Hi all,
It's been a while since I've been on here, lots happening at home (moving, traveling, etc) but Remy - who is 1.5 years old now, has seemed happy with all of the busy changes. She actually seems to enjoy new things. She is still super affectionate and sweet and still loud and clingy and follows us everywhere we go - same old Remy.
The question is now that things are slowly settling down, our work hours become a concern again as Remy is home alone from 730am-730pm every day. We give her brand new toys every day that she destroys every day and she has seemed really happy keeping herself busy. However, today I felt like she was sad, or maybe she was just sleepy since our sleep schedules have been throwing her off. We were leaving for work and she didnt seem interested in her new toys as she usually is, or her favorite foot toy that we stuff with a nut or nutriberry every morning. She just simply sat on her perch (quietly might i add) when we put her back in her cage and looked at us. We said goodbye and everything and at that point when she usually starts climbing around her cage and playing, she just sat there and looked at us.
Maybe I'm looking too much into it and she was just tired, but is there anything we can do besides radio or tv and lots of toys that will keep her busy while we are gone for so long during the day? She gets bored very very quickly... and another bird is just not in our plans right now. Any ideas to keep her happy?
Lonely IRN
Moderator: Mods
Re: Lonely IRN
Hi. It's been a while, so I'm glad to hear things seem OK with you!
I would suggest give Remy a day or two to bounce back and then don't start being concerned unless she fails to return to normal. Everybody gets an off day or two sometimes. Recently I felt Rocky was bored, and I put him in a different cage for four days while I broke down his cage and washed the parts. Then I put everything back together differently. It takes Rocky a lot longer to get bored than it does Remy, but you could try changing things around a little and see how that goes. When he went back into his cage he seemed more interested in some things that had fallen by the wayside and less interested in cramming himself through the bars to get to his Budgie neighbors. I also gave him some plants, but I'm betting Remy would eat plants. Did you try letting Remy commute to a "humans are away time" cage?
I would suggest give Remy a day or two to bounce back and then don't start being concerned unless she fails to return to normal. Everybody gets an off day or two sometimes. Recently I felt Rocky was bored, and I put him in a different cage for four days while I broke down his cage and washed the parts. Then I put everything back together differently. It takes Rocky a lot longer to get bored than it does Remy, but you could try changing things around a little and see how that goes. When he went back into his cage he seemed more interested in some things that had fallen by the wayside and less interested in cramming himself through the bars to get to his Budgie neighbors. I also gave him some plants, but I'm betting Remy would eat plants. Did you try letting Remy commute to a "humans are away time" cage?
-MissK
Re: Lonely IRN
Remy is fine I guess, she just really gets bored so quickly its really amazing.. I think she's actually already bored of our new house and she's only been living there for less than a month! Remy really only stays in her cage whenever we are away or when its time for sleep. She doesnt eat plants anymore but she is definitely a toy destroyer which is great, but she almost seems bored of toys too. Sigh..MissK wrote:Hi. It's been a while, so I'm glad to hear things seem OK with you!
I would suggest give Remy a day or two to bounce back and then don't start being concerned unless she fails to return to normal. Everybody gets an off day or two sometimes. Recently I felt Rocky was bored, and I put him in a different cage for four days while I broke down his cage and washed the parts. Then I put everything back together differently. It takes Rocky a lot longer to get bored than it does Remy, but you could try changing things around a little and see how that goes. When he went back into his cage he seemed more interested in some things that had fallen by the wayside and less interested in cramming himself through the bars to get to his Budgie neighbors. I also gave him some plants, but I'm betting Remy would eat plants. Did you try letting Remy commute to a "humans are away time" cage?
Re: Lonely IRN
?molossus wrote:Such long daytime hours alone is a recipe for problems. is the bird completely alone during this time? if yes is it inside the house ?
if yes then try and do something about correcting this .
Re: Lonely IRN
Could it be hormonal? Could you take Remy to work with you? Can you set up an answer phone with message so Remy can hear your voice? I think it is cruel to leave Remy for so long on her own, are there any neighbours who could look in on Remy?
IRN and Alex are gregarious and need company.
IRN and Alex are gregarious and need company.
Re: Lonely IRN
are you suggesting that its cruel to have just one bird? Ive heard its fine if we keep interacting with Remy and making sure we spend quality time with her when we are home.
We do not have neighbors that can care for her, and its really just the three of us - me, my husband and Remy.
