriend loves the birds but they are definitely more bonded to me. If there was ever to be a third addition im not quite sure how I would balance time with Gandalf and the new parrot. As much as I would love to feed my addiction and get another parrot I don't think it would be fair to mainly Gandalf which is kind of a bummer . Also both my girlfriend and myself both teach so we get home around 3:00 pm, unfortunately we can't have the birds out 24/7 especially Obie because he should be named shredder. They do get out from about 3:30 to 8 or 9ish.

 

[Birdman666]

Well, then I would say enjoy the ones you have then. More is not necessarily better.

 

[Trueeast]

That most likely will be our situation don't get me wrong I love our two little fellas a ton. It's just so tempting when there are all the amazing different species!

 

[Birdman666]

UNTIL YOU FIND YOURSELF WITH ONE TOO MANY, AND THEY ALL ACT UP...

 

[SilverSage]

I am glad you are not running out for more! Haha, it can be a juggling act but is also very rewarding. Personally I believe my birds give each other more attention than I EVER could, but that does not replace time with me. They each have different personalities and different needs, which helps. For example, not all of mine are tame, some are breeders. These birds get lots of space, lots of toys, lots of variety in food, and only verbal interaction from me during breeding season. In the off season they get all these things plus some target training with lots of rewards.
But for the tame birds it is an issue of making time. In a lot of ways I dont "have birds in my life" so much as "birds are my life." It takes a lot of dedication. Other than birds I have a husband and I enjoy writing, but most of my other hobbies have fallen by the wayside. There is also something to be said for simply letting birds spend time with you, in addition to focusing on spending time with them. Right now I have 2 fully flighted tame birds, and more are molting right now. A flighted bird is free to spend time with you whenever they please, because they are not stuck on top of their cages or on a stand until you go get them. Scout, my male IRN spends each morning with me as I feed and water and clean cages. I have a lot of birds that eat fresh food, so it can take an hour or more. I don't have time to sit and snuggle him right then, but he enjoys the process, flies ahead of me, hovers over my head, tastes everyone's food, etc. So Scout gets an hour of time with me just because he wants it, but it doesn't "take up my time." Also, Flick, my first GCC loves to sit with us while we work on the computer or read. She will sit in our laps if she wants scritches, but a lot of the time she just wants to "hang" and will chill on our shoulders or on the back of the couch. She is also harness trained (we are working on that with Scout) so she can go with me when I have a "pet store day" and when I walk the dog, so sometimes she and I will spend hours out and about the town, which she also loves. Cache, my yellow-sides GCC is a snuggler and just wants to cuddle, so watching a movie is easy "free time" for her. You have to make time for them no matter what, but choosing birds that fit well in your schedule and lifestyle, and looking for ways to include them in your day in addition to the time you take "just for them" makes it much easier. I imagine it is similar to having multiple children, though I don't know from experience.

Basically it is about making sure you never have more than YOU can handle, and finding the right birds. I doubt a Macaw would be an ideal fit for my home, and I KNOW a too would not be. Amazons or Greys or Eclectus MIGHT be a fit, but right now we are not looking for another bird. You just have to know your family, feathered and human. Oh, and along those lines, furry pets and kids effect what you can handle as well. My dog has been around birds since he was tiny, and a lot of strict training, dedication, consistency, and research about dog psychology has allowed us to have him and our birds out at the same time. Homes with pets who cannot be trusted (this is MOST furry pet homes!!!) will most likely not be able to have as many fids without neglecting their furry pets, who also deserve our love and attention.

 

[MrsKay]

