Adopting a Parrot Means Single For Life?

[BirdbrainJan]

Hi all,

So today I was finally able to get out to the parrot sanctuary near my house, and wow. It was great to see how many parrots have found a permanent home there, and they're surrounded by other birds all day to talk to, whistle at, and dance around.

However...now I know he has the best interests of the birds in mind, and just wants to make sure that no bird is abandoned later, but the fellow who runs the sanctuary had some really strong things to say.

He said that it's a certainty that all parrots, including conures, will become one-person birds. He told me that if I get a parrot now, I'd better be prepared to be single forever. And what will happen when kids come along? Nope, it's parrot now and single forever, or parrot later when I'm retired. He closed by saying he can't tell me how to make decisions, and encouraged me to go see the birds, but I felt thoroughly chewed out.

And really, looking all over the forum, Michael you've worked with Kili so she will accept other people, and I think what it really comes down to is how well socialised the bird is right from the start, and how willing you are to put the time into training.

I'm interested to hear other parrot owners' take on this issue...how many of you have one-person birds, and how successful have you been at socialising them to accept/be friendly to other people? How many of you got a bird when you were single? Did it alienate you from any and all future human mate prospects? I wouldn't think so...but it would be interesting to hear.

[Michael]

He said that it's a certainty that all parrots, including conures, will become one-person birds. He told me that if I get a parrot now, I'd better be prepared to be single forever. And what will happen when kids come along? Nope, it's parrot now and single forever, or parrot later when I'm retired. He closed by saying he can't tell me how to make decisions, and encouraged me to go see the birds, but I felt thoroughly chewed out.

What a load of BS.

While I do believe some species have a stronger tendency toward this than others, I think it's more so the people that turn a parrot into a one person bird than the other way around. What happens is that there is usually an owner or primary care taker. That person does all the work and spends the most time with the parrot. Parrots are really habitual and like to do things the same way all the time. Changing up that order irks them and can cause problems. So I think it's the fact that people tend to become possessive of their pet (or others don't want to do anything cause they don't feel it is theirs) has more to do with it than the bird itself. Stop blaming the parrot!

I really don't see what being single has to do with owning a parrot either. Even if the parrot becomes what they call a one-person-bird, it doesn't mean that no one else can live in the same house. It just means the parrot won't want to step up for them or whatever. So the original care taker will just keep taking care of it on their own and others won't have a part in it. Unless things really get out of hand, it doesn't mean the parrot will purposefully seek others out to attack them. You just have to know how to manage your time so that you could still care for your parrot if you introduce new people to the household. Once again, the problem is people and not the parrot. Someone gets a new boyfriend or baby and all of a sudden they neglect the bird. If you can manage your time wisely, then the bird shouldn't have to suffer because your lifestyle changed.

And I would say, if anything, flight is the best remedy for one person bird problems. More good came from Kili becoming flighted than all the training we had done previously. Biting is a clipped parrot's fallback when it cannot fly away. Check out the How To Overcome One Person Parrot Aggression article for some more ideas and insight about it.

As for getting other people to overcome one-bird-personness, get them involved. Put some entertainment value into it by teaching the parrot some tricks. The more knowledge you can give to the other people in household, the more interest they will have. And it may come down to getting them their own parrots too to build enough experience, confidence, and motivation to overcome aggression and be able to handle your previously thought to be one person bird.

[BirdbrainJan]

Thanks so much Michael, I really appreciate your post and feedback. I have to say, after talking to that fellow earlier today, I felt pretty beat down about planning to own a bird at all. But that shouldn't have to be the case. I got the feeling that he kind of thought that nobody should really have a bird, and he didn't address the training or socialisation aspect at all. He told me that one of the cockatoos had been fostered out to three different families, and every time she's come back, because she bonded to the male of the household and would divebomb the female occupants. But that still seems like a problem with the people rather than the bird, and should have been able to be overcome with some perseverance and understanding.

I'm determined to involve everyone in the household in the care of the GCC when he comes home. My brother and roommate are both here, are both very interested in adding a bird to our household, and are wanting to participate in his care, so right off the bat, that will ensure the baby will be socialised with a variety of people from an early age.

I'm planning to have the baby flighted too. He'll be coming home with a clip, but I'll let it grow out so as he gets used to our household, he can have more freedom and that added security. As I read more on the forum too, I'm appreciating the value of trick training as an outlet for the bird's energy and intelligence, and a way to make other members of the house more interested in interacting with him. I think it also be a good idea to assign two different, favourite treats to my brother and roommate, so the treats only ever come from them.

[bmsweb]

What a load of BS

In 100% in agreement with Michael on this.

I have a budgie, Cockatiel and two Conures, none of which are one person birds. As the primary care giver, I make sure my birds spend time with the whole family. Its not rocket science at all. I will let visitors handle our birds under supervision if they like. So they have no problem at all with being handled by anyone.

[Michael]

I'm determined to involve everyone in the household in the care of the GCC when he comes home. My brother and roommate are both here, are both very interested in adding a bird to our household, and are wanting to participate in his care, so right off the bat, that will ensure the baby will be socialised with a variety of people from an early age.

Please do realize that there is a huge difference between initial enthusiasm about a novelty and scraping poop off a cage 3 years down the line. It's easy to get people curious and wanting to help out right away, that's actually when you need it the least. It's the long term daily interaction that is quite important.

