I've been reading and reading about these since I saw G-mom's zoo pictures. They look so great. I am sorely tempted to put the redecorating and garden on hold to save up for one. But I have so many demands on so few dollars already. And I can't find out how long they live. I don't want to leave a pet behind. They get so sad when they lose their friends. But I am tempted very tempted.

Lorikeets have to be fed a fruit and nectar diet and because of this have very very wet poo which can get really messy in your house! Our parrot makes food flinging look like an olympic event! Especially if it is something nice and soft like noodles or mashed potatoes. Lorikeets are very beautiful, but I would have to pass on that messy poo! If I could have my dream bird it would be a toucan. Feeding pinkie mice and frogs would be just too much for me though! Connie

Food flinging is an olympic event lol. So is beak sharpening, and shredding the curtains.

Fortunately for me I have old ugly tiles on the floors of my apartment so if the pooh didn't go where it was suppose to it would be easily dealt with. As far as their cage a doubled bottom cage using clumping cat litter would work, wouldn't it? With an outter edge of plastic at a 45 degree angle near the bottom for a splatter guard.
Let me know if I am being too innocent please.

Your right omnivores and carnavores are the hardest animals to feed. I much prefer to see those beautiful animals in the wild where I don't have to deal with their food.

Sounds like you have a plan...now all you need is a bird!! Connie

I didn't want a parrot when I got Lola for this very reason.

You might look into adopting a parrot.
There are so many parrots that need homes.
I wish I could take every one of them.

It makes me very sad to know that I will more than likely die before Lola. It was not my choice to buy her.

Andy wanted an African Grey very badly. I begged him not to get one, because I researched African Greys and learned that they can live up to 100 years, and older. But, 70 years is about the average I think.

So...I knew that the parrot I got would probably outlive me. And, when I read that Greys are the most sensitive and emotional of all the parrots, and can grieve themselves to death when their owner dies, I surely didn't want one.

But, Andy insisted.

So, now I have to worry about what will happen to her after I'm gone. This is a very real and emotional concern for me. I have left detailed instructions that when I die, Lola is to be "put to sleep" and buried WITH me. This has caused some controversy in my family. Everyone loves her dearly, and says they couldn't bear the thought of losing both of us at the same time.
But, I can't bear the thought of Lola grieving herself to death because her mommy is gone.

I think a Lorikeet lives about 20 years+.
I don't know how old you are. Since Lorikeets don't live as long as African Greys, this might work out for you. But, if you look around, you might find one somewhere that needs a loving home...and at a very low price. I paid over $2,000. for Lola, but recently saw a very young African Grey for sale on a bulletin board at the vet clinic for $300.! The owners had gotten it for a "status symbol", and didn't realize what a pain in the butt a parrot was.

For someone who lives alone and would like some company, a parrot is a wonderful friend.

Lola is the best friend I have ever had, and I love her dearly. If someone offered me a million dollars for her, I wouldn't take it. There is no amount of money that could buy Lola. That's what kind of bond we have.

I didn't mean to write a novel here, but when I get on this subject it's hard to stop.

Cindy Faye

I looked into parrots. All of the rescue places want you to spend a great deal of time caring for the parrots at their location. It is a great idea unless you live far away from them and can't drive or afford to be driven. I understand and agree with their concern especially with a long lived species but there was no way I could met their requirements. My other problem and I don't know why it is but the parrots beaks bother me lol. It's just to big. I've handled owls, pegions, parakeets, and hawks no problem. But give me a good sized parrot and I get frightened. It doesn't make sense and I have tried to talk myself out of it without success. I think I have sufficient space to give a lorikeet a nice home and pet pooh seems like a surmountable problem. And I understand that the larger ones will talk so maybe I could do this.

20+ would be a good life span. I expect I could manage that. 70 would leave me with the same delema you are in and it is just not something I could face. You have made a very hard decision and I applaud you but I don't think I could. And there wouldn't be anyone to take my pet.

