does keeping a rat and a bird as a pet pose any threat?

[LyzGrace]

Rats and hamsters are a pretty poor comparison, as I've had both. Our hamsters got out CONSTANTLY and my rat never did. Also, like entranced said, rats are extremely tame, sweet and intelligent for the most part (how do you think so many are classroom pets?). Even if your rat did get out, unless it was close to starving I highly doubt it would care at all about your birds, much less something the size of a conure. I suppose in the wild a rat might harm babies in a nest, but I'm having a hard time imagining a rat eating a bird... maybe I just need to do my research...

At any rate, I would definitely keep them in two separate rooms initially, wash up before and after handling both of them, etc. Your concern of disease is the one I would give the most credit- if after a few week "quarantine" the rat's doing okay in your house you might not have to take such precautions.

Way to take in rescues, btw I hope you have fun with it!

[Michael]

It is my observation that bird people who don't much care for other animals stress the dangers of having different species in the same house whereas people who have multiple pets report serious incidents a tiny fraction of the time. Yes it can happen, but so can a whole host of other accidents.

I believe there is a fundamental difference between inanimate risk factors and animal risk factors. For example keeping a flighted parrot in a home can be considered highly risky. However, with proper bird proofing and good management the risks can be minimized (of course other people pose a huge threat but the owner can assess this and cage the bird when necessary). But with another animal involved which has instincts or at least capabilities of doing harm are beyond the owner's control. No matter how predictable and well behaved the animal normally is, it is independent enough to change that one time for it to prove lethal.

I would say that if the owner can always cage one animal while interacting with the other, as well as insuring one animal cannot wander up to the enclosure of the other, the risk can be as low as the other ones we minimize. However, once you get to the point where one or both animals are out in the same room, the danger is serious.

I don't think Kathleen is suggesting it is impossible to have multiple animals, however, taking the full precautions is so difficult and it doesn't appear that most people do. Many people will say their cat or dog knows better than to eat their bird and it is this thinking that increases the risk tenfold. Relying on training and behavior management may be 99% effective. However, over the lifespan of the cat/parrot it is likely to happen at some point if they spend time out in the same environment daily.

For example in the case of a rat, all it would take is for the rat to get loose/lost in the house to give it the opportunity to corner the bird in the cage at night and chew right through it. In some ways this is a worse risk than a cat and bird strictly kept in separate rooms cause it is almost without doubt that the rat can squeeze/chew its way into the bird's cage. But in the open of a room, carnivorous pets such as cats and dogs are a greater threat to a parrot (especially a clipped one).

So I will agree with you that it's possible to make precautions well enough (like we flighted owners make to prevent parrots from escaping) that it is acceptable. But even well intentioned people with good precautions risk parrots flying out or other pets barging in and attacking. However, worst of all is that I think many owners rely on the feelings they project on their animals rather than physical barriers and precautions.

[TheNzJessie]

Adding a pet that will eat your bird just multiplies the amount of danger your birds are in, whether you intend for them to interact or not. Accidents can always happen no matter how many precautions we take, but this is an accident that can be prevented by not having other dangerous pets.

the same could be said for having a flighted bird.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I believe there is a fundamental difference between inanimate risk factors and animal risk factors. For example keeping a flighted parrot in a home can be considered highly risky. However, with proper bird proofing and good management the risks can be minimized

Personally, I'm coming to believe that the one thing that is the most risky to our parrots is the one thing we have least control over and that's the parrot itself. The things they are likely to get into trouble with, be they inanimate, animal or human, are almost impossible to completely eliminate, so in all those cases we do our best and accept a certain amount of risk.

I obviously haven't done a serious study of the issue, but I read various forums, magazines and books and I would think if keeping a multiple pet household was ten times more dangerous than keeping a birds-only household, I'd see at least ten times more reports of incidents, but that isn't so. Again, I've not tried to do a head count, but it seems to me there are actually more people with multiple animal households than bird only ones, so that would tend to skew the results even further in the direction of seeing incidents reported.

