I need a bird

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve missed having a bird since my mom let my cockatiel, Parker Charles Yardbird, out of the cage unsupervised while the balcony door was open to allow Conan the Wonderkitty ingress and egress. Unfortunately, I had capitulated to her wishes that Parker’s wings not be clipped, (she feels it is cruel to clip a bird’s wings), so when he got out there was no getting him back. Of course, she didn’t notice when the bird escaped- he had been gone for at least a couple of hours when I got home, so if he had been clipped, I probably would have come home from work to find shredded cockatiel in the parking lot compliments of a neighborhood cat, rather than a bird that was merely missing so I could at least entertain hope that maybe he managed to find a house with a bird feeder in the yard and survive until someone noticed there was a tame cockatiel loose in the neighborhood and make him their own pet.

Last week, I made the mistake of watching the Nova episode about macaws, and it revived my bird lonliness. Trouble is, I can’t really afford a bird right now. We are barely scraping by, purchasing only necessities, and dropping $60 on a cockatiel, plus the cost of a cage, toys, food, etc. is out of the question.

I’d be willing to settle for a budgie- it is possible to get one with all the trimmings for less than forty bucks, but it would have to be either a hand raised chick or one young enough to tame. Neither is easy to find. Most of the budgies available are “mass produced” and at least four months old by the time they get to the pet shop (even Pet Smart, which doesn’t sell dogs or cats, doesn’t have hand-raised budgies.) Older budgies are damn near impossible to tame, you have to get them within a couple of weeks of weaning if you want a bird that will be a good pet. I don’t know of any breeders that have hand-raised budgies- usually the smallest, cheapest bird you can get as a hand-raised chick is a cockatiel.

At any rate, I’m even loath to spend forty bucks on something I can’t either eat or wear to school. Right now, I’m promising myself that once I finish school and am working as a massage therapist, and making enough money that I can afford to, I’ll buy myself a nice parrot, possibly a severe macaw, which I will keep clipped to prevent escape.

I need a bird, dammit.

2

Thea, where are you located? Have you any local bird clubs? They have fairs to raise money. I bought my last (just weaned) budgie at a bird fair for $10. Cages can be found cheap at garage sales.

3

I’ve been thinking of getting an African Grey. The cost of one is high, but I too miss having a bird.

4

Healthy birds sometimes turn up in the classifieds. When I had to part with a male 'tiel because he kept attacking my female, I put an ad for him in our local free weekly.

5

I drag Gunslinger to the local (non-chain) petstore to play with their baby birds on a regular basis. He gets annoyed with it, because I’m willing to spend hours playing with the cockatiels and conures. A new batch of baby cockatiels is a joy to me - after they’ve been there a few weeks they’re jaded and unwilling to play, but as babies they’re full ready to hop up on a proffered finger and submit to head skritchies. They also have several conures who are lovely and playful.

Unfortunately, I can’t have one because the pet deposit at my apartment building is $250. I asked and they said that would apply even to a budgie.

6

See if there is a local bird rescue and ask if they need volunteers to help take care of the birds. A lot of birds are dumped by owners who underestimate how high-maintenance parrots are. They will almost certainly have some cockatiels there.
That would be a win-win situation: You can get to play with birds again without having to pay for a pet, and the organization would probably be grateful for some help.

7

I have thought of that, but my google search found too many hits that weren’t useful. Is there another good way to find them?

8

Khadaji, check here for bird clubs in your area. They will either have a shelter program or have info on the local shelters/rescue groups.

There are many more clubs than listed on the site. Check the local fairs. We would “comp” tables for other local groups, so at our fairs you could meet members of several clubs.

9

Thanks Peri