It DOES make sense!
A parrot can disfigure you in the blink of an eye.
Be afraid...be very, very afraid!

Lola has enough pressure in her beak to snap a finger off...literally. She eats chicken legs, and bites them in half...right through the bone, with no effort at all. The sides of her beak are like razor blades.

I hope you find a lorikeet.
Birds are very good friends, and a lot of company.

Cindy

Greys do tend to be one person birds. But I have known many that are not. Does Lola have other people that she enjoys being with?

I have a friend that has a blue and gold macaw that is about 10 yrs old. Macawas are longer lived than most parrots, cockatoos are probably second in longivety. I would like to see a study of the average life span of parrots in captivity. I would think it would be longer than a parrot living in the wild.

My friend and I promised to take each other's birds in when we die. Her son and daughters have also volunteered to take her bird after she passes. I feel confident in her ability to provide for my little parrot, however, mine only has about a 30 yr life span and she is 12 now.

I think a lot of people think it would be neat to have a pet parrot and jump into it without really doing any research. There are a lot of birds in need of homes. We have 2 great danes (these are our 4th and 5th danes) and people are always telling us how "cool" it would be to have a dane. Ours are not outside dogs and I don't think they would be happy outside anyway. They are very sensitive. One of them has to have thyroid medicine daily. We always try to tell people the "down" side of having large dogs. Short life span. If they are sick it is expensive as it is like buying medicine for a person. My pup was sick last week and it cost me $85 at the vet. Also, preventative medicines cost a lot. Plus they have to have a special diet. The worst thing about danes is the short life span. 7 is practically ancient for a dane.

Don't know how I got off on the dog rant...it is nice to see other pet lovers that are really concerned and caring. It is sad that there are so many "throw away" pet people in the world today. Connie

There was a macaw that was retired from Busch Gardens a few years ago at the age of 122 years old. It went to live with someone after it was retired and I haven't heard anything else about it...I wonder if it's still alive?

Yeah...my dad thought it would be "cool" to have one when I was a kid. :rolleyes: He was into status symbols, and back then nobody had a Great Dane. We had to have her flown to us from across the country. She was a sweetheart, but we lived in an apartment in the city, and she had no place to run and get the exercise she needed. We finally gave her to some friends in Kentucky where she could run loose all the time.

I think it's terrible that so many people get parrots without thinking about the big picture. A few years ago a friend of mine called me to see if I would take a Scarlet Macaw that some people wanted to give away. She said they kept it in a closet in their garage...in the dark because they had gotten it to "go with" their jungle decor in their family room, but it made a mess and was loud! So, they moved it's cage into the garage...but it screamed all the time for attention. So, they moved it's cage into a closet in the garage to muffle the screams.

That's pretty sad. I cried so bad because I couldn't take it. I was married to Andy then, and he said NO MORE BIRDS! He was one of those people that didn't realize the whole picture when we got Lola. He would have probably banished her to a cage and she would have never gotten out if it had been him alone.

As it is, Lola is one of the more fortunate parrots I know of. Sometimes she goes days at a time and never has to be put in her cage (except her sleeping cage at night). In the last month she's only been in her cage when I have my doctor's appointments...once a week for about 4 hours. Otherwise, she is on my shoulder or on the back of the LazyBoy in front of the window, or hanging upside-down from toys I have suspended from the ceiling all over the place!

She's a free-range house parrot!


Cindy

OMG your kidding? If you ever hear of something like that again call me. I don't know how but you can bet I'll find a way to come and get it. I may be afraid of them but I would never abuse one like that. Those are beautiful birds and deserving of much better. I've taken on a lot of feral cats and wild creature that were injured so I'm sure working with a parrot everyday I would learn how to keep my fingers in tact. Barn owls have nice long claws and I managed that. Most of the time without a glove. I don't have any teflone so that wouldn't be a worry either.

