What sacrifices do you make for your birds?

[BirdyMomma]

Hi. I was thinking of how different my life has become, since becoming a bird parent. There are so many things, that used to seem so important, that just aren't anymore. There are things that I used to do, that I don't want to, or don't have time to do any more.

Before relating any of these things, I need to say that any sacrifices, or changes to my life have been GLADLY undertaken, and I wouldnt change things for any reason.

I am HORRIBLE in the morning. After almost 20 straight years of working at night, and never waking up with an alarm clock, mornings are just a complete ordeal for me. Since the day I got Bacci, my first bird, I get up AT LEAST an hour early every day, so I can spend time training and having special time with my birds. I enjoy this time so much, that invariably, I spend TOO much time either training, making food or toys, or cleaning and I slam the coffee down, take blitzkrieg showers and often leave the house looking like I just got shot out of a cannon.

We gave up our apartment in the city. There's just NO way you can have 2 macaws and a cockatoo in a studio apartment.

Our bedroom is basically a bird room with a bed in it. We live with my mom now, which is better for the entire family, but the dogs make it necessary for safety, that the birds cages be in our room. Our closet is basically used for storing bird things. The mirrored sliding doors are coming off, to make room for cage space. We are saving up, to hopefully build a second level on the house, you know.....for birds.

We haven't been on vacation in over a year. Both my boyfriend and I are serious travelers. We usually go away at least twice a year. We both feel that with three birds under one year of age, that it could be emotionally damaging to the to leave them for any extended period of time at this point.

I never hang out after work any more. I work in the restaurant/bar industry, and it requires a lot of socializing, and time spent out. Since becoming a bird mom, you can count on one hand the amount of times I haven't happily ran out the door from work, to get home to my babies.

I very rarely buy anything for myself anymore. With the exception of taking my family out to eat, I spend the majority of my available cash on my birds. I get much more enjoyment out of purchasing stuff to make them toys, new things to try and new foods.

As I said, none of this is complaining. It's just an observation, and I wouldn't change the way things are now, although I look forward to the summer months, when it will hopefully become a little easier.

I am interested in the sacrifices you all make for the love of your birds.

 

[Terry57]

What a great topic!
Reg & i used to watch a lot more TV and movies, but that time is now spent downstairs with the birds.

My daughter asked me if we wanted to come for dinner this weekend, but I said it depends on what time so we don't disrupt the birds schedules.

When I was working, I loved being able to sleep in on my days off, and when I stopped working, I slept in every day - until we got the birds. Now I am up at 6:30 am 7 days a week so I can have coffee before starting the morning feed.

We also used to travel and loved road trips, most of the time driving 11 - 12, 000 km in a a couple of weeks. That will not happen again.

Reg bought me roses for Valentine's Day as a surprise, and I was upset that he didn't use the money for new bird toys instead..lol.

You are right, there are many sacrifices involved, and they are ones I gladly make The wonderful feeling I get when I see my fids are happy, when they do something new, and also having met the wonderful people on this forum because of our shared love for them are worth so much more than any sacrifice

 

[Kiwibird]

It's funny how little feathered creatures can change your life so profoundly While Kiwi has become a member of our family, we haven't had to make many lifestyle changes for him. Being that we live in apartments, we have had to make some sacrifices there. Many places that are lower rent don't accept birds, so it's a lot harder to find (and convince) places that he is well cared for and won't destroy their property or irritate the neighbors. We have a flawless renters history, never late on rent, no damages, no noise or any other complaints, pass inspections (I'm a clean freak), but people hear "parrot" and say "he goes or we can't rent to you". A lot of people who have parrots they didn't properly care for or supervise have sadly given ALL parrot owners a bad rap when it comes to renting. And we've made some serious space sacrifices so he has a nice place to live to. His cage is huge for a single bird, plus his big tree, plus his toy basket (bigger than some kids toy boxes lol) take up a solid 1/4 of our living room. And he always gets the biggest window/best view. Our current place overlooks a gorgeous brook with nothing but forest as far as the eye can see, but it's blocked by cages and a play stand so he can look at the squirrels (he loves the squirrels lol). We have to explain to dinner guest why the parrot can't not join us. Some people think he's cute, but a few of our friends are horrified he's allowed at the table and expects to join us for meals (or else there will be VERY LOUD fits). We also don't take as many vacations/weekend trips as we'd like. I don't like leaving Kiwi in anyone else's care even for a few days, and I'm absolutely petrified to board him that he'd catch some disease. But we don't mind any of it. He's such a happy little bird, and he gives us so much joy. I could;t imagine life without a parrot. It would be quiet, and boring

 

[Birdman666]

OMG! Not sure I should even go here... the list would be pretty extensive!

