Greetings from Georgia!

[Hails]

Hello everyone, feel free to call me Hailey or Hails! Just moved to the Georgia area with my parents and our zoo. We have three female toy poodles, Abby, Annie, and Chloe; two male ferrets, Boogie and Bear; two Red-Cheeked Cordon Bleu finches, Romeo and Juliet; and a leopard gecko called Grumpybutt.

Growing up, my mother always kept birds in the house and I'm actually missing the little sounds they make. So once I get a steady job and move out (with a dog, ferrets, and gecko) I'd like to add a feathered friend to the house! We kept cockatiels, an Indian Ringneck, and a Quaker along with lovebirds and a flock of finches but I never got along with the Quaker or Ringneck at all. I loved my cockatiel, Buddy, but he was more happy doing his own thing than actually playing with me which is what I want in a bird.

I'm currently torn between the Pois and a Green-Cheeked Conure but it'll be a few years until I bring one home so I'm just going to do my research cause birds are a pretty big commitment. I'd like to get my baby from a breeder or an adoption agency so if anyone has any recommendations... ;D I used to work at PetSmart and all our larger birds were way overpriced not to mention clipped and fed mostly seeds or pellets. I'm hoping to go back to the company as a pet care associate and work my way up to manager and there will be fresh foods for all! I mean, I'm even trying to get my stubborn ferrets on a raw diet cause kibble is full of junk and I assume pellets are the same way.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum Hails.

You do have a zoo. I do too. Instead of a Grumpybutt, my daughter has a Skittles Iguana who thinks I am part of the breakfast I serve her.

[Hails]

They're all easy to take care of once you get a routine. The lizard and finches especially since they don't require handling. Been trying to get the finches eating their greens and off an all-seed diet and so far they apparently think I'm a horrible cook. They won't touch the eggfood I made nor the mustard green I hung up. Good thing I'm more stubborn than they are!

The ferrets are litter trained and get a few hours out a day in their playpen to act up and be insane. When I move out, I want them to have free roam or at least a whole room to themselves. I'm not worried about them not getting along with a bird because first of all, they can't climb, and they'd be in their cage while the bird was out. I'm not going to take any chances if the ferrets decide that the bird will be the best toy ever and try to hide it under my bed (like countless socks and my flip flops.)

Really excited cause next month there's gonna be a bird expo and I'm hoping to buy a nice flight cage for the finches along with some fresh seeds and millet! And of course take a peek at all the parrots that will be there. If anyone else is there I'd love to meet your pretty birds!

[liz]

Try juicy fruit for the birds. You might be able to get them on veggies from that direction.

What do you mean ferrets don't climb. Like everthing else mine were free run. I found them in the top of my closet. Of course I only found them because they were giggling.

[Hails]

Well my ferrets are too busy wrestling and playing in their tunnel to worry about getting up in high places. Besides, unless they can climb up a wall, there's not much to give them a lift in my closet, haha! And I meant that a caged bird wouldn't need to worry about a ferret climbing on top of their cage like a cat would.

We do have some nice pears from my aunt's backyard that I'll chop up for them. I offered them a few mealworms and I'm pretty sure they're chowing down. I'm trying to get them on a modified Green Day Diet only with more emphasis on sprouted seeds than the eggfood since mine aren't breeders nor do they live in an aviary. Any fruit they do eat is going to be more of a treat than a meal for them.