Every time someone says its cruel to leave Remy home alone, I start to think we should give her away to a home with more birds? I love her and I hate to do this, but we cannot take on another bird at this time, and it really upsets me when people say her being left alone is mean and cruel and such a terrible thing while others say its ok.
What should we do? Do we need to give Remy away?
We do not have neighbors that can care for her, and its really just the three of us - me, my husband and Remy.
Every time someone says its cruel to leave Remy home alone, I start to think we should give her away to a home with more birds? I love her and I hate to do this, but we cannot take on another bird at this time, and it really upsets me when people say her being left alone is mean and cruel and such a terrible thing while others say its ok.
What should we do? Do we need to give Remy away?
Re: Lonely IRN
No, l have a single hen bird and l do not think it is cruel, l leave her alone 3 or 4 times a week but you could follow MissK suggestion that you change the layout of Remy's cage, and maybe Remy was having an off day, would Remy like a soft toy?
I was thinking of the long time Remy is alone and that caused him to be sad, but if Remy has bounced back and is his normal self again l do no think you should worry about leaving him alone, can you leave the radio or Tv on?
I was thinking of the long time Remy is alone and that caused him to be sad, but if Remy has bounced back and is his normal self again l do no think you should worry about leaving him alone, can you leave the radio or Tv on?
Re: Lonely IRN
My bird has a similar lifestyle.. alone for long periods during the day.. some days he is in full play mode and wants to follow me around and force me to interact with him... .. but some days (like yesterday) when I came home he just kinda sat around and stayed bored...
I would say it's natural .. although, considering the amount of time he's alone is why i've decided to get another bird for him... plus i don't always feel like playing when i come home from work. Some days I do. So they're like us in that sometimes they're in the mood and sometimes they're not.
I would say it's natural .. although, considering the amount of time he's alone is why i've decided to get another bird for him... plus i don't always feel like playing when i come home from work. Some days I do. So they're like us in that sometimes they're in the mood and sometimes they're not.
Re: Lonely IRN
Would you, could you, consider squeezing in a couple of Budgies? My Budgies provide a lot of interest for Rocky. On the one hand he can't get physically close to them as he would like, but on the other hand, he has built in enrichment. Budgies do require a little bit of care, but compared to a Ringneck, especially if you don't need to have them hand-tame, it's not so much. If you don't let them out, though, you do need a cage big enough for them to fly in. A Ringneck sized cage should be OK. They cannot go in the same cage as the Ringneck at the same time, though; that would be dangerous. **I suggest limit of two Budgies. Four turned out to be *much* noisier than I had expected......
I know you don't want to have more birds, so I understand if this is not an option for you. I just wanted to point out that your domestic flock doesn't have to be all Ringnecks to be enriching.
I know you don't want to have more birds, so I understand if this is not an option for you. I just wanted to point out that your domestic flock doesn't have to be all Ringnecks to be enriching.
-MissK
Re: Lonely IRN
Remy has lots of soft toys.. and she has bounced back to her normal self, but I still worry about her being lonely. I think she is starting to molt again.. she is losing lots of her down feathers... maybe she is just uncomfortable..AJPeter wrote:No, l have a single hen bird and l do not think it is cruel, l leave her alone 3 or 4 times a week but you could follow MissK suggestion that you change the layout of Remy's cage, and maybe Remy was having an off day, would Remy like a soft toy?
I was thinking of the long time Remy is alone and that caused him to be sad, but if Remy has bounced back and is his normal self again l do no think you should worry about leaving him alone, can you leave the radio or Tv on?
Re: Lonely IRN
My bird is usually super active, she usually doesnt sit around and stay bored but a couple days this month she has. I am the same way - some days I just dont feel like playing..Donovan wrote:My bird has a similar lifestyle.. alone for long periods during the day.. some days he is in full play mode and wants to follow me around and force me to interact with him... .. but some days (like yesterday) when I came home he just kinda sat around and stayed bored...
I would say it's natural .. although, considering the amount of time he's alone is why i've decided to get another bird for him... plus i don't always feel like playing when i come home from work. Some days I do. So they're like us in that sometimes they're in the mood and sometimes they're not.
