New - Can I do this?

[softlydeftly]

Hi there, I really want to get this little lovebird from someone who has too many in their avary - he was born around mother's day so still young.

I have never owned a bird but growing up, have always wanted a parrot.
I got really excited about this one but also nervous - while I am willing to put the time and patience into it I'm a little nervous about my husband. Also, the girl told me that this one I'd be getting bites her but she thinks that is just because he hasn't been handled since he's been weaned - think that will go away with patience?

So here's my lifestyle, tell me what you think.

I'm 23, married 4 years, have 2 declawed cats.
Live in an apartment in Seattle.
Stay at home house wife. I go out a lot to shop or go to the gym, but nothing like a 9-5 job.
My husband is a musician who works from home. So music is constantly being recorded.
I love animals. Love love love them. I get my feelings more hurt if I think an animal doesn't like me than if a person doesn't. One reason I have wanted a bird is for the bond, but I also have a fear that it will not like me and I'll be really hurt.
Lastly, my husband's only fear was whether or not he'll chirp all day and would interrupt his recording. And would the bird be able to sleep at night if it can hear the sounds of the city, because people get up and go to work and you can hear them.

Any help asap would be great, thanks : )

[Lawrence]

Cats have saliva that are toxic to lovebirds, if they are all over your house then it will be a problem. As for the other concerns maybe the sound might wake up your bird at night, but you can cover up the cage and put it away from the window/door area it might be OK. Last thing lovebirds are not that loud even though they do chirps rather constantly. If you only get one I dont think the sound will be disruptive for your husband. I have 22 lovebirds and they are constantly talking to each other :)

Good luck

[softlydeftly]

toxic saliva wow! my cats don't really drool, how would the bird get their saliva in his mouth? just eating their food and water or anything else? I don't have any cat toys..

[linda040899]

Cat saliva contains Pasturella, a bacteria that is deadly to birds should a cat get hold of it, injuring it and the bacteria getting in the system of the bird. As long as the cats and bird don't interact, there should not be a problem. One of our members here is a musician and he has an adorable lovebird that just loves music. I've never heard any comments about the lovie interrupting anything or not being able to sleep because of the music. :)

[Mummieeva]

Welcome to the board. A lovebird could fit into your life well. Cats saliva is dangerous like Lawrence said. So it is best to make sure your birds are in a sturdy cage and closes well. When your bird is allowed out of cage time the cats need to be put in another room and kept secure. I had birds and cats at same time(i had 2 cats and a dog at one point) and was able to keep them separate and happy. Your bird will have quiet and loud times. My birds were always making some noise from time they woke til bed. While it did not bother me it did my husband for a while. You should take your husband to see the bird and see how he can handle the noise. My husband is a musician also and after a while my birds would sing when he played.lol. Your birds might chirp a little at night but as they adjust to sounds they will be able to sleep through it most times. I am a animal lover also so can understand. Also check with your apartment to be sure birds are OK. Some apartments are allowing cats and dogs but not birds now. I would also talk to any neighbors that are near connecting walls,floors,and ceilings to see if sound travels to them often.We have had a few members who had to re-home their birds due to complaints from neighbors.


Steph

[Enko_chan]

Hello and Welcome!

My husband, Chris is also a musician, though he is presently working a fulltime job and has a full time academic career, so his touring and home recording has taken a back-seat. He has a home studio and records at home and loves to play music for the birds... but not as much as they LOVE to hear him play! Chris had misgivings about having parrots. We'd also been celebrating our fourth anniversary when I decided that I really missed having birds, and he was worried about the noise among many other things. Well, we expanded from the original agreement of a one lovie home to a two lovie home to a five parrot home (including a quaker parrot, considerably more noisy than lovebirds) with no serious interruption to his music- which in in another room behind 2 doors. Aside from that, one look at our lovies, and his heart melted, and they immediately became part of the family, as much his family as mine. We love our birds!

As far as the birds bonding to you...

parrots are highly intelligent and sensitive creatures. Moving to a new home is very stressful for them, we human beings are very large, powerful and frightening to their eyes and we need to prove to them over time that we are not a threat. It takes time for them to learn that they are at home in their surroundings. That being said, each individual parrot has their own personality and it cannot be predicted how they will react to a person. It is very likely that if you are kind and gentle, patient and spend time with your birds that if you are willing to give them the time they need to get used to you and their new home that they will bond with you.

[softlydeftly]

thank you that is all so helpful...

Is there a time period as far as...how long to be patient before you realize he just may not be into you?

[Lawrence]

From my experience each bird will be different in their adjustment time. As you stay at home though, I dont think it will be long before it will bond to you (two weeks maybe?) Also try to establish a fun routine with the bird, very few can resist spray misting without fluffing up and dancing around in the mist. You can also put the cage in the middle of the room where it can see your activities in the house. If you clip the wing you can also leave it on top of the cage. Once it starts to wander outside of the cage it means that it is already feeling at home.