I am glad you are not running out for more! Haha, it can be a juggling act but is also very rewarding. Personally I believe my birds give each other more attention than I EVER could, but that does not replace time with me. They each have different personalities and different needs, which helps. For example, not all of mine are tame, some are breeders. These birds get lots of space, lots of toys, lots of variety in food, and only verbal interaction from me during breeding season. In the off season they get all these things plus some target training with lots of rewards.
But for the tame birds it is an issue of making time. In a lot of ways I dont "have birds in my life" so much as "birds are my life." It takes a lot of dedication. Other than birds I have a husband and I enjoy writing, but most of my other hobbies have fallen by the wayside. There is also something to be said for simply letting birds spend time with you, in addition to focusing on spending time with them. Right now I have 2 fully flighted tame birds, and more are molting right now. A flighted bird is free to spend time with you whenever they please, because they are not stuck on top of their cages or on a stand until you go get them. Scout, my male IRN spends each morning with me as I feed and water and clean cages. I have a lot of birds that eat fresh food, so it can take an hour or more. I don't have time to sit and snuggle him right then, but he enjoys the process, flies ahead of me, hovers over my head, tastes everyone's food, etc. So Scout gets an hour of time with me just because he wants it, but it doesn't "take up my time." Also, Flick, my first GCC loves to sit with us while we work on the computer or read. She will sit in our laps if she wants scritches, but a lot of the time she just wants to "hang" and will chill on our shoulders or on the back of the couch. She is also harness trained (we are working on that with Scout) so she can go with me when I have a "pet store day" and when I walk the dog, so sometimes she and I will spend hours out and about the town, which she also loves. Cache, my yellow-sides GCC is a snuggler and just wants to cuddle, so watching a movie is easy "free time" for her. You have to make time for them no matter what, but choosing birds that fit well in your schedule and lifestyle, and looking for ways to include them in your day in addition to the time you take "just for them" makes it much easier. I imagine it is similar to having multiple children, though I don't know from experience.

Basically it is about making sure you never have more than YOU can handle, and finding the right birds. I doubt a Macaw would be an ideal fit for my home, and I KNOW a too would not be. Amazons or Greys or Eclectus MIGHT be a fit, but right now we are not looking for another bird. You just have to know your family, feathered and human. Oh, and along those lines, furry pets and kids effect what you can handle as well. My dog has been around birds since he was tiny, and a lot of strict training, dedication, consistency, and research about dog psychology has allowed us to have him and our birds out at the same time. Homes with pets who cannot be trusted (this is MOST furry pet homes!!!) will most likely not be able to have as many fids without neglecting their furry pets, who also deserve our love and attention.

Not to steal this thread, but you have just answered a lot of questions I have been wanting to ask you since I joined this forum. You have a lot of feathered friends and I have often wondered how you have the time for them. I have mentioned in other posts how I would like another parrot but have decided against it due to my own limitations (which I recognize) of dividing my time with another parrot and dividing my parrots time from me. That is why I have talked myself out of getting another one over and over again. I know I don't have the 'bird experience' that so many of the knowledgeable people on this forum have. With help from people like you and many others here, I am always learning and I hope to change that some day
This forum is a treasure of information and it has helped me tremendously.
Thanks everyone

ps. thank you to whoever posted this thread.

 

[SilverSage]

Mrs. Kay, I am always glad to help I have quite the houseful right now, but nearly half of them are "just passing through" due to a budgie rescue project that a friend and I took on. I also work from home which helps, and have a husband who loves the birds, if not quite as much as I do. If I worked outside the home full time or did not have another person to love on the birds I would need to have a drastically smaller flock. I do not believe that those with more birds necessarily have fuller lives or know more about birds, either. Each life has its own unique requirements. If you ever do get another parrot, I am sure it will be just as loved as Larry and Norman, and in the mean time I bet they are happy to have you all to themselves

 

[BirdyMomma]

We have five birds. It requires devotion, and a lot of time. It's funny, that with each bird we added, we were worried about how the birds were going to react. They all pretty much took it in stride, for the most part. It was my boyfriend, and I who were more affected. The addition (specifically of our last bird) from four to five seemed to be the most challenging. When we had four, the routine was (without me realizing it) pretty stable, and there were patterns in how I would organize activities with the birds. Once we got Squabbles, who was fully flighted, a re-home with issues and a noise maker the daily spectrum of routine had to change, and I was (at first) somewhat thrown off by it. It has been about two months now, and I have adjusted to life with Squabbles as part of the flock.
There is constant adjustment, as the birds learn and develop... It is probably just a lot more coordination and juggling with five birds, as opposed to one or two. (I remember that getting our second bird was a huge adjustment).
I am not a morning person.....that is an understatement. A more apt description would be that if you met me in the morning, you would never want to meet me again. But if you met me at 5:30 the same afternoon, you wouldn't know I was the same person..(that tried to kill you that morning....hahah) But I wake up every day early enough to get myself awake enough to function, and give the flock some meaningful time. We usually train, and then have family time for at the very least an hour, but it is usually always two hours, and when time permits, it is much longer. Now that Loki is fully flighted, and overjoyed at the fact that no matter where I am, she can fly to me, I always sneak her out first, for one on one flight practice before the other birds come out. I make sure she gets at least a half hour, because aLthough I am trying to train her to stay on her perch, the temptation to fly and land on my head is just too much for her. It is a distraction for the other birds. So she gets her one on one times, and then, if she can't sit still and trick train, she goes out into the aviary.
Squabbles is difficult to handle, and has displayed aggression to our other Amazon. As he is fully flighted, and is a biter, we save special one on one time for him, but we also take him in his cage out into the big room during training time, so he can observe, get treats, and be part of the family.
Knuckles and Boom Boom get along well, and can be in the aviary together. Loki can be in there with them, but only if we are close by.
Wingnut can only be in the aviary by himself, as he is way larger than the other birds, and wants to be the cage master. We usually wheel his cage outside.

