Why We Got A Bird, Or Two, Or Three, Or...

[weco]

Do you have more than one bird? [FONT=&quot]Do you have MBS [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot](multiple bird syndrome)? Why did you get your first bird & what made you get each of your other birds?

My first bird was a birthday present for a 12yo girl who came close to being my stepdaughter, then a number of years back, she called me & asked if I was interested in taking Buddy. It seems that her daughter's father and the bird did not get along...long story short, I drove down a couple of nights later, she reached in the cage & out comes Buddy, up her arm, across her shoulder, jumped on me & nuzzled my ear chattering away like "where've you been for so long?" After I loaded his two cages in the truck, I told her I thought Buddy had better sense than she did, though she had always taken real good care of him & her other birds...that he'd talked her into getting rid of.....Buddy lived a happy 28+ years.....

The rest of the birds that have crossed our threshold have one way or another, found that I've usually got an open door if one needs a place to roost. None of my current flock are local, all coming 90, 87, 800, 940, 780 or 1,200 miles to get here.....so what's your story/stories ? ? ?
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[cdnbirdlover]

Basil the peach faced lovebird was a surprise birthday gift for my ten year old daughter last year...but really that was just an excuse to get the bird into the house. We love birds (my kids and I...Daddy not so much) and seeing the kids' faces when they came home after school to find a great big cage with a little lovebird in it was priceless and worth all the logistics (cage set up, bird pick up, vet visit) to pull off the surprise. We are crazy bird people.

 

[Kalidasa]

I was given my first bird (budgie) at 5, small birds (budgies, canaries, etc) were always a part of my family. His name was Jojo, super-tame, and would open his cage door every morning, fly to the floor, and walk across where I was eating oatmeal on a small stool and join me before I had to go out and brave snowdrifts and bullies in my mile and half walk to school. I've never been without multiple birds since.

 

[Tonkatiel]

I fell in love with my lovebirds in a pet store, 2 days later my partner decided to surprise me for my birthday and bring them home...

A few months later my partner decided he wanted a bird of his own, and he loved cockatiels, so we got Tonks...

And I've always wanted a galah since I grew up with one, so we got Punky...

I'd say I definitely have MBS lol, there are way too many parrot species I love to just stick with one

5 is enough for now, but one day I'd love a sun conure, and when I'm rich I hope to get an african grey ($4500+ here) and a macaw ($7000+ here). Might be a very long time before I'm rich though lol...

 

[MarciaLove]

My first bird was a Sun Conure I found in Florida while cleaning up after a hurricane that wrecked some houses on my street (not mine!) She dropped out of a tree and was missing a toe and very scared but soo sweet she seemed young cause she was a bit small and had some grey down feathers she later grew out of. After that I got a lovebird named Moby Mango she became too much for me to handle as she turned mean after we moved and I was only 9 then so we rehomed her. Then I fostered another Sun Conure for a friend and a Blue Crown as well that friend ended up taking back their BCC and I ended up having to give away my two Sun Conures because my mom hated their noise :'( then after a few years I really missed birds so I got a lovebird from a local breeder named her Eros then a year later I got a lovebird I named Storm Flyte from a different breeder to be her friend and they ended up mating! So I researched like crazy on breeding birds! I still have that lovebird pair. Then I missed having a pet so when I came across a Blue Crown Conure on craigslist needing a home because his owner died I brought home Sugar my precious boy!! About a year after that I decided to add a breeding pair of Green Cheek Conures to my flock they didnt work out and I rehomed them after they had one clutch of two babies, one baby of that clutch is now my sisters bird. shortly after that recently a friend of a friend needed a home for their too noisy Green Naped Lorikeet Fruit Loops oddly enough Id been researching Lorikeets for a while already thinking of adding one to my flock I figured it was fate so I brought him home! Then about two weeks ago I got another pair of breeding lovebirds from a breeder in Alabama, and thats all my birds I've had/currently have! My sister has had budgies but they werent ever really my birds.

 

[Wdlodge]

Last year I bought a red factor male canary, we named him skittle. He was the same color as an orange skittle. He could sing up a storm. He loved to sing with Stevie Ray Vaughn's steel guitar and Led Zepplin the most. He was free to fly around my living room and would find platforms to sit on and take a nap. Since I had a bird feeder outside my window he would sit there and talk to the other wild canaries and other birds that would come and feed, they talked to him too. One day I came home from work and found him dead on the bottom of his cage. I was completely devastated. I had to take the feeder down because this one bird on particular would come and call out for skittle. At that time I had decided not to get another bird, and took the feeder down. One day a couple months later a friend of mine and I were sitting in my living room just minding out own business when this wild canary came to my window and called out for skittle, my friend and I both gasped and then we both started to cry. I knew then I had to get another bird.

