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raven4267 posted:My wife and I have been thinking about getting a cockatiel. I grew up with many different pet birds such as cockatiels, lovebirds, conures, and african greys and I really miss having a bird around. The issue I have is that we have a house cat. How feasible would it be to have a pet bird as well as a cat who seems to have very keen predatory instincts? Speaking as someone who has your exact situation (cockatiels and a predatory cat) I can share my two rules with you that I pretty much abide by, and have been abiding by since the joint living situation started. 1. When the birds come out, they are in a secure area that the cat cannot access. It has been this way since day 1. My cat is a good cat but I'm simply not going to ever doubt his biological instincts. 2. When the cat expresses curiosity towards the birds, I make it clear that it is not OK. I raise my voice and take my tone to a stern place. And that's pretty much it. My cat pretty much figured out very quickly that the birds were off limits, and while my tiels were frightened like crazy of him at first, after a couple of days he became an utter non-interest. They actually ended up bonding somewhat as I keep a radiator next to the cage and that seems to be of huge interest to both species. The cat sleeps by the cage, and the birds really don't mind him at all. Some people have their birds out around their cats and it works, and that's totally fine. It's not something I'd ever be personally comfortable with. So in your case, I'd ask myself if there's a place where you cat can comfortably chill for an hour or so while you're handling your bird every day. It works pretty well in my house as my birds are in my computer room so I just close that door, giving the cat the rest of the house.
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Apr 14, 2014 14:13
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raven4267 posted:Is it asking for trouble trying to keep a cat away from a pet bird? We also have a dog as well, but I don't think I need to be as worried about the dog trying to kill the bird as I would with the cat. There is no way we would ever consider getting rid of the cat so if it would be too difficult, I guess we will have to wait awhile to get a bird Just wanted to add that you should probably keep at least a casual eye on the dog as well. My experience and feelings of caution are a bit biased as I was dealing with introducing my grey to a Jack Russell terrier, but animal jealousy and prey drive can come in many packages. Bella mostly learned to tolerate Pearl, but she definitely angsted over all the attention that Pearl sometimes got. If your dog hasn't been upset by the introduction of other animals and doesn't like to chase the pigeons/ small birds outside, you might be able to ignore my worrying. The presence of Bella in the house definitely affected my decision on whether to clip Pearl's wings. Do you guys with multiple pets leave your birds flighted or clipped?
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Apr 14, 2014 15:14
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Since we're talking about that anyway, what are the drawbacks of leaving birds flighted? My boyfriend thinks it's cruel to clip bird wings and I've got a lame (literally) left hand and probably wouldn't be able to do it myself, would fully-flighted budgies be a menace or not?
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Apr 14, 2014 15:43
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chthonic bell posted:Since we're talking about that anyway, what are the drawbacks of leaving birds flighted? My boyfriend thinks it's cruel to clip bird wings and I've got a lame (literally) left hand and probably wouldn't be able to do it myself, would fully-flighted budgies be a menace or not? Depends entirely on the birds and your living situation. Clipping isn't cruel, but the freedom of being able to fly has its own set of advantages... that, with the wrong bird, can turn into disadvantages (getting into things they shouldn't, being more aggressive, etc). The feathers grow back after a few months, so there isn't too much of a reason not to let them try being flighted and clip them if it turns into an issue. Just make sure you've got screens in all of your windows!
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Apr 14, 2014 15:54
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I think we are leaning towards getting a cockatiel. We do have a spare bedroom that will allow us to segregate the cat and the bird during the night or when we are away. That would also allow us to let the bird out of the cage in a cat-free area. My cat is an indoors only cat, so she has never had the chance to hunt birds. The thing that had me concerned is that she likes to sit in the windows and intently stare at the outdoor birds for hours on end with that certain look in her eyes. The dog is a gigantic 90lb baby and I am pretty sure he will be scared of a bird(he is scared of almost everything, including the cat). That being said, we would still keep a close eye on him just in case. raven4267 fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Apr 14, 2014 |
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Apr 14, 2014 17:24
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If the cat is very gentle it will probably be worthwhile to do a supervised meet between it and the bird once the bird has settled in and gotten comfortable with you, just to see how they react. zbeezy's old ultra-gentle cat loves her green cheek conure (and vice-versa) and the cat will nap and purr while the bird preens the cat's head and snuggles up to the big warm purring fluffball. Obviously this is not typical, but it's not unheard of or impossible.
