karma or forces of the dark side?

[ittyandrita]

Ok, so I just upgraded Rita and Jeffrey's cage to a big flight cage. Baxter insists on staying with them and they seem to feel the same way, hence more room needed (yeah, right, I just wanted to spoil them with a giant cage ). Anyway, I decided just to give away their old cage on craigslist, not try to sell it or anything. I got a billion responses, was going to go with the first one but then somebody emailed and said it was going to be for their lovebirds. Of COURSE I had to go with them! Well, the woman then told me she had a pair that had just laid a clutch and would hatch in about two weeks, would I want one? NOOOOOOOOOOO, no more parrots! But wait, it gets WORSE. Then, she said that if I told her soon enough if I wanted one she would pull one and hand feed it for me so it was extra friendly. NOOOOOOOOOOO. What am I supposed to do???? how am I supposed to resist this? Somebody PLEASE tell me it will upset the functional threesome I have right now if I add a fourth! I'm too weak to handle this!

[Elle]

Just keep in mind that hand fed doesn't mean more socialised. A bird doesn't get friendly because it depends on someone for food. A bird becomes friendly due to the amount that a person spends with it socialising it and showing it that humans don't hurt but are a fun perch with buttons to pull off and an excellent toilet(among other things).

Personally, I would not buy a bird that was hand fed. I would rather get a bird that is parent fed and socialised. It is okay to say no. It is okay to keep your flock at three if they get along. Remember that if you get another bird, you will have to do quarantine. That means dividing your time between the new one in order to keep it friendly and your three others.

[ittyandrita]

Elle-thank you for your sound advice! All my birds are adoptees, except one that I bought because I was in a state of distress..(just lost another, didn't know how to cope). I dont know if mine were hand fed as I k now nothing about their backgrounds. I have read a lot about the psychological effects hand feeding can have on a bird, and I would feel guilty if I took a birdie away from its parents and as much of a normal chick-hood as it could have. I guess I just miss having a cuddly tame lovebird and it seemed like the easiest route to go. I should focus on the ones I have instead of dividing my time because of quarantine. Plus my senegal and conure would probably be like "what the h, another one of those little things???" I was caught up in the fact that it just seemed to be fate.

[Janie]

Just keep in mind that hand fed doesn't mean more socialised. A bird doesn't get friendly because it depends on someone for food. A bird becomes friendly due to the amount that a person spends with it socialising it and showing it that humans don't hurt but are a fun perch with buttons to pull off and an excellent toilet(among other things).

I agree with that, 100%!!! Big Boi and Shy were hand fed but they were socialized daily, twice a day, by the breeders daughter and that, IMHO, made the difference in how tame they were. If I were to breed (with three males that ain't likely!) I would let the parents feed them and I would socialize them. And really, they were not friendly to me when I first got them. Tame to the breeder and her daughter but I was a complete stranger and so the time I spend with them is what made the difference.

As you may remember, I have three that do get along very well together. Two are caged together at night and when I'm gone during the day and Oliver has his own cage but all three are out together 6 to 10 hours a day and the only reason I would not get a fourth lovie is because I am so afraid it would be the end of my perfect situation with three. One of my three doesn't get preened and if I was sure I could get one more male and that he would preen and love Big Boi, I'd do it but with my luck, a new bird would like the other two better and I'd still be looking for a preening partner. So I guess *I* will remain Big Boi's preening partner!

[ittyandrita]

poor Big Boi! I am already the preening partner to my senegal, conure and black mask. Doubt I would have time for a fourth!
Jeffrey and Rita don't preen eachother but they wouldn't let me if i tried...

[Janie]

Oliver wasn't preened in his whole life till Shy took over! It was great and is great to feel that soft little head with not a single pin feather sticking out. Oliver finally decided it would be OK to preen Shy right back to he's also smooth as silk. Once Shy took on Oliver as his preening buddy, Big Boi got left out in the cold. I do gently rub his head back and forth with a towel almost every day. Fortunately, he likes it!