I did some research, I was either interested on a senegal or a parrotlet. Most of my research was on the Sennie though, knew nothing about Parrotlets. We drove to a bird store, looking all around I saw 8wk old, just fully weaned, Kiwi the Green Pacific Parrotlet. She wasn't even for sale. But she bonded with us immediately. I told them about Skittle, and they agreed to let me buy her. Today she is now 3-1/2 months old, my lil green eating machine. I still have my heart on a Senegal. Now we will see what happens.

 

[Richelle]

I got my first bird when I was 7 for my birthday. He was a little yellow budgie I named sunny. After I got my first job when I was 17 the first thing I bought was a female cinnamon green cheek named Ping. I bought her from a local breeder and she was super sweet and thus began my love for conures I got my sun conure Tiki about 3 yrs ago from the local Petsmart. He was so sweet and used to give kisses to my 2 year old daughter (who is deathly afraid of all animals). Tiki was her favorite bird ever and she still talks about him. He passed away after he chewed his happy hut up one night and got caught in the strings. My daughter and I were so sad so a few months later I got Rizzy from a breeder about 2 hrs away. Best breeder ever! Rizzy has found his place in my heart but is a bit too nippy for my daughter's liking. After getting birdie fever I also recently got a baby senegal. Fully weaned surprise though she reverted after I got her home so I had to brush up on my hand feeding skills (it's been a while). So I am hand feeding her now and I think I will call her Lilou. No more birdies for me for a long time lol. There is also a blue and gold macaw he's not mine though nor do we get along very well haha but we do have our moments. I have also had four cockatiels only to find the dander was too much for me so they had to be re-homed.

 

[BillsBirds]

Actually, my Grandparents had an African Grey before I was born, and I grew up with him. And became his guardian when my Grandfather died. And my mother & grandmothers had canaries during my youth. My own first bird was a Budgie that I got when I was 7. He lived until I was in college.

 

[Blue]

I grew up around birds, my mom raised canaries fro a few years, she had a pair of Rosellas, a pair of IRN, an abused Nanday conure, and we had the normal, finches, parakeets, and cockatiels.

a few years ago my husband (then boyfriend) promised when I moved to Oregon I could get a parrot, moved last summer, and started researching Greys. In Oct I found Odin on craigslist, He was awesome, so much fun, after a couple weeks it was hard to remember life without him.
So a month later when I saw someone on here rehoming a Hahn's and Eclectus, I talked to my husband about getting the Hahn's and promised that he would be the last one So we got there and met Salty, he stepped up and bit me right away and we met Greenie, my husband thought Greenie was really cool and he told me I could get him too. Well I had promised only one more... so we decided to think about it, I wanted to do some research on Eclectus too, since I knew they needed a different diet. So we brought Salty home and then a week later my husband went back to picked up Greenie.

So we fell in love with Greenie's personality, he's so laid back. End of January, I was on craigslist again and found an ad in the barter section for a female Eclectus. So I contacted the person and he wanted a boat, atv or a small car in trade... I asked what he wanted in cash, expecting it to be a crazy amount, but it wasn't. So home came Lexi and she's just as sweet as Greenie and so beautiful

 

[goalerjones]

Funny, when I was younger we called MBS, minor brain swelling...aka, a hangover...

 

[weco]

Funny, when I was younger we called MBS, minor brain swelling...aka, a hangover...

You'll have to post a few stories about that Goaler...campfire type stories.....

 

[Jmonkey1708]

Well I started off with a parakeet when I was 12. His name was savanna(thought he was actually a girl and later found out he was a boy). He was awesome and use to talk and whistle and give me kisses. A few months later I got a female and she wasn't as friendly but I liked her anyways. Her name was Jetta and she didn't talk much. about 2 years later my poor savanna died. For some odd reason a few months later she started to lay eggs. But she died too after a year maybe from a broken heart from losing Savanna. Didn't get another bird after that. Then after so long without a bird I missed them so I did research and wanted a grey. After visiting a pet store I found Pepe and the rest is history lol. I have had him almost 2 years and plan on getting another bird when I find the right match.

 

[lotosha]

All my life I loved dogs and we also owned one at my mom's home and I was sure I'll have a dog or too, but my husband doesn't like the idea of dog living inside the house. Strangely he did accept the my request to have a parrot. So we ended up with 2 tiels and CAG. Funny thing is that parrots are much messier then dogs

 

[weco]

Funny thing is that parrots are much messier then dogs

Yes, but parrots don't smell of wet dog, nor do they bring fleas, ticks and biting flies into the house.....

