How much individual time does your bird get?

I have been wondering how other people handle multi-bird flocks and still give one-on-one attention. How much individual time does each bird get with you, and how much just out of cage time?
Be honest! The reality, not your ideal.

Bogart's day starts with breakfast pellets , carrots, almond or peanut, maybe a bite of what I'm having (eggs, toast with peanut butter) then maybe 10 minutes of out of cage time with me before I go off to work. Then maybe 30min of out of cage time at lunch ,back off to work I go . Back from work between 4:30 and 6 pm out of cage time on my shoulder for an hour or two (trips to Home depot or Lowes) 7:00 to 7:30 nite nite time covered until tomorrow. Weekends more out of cage time if I'm not working, we love flea markets so we can people watch.

My birds get to come out of their cages in the morning when I uncover them (after their morning poop of course I don't need that mess to clean up) They'll come out, I'll share some of what I have with them, they'll go back in their cages and get their breakfast and fresh water, I'll leave and go to class for a couple hours, come home and do some readings/papers/homework (with them put away or else they'll eat my school work), spend more time with them, go to work most days 3-10, come home, spend some time with them, and then it's beddy bye time.

Most times I start out with the 2 conures out at the same time, put one away, offer the one who went away some snacks, play/snuggle with the one who's out and switch to the other. Only one of my budgies is hand friendly so I take him out and we spend a lot of time talking together. He loves to talk to my nose lol

Mac comes out around 10 am. He gets fed around 0800 but hangs out in his cage for a bit.

Hangs out on his play perch, gets some kind of lunch, may go in his cage for an hour or 2. Back out until around 7 P.M. and back in the cage for the night.

Mine get woken up around seven am, they get put out on the porch - completely loose with each other - until around 5-6 pm then they hang out with us. Rome gets most of the one on one attention but thats cuz Roc doestn really want to be touched. I do try to do short individual training sessions everyday. They eat dinner around 8p and they get put up in their sleep cages for the night. The only time they are ever caged is at night.

Both parrots don't really wake up or move around until 7:30 or 8 a.m. They are usually out of their cages at roughly 5:30 p.m. and remain out until 9 p.m. I try to spend about 15 minutes with each parrot in another room (within sight of the other though). Those 15 minutes are spent doing training sessions - mostly just step up - get a treat - step down or just hanging out with me. I've learned on weekends that they like to nap in the middle of the day - they are REALLY cranky then!

That's a great question for a thread. I have one birdy, but am thinking of bringing home another and have wondered how people handle it. It must be really hard to manage if the two birds don't like each other. Pritti's cage is always open unless he's alone in the house, maybe 5 - 6 hours one day a week, and then a couple hours at a time 2 or 3 days a week.

Personal time is about an hour one to one in the morning, then at least another hour one to one in the evening after dinner. And, most days many many times in contact with me during the day for kisses, hellos, snacks, or to move him from one play area to another, fresh water, etc.

We have 4 'keets & 5 parrots. It probably isn't much different than people who have several children.

Two of the 'keets (the Linnies) are former breeders and are not hand-tame. They have 1/2 of a double-wide flight cage. When I first got them, I tried to give them 'out' time, but they are terrified of being handled and got scared & scurried under furniture or behind books to hide, when out of the cage. So they stay in their cage & I talk to them as I pass & sometimes sit near them to chat. So they don't get much individual attention & I think they're grateful - they've got each other, and that seems to be enough for them. But the male has learned to talk, so I think they do like the limited interaction with me, too.

The two young budgies in the other half of the flight cage get "out to fly" time early in the morning, most mornings. They follow me to the kitchen & supervise me fixing the parrots' breakfast, sit on my head or shoulder and sing to me & otherwise enjoy themselves. But I can't trust them to be out when the big birds are out because the budgies would just get themselves into trouble! Their flight cage is in my office, where Cookie-the-cockatoo also lives right now, along with day-perches for the macaw and one of the amazons. So I slip some scrambled egg to Cookie, the cockatoo, while the little guys are out, but don't uncover his cage because I don't want budgie toes exposed to cockatoo beak!

When the budgies are back in their cage, Cookie gets uncovered & the other 4 birds (1 macaw, 2 amazons, 2 Grey) come out to their day-perches for breakfast. and I alternate attention, depending on who needs it.

For example, PaulE/yellow crowned amazon, sits on a java tree behind my chair in the living room. He often chirps softly for attention & I pick him up & hold him while watching TV or working on the computer. Goose-the-greenwing is in my office & he lets me know when he needs attention, usually by saying something. Then I visit with him and we sing and dance and talk. Or I give him a bath. And I divide time between the living room & office (which are only separated by an archway).

Kiwi-the-Panama amazon is a great conversationalist & while he doesn't crave my attention the way Goose and PaulE do, he is very interested in what I'm doing and will follow me, saying, uh-huh . . . yeah . . . little! and generally supervise what I am doing. He also sings the high notes when Goose and I are having a song fest.

Gilbert-the-Greyt requires more attention, but wants it from my husband. If he wants my attention, he will either fly to the top of the drapes or try to engage me in conversation. Usually he starts with, "What are you doing?" and when I tell him, says, "Oh" or "Seriously?"

And Cookie is still the unknown in the house (he's been here maybe 9 weeks or so), who is just starting to step-up for my husband. He is very quiet for a cockatoo, for the most part. And the one thing I learned quickly with Cookie is that if he screams, there is a reason & I really DO need to check out what is wrong. Sometimes he is hungry, sometimes he is sounding the alarm about something he sees out the window, and sometimes, he is trying to get the other birds' attention (or ours).

