Sacrifices you've made for your birds

[zazanomore]

One of the first things I had to do when I started getting into parrots, was take out my piercings. I have had my monroe, nose, and ears done, but I can no longer wear any of them, because of course, my birds go straight for them.

I've also had to do a lot of re-arranging in my room, and for someone with OCD, that was a big step.

My room has also gone to the birds. There is always some sort of mess. So, I need to do extra cleaning.

I can no longer use my fireplace, as it is one of those electric ones, and I do not trust whether or not it has teflon in it. So there has been some rather chilly nights (not cold enough to effect the birds mind you).

I also spend a fair amount of money on them. Their happiness and well being lies in my hands, I'm not just going to give them a boring life.

These are only small sacrifices though. They are things that I can deal with. Besides, the bonuses of owning a parrot really outweigh the downfalls. My anxiety has decreased quite significantly, and I find myself being more confident. How can you feel bad when your pet tells you it loves you?

Anyways, what are some of the sacrifices you've had to make?

[TheNzJessie]

my sanity =p

[GlassOnion]

1. I still have my nose piercing, yes Apple goes for it all the time, but I pull away quickly enough OR even if he yanks it out it really doesn't hurt. He goes for rings all the time though, and I get scared the gemstone on my engagement right might fall out. But again, I pull away quickly enough to not cause damage.

2. Compromise with others living with the household. Noise, mess all that. It can be challenging at times.

3. Money, I do spend quite a bit on toys, food etc.

4. Time

5. My health. I don't have an air filter yet, I get allergic reactions from the dust sometimes; I also don't think it could be so good for my health.

[zazanomore]

my sanity =p

[entrancedbymyGCC]

my sanity =p

Yeah, that!

I got rid of most of my nonstick pans, but as I've replaced the critical items with ceramic nonstick this was a purely financial sacrifice.

I haven't run the self-clean cycle on the oven since we got them. But when the weather gets reliably warm, one of these summer days the birds are going to get to hang out outside while I do that and then air the house out thoroughly.

I can no longer use my computer late at night because the birds are sleeping. And the office is always some kind of mess, I'm not up for vacuuming every day.

I've cut way back on nice-smelling things.

For a while I had to take my earrings out whenever I wanted to handle the birds but both of them seem to have gotten over the fascination.

I guess I really wouldn't consider any of these things a sacrifice though. I don't particularly believe in doing things that involve sacrificing something important, so if I felt any of these things were going to be a sacrifice I wouldn't have gotten the birds.

But NZJesse definitely nailed it, I'm not sure my mind is quite the same as it was!

[sidech]

I almost had to redo my house completely to get Jazz (over-exagerating a bit, but true) !

But it was worth it, my health has improved tremendously at the same time.

[felix11]

My sleep. I still go to bed at around 1 am, but now I have to wake up every day at 7 am to uncover Pony, and give her some breakfast. I still get a little sad about it on weekends!

[kaylayuh]

The biggest thing I've had to give up is having a floor without seeds, or a clean apartment in general. I'm a very clean person naturally, so it was an adjustment to not be so irritated with a perpetually seeded carpet.

I've given up using non-stick pans and have yet to replace them. Now I either bake what I'm eating, or use a pot to cook it. As a whole, my eating has gotten better because of them, so I'm not sure if it's a sacrifice or gain.

A noise free home. My budgies chatter almost constantly when they're uncovered. I wake them up anywhere between 6:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., and for the first hour they're actually pretty noisy. From that point on, they're chatty Cathy's all day long and always chirping at one another.

Candles, carpet sprays and powders, strong smelling cleaners, perfumes, body sprays and hairsprays have all gone. The only one I really miss is the carpet powder.

What I get from them is worth a lot more than anything I've had to give up. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder recently and find that even when I'm feeling very depressed, I know I have to get up to feed them and play with them, so they motivate me to actually do something with my day. When I'm particularly manic, I can burn off energy playing with them and focus that energy with them instead of doing things that would otherwise be a problem. My stress and anxiety has calmed with them, and the anger/rage/violence has been better controlled because of them. Those benefits are much more important to me than anything I've had to give up.

[sidech]

My sleep. I still go to bed at around 1 am, but now I have to wake up every day at 7 am to uncover Pony, and give her some breakfast. I still get a little sad about it on weekends!

Give her the food before you go to bed at 1am and don't get up in the morning (unless she's spoon or syringe feeding) !

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Give her the food before you go to bed at 1am and don't get up in the morning (unless she's spoon or syringe feeding) !

Or keep her in the dark/covered until later in the morning. Ours get woken up between 7:30 and 9:30 depending upon our schedule and the fresh food comes when its ready, not necessarily at the same time every day (there is always fresh water and dry/pellet mix). If I have to get going very early, I fix it the night before and leave it in the fridge, just putting it in the dishes in the morning. Doesn't seem to bother them at all. Not like horses!