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Apr 14, 2014 17:30
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So after being birdless for a year, I'm finally going to buy a pair of budgies at the end of this week. However, I'm a bit worried about wing clipping, and whether or not it'll end up traumatizing them and undoing bonding and hand training. Should I really be concerned? Also, my girlfriend is planning to get a pair of rats, and I'm wondering if there's any advice to keeping the two safe and separated (the apartment is fairly open, so we can't really keep them in different rooms).
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Apr 14, 2014 22:46
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Fnoigy posted:So after being birdless for a year, I'm finally going to buy a pair of budgies at the end of this week. However, I'm a bit worried about wing clipping, and whether or not it'll end up traumatizing them and undoing bonding and hand training. Should I really be concerned? Not really-just make sure they don't attempt to fling themselves off anything high before they realise they can't fly properly any more.
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Apr 14, 2014 23:00
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Kenshin posted:If the cat is very gentle it will probably be worthwhile to do a supervised meet between it and the bird once the bird has settled in and gotten comfortable with you, just to see how they react. I think part of that is that Dr Z was declawed long before I got him and plus he's 12. He seems more concerned if Fry is going to snuggle or chew on him (I have to keep fry away from his whiskers). Other than that these two are BFFs. I've got pictures hanging around somewhere. Give me a few and I'll post them. The only thing that I had to watch for was Dr Z was curious about the cage. He actually got in it through the bird door and couldn't get out but Fry was safe with me. Honestly, I spend more time being concerned Fry will hurt Z than the other way around. My pretty young semi feral hunting beast of an outside cat Diddy gets very interested if he comes around when I have Fry outside. I don't trust Diddy the merciless, so Fry has to go back inside then. It all depends on the animals, so at your own risk. I guess I lucked out that Z mainly likes to sleep and only hunts bugs.
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Apr 14, 2014 23:29
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The smaller birds do seem to trip the prey drive a lot more- especially if they flutter a lot. If you have a really secure cage that can NOT be tipped over (seriously, bolt the fucker down), make sure doors cant be easily opened by either critter, and shut the cat away when having out of cage time, you should be ok!
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Apr 15, 2014 00:32
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My friend took this picture on Saturday: 
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Apr 15, 2014 07:03
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Does anyone in this thread who uses facebook not follow the National Audubon Society? 'Cause I finally thought to see if they were on there and they post great photos of all sorts of birds pretty frequently.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:13
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It was in an older version of this thread, but one Bird Crazy came home to find her bird cage open and the bird gone! She had forgotten to latch the cage properly when she left. She immediately began looking for the expected remains of her GCC as she had three cats. As she searched, she heard little birdy sounds! She walked into the room to find all three cats herded into the corner by the GCC. If any cat tried to move away, the bird charged and pecked or bit. She was quite relieved and promptly rescued the cats from the terrifying GCC. I am NOT saying that it is all right to have cats unsupervised with birds. I am just relaying a cute anecdote featuring the indomitable spirit of the average GCC.
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Apr 15, 2014 17:18
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Woke up to JJ shrieking this morning. It sounded different than her normal morning screams, so I ran downstairs to check. She had managed to shred her bendy rope perch, and gotten her leg caught in the frays at her ankle. No idea how long she was like that. I managed to calm her down and get it cut off of her. There is no pain in the foot - I've moved it around above and below the site - and she's putting weight on it, but she isn't really grasping with it. I've called our vet to get it checked out but the earliest they can see us is tomorrow. I'm going to closely monitor her foot until then. Not gonna lie, I'm really worried.
