Keeping birds as pets?

[samincittagazze]

I was wondering if any of you keep birds (budgies/canaries etc) as pets? What does it involve to keep a bird ethically and happily? Much like hamsters, most of the bird cages I see for sale look far too small to ever keep a flying animal happy, but I was wondering if aviaries really are the only way forward? It's not something I'm looking to pursue at the moment, but maybe a few years down the line. I know absolutely zilch about it though, so thought I'd see if I could get some info from people I trust with animal care.

[Debbie]

I have 14 budgies!
We started off with 2 in a reasonably sized cage and they had lots of out of cage time, but spent surprisingly little time actually flying around! After a few months my hubby built an indoor aviary and that just seemed so bare we decided to get 4 more budgies ....... then a couple more ....... and a couple more ....... you get the idea!! So then it was time to go bigger so hubby built an outdoor aviary consisting of inside and outside flights. We have lost one budgie to an unknown disease and another who had a rare and fatal illness from when we first got her but they love being outside and are all very healthy and happy. When I've bought new budgies we quarantine them first and for that we have a parrot cage which provides lots of room with plenty of space for toys and exercise, though they always get flight time. like with hamsters we had to make sure the bar spacing was ok. We have actually found that in the aviary the budgies don't fly around as much as they do indoors so are fatter and unhealthier - in terms of not being able to fly very far - and so a budgie that is indoors with plenty of flight time will be fitter than an aviary budgie - unless you have a huge aviary! I love the fact mine are outside and, for want of a better word, wild, that is they are not hand tame, don't talk, sit on my finger, shoulder etc like an indoor pet budgie would, but saying that, most of them will interact with us in some form if they are in the mood, especially if you go in with spray millet, veg etc, then you can get mobbed! Personally I prefer to have mine outside although I know it will possibly shorten their lives, but I like the fact they can fly around and do as they want without having to sit in a cage and wait for me to let them out etc. But I did enjoy the company of them inside and having them step up and such. Care is pretty easy, seed, millet, veg, egg food, cuttle fish, mineral block, toys, more toys and lots of free time, oh and company. Budgie's are flock birds so prefer company, either other birds or if you can devote lots of time to it, you can become it's flock! As to indoor cage or outdoor aviary, it's all personal preference and how much you want a tame bird or want to see a bird acting more naturally.

This was our indoor aviary (also used as an indoor guinea pig run with a few modifications!!)


This is one end of the inside flight with the door leading to the outside flight, though it's totally different now with lots more in!!


Outside flight



I could talk for hours about my budgies so will stop now so you can wake up but feel free to ask any questions! I really must do a thread about my feathered family!!

[samincittagazze]

Thanks Debbie! I love all their bright colours in that last pic, beautiful.

That indoor aviary was just what I was thinking about! Plenty of room to maneuver for them. About how much flight time do they need each day? And, the inevitable, am I going to be cleaning bird poo off all my furniture?!

What are the rules about keeping different types of birds together, for example budgies and canaries? I'm guessing it's a no-no, but just checking. Please do do a thread about them, I find birds fascinating!

[Stacey]

I had 2 budgies when i was in my teens. Loved them both to bits.

My uncle use to have loads of different birds, budgies, love birds etc who bred my first budgie for me as a birthday present. Had him since he was a wee baby. I use to say to Billy give me kisses and he's put his beak to my lips and kiss me lol. We got Benjie as a friend for Billy.

The only bad thing about them is, they can be quite noisy lol

[fadedpages]

My mum has two cockatiels, Cappuccino and Sydney. I still think of them as "ours" really (Mum, my brother and me), since I was still living at home when we got them.

They don't have a particularly large cage, she doesn't have the room for one. In terms of body size to cage size, it's probably the equivalent of a decent (but not huge and awesome) hamster cage. They don't need it to be any bigger, though, they're given free range of the house whenever anyone's at home (and sometimes when no one's in, if Sydney refuses to go back in the cage). It does unfortunately mean that bird poo gets everywhere.

Interestingly enough, they seem to either communicate with or at least sense hamsters. I still had my last hamster, Jemima, when we got the first cockatiel, Calypso. Unfortunately, he was ill, and we found him dead in the bottom of the cage a week after we got him - which Jemima alerted us to by squeaking several times as loudly as she could. The pet shop replaced him, and Cappuccino came to us.