 

[JerseyWendy]

I think I'll just stick to Hunter, otherwise I'd fill up too many pages.

I wanted an Amazon for MANY years, starting in the 80s. Since my husband was still in the service at that time, he pleaded with me to wait until he retired in 1998. We moved to New Jersey, and before we were even done unpacking I was on the computer, emailing breeders who I had found in Bird Talk.

I was put on several breeders' waiting lists. The following year I received an email from a local breeder, informing me her Yellow Napes were on eggs. She refused to take a deposit, she considered that bad luck, until the babies were not only hatched, but also pulled for hand feeding. Weeks later I received another email from her, letting me know she had 2 babies, now 3 weeks old, and that I could come over and have a look.

I completely melted when I saw those babies for the first time. I thought it would be next to impossible to pick one. Well, I didn't have to pick that day, but I was allowed to visit as often as I wanted, and boy, did I take advantage of that hospitality. When the chicks were about 6 weeks, one of them waddled over to me, making the cutest noises. I was chosen, and NEVER regretted my decision in the 14 years Hunter has now been with me.

 

[claireby13]

I'm only 14 so I reckon I'm only in the early stages of MBS. I'm restricted in obtaining any other birds because my mum hates the mess they make, even though she loves birds. I'm the keeper of my menagerie of cats, birds, fish, mice, lizards etc.
Tiko, the pale headed rosella, was my first bird (acquired when I was 12). I absolutely love all animals and I was dying for a bird. Rosellas are notorious for being feisty and aggressive, but I love Tiko! He's got so much character and he's very intelligent. I clean up after him, care for him in every way and train him all by myself and I must say, I'm very proud of my accomplishments. Tiko's got a heap of cool tricks to show off!

My second bird was "Budgie"- A wild budgerigar we found injured on a pathway.
She was very aggressive and shunned any human contact, until finally warming up to me after months of intensive training. Sadly, she escaped her cage, but I guess the wild is where she was meant to be.

My third bird is "Blugar", another budgie I got for my birthday! He's also trick-trained but not to the extent that Tiko is, Blugar is... dare I say it... not quite as smart as Tiko.

My mum really doesn't mind what animal or how many I have because she trusts me to look after them all. I know must teens have to convince their parents for months for pets, but really I can just simply ask her and she'll agree. The one exception is in any other parrots, because as all parrot owners know, they are very messy!

All in all, I think I've already contracted MBS but the symptoms will only really start showing once I'm out of the grip of my mother's parrot limit!

 

[lotosha]

Funny thing is that parrots are much messier then dogs

Yes, but parrots don't smell of wet dog, nor do they bring fleas, ticks and biting flies into the house.....

Yes but dogs do not paint your walls in various colors by throwing food in all directions How ever I like my walls with blueberries on them

 

[crimson]

when I was 4 years old, I tried to save a baby bird that had fallen out of the nest...of course it died, and I cried and cried. Not once in my lifetime did I ever think of owning a bird.

Until one day I walked into our local pet store just 3 years ago.They had beautiful lutino hand tamed cockatiels and I fell in love. We named her Cora.

Since I research everything, I found that birds opened up a whole new world for me, like nothing else did.

To this day I own over 30 birds, 10 are my pets, the rest I breed, love them all, and turn into a total child when chicks are born. I sob when they die, get up in the middle of the night if I have to feed, and make me laugh like nothing else does.... I guess I was meant to do this.

this experience is truly a once in a lifetime, each one has a story, and it all started with that one baby bird falling out of the nest....

 

[josiesmom]

I was bird sitting Josie while her former humans went on vacation. It was supposed to be for 3 weeks, but they decided life would be easier without her and never came back for her. We've had her almost 1 year...June 1 will be her adoption party. LOL

They have been over to visit, but they are so happy that she has bonded with me and have no intentions of asking for her back. The husband keeps hinting that he would like to bring their amazon to visit, but I know if they do, she will come cage and all and that would be our second addition.

 

[FreedomAndForgiven]

I had always wanted a Macaw since I saw a Military Macaw when I was 19, but we know the cost in getting one. My wife decided she wanted to get another Cockatiel since she hadn't had one. Well got Ayla then she fell in love with Jondalar a few months later. I fell in love with Lucy, and then each my sons bought their own birds, and then I got Phoenix last week as a rescue. So now I am at 6 birds, and 3 dogs. I am done with pets until at soonest my sons are out of college which is 5 to 10 years depending on the son lol. I wouldn't have time for anymore, and like to give my pets as much as attention as possible.