How has your grey changed your life?

[Devin25]

Yes, you are right Dan I do need to think of Dave's feelings as well. I just guess I would kind of like to be the one that comes home to Sundance instead of going over to someone else's place to see her. In the beginning I wanted a bird with behavior problems and was leaning towards a plucked parrot with the intention of fixing the problems. Yes, Sundance is special needs in her own right in that she only has one leg,. she has no behavior problems and doesn't pluck at all, which is good, but she still technically qualifies as special needs in my book.

 

I have been reading up on what goes into owning a bird like her and now with more hands on interaction my confidence is really growing which makes me want to get her to her "real" home even faster.

 

I will wait it out though and try to be more understanding of what Dave is going through, and for now I will just have to be content with our "visits" that involve pressure washing her cage, reading her stories, and feeding her out of my hands.

[Janfromboone]

Jane08, I don't think everyones personal needs are the same and therefore what everyone gets out of having a grey is most likely different. You love your greys in your own way. Yes they are a lot of mess and demand a lot of attention. I can't seem to stop talking about Tobie to everyone I meet and post youtube videos of him at his best. I worry that people who have never had any desire to own a bird will make the rash assumption that my stories and videos are all there is to it and what fun. Based on that alone why wouldn't anyone want a parrot. The hard fact is that they are messy, they poop all the time, sometimes they get excited and bite or punch holes in your shirt or chew up your lampshades or carpet if you aren't watching close enough. Some days you might like to leave them in the cage all day and just do your own thing -- actually there is nothing really wrong with that once in a while. My sister and friends watching Tobies videos have said, maybe I need to get a parrot. I always list those things that are negatives. It truly takes a special kind of person to keep a parrot and do it well. Thats not to say we don't acknowlege the negatives, we just are willing to live with them.

[Luvparrots]

This is a great thread and I enjoy reading everyone's comments!!!!

[Jane08]

You are right Janfromboone, I guess I just feel guilty sometimes that maybe I am not the right person to own them and doubt my abilities. It really is one thing reading about everything, but putting it in to practice is another thing.

 

For someone who has never had birds before it is a major change. I am doing a course soon on living and learning with parrots with Susan Friedman, so hopefully this will give me more insight.

[Tycos_mom]

Don't worry Jane08 I doubt my abilitys when it comes to owning parrots also but the birds are forgiving when I just don't feel like scrubbing there cage that day or cooking a nice warm dinner for them. The cage gets scrubed the next day instead and if the have to eat raw veggies for dinner they don't seem to mind. I'm sure there are others here that feel the same way some time. I always kick myself in the backside and tell my self you have them now their your responsibility get cracking and give them the best you got. And I do I wouldn't want to know what life would be like without them I love them sosososo much

[casper]

These comments ring so true!

 

My three greys are my babies. I think about them from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed. They get the best I can give them.

 

Jane, I so understand what you are saying, they change your life in so many positive ways, responsibility, commitment, companionship, loyalty and love to name a few but they do change things in your lifestyle.

 

I sometimes feel the changes affect the relationship with my family, for example,family holidays have now gone, day trips to the seaside for a full day, fun weekends away. I always put the birds first and wont leave them. I too would feel guilty and maybe I need to learn that once in a while it wouldnt harm to have a little me time. I think if we were all honest some of us may admit to doubting our abilities they are a big commitment.

 

I try and imagine my life without them though and I cant, they are a big part of my family and I love each one of them with all my heart, I would change the odd thing if I could but not my life with my birds.

[Jane08]

Thanks Tycosmom and casper your comments are exactly how I feel. It really does help being able to talk about it with people who understand.

[Lyric]

This is a really great post. I feel my greys have changed my life too. For the better in that I have so much love for them. I look at them and see the wildness inside them and sometimes wonder if it is right to be keeping them in captivity though. Their lives with me are the best I can give them but imagine how much more rich and fulfilling their lives could be if they were free, living the life they were meant to. I do everything I can to make them happy... cook special meals for them... make sure to give them time out of the cage...give them toys, toys and more toys...play with them and talk to them and love them and clean up after them. I haven't taken a vacation in almost 3 years, since Lyric was hatched. I can't bring myself to leave him because I don't have anyone who can or would care for them as I do. I worry all the time about their happiness and well-being. Once in a while I think how nice it would be to have a break, but I take my commitment to their care very seriously. These are my babies and I want them to be happy and to have the best life possible that I can give.

[Natasha]

Luric

 

True spoken words: I also wonder sometimes how they would enjoy the wild and free life.....

