Almost bought another U2

[Chrissy and Flock]

I never thought I would hear myself say "I'm glad I havn't gotten tax refund yet" I would have bought another beauty today. she is 6 yrs old, she favors men so that I'm sure would cause problems right away. Any input on this cause I still may go get her $1,300 for her and cage. Would getting her be a set back for Casper? since she is not plucking like she used to. In fact I have only picked up 4 feathers since Sept. other than the fluffy down feather and she seems to be leaving them alone too. :D

[Bambam]

Chrissy..talk to Birdie/Brenda before you decide..she could help you on this better than I..she is Stella & Cassie mom..her 2 are just darlings..let us know what you decide..plz

Freida

[Chrissy and Flock]

I will for sure, think I better talk it over with hubby too LOL although he will say if thats what you want go get it. (he don't know how to say no to me, never has)

[Larry, Baby and Me]

Chrissy - what other species of birds do you have. And how much one on one time do they require? etc - etc.

I would love to have another bird - but Baby is a handful... requires a lot of attention and does get into trouble when she can.

Well - you asked the question and I will tell you "my" opinion. remember - it is my opinion and not gosiple.

I think it's too soon to get another Umbie. I think Casper needs the quality time you have been giving her. We only have 100% of ourselves to go around. And if we start dividing ourselves - it means less of the pie for some one... I would hope that Casper would not get less of your time, attention, and energy than she is getting now.

Umbies take so much of us to keep them well adjusted.

Remember - all that I have said is my opinion and means only something to me.

[lcarle]

I have 2 cockatoos that we rehomed - Zoey (U2) about 6 years ago and Buchee (M2) 1 1/2 years ago. They are both wonderful birds and have been rehomed too much. Zoey has changed since Buchee has arrived I think due to they being the opposite sex. She use to want to cuddle more and even want us more. Now she wants to be around him more. Buchee can be agressive when around Zoey. They still both cuddle with us, but it has changed. So is this U2 a female or male? They may like each other and they may not. Some times I wish that we had not rehomed Buchee, but he is a wonderful bird and needed a good home. Not sure if this helps.

[FoxersArtist]

I think whether or not this would work out from a flock perspective depends on your birds and their personalities. Sometimes really outgoing birds do not do very well mingling with other outgoing birds. Sometimes shy ones have a hard time with more outgoing ones, someone may be too loud for someone else to handle or have too much energy. Mixing male and female birds can really change the flock dynamic also as you don't want to have a boy that's always chasing the girls, boys who compete, ect. We have mostly all male birds in our flock and the females we do have are either too old to interact or antisocial when it comes to the other birds. All of our birds are pretty laid back about one another, except for Peggy Sue who thinks she (he) should be an only child. Her tolerance of the other birds grows thin and she gets very jealous of everyone.

You are the only one who knows whether or not you can committ to that bird for the rest of her life. Do you have twice the time that you spend with Casper? Again, this also can depend on the bird. Benny, our Bare eyed cockatoo gets a little neurotic if I start spending too much time with him. He entertains himself very well and enjoys shorter periods of interaction. Benny BatToo (Triton cockatoo) on the other hand, needs loads of attention, stimulation, and love! I fear that if he was left to self entertain for a majority of the day, he would eventually self destruct.

I suggest that you get to know the bird a little beofre making a decision. You certainly could get a bird somewhere else for less than $1,300 but I am of the opinion that you cannot put a price tag on life. Find out if the bird has any behavioral or health related issues as well as this may affect your decision. I hope that helps.
-Anna

[Chrissy and Flock]

Thanks ppl, she is in a pet store been there for a while dont think she is going anywhere anytime soon tho. I will think long and hard before I make any decission about this, I was just trying to get some input as to whether or not this would be a good or a bad thing for Casper I know the other two birds dont care one way or the other as long as they get taken care of lol.

[birdie]

Here's my 2 cents...
I personally wouldn't add a 2nd U2 to my home. I know the attention Stella requires/demands. I couldn't meet the needs of a 2nd one.
I have Cassie, a G2, she likes to play & entertain herself alot. When I rehomed Cassie, I wasn't sure what I was getting into as I had not read up much about Goffins. Turns out, Cassie fits in here perfectly.

Questions I ask myself when adding to my flock;
Where would I put another cage?
How will the others react?
Do I truley have the time to devote to another bird?

These are the only questions I ask myself, they are harder to answer than they look. {at least for me}

[Chrissy and Flock]

I can answer 1 of those questions right away, got lots of room for several cages LOL the other 2 questions I promise I will be taking time to think it through. I am just a sucker for a bird thats been at a pet store for a long time, and I just love U2s.

[bonnie]

Chrissy, I know that it is SO hard not to just jump into getting another bird. I just LOVE my Chicken and would love to rehome another one right now. I just know that it is not time yet. I have made progress with Chicken, but not nearly as much progress as I would like to make before adding a new bird. I've discussed it with Anna a few times and she just tells me, "The right bird will find you", and that's what I'm waiting on!

[Chrissy and Flock]

Know what Bonnie I like that philosophy, I believe I will wait for the right bird. Hey Casper finally found her way to me after 8 yrs of me trying to get her owner to give her up.

[bonnie]

Aw!!! I finally convinced Chicken's owner to give him to me. I'm SSSSOOOOO blessed to have that bird!
Also, I've decided I won't just buy a bird from a store or from someone selling to make a profit. I only want to rehome birds that need love.

[too&me]

Store birds often need more love than most. We have a few at the sanctuary that people bought just to get them out of the situation they were in at the store then turned them over to the sanctuary for treatment & care. Depends on the store & the staff. Some stores will take a lower cash offer also you have to ask. You have most likely made the right decision for your situation. Perhaps the U2 will have the right human show up before too long.

[Chrissy and Flock]

I really hope so, I know right now I have to be fair to the other birds I have here at home.
I need to concentrate on trying to solve Caspers issues. Each day I check and no feathers laying around. Thats a good sign :yeah:

[Sandi & U2 Cody]

Everytime I read that almost everyone here has more than l bird, I am jealous, as I am a bird lover, and would love to have more, but seeing that Cody demands very much of my time, I feel that I couldn't handle it with more birds. I feel that it would be unfair to him and also to me. I thought about it many times, but then chickened out.

As for getting another bird I think that casper might become jealous and could start the feather plucking going again, since we don't really know what causes this behavior, it would be wise not to frustrate him instead keep up the good work with him.