-Your- Bad Habits?

Hang out, kick back, relax and chat in "The IRN Lounge". Excellent place for general conversation, idle chat and off topic threads. Anything goes!!!

Moderator: Mods

Post Reply
Donovan
Posts: 833
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:18 pm
Location: North Carolina

-Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Donovan »

What are your bad habits with your bird?
What do you do to it, with it, or around it that you know you shouldn't

Do you smoke cigarettes in the same room?
Burn scented candles?
Let it fly around the kitchen while cooking?
Do you feed him potato chips? French fries?
Don't clean the cage often enough?

etc....

what do you do that you know you shouldn't? This forum is full of people's amazing diets and training episodes and learning experiences. What about the things you don't really want to admit to? :)

Me... I smoke in the same room as my bird. We live in the same room. I keep a fan in the door way sucking smoke out of the room. I keep as much smoke as possible towards that fan. This amounts to about 3-5 cigarettes a day in the same room since most of the time he's alone with the television or outside. It's not good, but I justify it (wrongfully of course) by saying I at least make an attempt to keep direct smoke away from him. But if you have ever been in a car or a room with someone who is smoking (when you are not smoking) you can still feel pretty uncomfortable with second hand smoke despite their having a window open or whatever.

That's the worst thing I do with him. Next in line would be not feeding him a perfect diet. I give him pellets that look like rabbit food and pellets that look kinda like fruity pebbles to munch on during the day while I'm at work, but he also gets a helping of non healthy foods. When I come home it's play time which means a small handful of peanuts for playing fetch. Then at supper I give him pretty much whatever I'm eating which is generally meat and vegetables (which can include greasy foods) and for desert he gets some pieces of apple, pomegranate, and/or pieces of plum. While he's alone he gets other vegetables that I hang up on little chains as though they're toys, but I always feel a little guilty about letting him have little bits of fried breading on whatever I broke off for him.

So anyway. What do you do wrong? :)
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by MissK »

VERY interesting question.

I interrupt Rocky's sleep every night. I get home around 11pm and wake him as I go through the door. Even if I keep the living room light off and keep closed the curtains that act as a door, I'm sure he is not sleeping while I traipse around the rest of the house. I put on the kitchen light, feed and talk to dogs, get ready for bed, etc. And the dogs mill around, too.

I sometimes (like now) use the computer, located in Rocky's room, once I have the dogs fed, and even with the lights off, I imagine he is awake for this, too. Or maybe not. I've been using the computer in the daytime and looked up to see every dog and bird seriously napping.

It's sad Rocky has his sleep interrupted every night, but this is part of living in my house. The flip side of it is that he's in the main room so, if I'm home, he's pretty much got me unless I'm in the garden. And he's got me for much of the bird-usable part of the day. I leave a little after 1pm. As well, the dogs are in the bedroom when I'm at work, so it's nothing but birds in the main part of the house at the end of the day when they want to go to sleep. In the winter this means he could have been asleep 6 or 7 hours before I come home and wake him. Of course, in the summer it's a much, much different story.

He's got one of the dogs fetching his retribution, however; I am, myself, awakened every night at least once (sometimes thrice) by my dog who wants to go out and pee. :lol: I have to get up and take her out or else she will pee on the floor. She's old and on medication.
-MissK
Melika
Posts: 1920
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Florida
Contact:

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Melika »

Hrm. Bad habits? Probably not cleaning the cage often enough. Sometimes it can go a week or two if things are busy. Granted, I don't feed him veggies/fresh foods often in his cage (if I did, I would HAVE to clean it daily to keep bugs/moisture away).

Every once in a while, things will be nuts and I won't have time or I'll forget to feed him in the morning and he's stuck foraging for whatever was left from the previous day until I get home. :?
Image
Image
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Doodlebug
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 7:14 am
Location: Suffolk, UK

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Doodlebug »

This thread is great-its like a confession box! :lol:

The things I am guilty of are giving Dudes a bit of whatever we're eating too, I just can't take the pacing round and round the cage and the REALLY interested cockings of the head trying to eyeball whatever it is we have on our plates! He used to be out at mealtimes but my partner just can't cope with him!

Also as I work such weird split hours recently I have been getting him out when I get a break, then having to go back out to work again for a few hours, I don't really like leaving him out on his own but I'd feel even worse if he didn't get to come out that day. I make sure the door is shut and the room is as safe as I can make it, and whenever I come back home he is on his playstand and not the curtains or the TV which is pretty good of him at the moment!

