Birds in nature as pets

[mojo]

After being solo so long and the loss of a cat that adopted me a year ago I was wondering what kind of pet would be best for now. After some pondering decided to set up a few feeders both for seeds and nectar for hummingbirds. It seems like a great success! Many different flocks visit and in mid February in Oregon, a single hummer.

Here's a listing of what was observed so far..
morning doves, ringneck doves, stellar jays, pine siskins, annas hummingbird, grosbeaks, towhees, juncos, wrens, redbreasted nuthatch, whitebreasted nuthatch, black-capped and chestnut-backed chikadees.

I still hope to get a few more like the california quail and some seasonal summer visitors and making a species count close to 20. It's been a lot of fun too!

[Tangri]

Don't forget you are alienizing them to their nature of food selection. It is like giving to child a coke or candy at the very end. They are not going to teach their off springs to search. We are doing here in Canada for Canadian goose and they lost their migration habits.

[DeDukshyn]

Tangri brings up a good point -- don't let them be reliant on you, on your wild friend adventures. If the birds are normally migratory, back off feeding them in the late fall so they don't feel the need to hang around.

Some photos would be great! Hint hint :)

[ghostrider]

Get you a mexican yellow head parrot ... great talking bird, very smart, and will bond with only you... my little guy I had , I named him AJ he was so awesome, he could sing happy birthday, and loved little kids birthday parties... if you're into birds , talking parrots are beautiful, and have phenomenal memory ... they make great friends as well as pets...

[TigaHawk]

Don't forget you are alienizing them to their nature of food selection. It is like giving to child a coke or candy at the very end. They are not going to teach their off springs to search.


At the same time we're taking away their habitats that they'd normally have to forage in and causing major overcrowding and competition for food in the remaining areas.

They used to say feeding the birds is bad for that reason - but now they keep cutting down more and more forests they're changing their tune - yes feeding them is now ok.

My parents have a family of magpie's, butcher birds, noisy minors and another green / white / blue native that all appear and tolerate each-other's presence in close proximity for a meal.

The magpie's and butcherbirds we see more than the other two - they are definitely still foraging and being taught to forage by their parents. They just get a guaranteed meal by stopping by our place.

[dynamo]

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We feed the birds and squirrels a few times a week here is suburbia, a "regular" suburban size lot, nothing major.
The blue jays and squirrels eat the peanuts (first come, first serve LOL).
The cardinals, sparrows and finches come for the sunflower and mixed seeds.
I whistle when going out the patio door and they come up close to me.
The humming birds come in the summer.
The rabbits drive our dog (we had two dogs but had to put one down due to old age recently..heart wrenching time that was) nuts all year long and feed on our small garden of veggies, herbs and flowers.
(OOPS limited to 5 images per post)

[Spiral]

@ Dynamo, is that Groucho Marx reincarnated as a rabbit in your garden ?

[Cardillac]

just as a humorous aside (it involves a bird):

a burgler breaks into a building but can't find the light switch;

suddenly a strange voice speaks to him: "I see you and Jesus sees you too"

burgler freezees in his tracks for a second but continues to search for light switch and again comes the voice:

"I see you and Jesus sees you too"-

finally burgler finds light switch and sees a parrot in a cage;

so burgler says: "hey, parrot, that voice came from you, hey stupid bird, is your name Polly"?

"no, my name is Walter"

burgler laughs: "isn't your name a rather strange name for a parrot?"

parrot: "yes, and Jesus is a rather strange name for a pit bull"

Larry :-)

[Valerie Villars]

We have a macaw named Lulu. She sits on a perch, under the porch when the weather is nice. Many birds come every day, all day, to share her food and her perch. She and they are happy with the arrangement.

[Rawhide68]

The bugs "silverfiskar" under my bath tub was eaten by a big black spider I only got a glimpse of it as it dashed across the wall made of black bathroombricks.

I have no problem with spiders, but I havn't seen it since, so without my vermin silverfish in my bathroom, I feel a little lonely.

I need a new pet, have had cats & cats and more cats, and then some cats again.


Thought of buying a bird :idea:

Whe had a undulat, budgie, or 2 at a time (is that the word in english) ,and a canary as I was I child.

Never mind, I'm thinking of buying a life long friend like a Kakadua, cockatoo in english, or some other papegoja, parrot as a friend.

So I just got this post up, to ask if you have any tips to share?