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Apr 15, 2014 17:59
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Psycho_Puppy posted:It was in an older version of this thread, but one Bird Crazy came home to find her bird cage open and the bird gone! She had forgotten to latch the cage properly when she left. She immediately began looking for the expected remains of her GCC as she had three cats. As she searched, she heard little birdy sounds! She walked into the room to find all three cats herded into the corner by the GCC. If any cat tried to move away, the bird charged and pecked or bit. So, it's not just Boop that tries to attack. Maybe GCCs evolved from more predatory dinosaurs and haven't really lost that instinct. Also, JJ :C
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Apr 15, 2014 18:58
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Trebuchet King posted:Does anyone in this thread who uses facebook not follow the National Audubon Society? 'Cause I finally thought to see if they were on there and they post great photos of all sorts of birds pretty frequently. Just did on your suggestion. Another great one I found as well, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.facebook.com/cornellbirds
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Apr 15, 2014 19:12
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Sekkira posted:So, it's not just Boop that tries to attack. Maybe GCCs evolved from more predatory dinosaurs and haven't really lost that instinct. I'm imagining a pack of tiny green-cheeked raptors terrorizing the kids from Jurassic Park. 
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Apr 15, 2014 19:24
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:I'm imagining a pack of tiny green-cheeked raptors terrorizing the kids from Jurassic Park. CUDDLES OR DEATH
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Apr 15, 2014 19:45
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I attached an egg box to the side of Inko's cage to give him a basic foraging toy, as well as something to chew. The more he chews, the more mess he makes, and the more he has to look for the tasty things that could be hidden in there somewhere. 'Tori is not impressed  Wizard of Smart posted:Woke up to JJ shrieking this morning. It sounded different than her normal morning screams, so I ran downstairs to check. She had managed to shred her bendy rope perch, and gotten her leg caught in the frays at her ankle. No idea how long she was like that. I managed to calm her down and get it cut off of her. There is no pain in the foot - I've moved it around above and below the site - and she's putting weight on it, but she isn't really grasping with it. I've called our vet to get it checked out but the earliest they can see us is tomorrow. I'm going to closely monitor her foot until then. Not gonna lie, I'm really worried. Aww, hopefully it's nothing. Ohtori had his foot caught in something before and acted the same way, but there was nothing wrong with it-either he was just being dramatic or it was just a bit sore or something.
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Apr 15, 2014 20:03
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I thought you guys would enjoy this bald eagle nest streaming. There are three babies in the nest, and mommy is currently devouring an entire rabbit. http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
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Apr 15, 2014 23:07
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Wizard of Smart posted:Woke up to JJ shrieking this morning. It sounded different than her normal morning screams, so I ran downstairs to check. She had managed to shred her bendy rope perch, and gotten her leg caught in the frays at her ankle. No idea how long she was like that. I managed to calm her down and get it cut off of her. There is no pain in the foot - I've moved it around above and below the site - and she's putting weight on it, but she isn't really grasping with it. I've called our vet to get it checked out but the earliest they can see us is tomorrow. I'm going to closely monitor her foot until then. Not gonna lie, I'm really worried. You're lucky. Ritz once got his ankle caught in a toy and I had to literally grab him out of the cage, toy included because he was freaking out so bad. Once I got him out, he held a grudge for almost a week associating me with the event of being stuck. Glad JJ seems mostly okay too!
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Apr 16, 2014 00:05
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Wizard of Smart posted:Woke up to JJ shrieking this morning. It sounded different than her normal morning screams, so I ran downstairs to check. She had managed to shred her bendy rope perch, and gotten her leg caught in the frays at her ankle. No idea how long she was like that. I managed to calm her down and get it cut off of her. There is no pain in the foot - I've moved it around above and below the site - and she's putting weight on it, but she isn't really grasping with it. I've called our vet to get it checked out but the earliest they can see us is tomorrow. I'm going to closely monitor her foot until then. Not gonna lie, I'm really worried. Good on you for rescuing JJ. I hope you don't worry too much tonight (though I know it's difficult). The lack of pain is a good sign, and maybe the lack of grasping is just bad memories? Pearl got her foot tangled in some yarn from a blanket, and she did the whole dramatic dead claw thing, too. Actually, the best Pearl stuck story is the time when she was still a baby and we had a set of plastic keys that are used as teething tools for (human) babies. She wedged herself inside of the ring and rolled down a few of the carpet-covered steps. My parents had to call for me to unwedge her-- it was like she was in a birdie straitjacket.
