Moving Drama!

Ok, so we moved. Very last minute, to a town very close by, a much smaller house.
We went from:
1600sq ft to 650sq ft
3 large bedrooms to 2 small bedrooms
10 large closets (including two walk in and one huge linen) to 2.5 small closets
2 bathrooms to 1 bathroom
2 large patios, a carport, and a small shed and big yard to one tiny 6th floor patio
full kitchen and laundry room to tiny kitchen with laundry in it...
etc etc. its a big deal. It's stressful. The birds are stressed, the dog is stressed, the cat is stressed, and we are stressed. Even my aquarium is stressed. But it's fine.

Oh, and Bill 51 tried to make it illegal for me to have birds in my new house AFTER I moved into it....

But Tucson seems to have lost his appetite. still eating, but I think he isnt sleeping well. Im really trying to nail down a schedule to help him adjust.

And the other birds are LOUD. like, really loud, and typically my flock has been quiet, which is why I thought it would be ok to move into a 6th floor condo in a state where EVERYONE has their windows open. And I mean all windows, all day. This building has no AC, no place for window units, and no ceiling fans. My birds are in the "master bedroom" which means they are FEET from people trying to sleep in the morning.

Oh, did I mention they have wall to wall floor to ceiling east facing windows? Yeah im pretty excited about the health benefits of that! But it makes it hard to hide the noise. And I want to be a good neighbor. Even though Im PRETTY SURE my neighbors dont know the noise isnt wild birds, I still want to be polite. Especially on the heels of bill 51!!

So...
I got black out curtains, and moved the cages forward far enough that each night I can close the windows and the curtains to limit noise and sunlight. My plan is to postpone "sunrise" until 8am on weekdays, 9 am on weekends. After that they can sing. Everyone also ran out of toys all at the same time, right as I decided they needed EXTRA toys during the transition. Also, this neighborhood is not quiet, so they are taking time to adjust to all the new noises, which of course make them all yell.

Also, my dog thought that the patio, which has carpet, was outside. So he used it as outside. And I cleaned it with some special urine cleaner, but that area bakes in the sun every morning all morning; my whole house reeks of urine! The wind blows it in! And I KNOW other people can smell it We are all packed in here so tight I doubt they can tell where it comes from but I CAN and it smells BAD!

Anyway, we JUST got internet a few minutes ago. today i'm supposed to get my screen up in the patio so my birds wont fly away by accident, but I have not been able to log on and I missed you guys

I need a cigarette and a drink after reading that... And I don't smoke or drink. I hope it gets better very soon!

Is it possible to get one of the air conditioner s that dont need a window?

Potentially, but mostly I am just thinking for noise purposes if my neighbors had noise AC units I would be happy I dont think we want to pay the Hawaii electric bills for a portable AC.

Aw, sorry everyone is having such a rough transition. Hope you can get everyone settled in soon!

Newbsi said:

I need a cigarette and a drink after reading that... And I don't smoke or drink. I hope it gets better very soon!

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Hahaha I was thinking the,same thing. Well not the cig but a nice glass of red wine... Yum...

SilverSage said:

Potentially, but mostly I am just thinking for noise purposes if my neighbors had noise AC units I would be happy I dont think we want to pay the Hawaii electric bills for a portable AC.

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Wow..... You last post was a stressful read. I hope it gets better and you all get settled. You won't get into trouble will you with e birds?

Wow, when reading your post, I had a flashback of when I moved with my birds a few years ago, after ten years in our old home. Fortunately, we moved to a house actually a bit bigger, so it was easier for the humans. My birds did what yours are doing, acted disoriented, insecure (lots of flock calling going on), woke early, were super loud (nervous loud, too), didn't eat well, were cranky and edgy. Most of them slowly adjusted, but not the Grey. He's actually never been the same (when he opened his eyes for the first time, it was at the other house, the only home he'd ever known, so moving for him, a sensitive bird on a good day, was especially difficult). Most of the other birds quickly adjusted, and I'm sure yours will, too. I have to admit I find you quite brave to live so close to others with so many birds. I hope it will be okay for you and you end up having neighbors that love the birds and enjoy them. Hoping for a happy update soon. Good luck!

In our last home, a duplex, my birds called with the sun rising and setting, and not other than that unless breakfast was late or something freaked them out. And even then, none of them have the voices that most people associate with parrots, and we have QUITE loud wild birds around, so I figured we would be just fine. Lol, now I feel like an idiot...

Oh that's a bummer. We're not military so I'm not exactly sure how that works but could you get someplace else to live like the west side, Nanakuli, Waianae (Waianae valley) or Makaha? People are pretty much no care out here and they make their noise. Of course, I still worry with that stupid bill and haviing a Jenday and Sunday and also Duncan's unfortunate mimicking impression of them both while he's outside.

We own our home, but that doesn't say too much when they build them right on top of each like they do, they might as well be row houses!

I don't put the conures outside, they stay in a air conditioned room...not ideal but what can you do? when you have bird haters here.

All kinds of noise pollution yet they focus on birds! Crazy!

Dani, I'm sorry . I hope and pray for you that things will work out, and if not, that you'll
have a smooth transition yet somewhere else?

