First time bird owner

[Mrs.Cornbread]

Hello! My name is Stepheny and my boyfriend and I are in the process of buying our first bird, an IRN. We don't know if it is male or female yet, but have named it Carmen. It's currently living at the pet store until it is weaned. Seeing as we are first time bird owners, I'm finding this forum of excellent assistance. If you had any advice for first time bird owners, what would it be? What were some things that you wish you had known upon bringing your first bird home? What were things that you were surprised to learn?

Thank you for any and all input!

Stepheny

[Donovan]

I just got my second bird and am correcting some mistakes I made with the first.

First of all.. indoctrinate it to love vegetables... make him a salad for supper practically every night.
romaine lettuce, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, radish, bell pepper, radish, and a touch of apple for flavor.. that's what my birds are eating right now.

Do not feed him from your plate or he will end up eating stuff that's not as healthy for him as it should be ;)

Don't feed seeds all the time. Do some research on how often is appropriate to give seeds.

In any case.. don't give in to the temptation to let them have a little junk food.. even if you give it in such small amounts that it's harmless because that becomes a high value reward and makes training them more difficult .. (when a peanut or piece of fruit isn't as motivating as a potato chip).. so no junk food.

For my first bird I wish I would have spent more time teaching him things to whistle... which I did.. he made some great noises for a while... but I went a couple months without teaching him anything new so he decided to un-learn everything else.. now he just makes the default IRN sound which is 2-3 shrill chirps.

So if you teach your bird any vocalizations... follow through with them and keep him learning... also if you ever decide to let him watch other birds on youtube or teach him to whistle it will be difficult to teach him to talk afterward.... so if you want to teach to talk... do that first..

Also, never make your bird do anything he doesn't want to do. It's not a cat or a dog. Bird's see things differently and any sort of negative reinforcement will usually have an undesirable result. The fact is that anything you want that bird to do or any way you need him to cooperate can be done by motivating him to do it.. then you're bird will be happier... and you'll have an easier time dealing with him on certain things.

[Mrs.Cornbread]

Thank you for the input! The salad will be easy as I make my bunny a salad twice daily. I've seen a few different people say to not teach them whistling first or they may not talk later, so thank you for the reinforcement on that thought. I would never give it junk food, but my boyfriend would be tempted, so I will be sure to mention this to him

[MissK]

Hi and welcome. I would caution that the bird will remember things you have done that he did not like, so keep that to a minimum or enjoy the wait until he gets over it.

Be a friend to your bird. Enjoy the little stuff. Chat with him up close and personal, in a soft voice. Every bird on the planet deserves to hear how great he is every single day. Make random detours during the day to say hi for a second or two. Establish a contact call you'd like to hear for the next 20-30 years. Use the model/rival technique for training. **If the bunny lives in the same room, even the bunny can help teach him to eat new foods. Read the forum. Read the stickies. Be a friend to your bird. Be a friend to your bird. Be a friend to your bird. Respect and admire him.

[Mrs.Cornbread]

The bird should be able to see the bunny. The house is kind of an open concept house with a wall in the middle (probably structural as it is vaulted ceilings). While the bird cage will technically be in a different room from the bunny, it is in plain view. The cage is also on wheels so I was wondering if it would be ok to move it into my bedroom on days that I'm too ill to be out of bed much? I have multiple chronic illnesses and while I manage them quite well most of the time, there is occasionally times that I'm in bed for several days. The pets usually all pile in bed with me, lol. I also have cats, dogs, mice, and hamsters.

[SkyeBerry]

I know I once came across an article about the pros and cons of having a bird and cage in your bedroom, but I did not read it. I had already made up my mind. I have a chronic medical condition as well and my first two lovebirds were to keep my company. I probably should try and find the article. I am sure it was on google. I do know it is important to keep the cage very clean as you will be breathing in little bits of dried bird droppings that get wafted into the air as your bird moves around its cage or flap its wings. Since your other animals are in your bed I am not going to get into allergies as you either don't have any or you medicate and suffer through it.

[Mrs.Cornbread]

LOL, I just suffer through and medicate at night sometimes. I wouldn't have the cage in my bedroom at all times, just sometimes. I guess my question was more of if it disrupts them to occasionally move the cage to a different room?

[Donovan]

my birds are in my bedroom but to be fair my bedroom is like a living room for me.

[MissK]

I have a separate cage for traveling around the house since the main cage is too big. I've had great success with that, BUT if I leave him in the smaller cage too long ( a few days) he does start to complain loudly. I guess others will have to weigh in, but I think if you move him regularly and keep him used to it, should be OK when the time comes.

[SkyeBerry]

I know if they stay in a cage too much they not only get cage protective they can become scared of leaving the cage. I read about how one parrot consultant plays `real estate agent`with her bird and routinely works it around her house while on her arm so he does not become bound to one or two rooms. And of course, many parrot people go on to say it is good to take your bird out of your home - in a proper carrier - and socialize it. Clawnz would have a lot to say about this I am sure. This is not only good for the bird but also improves the bond between you and the bird because the bird will rely on you more because you are the only thing familiar. I use a travel cage to take my IRN and a sun conure to my mom`s. It is almost two hours each way. Sometimes we stay over night and sometimes we don`t. I think the more your bird is used to at a young age the less stress changes will be in the future.

If all the above is true, I can`t see why moving a cage in the house is bad for the bird. I find sometimes you just need to do things and not worry but be observant of your bird. Since the first day I brought my birds home, I have continued to buy different toys of different styles and sizes. When I felt like it I put them in and moved them around etc. I was very surprised to read that with some birds, the toy can only be brought in the room but must stay far away from the cage until the bird accepts it. Then every few days it is moved a little closer etc. It sometimes takes weeks to actually get the toy in the cage and longer for the bird to play with it. So...my opinion, introduce them to as many things - including food and people and changes -as possible while still keeping to a routine. But the routine should not be so strict that if `dinner`is late 5-10 min. the bird goes into a panic. Feed within 30-60min - whatever makes you comfortable. A little stress can be good.

[Mrs.Cornbread]

Thank you for the input! After reading what you said about the cage being too big, I measured my doorway to my bedroom, and indeed the cage is too big to fit through! by a good 10 inches! lol, I guess I wasn't thinking of that. My boyfriend is already talking about getting a second cage for the bedroom. I would like to get a travel cage as well. What about airplane travel? How does that work?

[SkyeBerry]

I have not flown with birds but I believe the rules for flying with any pets would be the same. Airlines are much stricter these days because of some publicized escapes and some horrific losses. Just being me, I would have a difficult time having to have a pet in the cargo area. It, of course, would be pressurized and heated/cooled - or it is not allowed - why some airlines only allow animals at certain times of the year - but I would want the bird with me inside the plane. So - airline approved carrier that fits under the seat. This is definitely going to restrict the size of animal. And on a long flight I am not sure a ringneck would have enough headroom. Maybe others have had this type of flying experience with birds.

Re: the second cage - it is possible that your smaller travel cage can double as a sleep/temporary cage for the bedroom but unlikely it could be used for airline travel.

[MissK]

If you have the money, some airlines allow you to buy a seat for your pet........... still gotta be caged, though.

[SkyeBerry]

Not that I have plans to be flying anywhere with my parrot, but I actually like that. If my employer were to transfer me and was paying for my moving expenses won't he be in for a surprise when he was handed the bill? He might suggest the parrot should have flown on his own.

[Donovan]

I wouldn't put my birds on a plane....

just go for a drive.. it's nice... unless you're dealing with oceans then it can't be helped.