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Apr 16, 2014 03:10
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Parrots name their babies! Science has proven our birds are every bit as smart as we know they are. http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2014/04/15/300136332/can-it-be-parrots-name-their-children-and-those-names-like-ours-stick-for-life Watch the video embedded in the article about parrotlets, it is amazing!
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Apr 16, 2014 06:33
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Lenswork posted:Parrots name their babies! Science has proven our birds are every bit as smart as we know they are. Those baby parrotlets  That's incredibly cool that there is research like this confirming our own anecdotal naming stories -- Slaughterhouse's Senegal preferring Charles to Charlie, Amadeus addressing me as Baby, Iro thinking her people are named Yes and That's Nice. The way baby parrots' sounds are learned from their parents makes me wonder if our birds would be able to communicate properly with wild flocks, or if they have "human" accents! LITERALLY A BIRD fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Apr 16, 2014 |
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Apr 16, 2014 06:56
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As far as cats and birds go I think you can kind of play it by ear. I have four cats and three are pretty dumb and lazy. They will sometimes take a swing at one of the birds so my boyfriend and I get up in their face and scream at them any time they get that big-eyed, overly interested look on their faces. The birds are flighted, and my budgie's flapping definitely gets the cats worked up so we just keep a close eye on things when they're out together. My fourth cat has a very high prey drive, but he's also pretty smart, and I think he can understand that pet birds are not for hunting. He will often sit in the window watching the birds outside looking like he's about to explode from excitement while my budge peeps around on the windowsill right next to the cat. Sometimes one of the birds will land on his back and he gets this look on his face like "Help mom what is this why is it here  "My GCC also attacks my cats. Sometimes I feel a little bad for the cats but I let him do it so they know to keep away from him. One time he rushed up to a cat who was not even looking at him and bit her pretty hard in the face so I said "Oliver, don't bite her!" and he ran back to me and said "Good boy!"
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Apr 16, 2014 12:54
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Iro thinking her people are named Yes and That's Nice. I was bird-sitting Iro over Christmas for about a fortnight. As uglynoodles has probably mentioned, Iro doesn't like budgies. She hates them because they are birds and she is obviously a people and therefore better than them. One day towards the end of her stay with me and Chuffy, Chuffy was having a grand old time jumping all over his cage and shrieking excitedly. Iro didn't seem to appreciate all the budgie noise and started getting upset. I started making a fuss of her to try and calm her down, and I'm like "Awww, Iro, baby girl, what's wrong?" So Iro fluffs up and hunkers down, looks directly at my little bro, who is still shouting his head off, and goes "CHUFFY". It was so indignant too. I figure she must have picked up on what his name was from hearing me address him so much. Whenever I'm hanging out with him or sorting him out I'm like CHUFFY THIS and CHUFFY THAT. Also, on the birds and cats subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkLJXKgEVXY
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Apr 16, 2014 13:23
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CHUFFY 
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Apr 16, 2014 15:24
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I managed to lightly touch Iro's beak yesterday. She was flinging her head around trying to grab me but paused for a second, so I used this opportunity to stroke her beak. See, I'm nice -- I just want to rub your head. She closed her eyes and forgot that she was being an rear end in a top hat to me for all of 3 seconds before remembering she was on a SATANHANDS RAMPAGE. She then seemed incredibly torn. She was visibly trying to decide whether to be lovely or be a huge rear end in a top hat, and the programming kept conflicting. She ended up just basically vibrating on the spot because everything cancelled everything else out. I decided to let her be for a while. Today Iro began alternating between purring and making gross smacking sounds with her beak because I gave her some banana. She then discovered the chunk of the banana I left in her food dish, and fell all over herself to eat it. She kept trying to yell about it but had too much banana in her face to do it with any level of efficacy. She'd be like 'AAA. AAhngklbrfrr, AAA, AAAhnghfrlrr.' Iro loves banane.