 

[crimson]

oh my gosh where to start!.....I have to tell you first I cracked up when you said, "our bedroom is basically a bird room with a bed in it"....that is OUR bedroom.
15 birds + chicks is ALOT, so of course sacrifices have to be made. space, I shoosh anyone who comes in our room late at night if they birds are asleep, god forbid one of them should wake up!, LOL.

they get fed better than my family does- it's true!

my schedule is strictly by the birds when hand feeding, any appt.'s that have to be made are around 'there feeding schedule'

any extra money I earn from breeding, goes on them, and not myself.

as a family we have sort of lost the freedom to just walk right into any room now, we have to have our bedroom and bird room door closed 24/7, due to our 4 cats, and 2 dogs, strictly for safety reasons. we are constantly opening and closing doors, it gets a bit tiresome.
I'm sure I've forgotten about 50 more things, but those are just off the top of my head

 

[Agapornis]

No more camping trips (we seriously considered getting an RV, just so we can take the birds with us!) No more quickie weekend getaways. I have one person whom i trust my birds with, and I don't want to take advantage of her...so we take ONE vacation a year, never gone for more than 7 days. Oh, and i now rush home from work, since I know they are waiting for me! No more meeting friends for dinner or movies after work.

Basically, our whole world evolves around the birds now! And i'm not complaining, lol.

 

[Kalidasa]

All of the above. "My" time is after I put them to bed, so if I go anywhere, obviously I have to be back before dawn.

 

[Birdman666]

Well... if you count fosters, you can start with the index finger on my right hand (Shamrock Macaw), and the the thumb on my left hand (Severe Macaw). Both sliced open down to the bone with scarring and a certain amount of numbness...

Several years ago, my landlord decided to arbitrarily revoke my bird privileges... and gave me 3 days to get rid of them or move. I was working two jobs at the time, AND taking care of a then 8 year old daughter as a single parent... It took longer than 3 days to find a new place, and therefore, I have a UD on my record that makes it difficult to rent or move now...

I've spent several thousands of dollars in vet care, and probably hundreds, if not thousands more on food, toys, treats, playstands, etc.

There are people who have left my life because they were less than tolerant of the idea of parrots in the living room. (My birdroom is my downstairs living room. Upstairs is for people.) If you're not a bird person, you probably don't get it...

More planning involved for activities, as we have to get pet sitters lined up...

Cleaning takes up 3 hours of my weekend - every weekend - and has for well over a decade... and I put up with and clean bird mess every day.

I don't consider the hour or so I spend getting up early every day to work with them and feed them a sacrifice. This is something that gets me through my day.

I go home to my daughter and my birds every day... my nest will never be empty. (I hope.)

My world traveling days/carefree spontaneous days were over before I got them. So, no sacrifice there either.

I'm sure there's more, but these are the things that pop into my head...

 

[Birdman666]

I went through an ugly, nasty divorce, and three custody trials...

Through it all, when I was close to tears, my little sun conure was at his most clownish trying to cheer me up, when it was black...

Rehabbing my red lored through that, gave me something positive to focus on when all I had was negatives being thrown at me...

These two kept me going. The parrot rescue became my refuge. Helping them to trust and love again, also helped me to trust and love again...

I met the love of my life, through the love of these creatures. And when I lost her to a pulmonary embolism, they helped me get through the grieving process...

My 38 year old BFA was the sweetest damned creature I have ever encountered...

One particularly bad day at work, when I was close to my breaking point, my CAG waddled over to me. When he saw how upset I was, he waddled down my leg, and over to his cage and I watched him pick out a large cashew from his treat cup. He struggled down with the cashew and waddled back to me. Then he set it down in my hand, and he told me "You're a good boy!"

Maggie, my Greenwing, laying her head down on the top of my head every morning for an extended head scratch and making her macaw baby noises...

These are the things that keep me going when the going gets rough!

And it's been about 15 years of rough...

 

[MomtoPercy]

Ooooh, what a super topic!!

I only have Jackie who is seriously un-demanding and my precious Percy but since Percy came, my life has changed too.

I spend any and all spare cash on him and sometimes do some crreative budgetting too :54:

I wake up early to spend time with him, make foragers for the day, etc etc and then also end up having 'blitzkrieg showers' (GREAT phrase, birdymomma LOL!) and easy breezy (read : hot mess) hairdo's before work. I wear the minimum makeup because applying it it takes time away from my birdies.