I'm currently single but that doesn't stop me from keeping my birds socialized. I bring Kili to the park nearly daily and over to other people's houses when I visit. It's easy to keep Truman socialized for now cause everyone wants to see the new bird. In fact it's almost hard to keep people off of him. But in a few months that will change and I will have to keep up a vigilant effort of finding people to keep him social. Believe me, the hard part about this is that people get bored after a couple tries. That's why I like taking Kili to the park cause it's different kids every time and they get excited to see and hold her.

[Kim S]

I understand the man you talked to was the owner of a sancuary? Keep in mind that that man only sees the parrots come in where things went wrong. No happy well adjusted socialized parrot is going to set foot in that place.
But thats not a bad thing. You heard al the bad stuff from him. Now you can come here and hear the good stuff

I have had Kika for a couple of weeks now. She lived with a woman for the first 8 months of her life without any proper socialization whatsoever. But she is the sweetest little thing ever. She can feel when people are uneasy with parrots and will back down. Somehow she knows that the misinterpretation between them could turn ugly (or maybe that is my human way of looking at it).

On the other hand, a few years ago there was an african grey in my household. The bird was taken care of by every one but mostly by me (I've loved parrots since I was born I guess). And yet the bird started to develop a grudge towards me. I have no idea what I did wrong. He only stayed with us for a few months before moving back but in that time I went from primary caregiver to "the screw I need to attack".

Like Michael said, not every parrot becomes a one-person parrot. But I do believe that certain parrots have a tendency to do so. And every parrot has his own little quirks. I have yet to come across a senegal that is anti-social. But it would be just your luck to come across that one.

I hope this didn't put you off parrots forever, but I do hope it made you think seriously about the consequences. A bird is for life.

[TheNzJessie]

how i have overcome this issue, well i volunteer at a place called fraknlin zoo and im starting a zoo keppers course on tuesday and everytime i go my lorikeet comes with me, when i had my other lorikeet he would come to work with me everyday at the pet store and used to hang around and socialize with the customers etc but my little Jango is loving being at the zoo he has his own cage set up near the other lorikeets and people visiting the zoo give him heaps of attention and hes fed by me and a couple of zoo keepers who adore him. he knows what i am his 'mummy' but i dont think i will have a problem with him being a one person bird, especially if i finish my zoo keepers course and my degree and get a job there! which means full time working, im just am glad i can bring him to work with me everyday instead of him being left at home. i dont take my budgie because the zoo has no budgies and hes happy at home.

so my answer is basically start them young...

i also love taking Jango to the zoo because they are all about enrichment and the zookeepers give him so much enrichment he could never get bored.

i did start a post once upon a time how i thought i couldn't get another bird because i would be full time working soon but i never considered the idea i could bring him with me....thats why i got another.

[Rue]

I find there are three groups of pet owners;

1. Those that don't bother to learn about their pets...and whatever happens, happens, they don't really care.

2. The average pet owner (most of us). And even here we have a dichotomy of care practices, but it would all still fall under the 'good care' heading.

3. The zealots.

This guy is a zealot. It doesn't mean that his birds aren't looked after properly...but his approach becomes too rigid and unbending.

[BirdbrainJan]

Please do realize that there is a huge difference between initial enthusiasm about a novelty and scraping poop off a cage 3 years down the line. It's easy to get people curious and wanting to help out right away, that's actually when you need it the least. It's the long term daily interaction that is quite important.

Absolutely. I think there are lots of people who don't even consider this before getting a pet. My brother and I have had animals around for our whole lives (Smokey was the original cat, he lived to be 21) and are definitely aware of the lifetime commitment (poop included! ). My brother is already talking about getting involved with training, cleaning, and also helping to socialise the bird by bringing it to his friends' homes.

Thanks for the tip on the park too, there's a beautiful park near our home, where he could meet lots more people...and children!

I understand the man you talked to was the owner of a sancuary? Keep in mind that that man only sees the parrots come in where things went wrong. No happy well adjusted socialized parrot is going to set foot in that place.
But thats not a bad thing. You heard all the bad stuff from him. Now you can come here and hear the good stuff

That's why you guys are great! I understand the man's perspective, because of course he wouldn't want more birds to end up with things going wrong and ending up at his sanctuary, but there should be room for him to recognize that there are humans out there who would really put in the time for their birds. I'm sure there are many birds who do find homes with appropriate stimulation, love and understanding for their birdy quirks! This forum is proof of that.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, I'm feeling much better about the whole thing.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Scooter prefers me (which is ironic because most of the birds we've met have preferred my husband by far) but he is perfectly happy to hang out with Bill when I'm not around, and sometimes when I am around. GCCs are not known for being "one person birds" as much as others. Some really do seem more prone to going into a "mate for life" mode and at best tolerate people other than The One.

But even if you have a bird that is bonded to you and hates your spouse doesn't mean you have to be single! You have to have a spouse who is OK with the situation, you have to teach the bird not to be aggressive and you need to find time for your spouse as well.

I'll wager a lot of birds do lose their homes when the owners get married, divorced or have kids. That's true of most companion animals. Birds and horses are among those long-lived enough for this to be a real problem. This may be why the sanctuary guy is so cynical.