[Janfromboone]

I wonder if they really would be having a more fulfilling life in the wild. It is definitely what they are genetically programmed for, but listen to all the heartfelt love we have for them cooking for them and toys and playstands and freeflying in the house and treks outside. Maybe we aren't doing such a bad job. Maybe our birds have a pretty rich and enjoyable life such as it is with their captive bird, human, canine and feline flock members.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

Sometimez I am tempted to lett minez out to fly free. Do you think itz a good idea. Maybe leave there cages outside first so they get to know about it, and then leve the cage door open and they can come and go as they pleaze and just roll them back in @ night.

[Janfromboone]

Letting your bird fly free takes a great deal of training if you expect the grey to return home. Many greys will accidentally fly out of the door and they fly away even though they are trained to fly to their owners in the house and are devoted to the owner. Check out Tui's videos on you tube.

[Tycos_mom]

There is a very good chance that your bird will not return to you Jamil and if you do this there is also a very good chance that hour bird will return to its wild state and will no longer want to be your pet. If you love your Grey and do not want to lose him all you can do is give him the best possible life you can in captivity. whos to say being free is best constantly watching to make sure some pretitor isn't sneaking up trying to kill and eat you or your baby's or steal your dinner that took all day to get and then you have to go hungary I don't really know if being in the wild is more fulfilling as long as we provide the proper nutrition and the right amount of excersize and all the love we can give Being a kept bird foesn't sound so bad I don't think

[casper]

I seriously hope you are joking Jamal!

Would you really consider doing this to your birds?

 

Yes, it would be great for them to live with more freedom, but a pet parrot is not a homing pigeon, there is no way you could expect them to find their way home!

 

Dont even think about doing this to your babies:(

[chimaysmommy]

When I get home from work, my time is spent not relaxing but entertaining, playing, cleaning, cooking for Chimay. I am on constant poop patrol, and there is teeny bits food stuck like cement to the walls of my apartment. I spend countless dollars on toys, food, produce (most of which goes bad because 1 grey can't go through all of it)...and he eats 100 times better than my boyfriend and I do. When I am home trying to relax to a movie or television show, he crawls down his cage bars and insists on my undivided attention. I haven't been able to sleep past sunrise one day since his arrival, including on my days off! He is a smart-alec little toddler who will never grow up.

 

I WOUDN'T CHANGE A THING ABOUT HIM FOR THE WORLD!!!!!:cheer:

 

I swear the decision to get a grey was the best one that my boyfriend and I have made together...every day is a surprise! We've only had him for a little over 2 months now which is much shorter than a lot of members here but they have been the most exciting two months!!!! I have fallen head over heels in love with this little featherball. He is so smart already! I can't wait to see what the years to come is going to bring the relationship between the three of us. So many times I've found myself with the television turned on, but getting ignored altogether because I am too involved with what Chimay is doing or what we're doing together. It's even made the bond between my boyfriend and I stronger! We really do our best to be the fantastic paRRonts that he so clearly deserves.

 

One thing that I've noticed has already been mentioned a couple of times here....Chimay is one thing that my friends just can't relate to. It seems that they think that having a bird is somehow similar to having fish, or a gerbil, or something of equal emotional indifference. It is disappointing, but I am so glad that I found this forum and all of the WONDERFUL people in it!! This forum is one of the great changes in our life that came along with the decision to get a grey.

 

YOU GUYS ROCK!

[chimaysmommy]

Jamal I responded to this thread without first reading your response...

 

I would STRONGLY urge you not to allow your birds to fly free. They've both been domestic pets for over a decade according to your profile (10 and 16 years old), and that combined with having come from a less-than-loving home like you described it's hard to say if they would even have the ability to switch on their "wild" switch and survive on their own.

 

Please don't take a chance with their lives and safety...I'm sure they love you just as much as you love them

[Raposa]

I can relate to both the positives and the negatives that people have posted, although the negatives are a drop in the bucket compared to the joy I get from living with Jenna. However, coming up with creative ideas for toys and food for her, figuring out how to get her cared for if I ever need to be away (which is very rare), worrying that I am not giving her all the attention she needs, trying to keep her cage as clean as it needs to be - all of those are real, too. Being able to relax and put my feet up when I get home - well, I do that, but Jenna is with me when I do. Naps are out, she has too much to tell me. Her words, sounds, conversations, mumblings all make me smile. She is funny, smart, and endlessly entertaining, and I would not change a tiny pin feather. She's my girl, and I adore her. Although she tells me that I am HER girl ~grin~

[TinyTimneh]

How has having Jacko changed my life??

I can't begin to count the ways . I had no idea what I was getting into when I first laid eyes on him in that smoky basement---all I knew was this wonderful and inteligent creature and I shared a moment and forged a bond--and I knew I had to bring him to a safe, warm place and get him out of there.

At the time I was a young teen and from that point on my whole life changed in order to care for that wonderful, kooky--sometimes exasperating-- feathered friend I've grown to love so dearly.