Yes, one should take some additional precautions when one has cats and dogs roaming the house. But you don't need to turn the place into Fort Knox either. While I agree that you shouldn't take the good nature of your pets for granted, this idea that predatory instincts are there like the devil on the left shoulder just waiting for an opportunity to overrule the angel on the right shoulder is misconceived. I think it is no more likely (and no less likely) that my 14 year old cat is going to suddenly pounce on Scooter than it is that Scooter will suddenly fly down to Ariel and peck his eye out. Either of those things COULD happen but neither is very likely. One does get to know one's animals and to read their moods. This is not anthropomorphizing or projecting onto the animal -- if Nikki slinks into the office in a stalking posture, I know I should shoo her out, but if Ariel comes into the office and rubs against my leg asking for petting, I can also be pretty confident he's not got hunting birds on his mind. Maybe someone unfamiliar with cats wouldn't see the difference, but they aren't completely unpredictable killing machines, they really aren't.

I think Roz hit the nail on the head a while back, and it's something we all have to kind of learn to accept. It went something like, "You worry a long list of things to death and the thing that does them in wasn't on the list".

[captwest]

I think Roz hit the nail on the head a while back, and it's something we all have to kind of learn to accept. It went something like, "You worry a long list of things to death and the thing that does them in wasn't on the list"

Oh so true.

[kaylayuh]

I think Roz hit the nail on the head a while back, and it's something we all have to kind of learn to accept. It went something like, "You worry a long list of things to death and the thing that does them in wasn't on the list".

I definitely agree with this. We spend so much time worrying about some things, that other things are often overlooked. For instance, I recently began looking at the dangers of rope toys and my birds. So many people have horror stories of birds getting their toes caught or eating the cotton. I was so worried about paying attention to the obvious danger that I never even considered thinking about the danger of the feeder doors and having a leg band get caught on the door.

If you know your pets and take reasonable precautions to prevent any kind of accident, I don't think there's any reason why you can't have a multiple species household. I currently don't have one because my apartment is too small to do so effectively, but I will have one in the future as my boyfriend has cats, dogs, a snake and various creepy crawlies. At that point, because I know one of the cats actively does hunt, I will take every precaution to prevent any interaction between the two.

If you're committed to having a mutiple species household, I don't think there's a huge problem. Reasonable precautions should be taken to protect everyone involved obviously, but I don't think it's something to stress so much over.

[patdbunny]

I had two rats waaaaayyyyyyy back when at the same time I had my first conure and two tiels. Rats are crazy smart. They really are more like dogs than hamsters. My two rats lived on an old bookcase and were not actually "enclosed" or "contained". So long as their needs were met, they never jumped off or anything. I only recall one of them jumping off the bookcase once. They used a shoe box litter box. Tame rats don't generally get "lost" - they can learn to come when called. They're so smart and social that they are actually very easy to train and they're very responsive.

Wash your hands and practice good hygiene and you should be fine.

[zazanomore]

I had two rats waaaaayyyyyyy back when at the same time I had my first conure and two tiels. Rats are crazy smart. They really are more like dogs than hamsters. My two rats lived on an old bookcase and were not actually "enclosed" or "contained". So long as their needs were met, they never jumped off or anything. I only recall one of them jumping off the bookcase once. They used a shoe box litter box. Tame rats don't generally get "lost" - they can learn to come when called. They're so smart and social that they are actually very easy to train and they're very responsive.

Wash your hands and practice good hygiene and you should be fine.

[Dbeguy]

A great deal has been made of the dangers a rat/parrot household. I'd like to bring up possible Advantages

I met someone who had a few rats and a . She kept the cages in the same room and maintains that they were part of the "flock". Though they weren't out together at any point. I could see some value in this. (though I'm a novice) in the following ways.

1) the rats would be something for a bird to watch and not get lonely or bored.
2) I would imagine a way of negative reinforcement could be paying more attention to the rats and play on jealousy
3) Generally they eat the same things (they can eat at the same time) reinforcing the "flock mentality"
4) They sell rat balls for rodents. This would allow some interaction

Of course it allows one to judge their interactions. Why wouldn't close supervision under these circumstances be okay?

REMEMBER: I do not own a parrot or a rat yet. I am here to educate myself. Please respond to my thoughts! especially if you disagree. I will appreciate and consider anything any forum members have to say.

[Dbeguy]

I personally think that this following clip was done very well. I naturally distrust all of the "Parrot & (blank) are friends" youtube videos out there. this seems far more realistic.



The parrot & rat had been kept apart. Neither was forced on the other. the Regent Parrot is able to fly away if he/she feels threatened. The rat cannot easily approach the parrot. The owner taping this is close enough to deal with nonsense. Now if the parrot is visibly frightened or agressive, I would never have had them out at the same time.