Parakeet and Newborn Infants

Hi. I've had 4 parakeets for 8 years now and they are my babies. I love them so much. My mother in law isnt a pet person and continues to badger me to give them away cause aviaries causes disease and are unsanitary but I refused because i keep them clean and I never had a problem with them. She doesnt even live with me and hates on them. Fast forward now, Im pregnant with my first and she is using my baby as an excuse to get rid of them. I love these little birds but i feel like im being judged as a bad mom if i dont. Does anyone have any infant and new borns in their homes and have budgies. Are they really that problematic beacuse i never had a problem with them in the past. Please give me some advice. Thanks

I'm not a parent, but my youngest sister is 3, and she wasn't even born when I had my first bird. My budgies weren't a problem with her while she was an infant.

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I don't understand why people think birds are so dirty and disease ridden if they have diligent owners who clean and care for them. I had BIG parrots hanging out on my crib checking me out as a newborn (my mom has photos). They couldn't wait to see what the new screaming thing was. Parrots, big and small, tend to like children. I grew up around them my whole life. I grew up into a functioning adult in a house full of big, rambunctious parrots (even got bit a few times). You don't have to get rid of your birds because you're having a baby. Your MIL's perceptions and opinions are her own and quite frankly not your problem. She has a right to "judge" and you have the right to IGNORE that judgement, which would be what I'd suggest doing. If it were my MIL and she kept at it, I'd have hubby try to talk to her first and if that wasn't effective, I'd tell her to stuff it myself.

Thanks so much i needed to hear that. Ive had them for a while but im not as knowledgable with them when it comes to infants. Do you suggest i take them to the vet to have them diagnoised if they carried disease? do you know if there a cage or better way to care of them to keep them clean. So far i have a large cage with a seed net on them to catch the seeds and feathers.

I think it couldn't hurt to take them for a well bird checkup at a avian vet just to be safe. Chances are though, if they have never been sick and have never been exposed to new birds, they probably aren't disease carriers. It may put your MILs mind at ease as well if they get a clean bill of health from the vet and given their age and species, they are older birds now so it would probably put your mind at ease as well to know their healthy or if one/all might need some special care as seniors.

Depending on your current cleaning routine, just be diligent with keeping their area sanitary. Probably will need to vacuum more once your kid is walking and also to keep their cage up high or behind a baby gate to prevent a kid from accidentally knocking over the cage or sticking fingers in and getting nipped or putting things in the cage that aren't bird safe. Stuff like that, but it wouldn't be an immediate concern before your baby arrives. You may also want to get a little air purifier for their area to suck in any dander they put off, which could possibly be irritating to a newborn like in an allergen way (though I never had allergies to birds growing up around them).

Good idea is to take all 4 of your feathered kids to a Certified Avian Vet for wellness checkups. Instruct the vet to do full run of tests. It will a) Shut your MIL up ! and b) be an excellent baseline to have, in case one of your feather kids ever does get sic or hurt.

Budgies can carry diseases, but in your case, my only concern would be the baby becoming upset from the budgies' vocalisations. In my opinion, cats and dogs (but mostly cats) are far more likely to make a child sick. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but cats are filthy. Their mouths are toxic, and most of them have this parasite that infects the brain (forget what it's called. All I know is that it causes risk taking behaviour or violence or something in humans).

No offense taken here on cats

The likelihood of your newborn turning age 5, going to kindergarten and coming home with something your birds might be susceptible to is much more likely than your bird giving the baby anything. If the birds are healthy theres no "vector" for an illness to get to them, unless they are around a lot of other birds.

Besides when babies are first born they share all your antibodies.

the odds of a human picking up a disease from a bird are insanely low,. If it were common for us to get sick from them our species wouldn't be around right now. Think how big a problem H1N1 was, that was purely because it was a virus that jumped between species.

Your mother in law is more likely to make the baby sick, so follow her advise and remove the risk to the baby by telling her where to go!

I think the biggest danger your budgies pose to your baby is they may grow up into a crazy bird person! That and minor nips haha

LordTriggs said:

the odds of a human picking up a disease from a bird are insanely low,. If it were common for us to get sick from them our species wouldn't be around right now. Think how big a problem H1N1 was, that was purely because it was a virus that jumped between species.

Your mother in law is more likely to make the baby sick, so follow her advise and remove the risk to the baby by telling her where to go!

I think the biggest danger your budgies pose to your baby is they may grow up into a crazy bird person! That and minor nips haha

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ok, this makes me happy! <3

wrench13 said:

Instruct the vet to do full run of tests. It will a) Shut your MIL up !.....

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Do you really think this is possible?

Flboy said:

wrench13 said:

Instruct the vet to do full run of tests. It will a) Shut your MIL up !.....

Click to expand...

Do you really think this is possible?

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agreed with fiboy, she very much sounds like one of "THOSE" people expecting the world to bend to their every whim

The "bean dip" solution for any and all MIL issues.

"No, I will not be getting rid of my birds. Have some bean dip."

"We've discussed this before. Have some bean dip."

Politely but firmly tell her no and redirect the conversation. You are the parent, you make the decisions, not her. If she continues with it, "MIL, we have talked about this repeatedly. If you cannot respect my boundaries, we will have to spend less time with you."

It might sound harsh but clearly this woman isn't respecting your boundaries and decisions. If she's like this about the birds, imagine what other constant unwelcome input she will give about your baby.

Signed, had some MIL and kid issues of my own.

[ame="https://youtu.be/bD0Yav3V2D0"]The Mother-in-Law Song - YouTube[/ame]

tashawithanekkie said:

The "bean dip" solution for any and all MIL issues.

"No, I will not be getting rid of my birds. Have some bean dip."

"We've discussed this before. Have some bean dip."

Politely but firmly tell her no and redirect the conversation. You are the parent, you make the decisions, not her. If she continues with it, "MIL, we have talked about this repeatedly. If you cannot respect my boundaries, we will have to spend less time with you."

It might sound harsh but clearly this woman isn't respecting your boundaries and decisions. If she's like this about the birds, imagine what other constant unwelcome input she will give about your baby.

Signed, had some MIL and kid issues of my own.

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Its funny she came back to my house and ask me when are you going to get rid of the birds. I send never and told her they are a part of my family... if she brings it up again I may just snap and also tell her exactly what you said. My birds are my first babies and No one has the right to treat them like that. Anyways. thanks for all the input guys! =)

Good for you for standing your ground on this. There is just no conceivable reason you need to get rid of your birds for the safety or health of your baby. Hopefully putting your foot down right now will stop or lessen other intrusive opinions she may have about your child in the future! If she brings it up again, remind her the stress SHE is subjecting you to is worse for your baby than your birds are!