Birdie addiction anyone?

[jriley]

My name is Julie and I'm a bird-a-holic. Is it just me or are there more of us out there?

I just tonight realized that I'm spending an enormous amount of time, money, and energy on pet birds the past couple of months. It started innocently enough...I hadn't had any pet birds in a quite a few years and I adopted a pair of cockatiels to keep me company as classroom pets in my science classroom. Then, somebody at work gave my husband a Quaker. Next thing you know, I just had to have an Amazon. You'd think that would be the end of things, right? Noooooooo

The Amazon, Tucci, has some behavior issues I had never encountered before, so I started poring over internet articles and message boards trying to solve his issues. Then, I decided what he really needed was a girlfriend, and started spending hours trying to track down a Tucuman hen.

So, here we are, five months since Tucci came home. We have a Tucuman hen due to arrive sometime soon from California. We have a brand new macaw size cage for Tucci to hang out in. We have a gazillion new toys, including the latest in bottlebrush and the ones I made myself from toy parts off of eBay. We have the homemade parrot tree that nobody wants to sit on. We have every flavor Nutriberry made, two kinds of AviCakes, three brands of pellets in two sizes, four kinds of seed mixes, the brand new seed sprouter set (came today, seems pretty cool). And I'm STILL on the internet looking at bird stuff! Yikes!

I seem to be trying to convince myself that I need yet another bird. Wow, those rose-breasted cockatoos sure are beautiful. And it would be cool to have a Timneh gray that can make all those great sounds. I hear Eclectus parrots are terrific pets (some on here have made me really jealous!). And, wow, wouldn't it be nice to have an Amazon that didn't bite? I can't seem to quit looking at five different avian classified sites daily.

Please tell me I'm not the only one out here that does this! I'm very lucky I have an extremely tolerant husband. I suspect part of this obsession is because Tucci frustrates me so much. When I had birds before I was perfectly satisfied with a sun conure and a cockatoo. Maybe I'm missing having a velcro bird? Who knows. Does anyone know a cure for the obsessive ad monitoring?

Julie Riley

[catschair]

Sounds pretty normal to me, but I hit 40 birds from time to time, and the FedEx man delivers 125 lb of seed and pellets at a time . . . so maybe I am not the right person to ask!

[Tiffany]

Welcome to Birdboard. You are among fellow bird addicts. I myself have 9.

[cbalvino]

ummm.... can you say 56,addict no but birdie lover you bet,the more I read and study them the more enthralled I become,and even illness or problems make for a more interesting( hobby?)alittle nuts? most people start out thinking that untill they see my bird room and realize how devoted I am,and how truly interesting birds are.My hubby is also totally helpful! when I was away for a couple days he had total care of them and even said now i know why you stay and talk with them!

[ROYJOY]

ive also heard this called, mbs, multiple bird syndrom. my budget limits my abuse. if i could aford it, my dream aviary would be full of all sorts.

[raddaughter]

Welcome to living life with MBS! Multiple Bird Syndrome is probably one of the hardest things about birds, lol. You start with one, then they multipply! You will spend countless hours on the computer, searching out every bit of information you can, even if you already know enough to keep your birds happy and healthy. You will buy every toy you can, and if your birds don't like it, you buy another. I call this syndrome BOS (Bird obbsession syndrome) LOL, it happens! I do it all the time. I am living with two. I want 'just one more until I get the next one'. Oh boy...

LOL, just kidding! I do think birds are wonderful, I can't imagine my life without my two. I soend countless hourse buying countless things for my guys, and yes, pretty much everybody here is like that!

[Irish]

Is it really even POSSIBLE to have just one? *grins*

Yep, addicted here, too. 5 macaws, and waiting for a female baby Scarlet to get hatched from a certain breeder's pair this year. 1 conure, and 6 male zebra finches just for variety :-).

Someday, far down the road, I hope to add a female Hy to the mix, and then we'll be done, I'm thinking :-).

[catschair]

Similar addictive disorders that I enjoy.... MCS (cats) and MSS (shoes). Ain't life grand!

[jriley]

LOL right now. No cures mentioned...uh oh. At least I'm in good company. I was so excited last night because I found a guy on Craigslist with 3 (!) big parrot cages for sale really cheap that would be so perfect as outdoor cages until I convince my hubby he really needs to build me a beautiful aviary for my rose garden :) Of course...one of those cages could be an indoor cage for a new birdie LOL. Just kidding. I think. I hope.

Julie Riley

[cbalvino]

SURE,IRISH,SURE you'll be done, uh huh ....keep telling yourself that