Havent been here in a while...

[JudiNh]

HI all,
I havent been here in a while, but wanted to pop back in and see how everybirdie was doing. Its fun to hear all the antics and see all of the photos of your little lovies.

My Jitterbug is 18 months old now. He is as cute as ever, but gosh, WHAT a handful! He is the most active and mischievous bird I have ever seen. Always into something. He is friendly to a fault, and it is difficult to keep him OFF of me, when I have things I'd like to do, WITHOUT him! LOL He is a real people bird, and a "life of the party" kind of guy.

The problem Im having is, he is very aggressive towards the other birds. I have two tiels, two budgies and a parrotlet. He cannot be out at the same time as any of them because he tries to get to them, and Im afraid he will do harm to one of them. Its sad though, because the other bird are out most of the time, as Jitterbug used to be, playing on their cagetops and interacting with me and each other. But now, Jitterbug has to spend more time in his cage, and he doesnt like that. He loves to be out and wants to be out when they are out, and wants his "freedom" like they have. But its just not safe. So he gets his supervised out time, a couple times a day, but not nearly the amount of "out time" that they do. I worry that he is not happy.

He is SUCH a great companion bird. He LOVES people, is hilarious, is friendly and tame to a fault, and is just a very special little guy. But in a multi-bird household, its hard to appreciate his full potential, because he has to spend so much of his time in his cage. I have wondered if he would be happier in another home, as an only bird, where he could be the center of someone's universe. But at the same time, I wonder if I could truly ever part with him. Selfishly, I want to keep him. But the guilt I feel about how much cage time he has to have, compared to everybirdie else, makes me think maybe another home would be best for him.

Any thoughts? Open to any and all advice/opinions/suggestions. Thanks.

Judi

PS Here is an example of the spunk this guy has...caught him in MID-air!! LOL

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/olliesmum/DSC_0857-1.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/olliesmum/DSC_0857.jpg

[michael]

Hi Judy. ... Thanks for taking the time to stop in. ... As you already know, giving up a feathered child (fid) for adoption can be an extremely difficult choice. Granted, it is not uncommon to find many a good fidparent who's love for companion birds might have exceded various boundries. ... One too many birds? ... Anymore, i'm not sure recommending a parrot as a pet is any less difficult than recommending an adoption. I think for now though, the best we can do is to somehow encourage you into making the best choice for Jitterbug. Of course, I personally would just as soon you keep him.

The good thing about Jitterbug is he's still very young. He has plenty time to get used to a whole new environment. Main drawback, is locating a permanent loving home for a parrot you love so dearly. Do you have any options? ... So now, this may sound like a weird question, but, what do you feel are the current chances of keeping him? ... Have you ever pushed the ticket on his aggressive behavior just to see har far it will go? ... Hard to say what a nip or two might do, but it may be worth shot. .... Being that most multi bird housholds i'm familiar with don't include lovebirds, I can only add, that most good fidparronts realize when its time to make the right decision. ... As heartbreaking as that may be.

Hopefully some others can share their views/ideas.

[Pips mom]

Something tells me that him and Pip might get along great! He certainly sounds like he's alot like Jitterbug, although Pip gets along ok with other birds for the most part.....he's a little nippy at times, but overall he does ok. Rudy is not getting along really great at this time either with Pip and so what I do is I just put Rudy in another room for his out time, and then I bring one or a couple of the other birds in that room as well for some time to spend around Rudy and see how things go......if they start to fight at all, then I return whatever other birds back to their room and just let Rudy have his time without the others, only me. I think with Rudy he is just very slow to come around.....he seems to love the other birds, but I think sometimes they might scare him some and that's what causes the little disagreements. Sometimes he does ok with the others and sometimes he doesn't.
If I was you, I'd just try to somehow keep Jitterbug and let him have his out time away from the others if possible. I know how you feel though. I went through this same kind of thing with Pip when him and Ivy were working through the issues in their relationship, Pip would really harass Ivy and at one point I felt that Pip was spending more time in cage and Pip is one that just hates being in a cage! he doesn't seem to mind it when we go out and nothing is going on, but he doesn't even like to sleep in his cage! so it was rough having to watch him spend more time in it than usual. Luckily this all passed and now him and Ivy do really great together.....I don't even have to watch them anymore! so now Pip gets all the time out of cage that he needs, which is good, but yeah it really makes you sad to see a bird who just really needs that freedom and time out of cage, not have what you think is enough to keep him happy. I am lucky with Pip and Ivy because I can leave Pip out and not have to watch him if he's with Ivy......Ivy keeps him outa trouble! plus they have their own room now with not alot for a bird to get into except they chew the shades up! If only you could find a bird that would get along with Jitterbug and he could have a birdie friend.

