Getting A Meyer's!

[jaimmorr]

Hi, everyone. I have posted here before, not very much, and a long time ago. I have been interested in getting a bird for a very long time, ever since I was a little girl. However; My mother is terrified of birds, so it was out of the question. I'm seeking some advice now that I am 19 and do not live with my mother anymore.

I have been doing lots of research lately, and have come to the conclusion that I would thoroughly enjoy having a Meyer's Parrot as a pet. I like everything about them! I live in a one bedroom apartment with my partner of 4 years, and we have 3 dogs. A Chihuahua, a Miniature Pinscher, and a Pointer mix. I plan on keeping the bird in my bedroom. (Obviously, the dogs will not have contact with the bird!)

I have a couple questions... Firstly: Currently, I work from 8-5. However; I will be quitting my job soon so that I can go back to school full time. (In fact, I'm going to practice veterinary medicine.) My college is close to my home and I plan on taking 3-4 classes a week. (So, 1-2 a day). In your opinion, will I have enough time to dedicate to a bird? I don't see why I wouldn't, as I imagine I will be home for most of the day.

Secondly: I have read that you cannot keep birds in a home and use Febreze products or candles. How true is this? I have this "thing" where I really like my house to smell good. Lol. Currently I have 4 Febreze wall plug ins and a Scentsy turned on in my apartment! I also smoke, but I do so OUTSIDE and never inside. I do plan on quitting smoking, and hopefully before I get my bird, but I do not know how realistic this is...

Thirdly: There is a bird fair in my town coming up. I was thinking about going there to try and stock up on supplies before I get the bird. Possibly get a cage. But I have heard that bird fairs aren't the best places to do this, as the items can carry diseases. Should I skip the bird fair and just buy supplies at pet stores or online? Or should I go, and then wash the items I get?

Also: Would this cage be suitable for a Meyer's Parrot? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bird-Cage-Large ... 500wt_1122

I am willing to get a bigger cage, but I just am not sure where to start size wise. Would that one be a good cage or should I go bigger?


I want to be able to have my bird out with me whenever I am home, but I feel like this isn't going to be possible since I have three dogs. Will it be if I just supervise? My dogs aren't allowed on my couch or bed, so I figure if the bird is in his cage, playstand, or my couch or bed it won't be a big deal and they will know they can't go near him. I'm hoping with some training they will understand that they are not to come within a certain distance of the bird. Obviously, I would never leave them alone with the bird, not even when the bird is in his cage.


And lastly: What are your opinions on flight suits? I am interested in getting one, but not sure how well they work. I would like to have some sort of flight suit on the bird whenever he is out so that he doesn't poop everywhere (lol), but I don't know if that is possible, or if it is nice for the bird... Any other ways of keeping the poop off the furniture/carpet?

Thank you to anyone who replies!

[Rokisha]

I completely understand with just having to have the house smell good but I would like to point out that it is very possible to accomplish this without using febreeze, glade, candles, ect. Being a wiccan I am used to using such things as candles, incense, and yes i loved using the febreeze products but I found that Flowers and other plants work just as well to keep the house smelling great. Of course you must make sure any plants you get are indeed parrot safe and i think most would be lol but better to be safe then sorry.


As far as the dogs go, be firm with them when you teach them the bird is not to be touched and yes supervision at all times would be the best route imo. As far as your schedule goes, I wouldn't see why that would be a probably really but someone with more experience in that matter would be able to answer you better. Well with that and everything else you mentioned lol. The current cage I have for my senegal I got from petco. It's this one but someone on here said it was too small sooo later on I plan on getting a bigger one when I'm able. http://www.petco.com/product/114176/Petco-Designer-Green-Dome-Playtop-Parrot-Cage.aspx Of course when i bought my parrot, that was the largest cage they had in the store at that time.

[Khaiqha]

A friend had a quaker. They plugged an air freshner next to its cage one night, and by the morning it was dead.

As for whether you have the time, that's up to you. From an outsider's perspective, it doesn't seem like it with three dogs. I have three roommates, work/go to school, and my roommates have a dog/tiel/budgie. While the dog is normally OK with the birds, flight triggers something in him and he tries to snatch them out of the air.

This has meant that the dog and birds can't be in the same room. For us it works because every animal has a different caretaker. But if I had to take care of the dog and my bird at seperate times on top of my schedule...it would be impossible.

[jaimmorr]

Thank you both for the replies so far.

Rokisha: I honestly never thought about just having flowers and such in the house! That is a wonderful suggestion, and one that I will most likely take to heart!

Khaiqha: I see what you mean. That was my main concern. I honestly believe that if I take the time to properly train my dogs, I can have the bird and the dogs out at the same time. I had a rat (she passed away last year) and obviously my dogs tried to attack her. But after a little bit of working with them, they knew not to go near her or they would get reprimanded. (i.e. a squirt of water or being put in another room) She was out whenever I was home and she didn't get hurt once. I know it's very necessary to be extremely cautious, as I plan to be.


With having dogs, would it be wiser to clip the bird's wings, or not to?

[marie83]

Don't clip the wings especially with the dogs. Flight may trigger the dogs to want to catch the bird but so may it walking over the floor if it drops off it's perch. Removing flight will leave the parrot more nervous and less able to escape.

