For those who work full time and have only one caged parrot

[liz]

I connected the cage Cagney and Lacy came with to my flight cage by lining up the doors. The smaller cage has short perches with each having it's own toy. It has helped wall stretch and was just a quick fix until I put the others together.
I am home and interacting with my pets most of the time. They are never alone or lonely because they have each other but they still need enrichment supplied by me.
I found a bird house that suction cups to glass on sale today. I plan to put it on the east side of the sunroom level with the top of Rambo and Myrtle's cage. I don't know that they will know what they are seeing but it will be something else to see.

[Cisco's Mom]

I want to jump in on this discussion.
I feel hubby and I rescued our Cisco and here us why...
The cage he was living in is or I should say was 2 feet by 2 feet and about 3 1/2 feet tall. They spent no time with him...they had kids so someone was with him through the day but they did nothing with him.
We work and Cisco is our only bird. He is now doing great.
As soon as I get home I am socializing with him. Yes we are new Too owners but I feel the huge cage and attention he gets now is so much better than the small cage and no attention from the humans that were always with him.
I sit and talk to him and I am reading a book to him while we bond and he us learning at the same time that he us safe and I reinforce with favorite foods.
So, in answer to this topic, yes I feel they can be left alone while you are working. It is a honeymoon each time I come through the door and we are together.

[liz]

I rarely leave my house. Rambo and Myrtle are not caged so I have to give them things to keep them busy while I am gone.

[Wolf]

I know that I posted a similar article a short time back, but this is in response to anyone who thinks that it is ok for a parrot to be alone.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 221746.htm

[Pajarita]

Yes, that, I am sure, it's going to be the first of many studies on the subject and it certainly makes the point clear. But, personally, I did not need the scientific confirmation, Nature evolved social animals to need others of their own species (or very similar) around them, the same way that she evolved territorial species to need a certain space around them and, we all know that depriving an animal of what nature took millions of years for them to need is not going to be in the animal's best interest. We need to become humbler and recognize that nature knows better than us.

[patti]

i work full time and i have had a jenday since july, but 2/3 of my work is from home which makes it work. i was sure that i could give her the 1-2 hours attention plus 4+ hours outside the cage each day that they "need". immediately, though, i found that this was not enough. this is not the minimum the bird needs to be happy. to be happy, she needs to be with me every single waking moment of every day. when i leave to buy groceries, even, she is upset even though she gets over it very quickly. and i live next to the grocery store.

today i was gone for six hours. she has gotten used to the schedule a bit and knew what was coming... she refused to go in her cage because sheknew i was going to leave. when i got home and opened her cage, she climbed up on top of it, ran to the back, and screamed at me for three minutes - putting her whole body into it. her pain was palpable - she felt abandoned and wanted to let me know. i do this to her only once a week (from 8-2 on sat). i couldn't imagine doing it five days a week. that kind of stress builds up and then becomes permanent, and i couldn't do that to her. its bad enough being stuck in a cage.

armed with this new information, i am working ensuring that the quality time i have with her now i can keep. i found that interaction is more important to her in the morning hours, so i switched to a night scheudule for my away-from-home activities. she doesn't seem to mind putting herself to bed in her little happy hut. also, no matter how much time i spend with her or how long the days are, she cannot handle more than 4 hours alone without getting really ruffled. so i leave for four hours or less. basically, i have been learning from her what she needs and then arranging to give that to her.

[liz]

It amazes me how they know what time it is. My dogs know when it is 3 pm and 8 pm because they get treats at that time they mob me to remind me.
If the dogs know then a parrot would be even more up on it.
So you adjusted your schedule to suit your baby. That is great.
I heard a saying once that stuck in my mind though I can't remember from where. A baby conforms to no one, all conform to it.

[Pajarita]

Ahhh, Patti, you are a lady after my own heart! I do the same thing I don't work but I do have to run errands, go visit people or whatever and I always make sure I do it when it's the most convenient for them so it's either at night or at noon when they take their rest/nap. My in-laws live 3 hours away and they know that, during the winter, when the days are so short, they will have to come and visit me because I can't leave the birds for so many hours.