I very seldom wear black (except vests on super hot days) because Percy doesn't like large black areas (like a black shirt or jacket).

I am forced to travel a lot for work but since my son is 17 (18 in March) and my mom lives with me, it wasn't a problem to be away for three or four days because they'd be ok. Now however, although I know Percy and Jack will receive the very best care from my mom, I hate leaving and rush back as soon as I can. I also stock up on foragers before I go so that mom can give them each a new one or two each day.

Oh, and I spend hooours making toys as you know

 

[Terry57]

You have been through so much, Birdman666, and I am so sorry for all your losses
It is wonderful to hear how your birds have gotten you through it all

 

[MomtoPercy]

One particularly bad day at work, when I was close to my breaking point, my CAG waddled over to me. When he saw how upset I was, he waddled down my leg, and over to his cage and I watched him pick out a large cashew from his treat cup. He struggled down with the cashew and waddled back to me. Then he set it down in my hand, and he told me "You're a good boy!"

That is the sweetest thing I've read in a long time!! Sniff!!

 

[JerseyWendy]

What a lovely topic!!

Vacation? What is a vacation??? :11: I haven't had one of those since my dad passed away in Germany 10 years ago - if you can call THAT a vacation.

Let's see, we turned our dining room into the bird room so that my fids could have better interaction with all of us.

Who needs a kitchen table? We got rid off ours so I could put 2 huge Java trees there instead.

These are the things that keep me going when the going gets rough!

AMEN to that, Birdman! My birds AND dogs are the only reason I'm not in a white, VERY tight jacket, with my hands tied behind my back, surrounded by rubber walls. :54:

 

[Birdman666]

What a lovely topic!!


AMEN to that, Birdman! My birds AND dogs are the only reason I'm not in a white, VERY tight jacket, with my hands tied behind my back, surrounded by rubber walls. :54:

RUBBER WALLS?! THEY TOLD ME IT WAS JUST "MY SPECIAL WALLPAPER!"

Don'cha' just hate getting lied to like that?!

 

[crimson]

Oh YAH I forgot....no vacations!!!....have you ever tried to get someone to look after 35+ birds???....never ever going to happen!.....I think I would be a total wreck too being away from them, I'd be worried sick if they are being looked after like I do, never mind missing them like crazy....idk....such sacrifices we make.

 

[Terry57]

What a lovely topic!!


AMEN to that, Birdman! My birds AND dogs are the only reason I'm not in a white, VERY tight jacket, with my hands tied behind my back, surrounded by rubber walls. :54:

RUBBER WALLS?! THEY TOLD ME IT WAS JUST "MY SPECIAL WALLPAPER!"

Don'cha' just hate getting lied to like that?!

LOLOLOL!
The lovely white wallpaper does go with everything, though

 

[crimson]

how about the endless cleaning, going thru vacuum bags like no tomorrow, the hardware store should have a revolving door made.

the countless bags of garbage and recycling bins that are carted out to the end of our long driveway weekly....I swear the garbage men despise our house. while all the neighbours have 1 can of garbage, we have 5, and everyone else has 2 recycling bins, we have 6, it really is just a mound of containers....all because of the birds.
we pay our son Tyler $2.00 to cart all of that out weekly, and he never complains!....god love him....

 

[Terry57]

Oh yes, the bags of garbage! we are only allowed 1 can, and that isn't enough even for the birds! So that is a bi weekly trip to the dump for the rest. My poor hubby

 

[Birdman666]

Vacuum bags?

Vacuum bags?

We don't need no stinkin' vacuum bags!

Whether or not you get that quote depends upon your age... Bonus points if you remember the movie. Seriously, do people actually still use vacuums that have bags?!

Although, you can add hours of time spent cleaning out shop vac filters that have been clogged with shredded paper and feathers...

 

[hacatta]

I got rid of most of my furniture to make room for their monster cages.
I have taken on a 250m garden for their organic veggies since it is not for sale here(trough it doesn't cover it).
I have just this week only burnt my finger,taken a saw to a finger and gotten a blister on my thump making toys.(that stuff is dangerous!!!)
All my money goes to them.
I haven't taken a vacation in 10 year,thankfully i hate going anywhere without my computer so it works for me.
Every 6 months i have to buy a new headset,did so just an hour ago again.....
anywhere you look in my room lies stuff of then ,boxes with toys parts boxes with nuts and treats.
And everynight i have to clean my bed from wood splinters and wake up with a splinter in my ass,thank you so much...