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Apr 16, 2014 15:40
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Iro is a neverending font of what the gently caress.
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Apr 16, 2014 16:14
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I'm smiling like a madman because that's pretty much 100% pure bird logic right there. In other news, Daemon has figured out that FTL on ipad is a *fun game* to beak randomly at all the buttons. Why yes bird, please turn off the oxygen every time I turn it on; and no those boarders don't need to be blocked in by doors.
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Apr 16, 2014 17:12
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Birds love iPads. When I get back home I'll let Anaïs post since she really wants to.
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Apr 16, 2014 21:03
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Vet said jj was fine, just let her rest. So I gave her some time in her cage alone. Cut to an hour later and she's chewed skin off of her foot in chunks. Possibly  http://www.imgur.com/F3Smk2d.jpegVet said to coat it in hydrogen peroxide and keep her from chewing it any more.
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Apr 16, 2014 23:55
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Wizard of Smart posted:Vet said jj was fine, just let her rest. So I gave her some time in her cage alone. Cut to an hour later and she's chewed skin off of her foot in chunks. Ouch, if it hadn't hurt before it will now. Poor bird. How will you stop her from chewing it again? Didn't the vet say anything about her just deciding to chew up her own foot?
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Apr 17, 2014 00:04
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Battle Pigeon posted:Ouch, if it hadn't hurt before it will now. I'm supposed to watch her and basically run interference when she tries. The vet said it probably bothered her like a waking limb.  I would've thought that would be over by this time but here we are.
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Apr 17, 2014 00:37
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You could try the cone of shame. When my lovebird would chew her leg raw I made a collar out of heavy paper and tape, it was a hell of a fight to get it on her but it distracted her for a couple days until she was able to get it off, then I put new ones on as she got them off. Her leg healed up after a few days and the cone got left off. Poor bird, that leg must be awful.
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Apr 17, 2014 02:14
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Last night I was up super late writing a paper. Shortly after I got in bed I heard Fry hit the bottom of his cage with a thud. He was alright, but started peeping sad little peeps afterwards. Is it normal for birds to fall of their perches in their sleep or is my bird broken?
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Apr 17, 2014 03:11
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I've never heard Steve fall off, I've heard Ohtori fall off on rare occasions, and Inko seems to fall off more nights than not (though he has hosed up feet and legs). It happens sometimes, nothing to worry about.
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Apr 17, 2014 03:14
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My bird falls off his perch pretty regularly during the night, and used to even more so in the past. Granted, he has an impaired sense of balance due to prior illness and is basically the least graceful cockatoo ever, but here he is 17 years later and still going strong. Also he does make disgruntled noises afterward sometimes, not a big deal. He is getting better about it, though. I seriously doubt he'll ever be a normal bird, but he's making lots of progress in terms of not being a complete klutz.
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Apr 17, 2014 05:25
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Eejit posted:My bird falls off his perch pretty regularly during the night, and used to even more so in the past. Granted, he has an impaired sense of balance due to prior illness and is basically the least graceful cockatoo ever, but here he is 17 years later and still going strong. Also he does make disgruntled noises afterward sometimes, not a big deal. He is getting better about it, though. I seriously doubt he'll ever be a normal bird, but he's making lots of progress in terms of not being a complete klutz. Should I be worried about Fry's balance or his feet? Do I need to make a vet appointment?
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Apr 17, 2014 21:43
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If you're worried enough, a vet is never a bad idea. Worst case scenario is nothing is wrong, best case is something is wrong, but you caught it early.
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Apr 17, 2014 23:46
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