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View Full Version : When Your Circumstances Suddenly Change...



MysticRealm
05-12-2014, 02:54 AM
So after a few more weeks of trying to make things work for my little guy, it took a trip to the vet to make me realize what I have to do. I brought him to the vet for a night as I was shampooing my carpets and didn't not want him around those chemicals, and when I brought him home he was SUCH a happy bird. Just from those 24 hours (inside his cage) surrounded by hustle and bustle worked absolutely wonders for him, but within a couple days he was back to being unhappy. Such a drastic change it just a few days. I have also notice he is damaging his beak from biting the bars of his cage despite me trying to have him out any time I am home.
I cannot do this to him any longer. He must go to a home that can give him the attention he clearly deserves and is not getting. Please see my post in the Community Bulletin Board area for details if you think you can help me find a safe, amazing home for him.
Thank you.

I'm at a bit of a cross roads. I've had my little Turkey for 4 years now. Had him since he was a baby. He's always seemed like a pretty happy guy. No plucking or other bad behaviours. Typically a pretty quiet guy. He'd go through phases where he was a little noisy but that would only last a couple weeks and he'd be back to his normal, occasional chirpy self.
For the past couple months though he has been a great deal more noisy. Screaming loudly for large periods of time. If I go to the bathroom or to my bedroom out of sight he screams even more. I initially thought this was just one of his typical noisy phases and it would soon pass but it hasn't.
It finally hit me as to WHY he's been so noisy. Back in January my employee quit and I have been stuck working 6 days a week since then instead of my usual 5. So poor Turkey has been stuck home alone for an extra full day for months and it's catching up to him. And I not only have my full time (now 6 day a week) job but I also ride horses. So this means most days of the week I'm not just gone 8 or 9 hours for work, but I'm typically gone closer to 12. This seemed to be ok for Turkey when I worked 5 days a week. I typically got home at 7ish and stayed up till 12, so still able to have his cage door open for 5 hours a day. And I usually spent the large majority of my weekends at home so he probably had 10+ hours a day on saturday and sunday.
I know his noisiness now is because he's bored and unhappy. He has toys in his cage he does play with, I probably could switch them out more, but I don't think new toys will be enough. I definitely cannot commit to taking on another bird.
I have no idea when me circumstances might change. I've been looking for a new employee for months now and so far I have had zero luck (I need someone with specialized skills) so it may be several more months of me working 6 days a week.
I've never rehomed an animal before but I know it's not fair to him to keep him locked up for so long each week and he's clearly becoming less and less happy about it. I don't want to wait till he starts to do something like plucking or something damaging to himself before I try to fix this for him.
My dog comes with me to work and the barn so it doesn't change his circumstances at all, but it's really changed my little bird's circumstances. (And no, I cannot take him to work, not with the work I do)
Do I hold out and hope I get an employee before he starts to do anything more destructive? Or do I try to find him a home that has the time he clearly needs? How do you go about placing a bird in a really good home? I can't imagine finding out the people pretended to be good people and are actually not!
I'm just not sure what to do. I could have a new employee in a week, or I could have one in 6+ months, I don't know! I could get up earlier to spend time with him before work, but that would just mean I'd have to go to be earlier in the evening, leaving him the same amount of time he could be out.
If you were me, what would you do?

linda040899
05-12-2014, 11:17 AM
In my own humble opinion, rehoming is a scary thing right now. Our economy is not stable and you could find yourself placing him with what you might consider the perfect home, only to find that the perfect home falls on bad times and he's rehomed again. I'm in a similar situation but my time consumer right now is a very ill husband. While I'm home, my fids don't get the attention they did a year ago. At least I'm home now that my husband is at home rather than in the hospital, so that's an improvement for them.

A busy parrot is a happy one. Toys can be entertaining but in the wild, they forage for food all day long and it keeps them quite busy. Perhaps setting this up for him during the day and then attention at night might be an answer until your situation changes. I wasn't sure about myself but things have gotten a tiny bit better and it's made everyone happier. Several of my larger parrots have been with me for 20+ years so rehoming would be traumatic for them.