Once it is used to you, try scratching the head or put it on your shoulder. A tame bird will try to preen your hair and play tug/chew with your shirt. I have a towel that I put around my neck because they can and will destroy your shirt pretty quickly

Good luck!

[Mummieeva]

it depends on alot of factors. Like is the bird being socialized by the current owners? If so taming can be fast. But if they only hand-fed and did not play with the bird then it could take awhile. I only had 2 tame birds. But even my untamed birds gave me great joy. Another factor is the bird's personality. some birds will like being touched and carried and other will not. I had one bird who was tame and liked sitting on my shoulder and playing with my hair. As long as I did not touch her she would stay on my shoulder. She did not like my hands near her and would give me a bite to tell me so.



Steph

[diljaa]

As others said, it depends on the personality of the bird. If you get an older bird that is already handtame and social you know what you're getting. But if you get a baby you'll never know how outgoing it will be. If the baby is being handfed and properly socialized the odds of you getting a social and outgoing bird are greater than if it's a parent raised one from an aviary that's never been around people.
My birds were both handfed by the same person! Pixel is a hands off type of bird. He's terrified of hands and sometimes aggressive towards them. He does love to hang around with us though and will ride on my forearm (if I'm wearing a long sleeve) or my shoulder. If there are guests he wants to go to everyone's shoulder so he actually is very social.
Dreki is a cuddlebug. He is fearless and extremely social, he loves flying around an hanging in my hair and nibble on my nose and eyelashes. He crawls around in my shirt and is constantly trying to squeeze his way into my hands, f.ex. if I'm on the computer and typing something he will try to get underneeth my fingers.

Such different personalities from the same background!

[Enko_chan]

There is absolutely no set amount of time. Some birds settle in lickety split- they're home a day and already in love with you! It can take some other birds quite a while to settle in. Especially if they have gone wild and haven't been handled recently. Some birds may bond with you sooner, but may take longer to allow you to touch them or they may always dislike hands. It took over a year for my lovie, Odinn, to step up on my hand and he still does not like to be scritched or touched, though we formed a bond within a a couple months. He may never like hands much, and that's perfectly OK with me. Its so much fun to play with my lovies, and they love to run all over me, preen me and they love their daddy even more!

I have a bond with each of my five birds and they came about in different amounts of time... and each have their own boundaries. So long as you come into the relationship without a set idea of how you want your bond to be, and a great deal of patience, its doubtful you have to worry about having to give up on your bird.

[Pips mom]

A tame bird will try to preen your hair and play tug/chew with your shirt. I have a towel that I put around my neck because they can and will destroy your shirt pretty quickly


EVERY one of my shirts has little lovie beak holes on the shoulders! One little crunch of the beak and you got a little hole! Pip...he can't sit still, he'll either be chewing at my shirt or preening my hair very harshly so it feels like he's ripping it out! Once in a great while he'll come and sit on my shoulder and get cozy and try to take a snooze on me! He likes to ride around on me just to check out what I'm doing and if maybe I have something good! He is SUCH a little stinker! In the summer when I have short sleeves, he doesn't like being on skin.....he doesn't like hands either, but if he wants to get somewhere and going on my bare arm is the only way he can get there, he'll go on my arm, but then keep on looking at it like it's evil! then he'll get annoyed that he's on skin and bite it! Ohhhhh, my lil monster. They are so much fun! and you don't have to worry about your lovie liking you! All you have to do is like him and give him love and attention and he'll be your buddy!

[diljaa]

Sounds like Pip is Pixel and Dreki together in one body!


EVERY one of my shirts has little lovie beak holes on the shoulders! One little crunch of the beak and you got a little hole! Pip...he can't sit still, he'll either be chewing at my shirt or preening my hair very harshly so it feels like he's ripping it out! Once in a great while he'll come and sit on my shoulder and get cozy and try to take a snooze on me! He likes to ride around on me just to check out what I'm doing and if maybe I have something good! He is SUCH a little stinker!

This is Dreki! Except for the snoozing on me part. He is really into relieving me of all those shinies in my ears. He got a hold of a fairly new piercing yesterday, definitely not comfy!


In the summer when I have short sleeves, he doesn't like being on skin.....he doesn't like hands either, but if he wants to get somewhere and going on my bare arm is the only way he can get there, he'll go on my arm, but then keep on looking at it like it's evil! then he'll get annoyed that he's on skin and bite it! Ohhhhh, my lil monster.

This is Pixel! He'll ride around on my forearm (sleeved!) and then he's like oh, yeah! There's bare skin right in front of me. I better bite it, CHOMP! Have had some nasty bruises on my wrist from one of those.