Any bird owners?

[shambles]

I have a cockatiel named Bijou who is 8 years old. I brought her home from the pet shop at 8 weeks old having never had a bird before, only to find out she wasn't weaned!! She spent the first couple days crying (anyone who has ever handfed a bird will know how they sound when they cry out for food!) because she was starving! I didn't know what was wrong but I knew something definitely was so I called a bird store and the lady knew as soon as she heard her in the background what was wrong. She had to go back to the petstore for a few days for antibiotics and to be weaned, only to come back to me STILL crying out and not knowing how to eat! So I had to chew up broccoli for her to eat, and within two days she was eating her pellets. So she is very much my baby! She's really posessive and bites any cat, dog, or human than comes near me when she's out, and tells them off if she's in her cage and they have the nerve to do it. LOL She does not have her wings clipped, the only time she ever flies is when I first let her out of the cage, when she thinks I'm not paying enough attention to her, or on the rare ocassion that she wants to go back in her cage. I used to have her wings clipped when she was younger, but stopped because I really couldn't find a good reason for it.
As for the cats and Bijou, when Ruin my Siamese kitten came home we had to put Bijou in a cage with smaller bar spacing because Ruin would NOT leave her alone. She's still interested in her but there is no way she can get at her, and Bijou isn't the least bit flustered by it. I've had cats the entire time I've had Bijou and we've never even had a close call. As long as you're careful I'm sure your bird will be fine.

 

[vixen16]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I could possibly see how birds could kick up stuff into the air. But how would reptiles and live plants bother him if he didn't handle them?

There are people on reptile forums with suppressed immune systems that keep their reptiles -they would never dream of getting rid of their babies. Of course they make sure to thoroughly wash their hands and even change clothes if they need to. Doctors do sort of go overboard about possible salmonella contamination though, when the bigger risk comes from our own food.

The people on the Forum are probably like me... im actually Allergic to anything with Fur.. although I love animals way to much to let that stop me

So I suffer for there Presence

 

[EnzoLeya]

I don't have a bird, but my little sis has two birds at my mom's house. A cockatiel and a parakeet. They also have two cats and two dogs. None of the animals even care about the birds. In fact, I think one of the cats is rather annoyed with the birds for making so much noise

My mom doesn't clip their wings, she likes them to fly I guess

And she will let them out to fly every so often and the cats just watch them.

 

[ginger's mum]

My Mum used to have a Cockatiel (until some idiot left the window open).
He was such a cocky little thing and would bully the cats to the point of sitting on the head of my brothers mighty hunter cat.
Poor Ninja would be shooting out hate darts with his eyes at us while this bird trotted all over him, never moved a paw though.

 

[catloverin_ks]

I had birds growing up

I would like to get one now a days, but just dunno how the cats would react!

 

[arlyn]

Bless you for volunteering at a bird rescue, they are often overlooked to the point that most people don't even know that there is a need for them.
People seem to think that parrots and other birds are never left without homes.

I ran my own bird rescue years ago, I loved it, especially when new homes were found.
I always tried to place my budgies, cockatiels and finches with people who already had others as most were untamed and simply happier with their own kind.

I was lucky enough to place my wildest budgies all with one lady who kept an outdoor aviary and a flock of 20-ish other budgies.

And yes, be prepared for some bratty behavior if Peppers is old enough to be sexually mature, even my little Macaw gets nasty with me every year in late Spring.
Also, remember that second hand birds often come with some pretty terrible baggage that does not always show in a shelter suitation.
Kudos to you for adopting him.