I hear of parrots needing a home quite often...because people that know I have Lola always call me to see if I'll take another parrot, since they know I'd be good to it.
But, I can't take another one.

A few years ago a woman called me...she'd heard about Lola from the vet clinic...
(This is sad...)
She was dying of cancer, and wanted her Military Macaw to have a good home. She wanted to find a home for it before she died, so she could come see it, and see that it was happy in it's new home. She wanted that peace of mind.

She was being very thoughtful to make arrangements early enough so that she wouldn't have to worry about what was going to happen to her baby after she died.

There was no way I could take it. It was right before my divorce, and things had gotten pretty bad here...I didn't even know where I'd be living from one day to the next.

She cried so bad when I told her I couldn't take it.
So did I.
I still can't even think about it (like right now) without crying.

If you are serious, I will definitely call you the next time I hear of something like this.

Cindy

I am serious about an abused bird. I think it would probably cost be about 100.00 dollars for a round trip bus ticket and I may not arrive in the best condition but I can be very stubborn when the situation warrants it. I'll have to ask Jimmy if I have to buy a one way ticket to bring the parrot back on but if that is what it takes that's what I'll do. We may not eat well the first month but we'd get by. I would borrow money to support a pet that I would never borrow for myself.

Well this is bad they won't let them travel on the bus. What's your closest airport. Do you think they would let the parrot have it's own seat? I'll check but I need to know where your closest airport is. There isn't anyway I could rent a car and drive back unless they ran some kind of special. And I just don't see that happening. Do you know of anyway these darlings can travel? Barring that do you know of a rental car company that allows for unlimited mileage lol. Yeah that one is pretty far fetched I'll admit. But I can't stand to hear of abuse it drives me a little bats. I doubt that anyone who would abuse a bird would be willing to bring it up here but if they would I would definitely make a home for it.

If you want to ship a parrot you can check with Delta Dash. You have to have an airline approved pet carrier for the parrot. They travel in cargo (heated/air conditioned) and there are certain requirements as far as the weather I think. As far as riding in the plane, if you had a ticket then probably only small birds (probably about quaker or cockatiel sized) would be allowed to travel on a plane, but maybe if the carrier would fit on your lap that would work. You would have to contact the airlines and each airline has different rules & regulations. The parrot would probably have to have a health certificate (last time we got one it was about $25) issued from a vet that looked at the parrot. It would probably depend on the vet if they would do any lab work or not. Basically all the vet is doing is saying the parrot appears to be healthy if he issues a certificate without any tests.

Connie

HI ALL very nice topic.but the title i thought was kinda funny i thought of a big bird with a cold beer and hollering GET ER DONE.

lol @ Mike. I never thought about the "red neck" in that way. That is funny.

Conney thank you for the information. Cindy does that sound do able? It sounds like it would take a little time once we were aware of the problem but depending on the situation maybe we could handle it. I don't like the idea of any person, animal or plant being abused. I'll do what I can to help.

HI ALL we whent to the zoo also and had a great time we fed the Lorikeets nectar from little cups it was very cool.heres a photo of my grandaughter and myself feeding them.just thought i would share the photo with you all.
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SACz*9wU5N9TLI*PdkncacQ9rPS0E!uay0JeJ4LX!9jcn!xUutfdg4Fv5Tong2qwDqRB0Fr9YgpZV0MEt49VEWumNwWyPJoD9t5UV1YLRGQBAAAAAAAAAA/Jun09#20.JPG?dc=4675529678144682359[/img]
your friend in gardening n birding.mike57

What did the grand think of the birds, Grandpa? And how old is the little one?

I remember taking my daughter to the zoo when she was about 18 months old. The monkeys for some reason seemed very agitated by her looking at them. They threw rocks at her! Thank God for the Plexiglass(?) enclosures!