Have you tried something like Nature's Miracle or another enzyme type of pet mess cleaner? I think that will neutralize the dog urine odor if you saturate the area with it. I wish you all the best with EVERYTHING.

Look on the bright side... You have a place to live....

I know I'm sorry moving sucks. Stress sucks. And it sounds like your birdies agree with me.

Hopefully everyone adjusts and it becomes home very soon!

MyFlock said:

Oh that's a bummer. We're not military so I'm not exactly sure how that works but could you get someplace else to live like the west side, Nanakuli, Waianae (Waianae valley) or Makaha? People are pretty much no care out here and they make their noise. Of course, I still worry with that stupid bill and haviing a Jenday and Sunday and also Duncan's unfortunate mimicking impression of them both while he's outside.

We own our home, but that doesn't say too much when they build them right on top of each like they do, they might as well be row houses!

I don't put the conures outside, they stay in a air conditioned room...not ideal but what can you do? when you have bird haters here.

All kinds of noise pollution yet they focus on birds! Crazy!

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We cant afford to live that far from where Josh works, nor can we afford the fees from breaking the lease that we just signed. It will be fine its just going to be a rough couple of weeks. Tucson is already perking up and exclaiming "Hi bird! Hi Squacky-wack!"

And if you are worried about bill 51, it has been deferred. Also, keep in mind that the bill was only proposed because for TEN YEARS a community tried to do something about a flock of well, they are saying 80-100 birds including many cockatoos and macaws. Sooo.... don't get too nervous

RavensGryf said:

Dani, I'm sorry . I hope and pray for you that things will work out, and if not, that you'll
have a smooth transition yet somewhere else?

Have you tried something like Nature's Miracle or another enzyme type of pet mess cleaner? I think that will neutralize the dog urine odor if you saturate the area with it. I wish you all the best with EVERYTHING.

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Things will be fine. I am working on finding some new homes for some of my little fosters, which will help, and in the end I honestly think I am way more sensitive to the noise because I KNOW they are mine.

I actually have spent about $60 on Natures Miracles, the urine specific one, and it has taken the smell out only when it isnt baking in the sun. So the afternoons are fine and the mornings are RANK. Anyway, I think Im going to spray the whole area with water and vinegar and then dump baking soda over the whole thing, let it dry, and vacuum it up. Fingers crossed.

I hope things work out for you. I once moved from a two bed one bath with a basement and backyard to a studio apartment...luckily it had a walk in closet otherwise I wouldn't have had a place to go when I was mad..lol.

Dani, I'm sorry you've had such a stressful move. It's not easy to fit everything into a smaller space. Hopefully things will calm down and your new home will feel cozy rather than cramped.

First of all let me say from the start that I do not mean anything negative by what I'm about to say.

For Pete's sake...you are in Hawaii. When ever I would visit Hawaii I would think birds. They are everywhere I went. I loved it. That might be why squawking parrots don't really bother me.

I'm sorry the move has been so stressful. I know you want to be a good neighbor but give yourself a break. I was always told - no stress in Hawaii. Relax!!

As for the urine. I think your plan to soaking it in vinegar and water and then the baking soda will probably be your best bet. You may have to replace the carpet but don't until you have tried the vinegar, water and baking soda first...several times if you have to.

gracebowen said:

Is it possible to get one of the air conditioner s that dont need a window?

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We looked into this, but the portable AC units need a safe place to vent hot air, and there isnt really one in this set up.

update: All but 4 of the fosters have found homes. I just have two tiels and two budgies left. The rest of the birds have settled in really well and quieted WAY down, to the point they are now allowed their natural sunrise and sunset, since their morning calls have adjusted to be more in tune with when the wild birds are calling, and once they get fed they mostly shut up Everyone is back on their feed, and Phoenix has stopped alarm calling twice per hour, thank God!

The cat has settled in, and aside from confusing my now house plants with the litter box, he is being an excellent little cat. The dog, however, is still exhibiting random acts of rebellion. At first we thought it was a bladder infection, but now we think we are seeing his water compulsion return from his time in the shelter where he went a week without water in GA in the summer, so we are limiting his water to scheduled access and trying to keep a good potty schedule.

It took way longer than I had hoped to get the screen up, and we are still trying to come up with a solution for one of the windows that is missing a piece so that I can safely have Titan out in the living room since he is 100% flighted and has never been clipped. I have other flighted birds but they are either velcro birds or too big to fit through; Titan is just way too fearless for me to trust him in the main area until that is fixed.

I myself have had a hard time adjusting, as very soon after we moved in I almost witnessed a murder, and was with the victim until the ambulance arrived, and all the other gory nasty things that went along with that whole situation. Now every time someone drops something big down the trash shoot or makes any other kind of crashing noise, I jump out of my skin, sure deep down in my gut that someone has just been thrown off the building again, and every time I hear fighting and yelling (pretty often) I want to call the cops. But I am trying to work through that, and not let it effect my family or flock.

Thank you all for your support! I love this community!

AWWW wish I could be there in person to have a cup of coffee with you. I hope things work out for you..sounds like you need a friend...or maybe it's just me lol