What bird is best for me?

[musicman]

Hi guys,
I'm new here, and was hoping you all could help me out.

I had an african grey a long while back as a kid and he was the best pet ever! My mom gave him away when we moved I still hold a minor grudge.

Heres some backround. I started looking for another bird since my roommate is getting ready to move out (I still live at home, long story on the roommate) and started looking into all my favorite birds that I'd love to have.

My living situation currently, I work 2 jobs (one steady day job) and the other is playing bass in several different bands/singing at weddings and doing voice overs. I also have 17 credit ours (I'm a sophomore music major) That said I usually have loud singing or piano playing or guitars going on.

The birds I really want are, Blue and gold Macaw, Green winged Macaw, Scarlet Macaw?, or and african grey.
My questions are can I devote enough time to these? Perhaps not as much as they'll need. So what would be a good alternative? Also will my loud music be harmful to a bird?

I looked online to see what I'd need and all google yielded were a bunch a websites that said "You need to read up on how to keep these and make sure your up to it, its pretty demanding" then gave no more information

So I'm desperate for information!
Thanks guys!

 

[osnyder]

Hi Music Man.

I'm also new here but feel close to your topic. I have grappled with the issue of how much time I am available to give to birds, as well as other pets.

Reading your post makes me want to ask you this: how much time do you think you realistically will be home per day? Because quite frankly, you sound incredibly busy.

I work full time but am home in the late afternoon twice per week, and of course weekends. We just adopted a Meyer's parrot who was described as independent and not fretful, and they felt that our schedule would work for him-- and so far that seems accurate. But I do feel I am giving him the minimum interaction that he really deserves-- more would be better. It's definitely something I think about a lot. I think that he gets more interaction with us than he did with his previous owners, so that makes me feel somewhat less guilty.

Before that we had just the parakeets, also adopted, that are quite frankly decorative and not interactive pets-- they are not fond of human interaction beyond getting fed. So I don't worry about them. I wish they'd be more "cuddly," which I think is possible when you know a parakeet from its youth but in this case I think they were hard-wired to be skittish with people (they are more relaxed then they were when we got them, but not to the point of being handled-- and it's been over a year).

So, wait to see what others say as far as breeds that may require less human time, but it does seem that most parrots will bond strongly with their human companions if given the time to do so, and one may simply miss out on that opportunity if not home enough. Maybe you could consider a pair of smaller birds so they had each other when you aren't there.

Good luck!
O.

 

[oled]

If you work 8 hours you have to spend rest of the day with you macaw

 

[musicman]

thanks osnyder! I try to make as much time as I can to be home. I'm usually home by 7:30 when its not exam or performance week. The gigs I have are normally very late at night, so I'm normally home for at least a few hours before. My greatest hurdle is trying to figure out how much time I can spend with it. I do want a bird that I can bond with, preferably one that dosnt mind hanging out on a play stand by the piano.

@Oled, Sadly this is the reason I decided I could not in good conciance by a Macaw. I read they needed a minimum of 3 hours a day with you and sadly I can't offer that But the makaw does sort of guage the type of birds I like most

Realistically I could spend 30mins-1hour a day with my bird friend, hopfully more if he dosnt mind Pianos and guitars so much. Deffinatly more come the school breaks. I love colorful parrots, but more importantly I love ones that will hang out with you.

Side note.Is pipe smoke a no no? If so I'll need to retire the old savinelli

 

[mtdoramike]

An hour a day isn't enough time. Your plate seems to be quite full at the present time for adding a bird which is can be very demanding and a lot of work. I spend 30 minutes each day just cleaning both my birds cages before they go to bed.

To me, it would be best for you to wait until your life settles down a bit. So I won't offer up any suggestions on which bird would be the best fit for you right now because in my opinion, none would be. You need to spend 3-4 hours a day interacting with your bird and that is really a minimum. Cage bound birds which don't get the needed interaction with us will tend to develope behavioral issues such as plucking and this is especially true for African Grey's, Macaws, Eclectus;s and some other sensative species.

 

[musicman]

Thank you mike! That is what I needed to know. I'll wait till I have more time, then maybe I can get another grey. I loved that bird so very much.

I'd still like to learn more though. What do you guys do with your 4 hours interaction time? I read on a website trying to do research that people do things like putting them on bike handle bars and what not. I didn't entirely believe it as it seems dangerous. But I'm curious as what yall do. I was planning some play time, then more hanging out time while I read or study.

I'd love to learn as much as possible, because if I do manage to free up some time, I want whatever bird I get to have a good home. After all, he/she could be with me for over 70 years from what I hear!

 

[Echo]

Hi Musicman

There are a lot of ways to spend time with a parrot. Interactive and passive. You need to interact with your parrot hands on, but hanging out with him in the same room or on shoulder counts as well. My husband is a musician(keyboard) and our Pionus loves to hang out with him in his studio. Our other species do not. When he practicies the music is not too loud. However if he needs it louder he either put his earphones on or the parrot goes back upstairs with us. You can spend some time just taking your bird with you in the bathroom/shower when you get ready in the am.
Pionus are great parrots who love to hang out with you and are pretty independent. However you wouldn't want him to hangout with the whole band is playing loud. Really count just how many hours you would have to spend with him interactive and passive time.