Dianna

Aww, what a cutie! I bet she loved the lories! Connie

Cool! There's Mike57!
Your granddaughter doesn't seem at all afraid of them!
I bet she liked those beautiful colors!

Beautiful little girl there,Mike!

The Lorikeets are really cool,aren't they I want to go back to the zoo so bad I can't stand it! If Cindy ever gets down here we are going to pack a picnic and spend ALL day at the zoo

G-Mom

HI ALL we had a wonderful time at the zoo The Lorikeets are really cool birds they had over a hundred flying around in the inclosher my grandaughter was not scared at all she loved them that was a older photo she was about 20 mounths old at the time but she has just turn three and is very very smart she loves comeing up here to my house to see all the flowers and the birds here i have a lot of feeders and lot of houses for them.we plain on makeing another trip to the zoo soon she loves all the animals but she loves the birs the best the Lorikeets will land all over you.she loved feeding them the nectar she was not scared at all.she loves birds.and now you all know what i look like anyway just thought i would share a great photo and share a good memory for me. place tears in my eyes here. they sure do grow up fast.i have more zoo photos i will share later on.thanks for the compliments on my grandaughter and the photo.your friend in gardening n birding.mike57

HI ALLhere are a few more photos of our trip to the zoo.the first one is lorikeets.
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SAAAAOQU2!FTLI*Pdkncaf962J!yAYewxwv1HB9c1S*vGxDkGGBVQd9vZ*8v3Xp*I!*PT0tAN0cb5fM1sRjDe9r5hYrIz4RYygcH4shhmyAGKvh3AABjAQ[/img]
the second ones is of two parrots siting out in the open over a bog garden.
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SACz*!AU4OBTLI*Pdkncaa9B8N4AmYdV6p!iiV79ZacP7RfjqOlesZO8h9Q2hRCwKkCuV47gCDoD7TuNibGEefqZF5l0OJb6JSUB1a!MJwwBAAAAAAAAAA/Jun09#24.JPG?dc=4675529822236735832[/img]
the third one and the fourth one are pink flamingos.
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SAAPHOEUH!FTLI*PdkncaQTSHN9CBCnlNTwZW*9xyqBkQNfIrt4DXnsGdcgi5yE9uO8tV*Bidx7WtHEEDnXIbh4lYD1XztiX0WprFw18yo4GKvh3AABjAQ/Jun09#25.JPG?dc=4675529822332179550[/img]
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SAA4A!IUXuFTLI*PdkncaQYWyIR6xO*CpesOyrMDe9xSzuErcPweKBnbW4*mQ8ylY6JUNvG4!PEunfZoeDxRmRuen44fImOMUZ7T6SZgIq4GKvh3AABjAQ/Jun09#26.JPG?dc=4675529822413853921[/img]
the fifth one is a a male peacock that wonders around the zoo.
[img]http://www.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SACrHeUUHeJTLI*PdkncaYapVNZ3sV2GLjYh*vj5*MnDYDF5j8JCg2DnXqkmHAPlVALabmFpgIS5mjVJt1fOW0rhzE!pWloNeNvBedZ35ywGKvh3AABjAQ/Jun09#47.JPG?dc=4675529822488766104[/img]
hope you all injoy the photos.your friend in gardening n birding.mike57

mike...
Where did your pictures go???

Cindy, I had meant to tell you that the Week-end That Darin came in his M-I-L was bird sitting for their quaker parrot....it got OUT and she was SOOO afraid to tell them. It stayed out all week-end and then on Sunday she spotted it in a tree, so she got a plat of food and sat in a lawn chair and started eating...Soren (the bird)came right on down to share her lunch, so thankfully it worked out well!
I also was reading about the great danes. I use to breed them, they are probably my favorite animal of all! My first dane, Pearl, passes away last year...she was 13...pretty unheard of for danes! She was also an inside dog...people kind of think you are crazy when you talk about having a dane in the house, but they behave better than most small breed house dogs. there is nothing any more fun than having a litter of dane pups...I just love them

HI afgreyparrot The photos are there unless there not loading for you.your friend in gardening.mike57

Vanessa, I had a neighbor one time that had a Great Dane and a St. Bernard that she kept as house-pets. They were NOT house-trained, though. I didn't visit her home very often.

