Is a bird right for me?

HannaBanana · Oct 19, 2016

Hi! I am Hannah and I have been looking into getting a bird as a pet for a long time now but have never made the purchase out of worry I may not give it the best care. The birds I have been looking at are conures and I will take the best care of it with all my heart but I don't want to buy one and make its life miserable.
My main issues I am concerned about is times of day I wake up and my work hours and if they will make the bird stressed out in any way.

My current job requires me to get to work at 5:30am and return home 2:00pm and evening shifts are from 2:00pm to 10:00pm. My main concern is waking up on early shifts disturbing my bird or ruining their sleep causing them to become stressed. I do have other members in my house who would also care for them but would this be a serious issue?

My other worry is the work hours and if birds need to be cared for at specific times daily or if they just like the company whenever you can. As soon as I get home from my work from either shift would be to check on my pet and socialize with them and keep them happy! I would br very thorough in giving them my attention its just it would maybe seem random to the bird. Is this something to consider?

I know that when I am home I will treat him/her as a member of my family as I have done will all previous pets and as much as I want a bird to love I want to make sure I can treat it right.

SirEdwin89 · Oct 19, 2016

Hello Hanna, and welcome to the forums! I wanted to commend you for being so concerned that you take proper care of your parrot if you get one. That's definitely the right attitude to have!

My personal opinion is that you will be okay, so long as you can meet a few specific needs. While parrots like to have a routine, I personally believe they can certainly adapt to less specific hours, especially if they are more used to change.

I think the biggest thing is going to be making sure on your evening shifts, that someone else in the house can make sure he is still fed at roughly the same time. If you can keep the meals on a schedule to give him some consistency, I think that would be a positive.

You may also find on your evening shifts, by the time you get home he is going to be ready for bed and may just want to sleep. It is important for parrots to get 10-12 hours of sleep a night. Though this can be offset to a point by quiet times during the day to nap.

As long as you are committed to making sure he gets plenty of daily attention and love though, I think he will be perfectly content to adapt a bit to the hours.

CDavis · Oct 19, 2016

Have you considered getting two conures to keep each other company when you aren't there. Do you live alone or do you have family that is in the house when you are gone because the conure will love it if you have at least some activity while you're gone.

thekarens · Oct 19, 2016

I think getting a second bird to keep the first company is a bad idea. If you want two birds that's great, but there's a very good chance they won't get along and it will double your workload.

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SirEdwin89 · Oct 19, 2016

I have to say I'm inclined to agree with thekarens. While their certainly isn't anything wrong with getting a bird and hoping it will get along with another, you really need to want the second for yourself first. Because as was brought out, there is never a guarantee that *any* two birds will get along, or even tolerate each other.

SailBoat · Oct 19, 2016

HannaBanana said:
Hi! I am Hannah and I have been looking into getting a bird as a pet for a long time now but have never made the purchase out of worry I may not give it the best care. The birds I have been looking at are conures and I will take the best care of it with all my heart but I don't want to buy one and make its life miserable.
My main issues I am concerned about is times of day I wake up and my work hours and if they will make the bird stressed out in any way.

My current job requires me to get to work at 5:30am and return home 2:00pm and evening shifts are from 2:00pm to 10:00pm. My main concern is waking up on early shifts disturbing my bird or ruining their sleep causing them to become stressed. I do have other members in my house who would also care for them but would this be a serious issue?

My other worry is the work hours and if birds need to be cared for at specific times daily or if they just like the company whenever you can. As soon as I get home from my work from either shift would be to check on my pet and socialize with them and keep them happy! I would br very thorough in giving them my attention its just it would maybe seem random to the bird. Is this something to consider?

I know that when I am home I will treat him/her as a member of my family as I have done will all previous pets and as much as I want a bird to love I want to make sure I can treat it right.

I'm guessing that you work day shift on some days and evening shift on others. That kind of variation is something the Parrot would have to become use too. Not simple! This may place pressure on other members of your family to care for 'your' Parrot. You need to have that discussion with them and find their level of interest in being near full time care takers.

jiannotto9492 · Oct 19, 2016

It sounds like you should be able to handle getting a bird. However, please do more research on just how much time you're going to need to devote to your bird.

Scott · Oct 19, 2016

Welcome Hannah! I think your plan and devotion is admirable and can be successful. Please ensure, as others have suggested, your family members fully understand the challenges of managing a bird in your absence. Some species are more needy than others, and having your family surprised or feeling burdened can have complications. Having them fully aware will make life at work easier for you as well!!

wrench13 · Oct 19, 2016

Hi Hannah, welcome. Can we know how old you are? And what kind of work you do that has these odd shifts? Remember - parrots, live a LONG time- conures can live up to 30+ years, so if you are not yet settled into your life's profession you may want to wait awhile.
Tell us a bit more about yourself and life style, , and the board members can make better suggestions for you.

CDavis · Oct 19, 2016

thekarens said:
I think getting a second bird to keep the first company is a bad idea. If you want two birds that's great, but there's a very good chance they won't get along and it will double your workload.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I forgot to add that part it was early lol so thank you for that
I have 2 GCC that cannot be trusted together but their cages are close to each other and they enjoy talking back and forth to one another but it will double your work load. I personally am happy that I have two because even if they can't physically interact it enjoy that thru keep each other company when I'm training bonkers or am out of the house

Is a bird right for me?

HannaBanana

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