For one thing, I'm never alone in the house anymore-- eating, sleeping, showering--I always have my buddy. I love waking up and doing our little morning routine. My day revolves around him and the rest of the flock. Every penny I earn usually goes to him--- I haven't bought clothes with my own money in years !

Also, bringing a grey of all parrots into my life made me undergo a long and sometimes painful process---I became a bird person. Would I trade it for anything? Not a chance.

It's not always easy to communicate with non-parrot people when the most exciting thing you did that day was having your bird fly to you---but parrot people always understand(they also know that group birdie and people showers are the best kind !).

Since then my flock has grown and probably will continue to grow. I owe it all to a lil grey critter who stole my heart half a decade ago and refuses to give it back (unless I have sunflower seeds )

[dhorje]

How has my grey changed my life?

 

When she has her freedom (out of cage), we have to stay in the prison. Doors and windows closed. Hardly have any air to breath.

When my grey is in the cage, we gain our freedom. With the doors and windows open, we have fresh air.:lol:

[celticdance]

I can't read through all of these, but they are all really heartfelt postings. I just thought I would add my two cents...Whiskey has changed how I look at all of our pets. The amount of research and care that went into preparing for a bird and the understanding that birds are really such intelligent creatures has changed even the way I see our dogs.

My best friend has a baby boy, and I would have to say that the baby and the bird are about developmentally the same age. They both babble in their effort to form new words, love being looked at and held and talked to and they both LOVE to shred paper! They also both love whatever it is you've got. No matter WHAT it is, they want it. I think Whiskey has changed the way my friend sees animals too :-)

I think that birds have a special place in my heart now. My 11 year old recently asked for a parakeet, and a couple years ago, I might have said yes. Now, I feel like it would be like giving her a toddler. No way. She can have one when she is mature enough to respect it properly. For now, I think she can have a fish...

Now at the end of this over-long post :-) One thing I WISH my parrot had changed is my sailor mouth. I know it will be a problem in the future...but its just one of those things about me that might just never change, lol. Oh well...here's to trying!

[Elvenking]

Ohh my goodness has Issac ever changed my life. I live in an apartment by myself, and ever since i brought my little baby home, I don't feel alone anymore. I am excited to come through the door and see him happy to see me come home. The moment I open his door and he climbs onto my hand, I am wrapped in joy. I love him so incredibly much. One thread I find common among all of us Grey lovers is the utter shock at how they can cohabitate with us humans and how intelligent and communicative they are. This is only acheived by having one of these beautiful birds living with you...you simply do not know until that is the case.

 

In short, when I am with Issac or even talk about him...I transform into someone else. He softens me like nothing else. He has changed my world like nothing I could have ever imagined and even changes the way I see life.

 

If I need inspiration to describe love, I turn to thoughts of my baby Grey, Issac. <br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/03/31 19:59

[judygram]

That Issac is one lucky fid.

[pearllyn]

celticdance wrote:

One thing I WISH my parrot had changed is my sailor mouth. I know it will be a problem in the future...but its just one of those things about me that might just never change, lol. Oh well...here's to trying!

 

Get a cuss box!! The £80 we gave to charity at the end of the first week sure changed our habits!!:laugh:

 

On a serious (semi) note though - the list of ways Alfie has changed all of our lives is almost endless, but here's an abridged version.

 

1)While I never considered myslef impatient (where my animals are concerned) Alfie has taught me that a neverending supply of patience is a must for parrot owners - in turn, this spills into the rest of my everyday life and perhaps makes me a nicer person to be around for humans too.

2)We are all eating more healthily - fruit and veg are on the menu everyday (dogs too) and ready meals are virtually a thing of the past! Plus, my creative cooking skills have improved 10-fold!

3)David had a severe phobia of winged things B.A. (Before Alfie) and now he is completely cured!

4)My family has decided I'm a 100% fruit loop - they were 85% sure beforehand but now they're absolutely sure - between the cessation of all breaks and hols (they don't get that at all) and the atom hat, they've decided I'm completely crackers.

5)Alfie has taught us to find joy and laughter in the tiniest of things - who knew a little duck impression would fill us with such wonder! And the giggles that come when Alfie decides to pick an argument with an empty toilet roll - priceless!

 

I understand what has been said about all the hard work involved, and the sacrifices that one has to make when you have a parrot in your life, but to me these are acceptable trade offs, no question.

The only negative comment I can't make about Alfie - she is such a time waster - the amount of times I get sidetracked playing with her, or even just watching her, when I should be doing other stuff - like chores! There's just not enough hours in the day!

 

To cut a long story short (oops - too late!!:laugh: ) Alfie has enriched our lives in so many ways - we all love her to bits and are simply gobsmacked by this wild creature who can fly up to the highest curtain rail and have quiet time to herself, but more often than not, chooses to come and sit with us and be part of our family. Amazing!