Adoption Dealbreaker

[SmoothieKnight]

Hi all! I've had my heart set on owning a bird, a green cheek conure, for the longest time. I have such a love for the pure (albeit destructive) adorable things! Now im finally old enough, responsible enough, and have enough money to do so! Only issue is I live with my mother while going to college. She works night shifts (leaves at 4 pm, comes home at 6 am) 3 days a week. I wake up at the ass crack of dawn so this wouldnt be a personal problem, but I know birds love to sing to the morning light. I think its beutiful ♥ but she may not think so.

I was thinking however, since i live in the opposite side of the house downstairs it may not be an issue. Especially if i put some sound proofing around my door. Thoughts? Tips?? The rest of owning a bird I feel confident in, since a structured routine day suits me wonderfully, and I'll have plenty of time after i get home from school to give it attention between games chores and homework.

Thanks!!

EDIT: I figured I would add some new owner questions for help here anyways.
How do birds deal with burning incense? What if its upstairs at the opposite end of the house in a sealed room?
How does one transport a bird from A to B for adoption or vet apts? A: There are cages but on the shoulder in a closed car can work.
What would be an idea cage for a bird such as a green cheek? I was thinking roughly 24/24/30.
I understand they can be very messy eaters. Tips for keeping things cleaner? A: Just vacuum and clean by it. No big dealio.
From what I have studied so far, keeping their cages in corners makes them feel safer. True? I have the perfect spot for it if so.
What can/can i not clean their cage with, and other substances/materials that i should avoid using in my house in general to keep them safer? (even though i wash my hands religiously)
If not a green cheek, any suggestions for birds to get? Not limited to conures. Maybe a cockatiel?
How do bright screens affect birds? Im on the computer often for some classes/homework, and games. A: Its fine.
How often is often when it comes to checking your birds food/water? Daily? Twice daily? A: Twice a day should be fine, but more often the better.
How much affection is too much affection to avoid them always squawking to ask for attention? A nice healthy balance?
Literally anything else you can add for advice and help is appreciated. I want to be as well informed as I can.

 

[kaylee]

I think you should be okay with owning a bird. What I do is put a blanket over my sun conures cage and he will sleep and be quiet. Please don't burn incense, I'm sure it goes the same for incense too because I hear so many stories that people accidentally kill their parrots because of either cleaning products (bleach, lysol) or candles/wax melts. Also, be careful with your perfume. The smells make it hard for the birds to breath. I personally don't have that much of a problem with Sunny (my sun conure). But yes, they do make a big mess when eating, especially crackers or crunchy things. It would be extremely helpful to have a vacuum so you can clean up easier. My friend has this little net thing you put around the cage (it only covers a few inches in height) so the seeds don't go flying. I don't know exactly if it makes them feel safer in the corner (makes sense if it does though) but Sunny's cage is on a book shelf in the middle of the wall and he is fine (I cover his cage every night with a blanket so he can sleep better... and so I can too lol). Many people already know this but put newspaper down on the bottom of the cage (depending on the cage) and I'm not exactly sure but I think I heard somewhere that dish soap is okay??? idk someone correct if I'm wrong. Definitely don't use bleach or anything of that sort, I would look into it more. I think cockatiels are good pets, but that was a long time ago. I would look into the birds personalities, (you can go on some websites that show the bird and the personalities/requirements). I don't think bright screens affect birds but if it does someone please tell me because Sunny perches on my laptop all the time. I would check your birds food and water definitely at least once a day but try to do once in the morning and once in the night time because Sunny takes a bath in his water dish all the time. At first I would make sure that you aren't spoiling your bird with attention. I did... and yes Sunny squawks when he wants me but what bird doesn't. Sunny is with me as much as he can. In the summer its when I wake up till when I go to bed (unless if I go somewhere) But Idk if you'll want to do that.

Make sure you get their diet right. Don't feed them onions or garlic. The person I got Sunny from told me that tomatoes and peppers were a no-go but I'v heard multiple times on here that people give their birds them. Make sure you give your bird more that just bird seed, I read somewhere that you should give them a certain type of food thats not seeds but I forgot what its called.

When I got Sunny it took him time to get used to me and it will be like that for every bird but make sure you give your new bird some space if he/she wants it (don't wanna stress them out)

Sunny loves french fries, crackers, popcorn, bananas, and a lot more. Try not to give your bird caffeine... Sunny loves pop/coffee/cappuccino... I know its not healthy for him at all but I can't stop him from loving it.

If you're going to clip your birds wings make sure you know how to because you don't want to accidentally do something wrong and like pull/cut a blood fetaher (feathers with blood and if you cut them then your bird will basically bleed to death).

I don't know why but Sunny hates pillows... but I think you should try to introduce your bird to multiple people so he/she can be a nice bird unlike Sunny who hates my dad and my cousin (and some people). Some birds will hate males and some will hate females, its just how they are.


I think I'm done.... Sorry if I make mistakes with spelling/grammar. Also, anyone who reads this if they do, if I stated something wrong please fix my mistakes... I'm not perfect and most certainly not a bird expert. Hope you enjoy your new feathers friend when you get him!!

