Dream Flock.. Revisions?

[GlassOnion]

I'm someone who believes it's a bit selfish to purchase a bird that you KNOW will outlive you, especially if you don't have a guaranteed home for the bird after you're gone.

I plan on bringing home whatever 'big bird' I want in my lifetime in my 20's and no later than mid 30's.

[kaylayuh]

I'm someone who believes it's a bit selfish to purchase a bird that you KNOW will outlive you, especially if you don't have a guaranteed home for the bird after you're gone.

I plan on bringing home whatever 'big bird' I want in my lifetime in my 20's and no later than mid 30's.

I agree.. which is why I would prefer to adopt an older "big bird" than purchase a baby. My dream "big bird" is a Moluccan Cockatoo, and their lifespan can range between 80 and 125 years old. In my family, lifespan has been about 62.5 years. While I certainly hope to live longer than that, if I used those calculations, a Moluccan Cockatoo would outlive me by 17.5 years. And that's if I purchased a baby right now at 22 and that bird only lived to be 80 years old.

My plan right now is if something should happen to me, my birds would go to my boyfriend. In the future when my boyfriend and I are married, it's a good bet that I'd outlive him. After all, he's 16 years 9 months and 11 days older than I am. Ideally, we'd have children that would also love birds and they would get those birds. If they would refuse, I'd wonder what I did wrong with my children and hopefully have a really good friend with better children than I have that would like to take them.

[Vikki]

A Helping Wing...there's a link below my avatar.

[captwest]

I think that there maybe another option here, I'm older, but would hate to think i couldn't or shouldn't take on a young bird as a pet because it might out live me.Yes resueing older birds is fine, but i hope i know enough to socialize a pet so some else can handle it, the birds that are unwanted rescue birds that no one can handle, I leave my pet YN amazon for months at the time but it's not a big deal because she likes lots of people and my wife takes great care of her, yes she misses me and has a fit when i come home, if i didn't come home , she would survive and be able to fit in to a new home because she's so well socialized.I feel that as a responsible pet owner you need to do your part and do right by your pet.

[Julsiebean]

^I agree with you, and as a parent the idea of taking on birds and expecting your kids to take them over is wrong too. Not all people are bird people, even if they are raised around them. Even if you provide finances for them in a will you shouldn't expect your kids to take them (unless your kids want them!) and the very idea of kids not wanting them=you failing as a parent really gets under my skin. Nothing wrong with a healthy hope your kids will want the birds, but don't get too wrapped up in it.

I don't think it is ever selfish to give a bird a loving home, young or older rescue. Any one of us could drop dead tomorrow, and sure I feel secure in knowing my husband will takeover our flock, but his life could go in different directions, what if he couldn't keep them? You just never know! I guess we all just have to "plan" the best we can!

[Vikki]

Definitely, on all points. As bird lovers we would hope our families would share the same love as we do, but we cannot expect it. Case in point, my mother is petrified of all my birds, so I could never expect her to take them when I leave this life. I am lucky in that Bryan has birds of his own and would gladly take them should anything happen, but I also have the rescue andmy birds are acquainted with the staff there since I tend to bring them with me when I go there to work. It is important, as captwest pointed out, that your birds be acclimated to more than one person. Again, you can't force a bird to like anyone else but one would hope that you have done your feathered friend due diligence in that you've passed him around to other people when you are able in order to socialize them. Because the rescue does pet expos and school demos about bird maintenance and the like, our birds are used to being passed around, but we also know the birds that we cannot do that to because of one quirk or another. You never know how an animal will react no matter how well you think you know them. Bonded to you or not, they will act on their own instincts if put in a position where they feel threatened, especially in an unfamiliar environment.

[kaylayuh]

^I agree with you, and as a parent the idea of taking on birds and expecting your kids to take them over is wrong too. Not all people are bird people, even if they are raised around them. Even if you provide finances for them in a will you shouldn't expect your kids to take them (unless your kids want them!) and the very idea of kids not wanting them=you failing as a parent really gets under my skin. Nothing wrong with a healthy hope your kids will want the birds, but don't get too wrapped up in it.

I was mostly joking about my future kids taking on any birds I may have at the time of my death. I would be disappointed if I had children that weren't bird people, but I wouldn't disown them over it. I understand that not everyone likes birds, but I would hope it'd be something any future children and I could bond over. If they wanted the birds and could take care of them in a fashion similar to what I do, then that would be my logical choice. If they hated my birds and wanted nothing to do with them, I certainly wouldn't expect them to be saddled with a living being that they will undoubtedly see as a burden.

Further, I plan to instill in any children I may have the idea that all living creatures deserve respect and the best life possible. If we are buying something as a pet, that pet isn't just a novelty to be sat in a corner and only interacted with when we feel like it. I would hope that, had I not provided adequate housing for whatever birds I have at the time of my death, whomever is in charge of doing so wouldn't just give them to the first person to come along.

In the same way, if my boyfriend hated my birds, couldn't handle them, or was otherwise unwilling to provide them the best life possible in the case of my dying, he wouldn't be expected to take them. I don't have contact with anyone in my family, so they're out. But I would expect my boyfriend to offer them to his brother and nephew, who have a half dozen cockatiels and an Amazon. I know for certain they're bird lovers and would love to have them.

At a certain point, I plan on not purchasing any bird I know with certainty will outlive me. It'd be silly for me to be 60 years old and buying a newly weaned Cockatoo. If at all possible, I plan on not purchasing another bird again, anyway. I would prefer to rescue them and give unwanted birds the best home possible.