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned, what is my penance? :shock:
Loo :)
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by MissK »

You must be sure always to eat healthful foods you can in good conscience share with the bird!
-MissK
Little Buttercup
Posts: 345
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:03 am

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Little Buttercup »

Very good thread this, hope it helps us correct our bad habits. I'm sure I have a loooong list of bad habits. My bad habits cost me my previous ringneck and two budgies. Ok, lets see what bad habits I still have now:

I don't clean the cages often enough, but like Melika I don't give the fresh veggies in the cage
I let them fly around while i'm cooking, but I do make sure no open pots of water or oil while they flying, Coco always crashes and lands in weird places, sometimes in the kitchen sink, in a small pot of cold water, etc
I don't provide enough foraging experiences for them, at times they get bored
I don't spend enough time with them
Theres always the danger of them flying outdoors, with small kids thats always opening the doors and going in and out
I remove the cage blankets 1 hour after sunrise in the summer, if that is bad, i'm not too sure
Sometimes, but only sometimes I tell Coco to SHUT UP, even though it don't help
If i'm eating a salted snack or salted peanuts I do give them a bite or two, would a small amount harm them? and a pinch of biscuit

Oh my! What a bad parront I am!
I certainly don't deserve to have bird companions

Ash
ranechild
Posts: 295
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:57 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by ranechild »

Yeah---Um--- I don't clean the cage as much as I would want to.

I wake up the birdies now that it's always dark before I get home. I usually don't get home til after 7 and if my boyfriend has band rehearsal that night (one of 3 nights a week) the bird might not get any human/out of the cage time. I usually turn the light on, talk to them a bit, and if they really seem interested in staying on their sleeping perches, I just turn off the light and leave them alone.

Camo has been known to very aggressively steal potato and tortilla chips.

I wish I gave them more fresh food. and a bigger variety.

And I wish they didn't get quite so cold in the living room. I've got to work on this.

BUT... No one can say that I don't buy them enough toys!!!!
Skyes_crew
Posts: 1946
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Skyes_crew »

Oh man...I have a seriously long list here.

I show favoritism towards a certain big beaked sweetie so he gets a large portion of my attention.
I couldn't stand changing paper every day out of the cages so I switched to corn cob that I can scoop out the clumps every other day.
I get lazy sometimes with switching up their diets so they get the same stuff for days and days.
I'm OCD so I tend to go overboard on limiting or adding foods to their diets.
I wake up my cockatoo at night sometimes if I need a cuddle.
I have forced a step up from one of my birds...I know how bad this is

Shall I go on :mrgreen:
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

Image
Melika
Posts: 1920
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Florida
Contact:

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Melika »

Skyes_crew wrote:Oh man...I have a seriously long list here.

I show favoritism towards a certain big beaked sweetie so he gets a large portion of my attention.
I couldn't stand changing paper every day out of the cages so I switched to corn cob that I can scoop out the clumps every other day.
I get lazy sometimes with switching up their diets so they get the same stuff for days and days.
I'm OCD so I tend to go overboard on limiting or adding foods to their diets.
I wake up my cockatoo at night sometimes if I need a cuddle.
I have forced a step up from one of my birds...I know how bad this is

Shall I go on :mrgreen:
See, I dunno if any of these things are bad (except the limiting food, which you know already haha).

I think the point of this topic is to show that we're not perfect, our birds aren't perfect, and relationships between the two aren't perfect. But who is???
Image
Image
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Skyes_crew
Posts: 1946
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:49 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Skyes_crew »

Melika wrote:
Skyes_crew wrote:Oh man...I have a seriously long list here.

I show favoritism towards a certain big beaked sweetie so he gets a large portion of my attention.
I couldn't stand changing paper every day out of the cages so I switched to corn cob that I can scoop out the clumps every other day.
I get lazy sometimes with switching up their diets so they get the same stuff for days and days.
I'm OCD so I tend to go overboard on limiting or adding foods to their diets.
I wake up my cockatoo at night sometimes if I need a cuddle.
I have forced a step up from one of my birds...I know how bad this is

Shall I go on :mrgreen:
See, I dunno if any of these things are bad (except the limiting food, which you know already haha).

I think the point of this topic is to show that we're not perfect, our birds aren't perfect, and relationships between the two aren't perfect. But who is???
Definitely not me...that's for sure :mrgreen:
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

Image
Little Buttercup
Posts: 345
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:03 am

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Little Buttercup »

And I think the point of this topic is also that we correct our bad habits. Now that I have admitted to my bad habits I am trying to correct it, at least I don't tell Coco to SHUT UP, when she annoys me, but I still do mutter under my breath 'shut up'. And I am keeping them more busy with foraging and making shredding toys for them.

Soon my list of bad habits will be zero! Or can it be? Maybe I will slip up now and then :D

Ash
AJPeter
Posts: 2534
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:17 pm
Location: Birmingham England
Contact:

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by AJPeter »

My worst bad habit is to do my drama queen act of screaming and whimpering when Billie bites me, also of giving in to her demands to be let out, l give in when she stands in the cage boring holes in my back as l play the organ, so l let her stand on my shoulder. My training has not been good enough to ask her to step down from my shoulder onto the cage and l have to resort to pushing her off with my hands. She is very good and does not bite me. My last bad habit is to check on her before l go to bed to make sure them the temp is not too low Her bad habits?: She wakes me at 4 am at sunrise by twittering away, she sits on her door and throws food all over the floor, she poops on my carpet and on my chair! She still bites first ansd then asks qustions later.
AJPeter
Donovan
Posts: 833
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:18 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: -Your- Bad Habits?

Post by Donovan »

my birds living area is going to look like a premeditated murder scene eventually because i'm getting addicted to plastic roles.. the more i put down, the more i realize i need.
Post Reply