Pet birds and pet rats- a Terrible combination

[Cardinal]

I thought of starting a thread on how having pet rats (or for that matter any pet predatory mammal) in the same house as Birds is a very bad idea and should be avoided as far as practically possible.

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Moderator Warning: Please be advised: This video link contains extreme cruelty,and is only included as a warning to how aggressive other species can be toward parrots. We find the behaviour of the owner in the video to be despicable.

Rat attacks lovebird! - YouTube

 

[reeb]

Ugh, the fact that the person hardly intervened in helping his or her bird is despicable.

I have two dogs, but they are strictly forbidden from my room. The door is always locked when the birds are out of the cage. I am so fastidious about it that it causes me quite a lot of anxiety. However, I love my dogs just as much as I love my birds, and I wouldn't change the fact that I have them.

I'd be interested in hearing other member's opinions/experiences.

 

[SilverSage]

I could t even keep watching; what an idiot, and a cruel one!!

I have a dog and two cats. We do fine with a tinge of common sense.

That person should go to jail for animal cruelty. They not only knowingly and intentionally allowed a predator access to their bird, but they chopped off his ability to escape!

I actually recently acquired a bird at a very good price because the breeder was retiring and became very motivated to sell ASAP because rats were getting into the aviary and killing the birds she had left.

This video doesn’t show that you shouldn’t have pet rats, or shows that you shouldn’t be a sadistic freak with no regard for the life of your pets!


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[riddick07]

Yeah that owners just an idiot.

Definitely shouldn’t have pet rats in the same room as birds but there’s no reason you cant have one at all. You just need a little common sense. The birds land on rat cages which means they lose toes or a foot even with covering the cage when they are out is a risk. We can’t have rats simply because the birds have access to every room. If I did get a few they would have to be in the garage which is warm enough year round for it.

There are 4 cats and 50+ snakes in our house. Everyone is secured and safe. The macaws get thrown in the bathroom or cages for the others if I want to bring a snake up to look over. None of the birds are out when I clean snake cages...just have to be careful when you have both predator and prey in one house.

 

[itzjbean]

To say 'pet birds and pet rats is a terrible combination' may be your opinion but many of us here also own several pets outside of birds, if you use common sense and precautions, they do just fine. Pet rats and pet birds can and do live in harmony. This is not what is shown in the video, I only see a very irresponsible owner allowing this to happen.

But to say that no predatory animals should be kept with birds period is naïve and bias. I own two cats and a dog and so because of the other pats in my house I take other steps to ensure safety.

1.) My tiel has a huge cage with a secure lock. No way cats could reach up that high or it could open by itself. There are only two people in my household and I am the only one that opens the cage, ever.

2.) I always put the cats away in their room when I let the bird out, one of them will try to get at him if he flutters to the ground. So they are securely locked in their room, they also have a sun room to lounge around and enjoy. The dog has no interest in him but Is very large, so I don't allow bird to be on floor ever.

3.) To keep him in one area I put a sheet up to separate the living room from the kitchen or he will fly out into the kitchen.

4.) Always supervised play -- I never let him wander on the ground, or leave to go to the bathroom. If I go, he comes with me on my shoulder. All curtains are also closed so no flying into windows.

It is possible to own them and all live harmoniously together, it just takes common sense, love and commitment.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Maybe the video should be called "Pet birds and rats are a terrible combination for cruel, uncaring, and careless owners"...

 

[SilverSage]

Maybe the video should be called "Pet birds and rats are a terrible combination for cruel, uncaring, and careless owners"...

Yes, or
“No pet is the right pet for this monster”!


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[Cardinal]

It is possible to own them and all live harmoniously together, it just takes common sense, love and commitment.

It is possible, definitely with Dogs as they can be trained , but with rats, cats , ferrets etc , i am sure it is possible, but you are increasing the probability of a terrible accident. Even if the probability is only 1 in 10,000 households, that is ONE precious bird too many.

And whether it be pet birds or wild birds, one of the worst ways to die is as a result of a festering wound from a rat/cat bite. I would prefer to err on the side of caution and advocate for a predator mammal free household for a deeply committed pet bird lover.

https://www.islandconservation.org/australian-islands-close-restoration/

 

[Owlet]

saying rats, cats, and ferrets can't be trained is rather unfair. I'm 100% against letting said animals interact with birds even remotely, same going towards dogs, but all those animals are highly intelligent and highly trainable.

If you are able to keep said animals and birds 100% in separate rooms and unable to interact with each other on any level then there is really nothing wrong. Side with caution but there's no need to eliminate all predator animals from your household if you have birds. Just extra precautions need to be put in place.