Mike, the pics don't load for me, either. Where are they hiding?

Dianna

dont know have to ask hostess i guess i see them fine.mabe there to large ask bill or the hostess to check on it there there i promise.i am looking at them now.if we cant find them i will try reposting them but smaller ok.your friend in gardening mike57

ok it has to be the site i just whent to the bird house guords and 2 of my photos there where not showing up.heres the photos again but there real small cant see them very well.










hope they show up now.

Vanessa, 13 yrs is great for a dane, I sure hope my two live to be that old. Their short life span has to be the biggest down side to danes. Mine are house dogs and people are surprised to see them inside. We also walk them a mile and a half every evening and we always get weird looks and the typical "who is walking who" or "you got a saddle for that thing" comment. Or someone makes a remark about us walking our cow (since August is a harlequin). They are wonderful with our grandbaby, our pup just loves her. The fact that she always seems to have something to eat doesn't hurt either LOL.

They make great pillows:


Woody watching the yard for birds:


Daisy (who thinks she is a dane, we don't have the heart to tell her she isn't) and August dressed up for halloween:


For anyone who knows a dane, this is a typical nap, even better because mommy stripped the sheets for washing:

Yep! Mine used to sleep with me when I was a kid...on the top bunk bed!

Vanessa...They were so lucky to get the little quaker back. I hope if Lola ever gets out I can be so lucky. My ex-stepdaughter tries her best to let Lola out every time she comes here. She hates Lola with a passion. I finally went totally OFF on her a few days ago, and told her she was not welcome here and not to come back.

P.S.
My Great Dane (Jessica Duchess Of Laurel) was brindle, too!

Mike57...
I see all your pics now...the big ones, too.
They are awesome!

Aren't those macaws beautiful?

HI Afgreyparrot i am glad you can see my photo now.yes the macaws are very beautiful birds they have free rome of the zoo its all open and they stay there all over the place.that grey you have is also a beautiful bird i bet you got it spoiled right lol i know i would.hope you injoyed the zoo photos.your friend in gardening.mike57

More than I care to admit.
She's sitting on my shoulder right now, as always.
She eats at the table with me, takes a shower with me everyday, has her own bedroom, has her own living room with a 31" TV for cartoons (in front of a HUGE cage that she sits ON not IN), I ordered over 50 bucks worth of treats for her yesterday (you should see her when the Fed-Ex guy comes to the door! She goes crazy!).

She's my life.

lol@ you and your bird sound like you defanatly have her spoiled rotten from the sound of it.guess shes the boss to huh?lol but sound like she loves you a lot they sure can be very good company.your friend in gardening.mike57

I just had to chime in this thread too!! I have a Blue and Gold Macaw (Koko) a Vosamari Eclectus female (Olivia) a Jenday Conure (Sunni) and a Quaker (Hishee). I was reading about the rescue, I have done so many rescues with birds, my last was a breeder with over 200 birds, the owner got sick and his partner just left the birds to fend for themselves.. well they did, I had parakeets eating their own siblings in order to stay alive, I had to hand feed quaker and ringneck babies and a couple of zebra finches thrown in. Just have to throw in how very cool those finches were, if I didnt already do cat rescue I would have kept those little ones. My Koko was from that rescue, They were selling her to a lady that her only experience with a large bird was when Koko sat on her arm at a bird show ( anyone who knows birds knows that when not in their own habitat they are very well behaved) She also had 3 small children. Koko is NOT for an inexperienced bird owner, I have quite a few scars from her beak while trying to earn her trust, anyway when it came time for her to pick Koko up Koko was being her usual self and kept lunging at the woman in full attack mode, needless to say I ended up paying the woman what she had paid for Koko. Now Koko is my very best friend.. but it was alot of work!
Didnt mean to write a book but this subject is very near and dear to my heart, not just birds but all animals, we are a throw away society, I have 40 cats that were throw aways, they are all fixed and they get their shots every year, in my rural area there are "free kittens" signs up everywhere so the cats that are here will most likely stay forever. Better stop now...~Stepping off soap box~

