The Bird Bug: A seemingly irresistible urge to acquire more birds than you have time, space or money for.
Those of us who haven't already been there will get there. You
enter the fascinating world of parrots. The beautiful colors, dramatically different
personalities, sizes and talking abilities. You make your decision and bring
home your first bird. A few months later you find yourself justifying a second
bird purchase; one that talks better, a different color, species, size, etc;
any reason you can find to bring home that second bird. Then it spirals into
a third and fourth bird and your spouse starts to look at you funny. Before
you know it, you've got eight birds, your house is a mess, your spouse wants
to have you committed, and the kids on your block are calling you the crazy
bird lady/man. You finally come to your senses and downsize, six of your birds
enter the unfortunate world of house hopping.
Please, for the bird's sake, resist the urge to get multiple birds. The impact
on your wallet will be bad enough, but it will be far outweighed by the impact
on the excess birds who find themselves out of a home when you downsize. The
biggest justification I hear from people is that they want to get a friend for
their first bird so that it won't be lonely. In most cases, this backfires and
the birds end up fighting. This is particularly true with African species. For
reasons I won't attempt to explain, african birds want to be the only bird in
the house. Most perceive other birds as intruders and will aggressively attack
them. South Pacific species don't usually want other birds around, but for a
different reason. They are wimps. Put a tiny African Lovebird next to a huge
Mollucan Cockatoo and you'll see what I'm talking about. South American birds
are your best bet for a multiple bird household, but it's still not a sure thing
and they tend to get louder as their numbers increase. Amazons in particular
like to egg each other on and increase the volume as they go. The rain forest
must be a really loud place. If you don't believe me, go to any store that has
multiple older birds. Baby birds will play with anyone, but watch the older
birds. I'll bet you don't see any of them interacting. Each one will be playing
with its own toys and preening itself. They hardly notice the other birds. I'm
sure there are exceptions, but I haven't seen i too often.
There are a number of good reasons to have a one bird household.
1. First and foremost, the bird that you have wants to be the
sole recipient of your affection. You are its flock. It wants to be with and
bond to you. You are its sense of flock security, and your home is his forest.
Birds nap during the mid morning and afternoon hours, so they are usually asleep
while you are at work. Don't feel guilty about leaving him to go to work. He
gets to sleep all day while you work your butt off. If you bring another bird
into his forest, he will feel threatened. He will want to chase the other bird
away and he may feel betrayed by you for breaking your bond with him. Bringing
a second bird into a household is among the top causes of feather picking of
first birds.
2. Your only bird's quality of life will be spectacular. You will have the money
to provide him with the biggest cage and a frequent change and variety of toys.
Your shoulder and hands will be his and his alone. All the head scratches, (or
body rubs in the case of Cockatoos) will be for him. You will have the extra
time each morning to cut up some fruits and veggies for your special bird and
give him the top notch nutrition that he deserves.
3. Your house will be spared from looking like a federal disaster
area. Birds are messy! Cage cleaning is a daily chore, poop patrol is never
ending unless you are lucky enough to have a potty trained bird, and those seed
catcher skirts are not 100% effective.
Seed hulls were designed to be dropped on the floor, soft foods stick to walls
very nicely, toys are for dropping on the floor, and that newspapaer lining
the bottom of the cage is there to be shred. Multiply that by a few birds and
you will be cleaning your house 24/7.
4. Your family won't have you committed.
A bird is a wonderful addition and extension to your family. They come in all shapes and sizes, and their traits vary widely from species to species. Do your research, find the best bird for your situation, give that bird a wonderful life long home, and embrace him as the equal member of your family that he is.