Long term effects of working mom

[LibbyB]

Hi,
I have an 8 mo old CAG who is happy, social and well adjusted. My working hours have always been long, but are increasing due to the nature of my work. My hubby and I are gone from home from 6 AM to 6 PM Mon-Fri, then off and on Sat and Sun for groceries, errands, etc. Our CAG and GCC do not seem traumatized at all by this, they have lots of toys and we always leave the radio on for stimulation. We get them both out of their cages at least 30 min to an hour every night. However, as the CAG gets older, will her need for stimulation increase? What are the odds so much alone time will make her crazy? We live in a large metropolitan area and could probably rehome her to someone who either works from home or does not work at all so she would have a greater level of interaction with people throughout the day--I have taken in stray dogs and cats and done a lot of rehoming, so I know how to do that with applications, contracts, etc. I really want to do what is best for the bird--I feel a huge resonsibility to make her life as good as it possibly can be in captivity, and am in a state of worry over her long-term mental health. Please respond if you have ideas, opinions or experience with the effects of so much alone time on a CAG.

Thanks!

[Lisa B]

Hi Libby. If she is not showing signs of stress....then she might be used to the idea. I would if any way possible let her time out be a bit more because the 30 minutes is not really enough. Maybe a portable tstand where she could go with you or in the livingroom room where she can be part of the family? (I dont know what you usually do , so thats why i am suggesting)
rehoming has all its own set of issues on a bird, so if you are looking into that, please take lots of references and try to go through a bird club or by recommendation. Alot of people will resell or send her form home to home.......
if you need more help, feel free to pm me.

[sboggio]

My wife and I work long days too, and I'm out of town a lot. A couple years ago we got our 9 year old CAG the biggest cage we could find. Its about 62 cubic ft. The old california cage was nice but only about 20 cubic ft, and you could tell she hated being put in, when it was time to go to work. Now she doesn't seem to mind going into her little world in the morning. When we are home she is with us most of the time, usually on a movable tree, or setting on the open door of her cage.
She still starts making zipper sounds and gets mad when she sees my suit case, but is a sponge when I get back.
We do have a cage full of zebra finches next to her, and see can see the wild birds at the feeder out the window. I think she has adapted to the routine, and is OK with it.

[nvranemptynest]

We are currently dealing with a rehoming catastrophe for exactly the reason you are considering it.

Thanks to the help of a rescue (the police consider animals to be property so were not able to offer assistance), and an exceptionally well written contract the bird is safe at home now. Luckily, she was not too affected by the time away with poor care...but there are noticeable differences in her behavior.

The rescue sent me to this board so maybe we could both reassure ourselves that what we have to offer our "Angel" is 'good enough' to her; and so we could possibly help others who find themselves on the brink of the same decision (mistake) we made. We are now in the drawn-out court process for breach of contract.

You are welcome to contact me if you wish any details on what brought about our decision to rehome, the con that was pulled on us, and the affects it has had on the bird and our family. It is a lesson best learned from others' (our) mistakes. Best wishes. ~~Barbara