Thinking about a bird room - how do you use yours?

[Whistler]

Hello all, I am wondering how to set up my home to be both bird and dog friendly. Sorry if a little long.

I currently have 3 dogs (2 Cardigan corgis and an Aussie), a CAG, Meyers and 5 budgies. The budgies live in one large cage. My house is relatively small and the 3 large bird cages are in the dining room, between the kitchen and living room. In the past I've had dogs who were indifferent about birds (with supervision and care of course), but as luck would have it, two of my dogs are much too interested in the birds when they're out of the cage, so in the past 1-2 years out-of-cage time has been limited to times the dogs are out or gated in another room. Because my birds are flighted, this still makes me nervous. I work from home more than half the time, and hang out in the living room most evenings, and I want the birds to be out with me more. The budgies spend half the year (warmer months) in my office nearby, where they are free all day while I'm there, but the Meyers and CAG used to be out a lot more. My grown daughter's room is empty and I'm considering moving at least the bigger birds there. I use it as a home office but it is also a guest room for family/friends.

So, finally my question - If your birds are in a separate room and you're unable to interact with them, how do you justify keeping them separate? I would worry they'd be lonely. How do you manage it? Do you have to have "day" and "night" cages in different rooms for this arrangement? If I can't have them just out in the main area of the house, because of dogs, this would give them less interaction or none during the evenings, unless I ignore the dogs and stay in the room. The dogs also need to be close to me. So, I'm wondering if it's worth having a bird room, or just continue doing what I'm doing - birds are out when the dogs are out in the yard, or are gated, and otherwise in their cages. I can also change my evening habit of dogs in the living room, and acclimate them to being gated out, eating their food puzzle toys etc, while I hang with the birds. Sigh!

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[wrench13]

Therein lies the problem of having both flighted parrots and dog breeds that are driven by instinct to be 'interested' in small birds, as most terrier types are. You have some real soul searching in front of you, with really only one 100% safe choice. The scenarios you paint above are going to be safe........... until the day it isn't, and then the parrots will be the ones who suffer for it. I am extremely lucky on that my Cairne terrier is too old (15 yrs) to be interested in anything but food, sleep and pooping/peeing, and we will not be getting another dog when she passes. Me personally, I could not see having my parrot locked in a parrot room 24/7, even if I was working in the 'parrot' room. Your attention would be on work and not the birds and they need 1 on 1 attention, several hours of it, daily. Can you make the scenario work for you? THat's a question only you can answer. I could not, Salty would just contact call me all day and evening, relentlessly. Not fair to him, myself, my lady and the neighbors.

 

[Cottonoid]

I have a parrot and a terrier type dog. I use gates to keep the dog away rather than using a bird room. My house is pretty small and not an open floor plan so a bedroom used for my bird would be too isolated.

I made a decision that the attention needs of my parrot come first, because my dog is domesticated for the purpose of being my companion and can do just fine even if I'm not paying her attention directly. My bird could care less about the whims of humans and needs the amount of attention he needs, regardless of what else I have going on.

My parrot is in the living room, which is gated so my dog never enters. When I'm not home the dog is behind another baby gate and a closed door or in a kennel depending on how long I'll be gone.

I rarely work from home but when I do I set up in the living room with my parrot.

I always eat breakfast and drink coffee with my bird while my dog lays on her "place" in the kitchen. Same at night - I read or watch a show while my dog stays on place. She can see me, and will sometimes chew a treat or play with a toy, but she knows to just hang out and relax while I'm in the front room.

When I had two dogs (before my parrot) I actually had a dog room - they had beds, water dishes, toys. They both were sent to the dog room to rest or entertain themselves for a bit in the afternoons (I've used place training for all my dogs) and that routine has helped a lot with my remaining dog just doing her own thing for a while when I'm hanging out with the parrot.

 

[bonitabird59]

My bird room is my living room. I live in a studio apartment so my bird cages kind of line the walls. I like the concept of bird rooms if the birds are uncaged and the room is just a massive playzone that's completely bird proofed. My amazon who passed, Bonita, had her own room at my parents house and it was connected to my room by a bathroom. I left all doors open and she basically had free roam of the house but she preferred her bird room because of all the enrichment she had. I would just do whatever boring tasks I had to do in that room (ie: study, homework, folding laundry, etc). We also got her a TV she could watch Charlie Chaplin and I love Lucy on because she was an old hag who had specific taste. Id just join her and hang out with her in her room. Sometimes she would come into my room and screech a hello. TDLR: Bird rooms are great but full access to your home is best. Birds, esp greys/amazons/ large birds are as smart as toddlers. Keep them involved as much as possible. With that being said I also have a terrier mix(Belgian Mal, Fox terrier and Chihuahua mix) whos insanely high drive and used to be obsessed with my birds. I have my birds out of their cage almost all day (not including my soc finches, their cage is massive and my hand raised boy Cookie is the only one who likes to hang with me for 30 mins or less daily) and my dog out too. I just occupy my dog with chews, frozen treats, looooong walks, and other things. I also use a baby gate. Hope this helps!!!

 

[Whistler]

I always eat breakfast and drink coffee with my bird while my dog lays on her "place" in the kitchen. Same at night - I read or watch a show while my dog stays on place. She can see me, and will sometimes chew a treat or play with a toy, but she knows to just hang out and relax while I'm in the front room.

You have a well trained dog! Thank you for your input.

 

[Whistler]

Thank you for the comments - they are appreciated. I've decided not to move them to a room and will be keeping them in the main part of the house. I've ordered a new gate to separate the living room from their current room (dining room), with an additional magnetic screen to cover the area above the gate so the birds can't accidentally fly in that direction, and will have the dogs more securely (and creatively) separated. The dogs are also important household members but some occupied time apart (with food toys filled with treats) is fine for them. Thanks again.