 

[Flboy]

Hi, will jump on one question!
How do birds deal with burning incense?

They die!

 

[clark_conure]

Lots of questions....ok

Incense....it's not good for them, or you, but it's not like its toxic

For me transporting my bird he sits on my shoulder as I drive with the windows closed. there are special pet carriers that going to the vet might be more appropriate just because there might be cats or dogs in the waiting room you need worry about.

The dimensions you listed would be ok, most conures usually just use their cage to sleep in or hang out while you are at work, a basic guide is go to a pet store and look at the boxes saying conure cage...or ask a sales rep. Each store has their own trademark conure cage it seems.

All birds are messy eaters, something to do with the fact they don't have lips...you'll get over it.

If you have a perfect spot for you cage, fine put it there. But the cage is a room in itself, mine is on a stand near my bed and even though my birds favorite place is in a corner he doesn't fear an outside threat because if the bars keep him in then obviously monsters have to be kept out.

Most they cage stays clean, I detach the top and take the bottom outside or in the winter to the shower and just pummel it with water....seems to work fine.

I don't want to offend anyone here but a cockatielis kind of like a 3yo a conure is kind of like a 7 yo, amazons and macaws are kind of like teenagers.., that what I was told once and it kind of rings true on the emotional spectrum and the intelligence spectrum. Cockatiels and conure can both be cuddly but I have to say a conure will be more...um...loving back; while a cockatiel will be more selfish? I think that's kind of fair to say....again I'm stereotyping I know some birds do not fall into the stereotype.

Bright screens do not screw with them, consider it a light source, sometimes the register a bird on the screen or something familiar. More likely if you leave your volume on high then turn on a music video or movie you might see your bird do a quick jump flight up and back to your shoulder.

Check the food and water any time you pass by, conures like to "dunk their pellets" so you need to change their water often.

As far as affection once you get it it's a drug, tone it down once it affects your credit card balance. So many celebrities last all their wealth to cocaine and other drugs, they could have got a parrot and still been rich.

Any other advice, um... POOP TRAINING! oh and get good toys for him.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Just one thing to add and that is miss off the tomatoes in the diet. Very grey area and there are plenty of other foods which do not have questions arising? They are part of the nightshade family also and an acidic food. Peppers are good though!

 

[LordTriggs]

I'm going to throw a spanner out into this so bear with me.

Have you talked to your mother about this? In short it's her house and her rules. The fact she gets home at 6AM to sleep is a big sign for me, I know I wouldn't be impressed if I was about to go to sleep after work and got a high pitched screech (conures don't sing, it's a high-pitched sudden repetitive screech that they do not just in the morning but in the evening, to call for you, if something scares them or if they're even having too much fun. Soundproofing once again have you asked? Also just so you know sound proofing a room costs some serious cash even if done cheap like thousands to properly do it and involves some pretty in-depth work which also can often make a room smaller due to the materials used.

Also is your mother happy to change all of her cleaning supplies, cookware and give up air fresheners? Incense is also a no go even perfume, hair spray, Deodorant and the like are all bad for them. Even hair dryers, hair straighteners, curlers ETC can all contain teflon which is as toxic as can be. The other thing I will say is you're still in education living at home. The parrot itself is the cheapest part of the affair, vet bills quickly ramp up and so do the constant rotation of toys, cleaning supplies, treats ETC. Then what happens when you finish school and go on to look for a full time job? What happens when you're looking for a place to live?

I honestly think you've looked at yourself very hard in this decision and are aware you need to research ETC but I think you forgot about anyone else who may be affected, very common we all do stuff like that. I think waiting a little bit, getting research done, building some savings, making sure your life is settled and you are truly in the right position to care for a bird

 

[SmoothieKnight]

I have indeed talked with my mother about this, im simply gathering some points that would help my case. She had a pet bird quite some years ago. She understands the hazards and needed care for a bird as well. And I do co-own the house (we bought this one together since she got a better paying job and I had a decent paying job and life insurance money) and make many of our decisions as communicating adults rather than a mother son(Hierarchy? For lack of better word.)

The biggest point I have not considered thus far was where I would be after college, since birds do live quite a while. I will very carefully think about this. Thanks for the good advice, Triggs!

 

[LordTriggs]

I have indeed talked with my mother about this, im simply gathering some points that would help my case. She had a pet bird quite some years ago. She understands the hazards and needed care for a bird as well. And I do co-own the house (we bought this one together since she got a better paying job and I had a decent paying job and life insurance money) and make many of our decisions as communicating adults rather than a mother son(Hierarchy? For lack of better word.)

The biggest point I have not considered thus far was where I would be after college, since birds do live quite a while. I will very carefully think about this. Thanks for the good advice, Triggs!

No problem! I was a bit worried I may come across as the heartless meany but good to see the point I was making landed. Like I say though it doesn't even take long after college to be ready. I got my late conure about 2 months after moving out of my parent's house and am now finally waiting on some pretty rare ones to be ready for when I have some spare money around

Good to see your mother is on board, just hang around here and other places and research research research. If you're dedicated you can learn a lot pretty fast. IMO they're really easier to care for than many people think, you just gotta work with them and not get them to work for you