On days when we can, which are more often than not, the birds also get evening family time, where all the birds are out in the big room, training, getting treats and listening to music. Other days, when schedules do not permit, either my mom, or the Birdy Daddy will cover the birds before I get home from work. This is good, because they know that every so often, they don't see mommy for the rest of the day. No matter what we do, we always have to allot extra time for the fact that Boom Boom sometimes decides to not pay attention, and to make it impossible for us to get him out of, or back into his cage!

That's just some of it. So I guess the main thing is coordination. What we need to do do keep each bird happy, and ensure each birds safety.

 

[MrsKay]

SilverSage, I love your stories about Scout. What kind of bird is he? Will you tell me more about him? If not in this thread will you re-direct me? I think I would like a bird like that some day. Thanks

 

[SilverSage]

Mrs Kay I will pm you later on this evening if I get the chance. For now I will tell ou he is an Indian ring Neck parakeet and my phone is acting up so I will message you later.

 

[Kiwibird]

My parents have 3 birds. The cockatoo is more "sensitive" and needs one on one time with my dad (the ONLY person he likes) and isn't allowed physical contact with the amazons because he can be more aggressive than them if they get in a squabble. He enjoys "talking" with them though. He spends time in the morning and evening with my dad (about 6 hours total a day), but has to be in his cage during the day due to being extremely aggressive towards my mom. The amazons on the other hand are a bonded pair and while totally tame and friendly, they aren't at all attention-needy. If they want attention, they'll come to you (mainly the female, the male couldn't give two hoots about anyone but his "mate" and rarely ventures outside the bird area). The amazons just get let out of their cages in the morning, and are only put up if my mom is going out/cooking, so no set schedule for them to spend time with humans. I've always been under the impression (as with my parents) in multiple bird homes, you might get the odd individual who needs extra affection, but the others will flock up/want to be with the other birds more than people. Having all different species may alter that notion a bit:52:

I would say if you have 2 attention needy birds, you could try to spend one-on-one time with one in the AM and the other in the PM. And if they get along well, foster that relationship too by allowing them time (supervised) to interact with each other each day I think its a GREAT idea to create a inclusive flock setting where the birds like each other and the people around and get attention from everyone (other bird included) so theres no jealousy over who's getting the most love- everybody gets love

 

[RavensGryf]

but the others will flock up/want to be with the other birds more than people.

I have to admit... I do think Raven and Griffin would rather be with each other instead of me. Griffin is cuddly with me, but as long as Raven is available he could really care less if he gets attention from me. I'm the one who can't resist cuddling Griffin . He'll probably get closer with me the longer I have him.

Raven is more of a hands off guy anyway. He's very content being with Griffin. In fact he's a lot more tolerant with Griffin than he is with me. That means he likes Griffin more :52:. Just me being in the room with Raven is enough attention for him I think. Many times he just doesn't want to step up for me, and when I have him on me hanging out, he usually doesn't want to stay real long. He wants to go back to his cage and playground with Griffin. Don can handle Raven a little more than I can (and he's my bird)... Raven thinks I'm 'just okay'.

My old boy Robin has no birdie friends lol. He only likes me (and Don) no other humans either. Robin and I are very bonded. He can cuddle as long as "I" want to, but he's also very independent and loves to sit on his boing or cage and chew on his favorite toys.

Twigs my Budgie is pretty wildish... He'll step up for me but that's about it. Since he lost his little friend I'm hoping that in time he'll become a little more tame with us humans. If not that's okay. He's very entertaining and adorable.

So, even though I have 4 birds, as you can see only ONE of them actually loves me and appreciates my direct attention!

If your have birds who are friends with each other, that really makes a huge difference! It occupies them, and relieves you of having to have strict one on one time with them. On the other hand, if none of the birds are friends, then you spending time with each one becomes essential, and can become a real juggle.