# *eye twitches* Whispers: BIRDS!!!! D:



## Jrf456 (Jun 23, 2011)

I'M TERRIFIED OF BIRDS! I don't know why. Every time I go to Petsmart I have to walk past them to get to the cat treats and food and there they are. Sitting there.

Does anyone like birds? I'm personally a feather hater, I like meows and bubbles, not BRAWCK!!!! BRAAAAWCK!!!!

So yeah.. Bird owners? Friendly-non-judge-mental-opinion-based-high-humor-argument about why or why not to love them?

DISCUSS! :3


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## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

aww I love birds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bt9xBuGWgw


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

I have 2 green cheek conures and whether or not i hate them or love them changes on a minute by minute basis so i guess i cant really argue for them lol. They get louuuudddddddd when they want something though.


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

I love birds as well. They are so emotionally dependent and just precious. Unlike my reptiles and fish, bella NEEDS love and attention or she gets depressed. She's like a young child--Sometimes she'll be loud and messy, she'll push her boundries even when she knows she's being naughty, but you can't scold her harshly, you just gently teach and be sweet. The saddest thing in the world is a sad bird. Their hearts just break right in front of you! They also need playtime and love to explore their surroundings. 

Now of course this is the smarter birds. The less advanced birds are still emotionally needy as well, but not as much. As long as one of the smaller birds like a finch feels like they are 'part of the flock' (just talking in the room with the bird and the bird will try to join in the chatter with the family) they seem pretty happy. 

Some people may be turned off by this neediness(they can't just fill the food and walk away) but it's attractive to me as a pet because that bird LOVES you. There is no question. It's not like the anthropomorphising we usually do with our bettas. These animals have very strong emotions. Birds get so depressed when they are sold and move houses, or when an owner dies--or even when a family pet dies! Your family becomes their flock, and that is everything to a social bird. 

Not to mention they are total hams! Bella is such a little dork. She 'waddles' around on the ground and mumbles like she's trying to talk. She gets all puffed up when you talk to her and loves to listen to piano. 


It's so sad when families don't love their birds! Birds whistle and squawk loudly when they are lonely and want attention, which makes a less loving family frustrated--so they'll do something like put the bird in a room they never go in so they don't hear the squawking as loud. So the lonely bird gets louder and louder trying to get attention, even negative attention would be okay. The people move the bird further away. I knew a family who kept their cockatoo in the garage--freezing cold or summer heat. Just because it was loud. ;_; so sad.

I don't think birds are for everyone, although their are very different types of birds that suit homes better. People with a lot of time on their hands can handle the funny and emotionally needy cockatoos, but I know that I would be too busy to give it what it needs. People with less time can handle birds that are social with each other--think love birds. But if you don't like noise--don't get a parrot. It's just what they do, talk.

I personally am going to get a dove. Unlike parrots they don't squawk, and they don't have the strong parrot beak that can bite you REAL hard. They make cooing noises, are pretty sweet animals, and generally make really nice quiet pets compared to other birds.


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## betta4ever (Jun 19, 2010)

I have a quail.....


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## GwenInNM (Feb 2, 2011)

I've never had a real interest in "pet" birds, but I like wildbirds. I volunteer at a wildlife clinic, and have cared for baby, non-protected species until they can be released. Birds are lots of fun to watch etc.

Gwen


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZjaVdJt59U

just kidding. i love birds but im more into predatory raptors like hawk,s eagles and owls. i love just hiw diverse bairds can be with plummage but a quiet pet is more for me.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Birds are nasty, dirty, LOUD little freaks that BITE. 

I love them! If I were to get one of my own
I would get some cockatiels 

This is my friend's Goffin Cockatoo, he's too
much bird for me!


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## Gen2387 (Oct 13, 2011)

LOL! I'm not a fan of birds either. Been bitten too many times. Don't get me wrong, I think they are beautiful animals... I just think they don't like me. For some reason I'm always the one they end up bitting. You never know what's going on in their head. Cats and dogs you can predict what they'll do... but birds... I can never predict what they'll do.