I use to have a cockatil her name was shelia(I have pictures to scan sometime.Debra had pictures from when she had her,before I got her)she was free range also.her cage was left open all the time.she was really a trip,I do miss her still.I almost took a african grey but was worried about move to TX so said no.I have to agree with the free range.I always clipped shelias feathers so she was safe.I think I'll just enjoy my ducks for now.believe me 3 ducks moulting got lola beat ANY day.
(I once had my AC dude come out to service my AC that froze up....cause my bird shelia was moulting!!!LMAO)

I've wanted an Umbrella Cockatoo since I was about 12 years old. My mom said I could get one as long as I paid for it, which at the time, meant getting a job. Well, naturally that never happened, but instead I did research on the birds (and parrots of all types). I hope that one day (I am 19 now) I can have one. They are the sweetest most kind and loving birds I have ever seen.

My oldest brother had a friend who had a blue and gold macaw, a cockatoo, plus various other small parrots and other "rodent" animals. He would clip a leash to their Identification rings on their legs and take them outside to play with him and their toys. The birds loved it. I suppose I should specify that he only took out the largest two birds. He had a specially built railing around his deck so that the birds could go just about anywhere they wanted. He clipped their wings, so that they couldn't fly off, so instead they just walked around. It was so neat!

Maybe you should try that with Lola afgrey! I bet she would like it as long as you stayed close.

My brother also had a Green Winged Macaw (the largest captive bird allowed as a pet in the US, or at least NE where he is) He had to give Chulita (it means pretty little girl) away because he got too expensive. Yes, I meant to say he not she because Andy had him tested and it ended up that he was a male with a female name haha. I should add that he tried to keep him, but he had to switch apartments and the new one took nearly all of his cash, so andy didn't have the money to take care of Chulita and rather than let him starve, he gave him to a friend who has another Green Winged. They ended up being one male and one female, and now they have eggs!

I'd still like to have a cockatoo at some point, I just don't know when....I have time, I am only 19 now

Sorry about the book!

Suzi...
Glad you are doing your research before getting a big parrot. The post a little above yours by Shiollie was heart-breaking...I couldn't even reply to it when I read it, because I was crying so hard. I could really go off about people who abuse parrots. They aren't meant to be pets, anyway...they are wild animals that belong in their natural habitat. For that reason, I didn't want a parrot when my husband got Lola. He insisted.

I hate to see a bird in a cage. That's why Lola is out of her cage all the time...she hates being in it, and I hate to see her have to be put in it. But, when I have to leave for the day, which is very rare, she has to go into the cage. It's huge...almost 5' wide I think...but that doesn't matter to her! She wants OUT! As soon as I get home I go straight to the cage and get her out. If I even go into the bathroom first, she starts screaming, "HELP! Get me out of here!"

Lola's wings aren't clipped, and I wouldn't attach anything to her ID bracelet because I've heard too many horror stories about people that do that, then the bird gets startled and ends up breaking it's leg when it tries to fly. There was a beautiful cocktoo at the vet's office once when I was there, and it had only one leg because of this. It broke it's leg so badly that it had to be amputated.

Glad you know already that parrots are a big expense...so you won't be surprised after you get one!
And, did I mention MESSY???
It's absolutely AMAZING how far a parrot can sling banana pudding!

Good luck with your Cockatoo when you get it.
I've heard they are very affectionate parrots...and love to cuddle!

Cindy