What if we put her cage closer to the window (she has lots of hiding room), and hang a bird feeder outside? So she can watch other birds? She really could care less about other birds, honestly, but at least it may give her something to watch during the day? ................ or is that mean, watching other birds fly around and she is cooped up in her cage
Re: Lonely IRN
I was actually considering budgies the other day, at least two little ones that I dont plan on letting out much.. except I feel like it may be mean to have the budgies watch Remy be free whenever we are home and they cant be? Honestly I do not want budgies... there simply isnt enough space for another large cage... but then again, if it will help I would think about it at least. Whenever Remy goes to the birdiesitter during several days when we are traveling, there are tons of other birds there in their cages and Remy only pays attention to the humans. She completely ignores the other birds. So I would hate to get even more birds like budgies and for it not to have any effect on RemyMissK wrote:Would you, could you, consider squeezing in a couple of Budgies? My Budgies provide a lot of interest for Rocky. On the one hand he can't get physically close to them as he would like, but on the other hand, he has built in enrichment. Budgies do require a little bit of care, but compared to a Ringneck, especially if you don't need to have them hand-tame, it's not so much. If you don't let them out, though, you do need a cage big enough for them to fly in. A Ringneck sized cage should be OK. They cannot go in the same cage as the Ringneck at the same time, though; that would be dangerous. **I suggest limit of two Budgies. Four turned out to be *much* noisier than I had expected......
I know you don't want to have more birds, so I understand if this is not an option for you. I just wanted to point out that your domestic flock doesn't have to be all Ringnecks to be enriching.
Re: Lonely IRN
Well, I do think it's a bad idea to have pets you don't actually want. I also think that having Budgies around would be good for Remy regardless of her behaviour at the sitter's. She could well be overwhelmed by a number of strange birds away from her normal situation. She also could well prefer humans, but stuck at home alone all day she might appreciate whatever company she could get.
I don't think it's very mean to cage a pair of Budgies in a suitably large cage and not let them out. As long as they can fly and get their proper nutrition and enrichment, they should provide each other every happiness. I think it's mean to cage any bird, but I also think there are varying levels of meanness, and if you're going to keep them at all you have to find a spot you and they can both live with.
You have said that Remy appreciates change and newness. I think live companions would provide that, in that there is almost always some activity going on. As well, there are live sounds and sights that would present her the opportunity to engage in group activities such as communal eating and napping.
Your trouble spots are
*not wanting any more birds yourself
*$ and space for an adequately large cage
*it's true they will need to be cared for
*if Remy decided they are competition she might be displeased
*more birds to board when you travel
*care must be taken to get compatible Budgies who will live together in peace (You should be fine to get two babies and grow them up together or take on a second hand pair who you can see already are fine together. Some say the females will be picky with each other, but if the cage is big it can work. This makes a second hand pair seem like a good idea, but recall not every person rehoming a bird is completely honest.)
When I got my second Budgie I put them in a cage 30"x18"x33" high. That's the smallest I think they should have, though as we know I think bigger is better, and I moved them to a larger flight with a year when I got two more. Cage size would seem to be the biggest part of your issue. Some people use stacking cages, but for social birds (such as parrots) I think this defeats the purpose of having a flock. It's a tough issue, I know! I was holding that flight cage for a second Ringneck or maybe an Alexandrine, but when I filled it with Budgies I pretty much opted out of a second larger parakeet. I had ditched two china cabinets in that room in order to set up my bird cages, so I understand making choices about limited space. I continued to wrestle with the idea of placing a third, though smaller, bird cage in the room, but opted for houseplants which are much easier to manage. Unless I branch out into other rooms (please, no!) I think our flock is, by necessity, complete.
I wish you the best with these difficult choices.
I don't think it's very mean to cage a pair of Budgies in a suitably large cage and not let them out. As long as they can fly and get their proper nutrition and enrichment, they should provide each other every happiness. I think it's mean to cage any bird, but I also think there are varying levels of meanness, and if you're going to keep them at all you have to find a spot you and they can both live with.
You have said that Remy appreciates change and newness. I think live companions would provide that, in that there is almost always some activity going on. As well, there are live sounds and sights that would present her the opportunity to engage in group activities such as communal eating and napping.
Your trouble spots are
*not wanting any more birds yourself
*$ and space for an adequately large cage
*it's true they will need to be cared for
*if Remy decided they are competition she might be displeased
*more birds to board when you travel
*care must be taken to get compatible Budgies who will live together in peace (You should be fine to get two babies and grow them up together or take on a second hand pair who you can see already are fine together. Some say the females will be picky with each other, but if the cage is big it can work. This makes a second hand pair seem like a good idea, but recall not every person rehoming a bird is completely honest.)