If your going back to uni I would wait before getting a bird, see what the workload is going to be like first. Personally I think you will struggle to have enough time for 3 dogs, uni classes, assignment/course work and projects and a parrot even with your partners help. Of course I don't have a clue what the education systems like over there and what the workload is on the various courses etc but I'm 28, just gone back to college to do a level 3 course in animal management, I also work a part time job. I'm in college 3 days a week, 9am-4/5pm and my part time job is also 3 days a week ranging from 4 hour - 10 hour shifts. That doesn't sound too bad until you factor in the hidious amount of time I spend doing college work outside those hours, I get literally no me time or me and boyfriend time. I struggle to give my two parrots the attention they deserve, Ollie will sit on my shoulder whilst I'm studying, he is typically out his cage for 3-4 hours per day at the moment. More when I'm working less hours at my job but this time is not spent giving him direct attention, in all that time I will probably only end up spending 15-30 minutes directly interacting with him with the odd head scratch in between. Then I also have to spend time with Harlie, she isn't even tame yet and I try to spend several short intervals with her, talking to her and giving her treats. I certainly wouldn't be able to supervise them and 3 dogs running around, I wouldn't have time to train one dog to leave the parrot alone, let alone 3 of them. My boyfriend helps loads by doing probably 90% of the cooking and cleaning, cleaning the parrots out when I'm really busy with college work and giving them one on one attention in the evenings. Right now I really cant imagine doing a proper university course cuz I'm really struggling with level 3 work, it's not so much the works hard but the volume is huge, the work gets harder on year 2 as well so I don't know what will happen there.

Anyway my point is don't underestimate how much work it will be, you don't want your parrot to be stuck in your room all the time nor do you want any accidents because you cannot suprvise the 100% Personally I think your going to really struggle to do uni, look after your 3 dogs and keep your relationship on track. I'm not going to say don't get a bird but I would definitely hold fire until your well into your course and you know how much 'free time' you will have.
Good luck.

[jaimmorr]

marie83- Thank you very much for your reply! I agree with you. I think I should wait and see how much time I have. I honestly believe I will have time, but you never know. I have already done a year of college, two years ago. And I has PLENTY of free time then. But I understand that it may change. My dogs are already pretty well trained, but not with a bird. My Chihuahua knows over 40 commands and the other two know the basic commands. I train them every day because I just hate dogs that aren't well behaved lol. I plan on spending time at the bird store an hour away getting used to the birds and I also have friends with birds that I plan on spending time with. I also have to save up money and buy supplies before even thinking about getting a bird. I think by the time I am ready, I will already be enrolled in classes and will have an idea of how much free time I have.

Thank you all again!

[Katz]

I am actually also in the process of getting a Meyers, and my baby will be ready in may. I agree with people that using scented products is really a bad idea, whenever possible, you can use candles when you are home and spraying essential oils like Lavender oil on carpets and what not to help with smell.

I also have a big dog (a husky) and with proper training and very very close supervision you can get dogs to repect birds and to even get along with them. After a long time, my cockatiel which passed away used to hang out on the carpet with me and the dog and would walk up too find him and chew on his nails. Of course, you can not do this unless you are right next to them to hold the dog back just in case.

Regarding that cage, it is an alright cage but I would try to find something larger. I got my soon to be Meyers this cage...http://www.thebirdcagedepot.com/media/c ... 3223_1.jpg

It is an A&E cage, model RY3223. It is very tall and is 32" x 23". The bigger the better, especially if you will be away a lot, so you can give it foraging toys and things to keep itself busy. Even though that cage suits the minimum size requirements it is not recommended to go by the minimum.

Also, so that I could teach people to learn from my mistake, please rid your home of any Teflon cookware before getting a bird. Overheated Teflon-coated pots and pans, as well as other items like some toasters and even hair driers, will let out Teflon gas into the air, and this was responsible for my cockatiel's death. If they inhale it, they can not cough out, and the Teflon gas will make their lungs hemmorage and bleed out.

I hope you have fun getting all the stuff ready, as I am having a blast. It is so much fun preparing for a new pet, and I wish you tons of luck with your decision!

[jaimmorr]

Katz- Thanks for your reply! You CAN use candles and have a bird? In another room? I know of a place that sells soy candles, would that be any better?

Don't worry, I plan on getting rid of all of our Teflon products and buying alternatives. I'm sorry for what happened to your bird. Stainless steel products are safe for birds, correct?

I very much like that cage! The only problem that I have with getting a big cage is that I'm afraid I won't have space in my apartment. It's pretty small and there's actually only one spot in the whole place that I can fit a bird cage. It can only be up to 26" depth wise. The width/length/height doesn't matter, though. If anyone could point me to a good cage site so I can start searching, that'd be great!

Congrats on getting your baby in May! I can definitely say that I will have LOTS of fun preparing for my bird.

[jaimmorr]

What about this cage:

http://www.aecageco.com/product.cgi?gro ... duct=43582


I quite like that one! If that one would work with a Meyer's, I am all for it!

By the way, price is NOT an issue what so ever. I can afford pretty much anything lol.

[cheebamaster]

Hi jaimmorr,

I am also a full time student at a University and find that I have plenty of time to spend with my cockatoo. It may be a difficult change, but you should definitely rid of any scented candles and fabreeze. Birds aren't domesticated so there's plenty of harmful thing to their lungs that we would never think of. As far as the dogs are concerned, it shouldn't be too big of a deal. If you are in charge of your dogs and they listen to you because of training/alpha role then they'll be fine around the bird eventually so long as you're tough with them. I have a German Shepherd and she is actually scared of my cockatoo haha

One thing I would suggest however is getting a decent cage. I ordered this one off of ebay and the TOO is currently using it and it worked out GREAT for the price. It's very spacious and very affordable and the playtop is sweet! http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-x31-x70-Larg ... 35b932049a