 

[Echo]

Also if you live at home, would a parrot still have some company from parents/siblings when you are not around? It may be a good idea to have the family involved because you couldn't have him stuck in your room for example but more in a room where he can see people coming and going and feel part of the family.

 

[musicman]

Ahhh I see, When I read 4 hours there, I thought that was hands on. I also never thought of letting him hang out in the bathroom in the mornings.
My bands I play with all have a practice space so little bird buddy (LBB) Wouldnt be subjected to really loud playing..

At home the loudest it ever gets is about Forte singing. My bass I normally use headphones, so now cage rattling low end would be annoying him.

I may have to do more research on the Pionus, and also count free hours in a normal week.

Now say I were to go out of town for a week, or have an extra busy week with exams and shows. That wouldnt be harmful emotionally to lbb would it?

 

[musicman]

in regards to your second post echo,

I do live at home, but everyone is normally coming and going. I think I'm the only "bird person" In my family. My dad loved our grey when we had it, and talked to him and gave him treats alot, but never took him out of the cage. We do normally have traffic in our house though.

The thing about keeping him in my room, is that's where I could give him the most out of cage time. Which would be better? My room is fairly unconnected from the rest of the house, but still right next the the main entrance/exit. More importantly, my room is completly isolated from cats.

 

[Echo]

Well you can't go out of town for a week or be busy and leave a parrot cage bound. Also what would worry me is the cage rattling. And no really loud music or smoking either. That's not good. Having another human helping you in the times you are not available would be best. All in all, you may want to wait to settle a bit before gettng a parrot. Maybe use the time to read up on Pionus for the future?

 

[mtdoramike]

I'm retired, so I spend probably 8 hours a day with my birds and to the point of spoiling them. I would figure a minimum of 1-2 hours in the morning and at least two hours in the evening would be sufficient.

Now, I walk quite a bit on my treadmill so I put either Mac or Tiki on the front bar while I'm walking. I have a quick cutoff key on the treadmill and have it ready to pull if either bird dropped off onto the belt. But they seem content just being with me. I will also spend a minimum of an hour each day per bird watching TV. Then there is the hour each day playing on the floor whether it be games or just playing things like Peek a boo. By the way, Mac just picked that phrase up as well. Now he walks around the house and says Peek a boo especially if he's looking for me, which is most of the time.

When we say a minimum of2-4 hours a day of interaction time, you don't have to physically be doing something with them all of that time. But they do need out of cage time as well as some interaction with you. Mine will sit with me and I feed them what ever we are having for dinner.

They require a lot of work, I didn't know just how much until I got a second bird (Mac), which is a bigger bird with a huge cage compared to Tiki's cage. But if it were me, I would get the bird of your dreams right off once your settled of course and if that is a Macaw then great. But if you want something along the lines of a Macaw, I would get a baby or young well socialized bird from a breeder.

PS: Had my daughter came up to me and said she wanted a bird, dog, cat or what ever, I would have said great, when are you moving out hahahahaha.

 

[musicman]

lol for sure! I'm deffinatly not getting one untill I can ballence out my scheduel more. It just wouldnt be fair to bird buddy. I think holding off on a grey or Blue and gold macaw might be a good idea.. Like until I have a house of my own lol. That said before then I think I could make room for a Pionus or a military macaw. They seem like the most delightful birds! I still have alot of research and self evaluation to do though!

I had guessed that cage rattling low A bass frequencies would probly be a no no, but I have really nice set of headphones on the way that cancel all that out

I've always been incredibly impulsive, so I'm being sure to wait a good long while doing research before buying anything.

Mike I like you idea of watching tv and running on the treadmill with them. I figured I would have to give up my pipes, but I needed to do that anyways since I'm a vocal major lol. I can't risk mouth cancer anymore.

What type of cage requirments would I need for a Pionus or Millitary Macaw? I figure pretty big.
Is there an ultimate parrot guide book that I can read to help learn about these?
This forum has been amazingly helful already and its only my first day! thank you echo and mike!

 

[Nimwey]

@Oled, Sadly this is the reason I decided I could not in good conciance by a Macaw. I read they needed a minimum of 3 hours a day with you and sadly I can't offer that But the makaw does sort of guage the type of birds I like most

Realistically I could spend 30mins-1hour a day with my bird friend, hopfully more if he dosnt mind Pianos and guitars so much.

The loud music is not really an issue for the bird/s, since they are incredibly loud themselves. But it might get them to scream more! Loud household = loud bird.

But you really need to rethink it, considering time. ALL parrots are flock animals. They are wild animals removed from the wild with only a couple of generations, and they still have the exact same instincts and needs as their wild relatives, who live in large flocks and spend time together 24/7. They preen together, play together, eat together, and fly together.
The average human wants some alone time every day, I would think - the average parrot doesn't.

So 23-23½ hours a day alone, stuck in a cage, is pure torture for a wild, free flock animal. The only way I could see you getting any parrot (they all require the same amount of time, and I would say a normal macaw would need at least 8 hours a day, as with any other parrot, rather than 3), is to have some sort of aviary (indoors or not, depending on where and how you live), with a pair or small flock.

Otherwise, if you mainly want an independent companion, a cat or some sort of rodent is probably best for you.
:cat: