As I’m writing this paragraph, it’s very close to Valentine’s Day. Countless pets will be purchased for this holiday alone, not to mention birthdays, Christmas and the “hey, let’s take that next step in our 6 month relationship… I’m not ready to make a commitment to YOU yet and put a ring on your finger, but I’ll gladly get you this money sucking poop factory that will outlive our feelings for each other” purchase. (Seriously, just buy flowers and tickets to the new hit musical). Many times, even if the couple has legally gone through the attempt to make splitting up difficult in the form of marriage, those couples will split and the one who got the pet for the “partner” doesn’t want it because after all, it was a gift “FROM me” and “not FOR me”, and the “partner” who got the pet they didn’t really ask for, doesn’t want it. So you wind up with a pet that many times gets anonymously dropped off at a shelter in the middle of the night. If you don’t believe me, watch Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man episode on Pets and guess how many of those pets get adopted out? Not many. Cats don’t care where they live as long as there’s food and dogs can adjust quickly, within a matter of days to new owners and even they have trouble finding homes but even then, the numbers of them that turn into furnace fodder are staggering.
Now take a bird that can live for 20-80 years that will take weeks to adjust to its surroundings and even longer to trust its new owner, a creature that’s loud and bitey at first and sometimes bitey for a long time and possibly forever but bitey nonetheless, primarily because its scared… not only getting adopted but staying with that new owner especially if the new owner is new to birds and doesn’t know what to expect. Since the adoptive parront is new and doesn’t know the behavior that many birds exhibit, they give up quickly and either give it back to the shelter or get rid of it to someone else for cheap (usually to a breeder who wants to breed it for profit). When the pet can’t be adopted out after a certain amount of time, they’re euthanized (a procedure which a lot of times has been taxpayer subsidized by the state or local government) and pitchforked into a furnace for group cremation. Out of sight, out of mind. Yes, I’m being serious. They literally pitchfork the animals into the furnace. Not to be cruel but it’s just the reality of the way they have to dispose of these poor animals en masse. And for those of you who are irate at reading that?…. Be irate at the irresponsible morons who made that situation happen, not the people who have the fortitude to at least do an honorable thing and deal with other people’s problems. In fact, that Inside Man episode is what prompted me to finally write this so that some poor bird doesn’t suffer the same fate as the numerous animals on that program.
I don’t mean to be a downer but even though we’ve sent men to the moon, just like in the movie Apollo 13, those men nearly died because the air filters on the 2 segments of the spacecraft weren’t the same size or shape. i.e. humans don’t always think ahead. If you’ve ever had a child you didn’t necessarily plan for or have had a bankruptcy or car repo-ed… its more common place than you might think because we scarcely plan for such things. We have a tendency to ignore reality and instead simply accept the “sunshine and balloons” scenario for every situation. “sure we can make that car payment as long as something catastrophic doesn’t happen in the next 6 years.” Then comes the layoff or the medical emergency. Followed by the loss of the car, the job, the credit, etc. All because the unexpected wasn’t factored in and the buffer was too small. I don’t say this to be a drag but its reality and when you’ve seen it enough and the birds, pets or kids are the ones that have to suffer, you stop being silent when you realize that the feelings of the mistreated mean more than the feelings of the people who didn’t think ahead and simply dump the problem on someone else’s doorstep.
For that reason, especially with lovebirds and since this is a lovebird website, (bigger birds I can’t say for sure but certainly for smaller birds) GET TWO. They’ve called lovebirds for a reason. Lovebirds or “lovies” (more lingo) are almost made to pair up. So you can alleviate the worry about making sure that they won’t sit alone in a cage when junior gets older and finds girls, or when Sally gets older and has sleepovers, or if mom has a bun in the oven to start the family that will now dominate time, or if dad now has a great promotion that keeps him out of town for days at a time, having a companion for birdie will at least give them the old storybook/tv series “at least we have each other” situation.
There are some people who will state “don’t get a pair of lovebirds because they will bond to each other and not you.” Bull. If you spend time with your birds you WILL become a part of their flock. Will you be their “be all end all” like a single bird? No, but you really don’t want that. Anyone who grew up an only child will know what I’m talking about. As much as siblings argue and fight, an only child will almost 100% of the time tell you that they would have given anything to have those fights just to have someone to talk to and play with. Now imagine you’re a bird. Birds have no school, no play dates, no summer camp or swim classes. Birds also sit in a cage. Imagine winter being permanent and the only living space you had is the room you grew up in, the bathroom and the kitchen. Now imagine having to live for 15 years alone in those conditions. So… be the person who is proverbially looking 20 car lengths ahead. That way when you see the brake lights start 20 cars in front of you, you don’t have to be thrown into a situation like you would be in if you only look at the brake lights of the car in front of you. Life WILL change for you and everyone in your household. Make sure your bird at least has a feathered companion to spend it with. I’m not saying that necessarily for bigger birds like Macaws, Cockatoos and African Greys, especially due to their cost and the space/care needed for them but if you can do it, please do so.
If possible, try to pair males with males and females with females because if you have one of each they WILL breed. They are called lovebirds for a reason. Breeding is natural. Don’t fight nature. Have a plant to deal with the eggs whether you take them as they come out, hard boil them and put them back (after they cool), get fake eggs to replace them or if you plan on having babies, then plan to get a brooder box and await the pink blobs that turn into cute baby birds. More about that is in the breeding chapter but be prepared because it WILL happen. Wordl of warning though, birds are not dogs. They are rather difficult to find good homes for. All of our babies were not planned and we currently have 14 birds in our residence and only planned on keeping 4. We’ve had to take eggs from brother and sister that paired up AFTER they others grew up simply because their reproduction rate is so astronomical. Again, there’s a reason that they’re called lovebirds.
Females may become territorial and fight each other, especially if there is a male around so either plan on using a cage divider or having 2 separate cages just in case. They should be OK if no male is around but you never know. Just like babysitting, things are always great if you have a place to go without that bundle of joy at the end of the day. Always have a plan for a WCS or worst case scenario. Usually if no male is present they should be fine. 2 males usually almost never have issues that I’m aware of. Do note that there have been posts I’ve read, in fact, one just today as of this writing where a female was attacking the male. I saw two separate Facebook posts, one with budgie parakeets, one with parrotlets, the female killed the male and all the babies. We even once had our female, Holly eat a baby. They are still technically wild animals so anything can happen. Dogs have been man’s companion for hundreds of thousands of years. Birds have only been man’s companions for a couple hundred years. They have not yet evolved that same instinctual partnership. Be prepared which is hopefully what this site will help do for you.
So enough of that rant but just know that if you intend to get a bird, they are not expendable and they are a lot of work and responsibility just like anything else worthwhile. If you intend on getting a pet bird, read through this website and if you think you can manage to run the gamut, go shopping for a fid. A highly social animal that WILL become a member of your family. Yes I understand that sometimes you will have to make the decision to pull the plug on grandma, but even though that is a tough decision and a sad moment, in reality it is at least done after having lived a full and happy life. That is the difference.
Check out sites like Coombs World Parrot Refuge which I believe closed and 600 birds were probably euthanized.
https://www.fosterparrots.com/
http://floridaparrotrescue.com/
http://www.tucsonparrotrescue.com/
http://chloesanctuary.org/events/?gclid=CLen99iLutICFV64wAodzsoPIA
These are just a few sites that house birds that were given up or more to the point, given up on. These are mainly for large bird which are an even greater responsibility than lovebirds but once you own a birds and realize how much joy they can bring to your life, you’ll look upon these sites with sadness and helplessness knowing that this exists. Just like humans, not all of us are fortunate enough to live blessed lives but we ARE able to take what we have and carve out a little cave of happiness under the roof we provide for our lucky feathered friends. One last thing, I’ll mention this again but DO NOT get a bird, simply because you think it would be novel to have an animal that talks. You wouldn’t marry a woman simply because she DOESN’T talk, now would you? OK, bad example. Aside from the fact that is sexist, albeit funny, you wouldn’t marry a woman because she can brew beer and make good pork sausage. Birds are no different. And… equal time ladies, you wouldn’t marry a guy if he did dishes, picked up his socks and didn’t watch sports, would you? See?…. tempting, isn’t it 😉