The realities of working from home with parrots

Today is meant to be a dedicated paperwork day (hence I've forum surfing....) and it's made me lol a little inside.
I happily promote/celebrate/skite about the fact that I work from home, and as such, my parrots have cage out time, human company and a stimulating, practically perfect in every way environment.

In the interest of transparency and as a bit of a tongue in cheek warning to prospective parronts....

All four birds will not shut up. Ethyl is chirping away and usually she is pretty darn silent. The IRN's are engaged in a solid game of peek a boo and they've taught the lovebird how to whistle the dog. The dog is responding, sitting, lovingly watching the lovebird, probably awaiting a food treat that isn't going to come. There's a battle outside for the favourite nesting box for the chickens and someones just laid.

I'm holed up in my bedroom, working at my desk, considering the purchase of earplugs whilst trying to engage in the exercise of creating the framework of a learning plan for a child with sensory processing disorder...feeling in a bit of a state of overload myself.

Working from home is awesome! And the parrots do win from it....but it is still quite a mission to actually get the work done when the parrots do behave like, well, parrots!!!

:jumping40

I think it's time for coffee.

Thank you for making me smile this evening. I was feeling rather grumpy and you have helped lighten my mood.

.......yep.......

Love this!


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The more Parrots and Pets one has the more difficult it is to really get work done 'at home.' Like no one who does it hasn't figured that out yet!

There is not one method that works for everyone!

Mine has been a separate room and for a given time each day, I'm Bye, Bye - Where I am in the house or not!

The biggest problem that I have seen, is people who do not understand the need for contact calls and how important it is for us to answer and to also call out to them. Fail to understand your Parrots needs for answered contact calls is 90% of the process.

A scheduled day!!! Parrots love a day that has a schedule its something they become comfortable with and provides a level of peace in the home.

The more noise you make, the more you draw their attentions!

You have to build into your day, Parrot time!!! The Office Coffee Break, Lunch, is part of the normal office day. Build it into your schedule.

Being a Self Starter and providing more than the Office folk is very important! Remember, whether you are at an office or your home office, you do need to work! Fail that and everything falls apart!

I sew, Tsali helps me sew. Tsali is banished to his "T" perch in my sewing room. Tsali flies back to my shoulder to help me sew again. Tsali is banished to his big play station in the living room. Tsali flies back to my shoulder to help me sew again.

I quit sewing and do something more appropriate for Tsali to help with. Love that fid!!

Sorry.... duplicate post.

SailBoat said:

The biggest problem that I have seen, is people who do not understand the need for contact calls and how important it is for us to answer and to also call out to them. Fail to understand your Parrots needs for answered contact calls is 90% of the process.

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I'm really lucky that these guys do just talk among themselves, the contact calls don't break out until the kids get in - because kids are so much more fun! If I had the IRN's doing that all day....lets just not.

LOL no more mouths. No more living things are moving in. The inn is full.
(possibly past capacity).

The biggest thing for me, is that I like the light in the lounge, working at the table, the heat pump...but that's where the parrots are. They're only really playing/chatting to one another, but it's still noise and I struggle to think. I need to work in the bedroom/office so I engage, Which is fine, but I kinda want to be with the parrots! However work is work.

I don't have much hope of a routine. We have a morning/before school and after school /evening routine, but during the day can be a bit of a shambles. I balance work, uni, being home alone, being home with work children (often special needs), school parent help and the kids extra curriculars so no day has a real pattern. But they do know that once the kids are home, it's out time for everyone. When I'm cleaning up after dinner, it's shoulder time ...those kinds of patterns/rules.

I work from home too. I had to eventually close the kitchen/dining room door because Matisse my Eclectus would climb down the cage, waddle through the front room, down the hallway, hook a left, knew exactly which door to go to, and would proceed to bang on the door until I opened it. Sometimes Lucy the cockatiel would be the ring leader and they would both come waddling down the hallway. She will call sometimes, and I used to not answer bc I thought that would be teasing but, as Sailboat mentioned above, it was her way of "checking in"'and after a few responses, she would go back to being busy with preening/napping/eating.

It is so nice to let them out all day. They come out on their own in the morning, and put themselves to bed in the evening. I love that I don't have to provide their food all at once. I will add treats, fresh foods through the day, and I find they eat better this way. Not sure why? Freshly cut? Only a small selection to focus on at a time? The novelty of something "new" being added separately?

LOL! Thankfully we haven't got the door knocking thing!

Is having conversations with your fid considered contact calls? Tsali and I talk back and forth using words - it's like we are having meaningful albeit simple discussions.

Tsali said:

Is having conversations with your fid considered contact calls? Tsali and I talk back and forth using words - it's like we are having meaningful albeit simple discussions.

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Yes it is!

I work from home too and peanut has her little routine. She goes out on the porch around 10 am and has her breakfast. Then she free roams around the porch all day flinging food all over the place and climbing her play gym. I come out several times during the day to let her pick bugs out of my head and ears and "accidentally" pinch the crap out of my foot while chewing up my flip flops. Then back to her cage at 9pm sharp for bed time. It works for us.

It's so great that you get to work from home with the parrots! I am fortunate that I get to bring my parrots to work and that I also have an opportunity to work with them from home. The major difficulty is taking client calls when the birds are having one of their vocal moments.