A while later, the cockatiel at the care home my Grandpa was in died. We offered to get them another, as the residents obviously missed him terribly. We found Sydney in our local P@H - he'd been hand reared and was in a cage on his own, and as we walked past he put his head down to demand we tickle behind his ears. We were sold - to the care home he went. The residents loved him, he very quickly learned to say, "Hello Sydney," and someone taught him to whistle Pop Goes the Weasel.

Unfortunately, Health and Safety decided that pets were no longer allowed. They even made them get rid of their fish tank. So Sydney came home with us, to see if he would get on with Cappuccino. He was a little unconvinced at first, but it didn't take long before they were getting on well. They're not the snuggle-up-and-preen-each-other sort, but they like to know where the other is, and start shrieking if one flies upstairs and the other is downstairs. Cappuccino never used to fly much, but he's improved a great deal since Sydney joined the family.

A while after we gained Sydney, Jemima fell ill. Despite it being early morning and the cage still being covered, Sydney shrieked at us until we came to find her. She was so ill the kindest thing was to have her put to sleep. Later that day, we found Sydney inside Jemima's cage, apparently looking for her.

Goodness, I've written a huge essay lol. Basically, I know nothing about other kinds of birds, but cockatiels are lovely, very friendly (and incredibly intelligent). If you either have the space to give them an aviary, or can put up with having to clean up bird poo from the house, I'd highly recommend them. Unfortunately, hubby doesn't like birds (probably not helped by the fact that Sydney still thinks I'm his mate, and sees hubby as a threat lol), so I very much doubt we'll ever have any.

[Debbie]

The indoor aviary wasn't too difficult to make and of course you can make it any size you like, try Goggling images of 'indoor aviary' and see all the different types that come up!! As to flight time it all depends on how they are housed but the more the better, I'm not sure if there is a minimum as such. We often found the budgies would go back in themselves after a little while. We had our aviary in the kitchen - frowned upon by 'those in the know' as being dangerous because of all the fumes you can get in the kitchen - like from non-stick pans, cleaners etc - and also because of the trouble they can get into, landing in a sink of water, on a hot plate blah, blah. There are some people that take the 'care' of budgies far too seriously but I think common sense is all that is needed, along with some knowledge about budgies! Where was I? Oh yes, ours was in the kitchen and we found the budgies would just do laps of the room (kitchen/diner so a good size) and then either land back on top of the aviary, the cupboards or on picture frames, though we discouraged that! The only poop we had was on the floor round the aviary where they sat on the top of the open door or perches we stuck into the wire or a little on the pictures. In fact when I had the first 2 they were upstairs in my office and again, they just seemed to poop where they sat. The aviary is an obviously place for them to perch and I'd put toys and food up there for them.




it is true they can be noisy, and obviously the more you have the noisier, but I love the sound of them and it really doesn't bother me - though if I had 14 indoors it might!!

This is our Dylan when he was a baby, to say he loves himself is an understatement!!!



I will do that thread, just have to find the time!!!

Oh, and budgies and canaries, although some people do keep them together without problems it's generally not recommended, different species requirements, diets and all that.

[Lola]

I don't know much about this but I just wanted to add that a friend of mine has an african gray parrot and he pretty much has free reign in their house. Parrots are intelligent enough to be allowed out of their cages, with proper training, and he happily flies all over the place. Although he mostly stays by her mum's side. Parrots usually attach very strongly to one member of the family - I think they see them as their mate.

I've even heard of certain species of parrots being trained to fly outside and return home.

[Debbie]

I think you have to be very knowledgeable to keep parrots as they can develop lots of behavioural problems if not looked after properly, mostly because they are so intelligent and need lots of physical and, more importantly, mental stimulation. Plus they can live for a very long time so you have to commit to a long term pet. But if you are willing to do that and put in the time and effort they make fabulous pets ......... from the little I know!!!

[samincittagazze]

They're so pretty Debbie! Thanks for all the info (faded pages and Lola too), like I said, it's not something I can do right now but I'd like to consider in the future.

I would LOVE an African Grey, my Aunt had one and she was brilliant, but they are such a long term commitment and I don't think I ever could.

[TraceyH]

I have a budgie and a cockatiel that must be kept apart at all times as they hate each other. It's okay though I have a good shift pattern for them.