And I love animals. I'm an animal health technician. I work at a veterinary hospital but I tend to stay away from birds as much as possible. Haha! 

I do admire people that are at ease around birds. :-D


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Gen2387 said:


> LOL! I'm not a fan of birds either. Been bitten too many times.


Easy way to fix that? Spray em with a water bottle every time they do it. Worked wonders for my conures.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

I share your fear of birds as well. I do okay with wild birds but the bigger birds, cockatoos, cockatiels, etc... scare me. Do not bring them near me, those birds are mean, make too much noise, and they are so dirty. ><


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## BettaHeart (Jan 2, 2011)

This Peach, a little lovebird that was given to us because the previous owner didnt want it


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## PaintingPintos (Dec 27, 2011)

I have 2 birds. I used to have a cockatiel who loved me to DEATH (he'd regurgitate his seeds on me- an intense sign of affection. Not as yucky as you think. It was like bird seed.. only... sticky..) but he died due to mysterious illness.
Well Angel I got for Christmas in '08 after the cockatiel Cookie died, and he instantly bonded with me. I didn't want a parakeet, but he was just so CA-YOOT and quiet. He has stripes all the way down to his nostrils, telling me he was still a baby. My guess is that he was 3 months old when I got him. He was shy and didn't move when people were in the room. I hand-tamed him (took me about a month to completely desensitize him), let him fly around the house, fed him, played with him, etc. He LOOOOOVES me and he bobs his head to me (also intense sign of affection, regurgitating behavior but not throwing up on me LOL) and he sings to me, "preens" me when he's on me, and tried to...er... remove things on me that don't belong on birds (ex: ears). He's supersweet and playful. In March of '09 my uncle brought me a female budgie who was unintentionally abused and neglected by a 5-year-old boy who had promised to take care of a puppy, but wasn't responsible enough and needed a "tester" pet- cheap, wouldn't be expensive if it were injured or died. So he didn't take care of it, and the bird wasn't tame! He'd let her out of her cage to "play" which was more like catching a bird with your bare hands and squeezing it and pulling at its feathers. Which is where she got her biting behavior..
So I recieved her in a teeny tiny cage (about 12x12x13 inches, which is pitifuly small, even for a canary.), with dozens of bitten, scratched, and broken toys. All shoved into that little cage. Aaaand she had no room to flap her wings. And the perches were the same size plastic with ridges. Her poor, sore feet!
So I let her out of her cage, left the door open, put some treats in it, and found out that because the boy caught her so much in midair, she didn't know how to land! I let the poor thing flap around (she was overwight and underexercised) and waved my arms to scare her so she'd land on my bed so she wouldn't hurt herself.
So now she's perfectly tame, and lives in a nice, medium-size cage with Angel. Angel and Sky! I love them to bits. She doesn't bite anymore, though she has random pecking fits that she goes into when she sits on my hand. She randomly starts pecking at my hands, like she's restraining herself from biting.. I'm glad she restrains herself :lol:

But she's an initelligent bird. So is Angel. I talk to him in a baby voice so when he tries to mimic me, if often comes out like this:
Mewemememeweeeee
So, Angel will forever be preening me, "budgieing" (bobbing his head for me), beating up his toys (especially his favorites-bells), and chattering his head off like a maniac. His songs are so sweet and warbling, though in the morning at the crack of dawn he does start out with a rather annoying, crackly song, similar to the sound that you hear when you crinkle newspaper and listen to a video tape get ruined and all the tape unravel and fall out, if you know what I mean. Here is a similar song to what Angel likes to sing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzu97CSRAPA&feature=related
and a cute picture of Angel. And a beagle puppy that my neighbor brought to my house to show me  (he breeds beagles as hunting dogs for a living)


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