[JudiNh]

Thank you both for the replies. It is a hard situation. Jitterbug CAN stay here, no question. I am more than happy to keep him...I love him. But, he cant have as much out time as my other birds get and that makes me sad, for him. I just wondered if a home where he was the only bird, might be ideal for him, so that he could have all the out time he wanted without endangering anybirdie else. He would make a fantastic "only bird" because he is so people-oriented, and such a funny and personable little guy.

As far as seeing how far his aggression would go, I dont have the nerve. He has bitten the toes of my keets before, and he chases the tiels when he gets near enough to do so....I worry if he were to ever "catch" any of them, it would be very serious, resulting in injury, and Im not willing to risk that. He does have a large cage, 32x21x35, so the time he spends in the cage is at least full of toys and activities to keep him busy and stimulated. All of the birds live right in our living room, so they have us around all day to keep them company too. Jitterbug is WITH us all day, but inside his cage for much of it. He gets out for about two or three hours a day, where as the other birds are out for 8-10 hours a day.

I dont have anyone in mind that could take him. And, I am afraid I would be SO picky about where he went, that advertising wouldnt work out because anyone who replied probably wouldnt meet with my approval. :( He deserves the best and keeping him here is probably not perfect, but at least he has the best of everything else...just not as much free time, and interaction with a beloved human, as he would like. Sigh....

[kimsbirds]

I personally think that 2 or 3 hours of out-time daily is one very lucky birdie!
Some days, Abbey, Scooter and Beaker don't get their out-time at all..and for that I do feel completely guilty. They'd be thrilled with 2 or 3 hours...

Thanks for dropping in and letting us all know how things are going :)

[JudiNh]

Thanks Kim, and yeah, I suppose you[re right. I guess he does get a lot of out time. Its just, compared to everybirdie else, seems a bit unfair. But maybe he doesnt really mind as much as I think he does? Im not sure. I just project my feelings of him being slighted, onto him I guess. Maybe he doesnt even really see it that way. I can always hope....

[Pips mom]

That is a huge cage for a lovebird! He really does the best of everything there and I'd be the same way.....no place else would ever be good enough if it was me and I had to think about that for Pip! With Pip, I know him well enough to know how he feels about being in his cage.....there are no doubts about that for me, so me feeling bad when on days when he'd get smaller amounts of out time was pretty reasonable.....I know he wasn't happy about it! for Jitterbug it may be different, and having a nice big cage helps I'm sure. With Pip, if I ever was in the situation where he was given to another home, I'd always be worried if he really was getting enough time out of cage, and also the fact that he gets bacterial infections every summer in June.....would someone else notice his symptoms? because he always acts like himself and seems happy and normal when they occur. Would someone else take the time to really know Pip the way that I do and love him even when he bites them in the face? or chews holes in their clothes? Nope....too much to worry about there! Pip's never going anywhere but with me! Same with Ivy.....she's too attached to me to ever put her through a big change like that. My tiels, they're always happy and have each other, so with them it could be different because not much really phases them and they don't mind staying in the their cage some days, not demanding of time out. Rudy needs an understanding owner right now, as he's a pretty scared little bird at times and needs his people to just sit back and let him go at his own pace.
Every bird is different, so each situation is different. I think Jitterbug has it pretty good though. How much time out of cage depends alot on the bird if they are happy with that, so he could very well be accepting of the time he has out now.

[bbslovie]

Hi,
Loved the pictures! I think it's ultimately up to you but from the sounds of it Jitterbug's doing great and loves you and yours very much!


Barb :)

[JudiNh]

Thanks Barb. I hope you're right. He does seem mostly happy....just a bit antsy when he has to be "in" and everbody else is "out"....thats when I feel bad...:(

[michael]

You know Barb, I agree with the others that Jitterbug is already lucky to have a very good home. ... Another issue too, is that toss in a couple extra parrots, and there's not alot of territory left to go around for companion birds. Being that its likely nothing personal between your flock, and Jitterbug is so young, there's a good chance some of this aggressive behavior may wear off as time goes by. ..... So Jitterbug is "antsy"?......:confused:......Wonder how he got that name?........:rolleyes:

[JudiNh]

. ..... So Jitterbug is "antsy"?......:confused:......Wonder how he got that name?........:rolleyes:

hee hee..yeah, he is THE most hyper-active bird I have ever seen. NEVER still, and always trying to get into mischief. He's exhausting. But that is part of what makes him such a great little pet. :)

[jk1944]

Heavens, 2-3 hours is a long time for my lovie to be outside her cage! Generally I try for an hour in the afternoon and an hour in the evening. Hope all goes well with Jitterbug, he sounds and looks like a darling!

[alifess]

Wow, you must have a really nice camera!! I LOVE the picture. He is adorable.

[Pips mom]

hee hee..yeah, he is THE most hyper-active bird I have ever seen. NEVER still, and always trying to get into mischief. He's exhausting. But that is part of what makes him such a great little pet. :)

Pip is the same.....I call him, the energizer birdie! Where he gets all that energy, I don't know, especially considering he isn't the biggest eater in the world....he will eat ok, but having fun comes first before eating!