So in our house, I can't say that the bird gets individual time for a half hour or an hour or something like that. They get attention when they indicate they want or need it & sometimes a quick word & pet is enough, & sometimes more time is needed. But they all are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves (thanks to their prior owners - we lucked out with our 'pre-owned' friends!) & we make sure we don't ruin that good training!

I really think that it helps that they have other birds in the same room - close enough they have a flock when the humans are gone, but far enough they have personal space. I am very aware that both Goose and PaulE claim me as their own, so I try to make sure they both get the attention they need, but not in a competitive situation. Our flock are flighted (except Cookie, who was clipped before arriving here) and there is enough space between them that they don't feel the need to defend their territories. I think the space is crucial, too.

Just like kids, it is a juggling act. But I feel like in the greater scheme of things, our birds are satisfied with the amount of companionship they get, both from us & from each other.

Our routine starts at 8AM by taking each and every one out, cuddling for about 10 minutes, and then putting them on their playstands. Cages get cleaned, fresh water, fresh food, and warm breakfast is served at 9AM.

At 11AM they all get to come out again until around 2PM. During that time I spend "alone" time with each of them by cuddling, talking, mutual preening (getting my hair done by them ), speech lessons (or not :52, walking around the house doing things together.

At 4:30PM they all come out again. I make dinner with them, party (singing to music, dancing ) and serve warm dinner at 5:30PM to them AND my dogs, lol.

The last time they come out indivually for the night-night-cuddles between 7:30-8:00PM. Lights are all out by 8:15PM.

May sound extensive, but I've got the routine down now. They all seem to love it and haven't officially put a complaint in.

KBEquine- that sounds a little like my flock, but without the big birds.
My day had been going like this so far, though I am trying to shift my day earlier. I moved from WA to FL, and am still on western time.
Uncover in the morning about 11am, say hello.
Get home about 7:00, they come out at 7:20 or so. I give about 40 minute of attention to the GCC, maybe less depending on his mood. Then he goes back to the cage wall, but not in his cage, to entertain himself. Then I will ask my linnie to step up for his attention time. Some days he takes it, other days he waits and flies over when he's ready. Somedays not at all. The cockatiel usually comes and hangs out with us about 9-9:30pm. The budgies have been doing their own thing this whole time, sometimes the EB comes and visits. I am lucky I can let all the birds out together, they get along.
10:30 or so, prepare their dinner to become breakfast in the morning, put them to bed. I started doing their breakfast as dinner because I was usually rushing to get out of the house. I'm not any more, but it's stuck.

Our birds are on a schedule of sorts,lol. Although not necessary we do cover our flock at bedtime, more to let them get used to the idea that nite nite means bedtime,alone time in the evening. They get uncovered between 7:30 and 8 am and are fed in order, the senegal first, then the cgcc, then the gcc, then the two 'tiels, then the amazon. They are checked for fresh water (all are on bottles), and left for a couple hours so that they can play, eat, enjoy birdie company alone. Around ten or 11am we bring out the flock to the family room, the senegal has his own playstand, next to where my hubby sits as he prefers him, the conures and the tiels have playgyms next to where I sit. There are two large stands and a tabletop between them. They tend to get along ok on the stands and take turns claiming the large stands, lol. The tiels seem to have more 'tood about the stands, but the gcc just pushes them out of the way if he really wants top position, lol. The amazon so far refuses to come out of the cage, rescue only been with us since July 16th so I make a point to go into the bird room three or four times a day and we do reinforcement exercises, works well, but I want to find a place in the family room for him as well, when he was in the sick cage I could put him on a side table near me and he really enjoyed the flocktime. they go back to the bird room between 3 and 4 and when bedtime comes, each gets one on one attention, food taken out of cages, scratches, kisses, depending on the bird, told night night covered and lights out. We keep full spectrum daylight in the bird room so feel it important that they get a couple hours early in the day and in the eve before bedtime. 'Tiels enjoy hanging out senegal interacts with hubby and conures play with me when they want otherwise enjoy just being birds playing with toys on stand. Lights out around 6 or 7 earlier if the day started early. I work 50 hrs a week and hubby is home all day.

I'm having much difficulty with this situation I"m glad you started this thread...I used to be able to have more birds out at once on the stand but latley they have become aggressive with each other which makes it much more difficult to have multiple birds out at once....

Rosie's days are different depending on my scheduled and what I'm going that day.

Here's the scheduled I like

I wake her up and give her a pet if she wants one. Give her new food and bring her water down stairs, wash it, and refill it. Sometimes she'll come with me as I do this. Next I use my computer or read a book as she eats. Around 11 or 12 I take her downstairs and spread a towel out on the floor, cut a small branch of the eucalyptus tree(her favorite toy) and let her shred/chew that and eat her veggies. Either before or after we do some trick training. I put her back in her cage for a bit then often take her out in her harness to petsmart, cos plus, my friends house, or just a walk around the block. After getting home she goes back in her cage for a bit and usually takes a nap. After her nap I'll either bring her downstairs and watch something as I pet her or let her stay in her cage. In the evening I sit on my computer as she eats her food and make sure she ate enough before putting her to bed.


This scheduled will move around and change depending on my own scheduled. On Monday and Thursday I have school and I'm gone from 8:30 am to 8/9pm so she's pretty much alone all day. She has a two foraging boxes and a wheel of fortune foraging toy, I also put a eucalyptus branch in her cage so she has lots to do when I'm gone. I also work a few days a week, but I'm only going for 4-6 hours.