When I got my second Budgie I put them in a cage 30"x18"x33" high. That's the smallest I think they should have, though as we know I think bigger is better, and I moved them to a larger flight with a year when I got two more. Cage size would seem to be the biggest part of your issue. Some people use stacking cages, but for social birds (such as parrots) I think this defeats the purpose of having a flock. It's a tough issue, I know! I was holding that flight cage for a second Ringneck or maybe an Alexandrine, but when I filled it with Budgies I pretty much opted out of a second larger parakeet. I had ditched two china cabinets in that room in order to set up my bird cages, so I understand making choices about limited space. I continued to wrestle with the idea of placing a third, though smaller, bird cage in the room, but opted for houseplants which are much easier to manage. Unless I branch out into other rooms (please, no!) I think our flock is, by necessity, complete.
I wish you the best with these difficult choices.
-MissK
Re: Lonely IRN
Billie really enjoys looking out of the window, more to do with people she can see me coming up the drive, when l take her out in the cat box to sit in the sun she is interested in the birds flying around if they land near her box she calls to them. But she really enjoys people coming up to say hallo. If l have not drawn back the curtains she starts to sqwark and looks at the closed curtain until l get the message and open them.
Billie enjoys being out of the cage when l go out, she is as good as gold and sits on her cage watching the world go by.
Billie enjoys being out of the cage when l go out, she is as good as gold and sits on her cage watching the world go by.
Re: Lonely IRN
Hey jmwl,
One comforting thought for you, she can't be too upset all day if she's killing toys.
I really don't know what to suggest, besides setting up a webcam on her cage and objectively assessing her behaviour throughout the day to see how affected she is by living alone...
Can you or your partner bring her to work for a few days a week? Both my guys seem to enjoy hanging out in their tiny little work cages so they can talk to Dave all day when I'm busy.
One comforting thought for you, she can't be too upset all day if she's killing toys.
I really don't know what to suggest, besides setting up a webcam on her cage and objectively assessing her behaviour throughout the day to see how affected she is by living alone...
Can you or your partner bring her to work for a few days a week? Both my guys seem to enjoy hanging out in their tiny little work cages so they can talk to Dave all day when I'm busy.
Re: Lonely IRN
Hi all - so I think we figured out the sulky behavior.. its lack of sleep. Ever since we've moved into our new home, we've obviously had been getting things situated, unpacked, etc and waking so early in the morning... with the new daylight hours of spring and the slightly later sleep time and wake up time (we do not cover Remy's cage, she wont have it) - she has been grouchy. But over the past few days, two random nights we had gotten home so late that we couldnt even take her out of her cage because it was just too late.. so she had a lot of sleep over the past two days. And yesterday we spent all day outside her cage with her and she was back to her normal self, playing with everything and anything... plus she is molting so Im sure the less sleep she has the more uncomfortable she is.
Anyway, I think for now we are back to good.. poor sleepy Remy
Anyway, I think for now we are back to good.. poor sleepy Remy
Re: Lonely IRN
Hey, that is unbelievably good news!
I mean, not good that she had to suffer sleep deprivation, but SO good because that's got to be the easiest thing in the world to fix! As I sit here in view of my whole flock preening, I am thinking about how I wake them every night for an hour when I come home after work. It's part of their routine (sad to say) but they do very well despite it. If you have a habit of waking Remy up when you get home, maybe you can just try and keep it to a reasonable minimum and let her compensate by sleeping in? Or you can do the sleep cage thing, where you would put her in a little cage and move her to a more dark and quiet are of the house while you humans get crazy at night.
Glad you solved this issue!
I mean, not good that she had to suffer sleep deprivation, but SO good because that's got to be the easiest thing in the world to fix! As I sit here in view of my whole flock preening, I am thinking about how I wake them every night for an hour when I come home after work. It's part of their routine (sad to say) but they do very well despite it. If you have a habit of waking Remy up when you get home, maybe you can just try and keep it to a reasonable minimum and let her compensate by sleeping in? Or you can do the sleep cage thing, where you would put her in a little cage and move her to a more dark and quiet are of the house while you humans get crazy at night.
Glad you solved this issue!
-MissK
Re: Lonely IRN
That is good ! I can relate to the lack of sleep leading to biting as when l first got Bilie her previous owner admitted he allowed her to sleep any where inside or out side of her cage which never covered and when he gave me the cage it had noticies on the sides warning people that the bird bites. But after l started to cover her up of a night time and introduced longer sleep hours she was better behaved relaxed.