 

[SilverSage]

It is possible to own them and all live harmoniously together, it just takes common sense, love and commitment.

It is possible, definitely with Dogs as they can be trained , but with rats, cats , ferrets etc , i am sure it is possible, but you are increasing the probability of a terrible accident. Even if the probability is only 1 in 10,000 households, that is ONE precious bird too many.



And whether it be pet birds or wild birds, one of the worst ways to die is as a result of a festering wound from a rat/cat bite. I would prefer to err on the side of caution and advocate for a predator mammal free household for a deeply committed pet bird lover.



https://www.islandconservation.org/australian-islands-close-restoration/

In the nearly two decades that I have shared my home with parrots and predators, only one bird has been lost to pet-on-pet violence, and that was the fault of my parents allowing a 10 year old (me) and an 8 year old (my brother) to be the only ones making choices about the pets (including how to clip the wings) and in this case, swapping bedrooms and moving furniture ourselves. If the dog hasn’t gotten him, Emerald would most likely have been killed that same day by having a dresser put on top of him.

I’m sure you mean well. Perhaps your INTENT is to discourage those who have one type of pet not to get the other, but how it FEELS is that you are advising us to abandon one or more pets in favor of the other “just in case.”

Let me also say, my birds are safer because of my dog. He protects them, he guards them, he checks in on them.

I read far fewer “my pet killed my other pet” stories than I do “my Conure suffocated in my bed” stories, but we all still have beds. We all live our lives the best we can and balance reward with risk. Please be respectful of our choice to live with multiple pets.




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[Cardinal]

I had requested Terry to revive this old thread and gladly(for me ) she agreed. It was perhaps not very appropriate at the time I had started this thread, but this is an important topic for all bird keepers to discuss.

cheers

 

[Terry57]

I had requested Terry to revive this old thread and gladly he agreed. It was perhaps not very appropriate at the time I had started this thread, but this is an important topic for all bird keepers to discuss.

cheers

I wouldn't characterize it as "gladly", I personally find the video to be abhorrent. However, if it saves even one bird then the thread being up is worth it.
It's "she, btw

 

[YSGC]

I also had to turn off that video.
Very disturbing!

Up till my divorce last year two 10 pound dogs lived here with my conure.
In our case all 3 got along very well for years.

 

[Cardinal]

cheers [/quote]

I wouldn't characterize it as "gladly", I personally find the video to be abhorrent. However, if it saves even one bird then the thread being up is worth it.
It's "she, btw[/QUOTE]

Oops! I am from India and Terry is not a very common name here. The only Terry I have known is the Australian cricketer Terry Aldermann and hence the "He" Sorry for that.

But yes my point is Birds need not unnecessarily have to die in a violent and cruel way due to our carelessness.

 

[Flboy]

We had another horrific post involving rats and a ‘pet’ parrot about a year ago! Very disturbing!

 

[ParrotGenie]

That is cruel. Poor lovebird that has to fear for his life due to idiot owner?

 

[Tami2]

My heart was pounding as I wathced that. I thought for sure the Rat was going to get him. What is wrong w/ ppl. I'd like to report her, so all of her animals get taken away. ABSOLUTE DISGRACE!!!

 

[Rival_of_the_Rickeybird]

If I could hunt this creep down I'd let him be lovebird to my inner rat. I would make him pay. Good thing I'm not a clever net stalker. I'm messaging him with my email, in case he'd like to discuss.

Oh, wait, it's a "her"?

Nevermind.

 

[Kalel]

What the @#%* did I just watch??????? That wasn't even being careless...It seemed like she was enjoying the hunt. Zooming in on the prey and then back on the predator as he stalks his prey. I felt like I was watching a nature show where they show an animal being hunted. Yeah, sorry but this wasn't a negligent owner. This was a sadistic pet owner-I got the feeling that she enjoyed this! I'm so mad I can't even say anything else.

 

[EllenD]

"Abhorrent" is exactly the word for that video Terry....I turned it off as soon as it started...

While I too agree it's very important to educate and inform all people who are keeping both birds and other types of pets who are predators to the birds in the same house, so that no heartbreaking accidents happen, I don't think that this particular video is a proper representation of how these types of accidents happen in most homes...Whomever took this video and owned these pets ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN, or maybe even purposely did it just to have a video to post...This isn't how this situation normally occurs...This person is either just cruel and sadistic, or they are mentally-ill and need to get some professional help.