Perhaps others will have experiences to share and suggestions to offer. :)

longobongo
05-12-2014, 12:36 PM
Hey there! I've never rehomed a bird before, but I thought I would weigh in on this anyways. Are you sure he's louder than normal because you're not home very much? Five hours every day of out-of-cage time, along with ten+ hours one day a week sounds like a decent amount of time to have him out and about, getting his exercise. Would it be possible to have someone pop in 2-4 days a week, for an hour or two just to talk to him and keep him company (maybe not even have him out of the cage, just being present). This person could just give him some treats and just be present for a while. A little over a year ago, I had a busier schedule and I would find my bird begging a lot more (bobbing in her cage at me) and screaming a lot more. What I did was, I got her a larger cage, new/different toys and I moved her cage around. Every day her cage was in a new location in my apartment. Just to keep things interesting. I also played jazz music, on the local jazz station (it took a bit of experimenting to figure out what type of music soothed her and what type of music made her louder). I found all these things kept her busy during the day, that when I got home in the evenings somedays she didn't even REALIZE that I was in the apartment, she was too busy digging into something or chirping with her music.

Now, I have a second lovebird, in a second cage. I found that this also helped her when she was alone. She now has someone to talk to, and sing with and they get along pretty well. Getting a second bird to keep the resident bird company, though, is rarely suggested because of your limited time already AND if the birds don't get along very well now you have TWO birds you have to give individual attention to. Though it can solve some problems, the potential of it making a problem worse and one of the birds suffering doesn't seem worth it.

I hope I've been just a little helpful! I understand this is a tough decision to make, we all want the very best for our birdy babies. Also, whenever I think of someone rehoming a lovebird, I always think of one guy who posted on this forum in particular. If you have the chance, you should check out his thread: http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/showthread.php?21817-Which-home-would-be-better

He found I think two homes, and he visited them both - just to see how they lived. One family had dogs and cats and another family smoked cigarettes. He found both of these homes ill-fitting for his bird and he kept searching. He eventually found a very very good home for them, a nice happy ending!

thebubbleking
05-12-2014, 06:10 PM
Know any friends or birdlovers who live nearby for birdsitting or play dates?

MysticRealm
05-13-2014, 02:07 AM
Thanks for the replies. I'm not in the States and our economy is actually really good right now (help wanted signs everywhere as people try to keep up with demand!) and my shop has been doing better and better for the last 3 years (and so far especially this year).
He does have nutri-berries so it's a little more forage-y, but I haven't set up any intricate foraging stuff for him. I could try that.
I don't have anybody that could take that kind of time just to sit around my house and play with a bird. I could move his cage around but I currently live in a 600 sq foot apartment, There are only a very few amount of places where it could go.
If I knew I would be away for a while I used to leave my TV going quietly so he had something visual and auditorial for keep him a little entertained, however I cancelled my cable (netflix is so much cheaper) so that doesn't work anymore. The only radio I have is my alarm clock in the bedroom, which I think I'd have to put too loud for him to hear it where his cage is and it might bother my neighbors but maybe I can pick up a cheap radio for him.
Ya I definitely do not want to commit to another bird. I would feel bad enough rehoming my one guy, not to mention 2!
I don't know anyone else that really likes birds. My mom doesn't like birds, my 2 best friends don't like birds (one is terrified of them, the other just thinks 'why would anyone want a bird, though the latter is often the one I force to care for him if I am out of town for a few days). I had one friend that did have a bird or 2 in the past but I don't think he was a bird lover and he has mobility issues so making him my bird sitter wouldn't work.
If I did end up rehoming him I owuld definitely try to do my due diligence with finding him a perfect home. I will look up that thread.
Thanks again. I will try the food foraging thing and see about possibly getting a radio (I wonder if it would be bad for my laptop to run an online radio station all day?). He's actually been nearly totally silent today (though I only got home at 9pm so maybe he got all his screaming out beforehand).

Mummieeva
05-13-2014, 05:50 AM
A dvd in repeat would work for sound for him. I do that for myself and one of my human children who need sound all the time.

MysticRealm
06-05-2014, 12:32 AM
Please see first post for an update.

Maxie
06-05-2014, 08:01 AM
Rehoming a parrot is traumatic. I would take longobongo's suggestion and buy a bigger cage, new toys, more treats, music and try to make his alone time more fun. Even placing the cage closer to a window so he can look outside may be helpful. Then when you come home after work, let him out of his cage and let him play.

I see it this way, and it may sound a little harsh, but if you had a kid and your work schedule changed, would you rehome your kid?

I'm sorry but I see parrots as children and when you have one, you're committed for life no matter what.