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Post by Pappagallo on Jan 26, 2015 13:11:42 GMT -5
I hope this doesn't sound dumb but I have been meaning to post this.
A little background, my birds are 10 years old. I have a female sun and female quaker. I am 33 years old. As of now, I am very fortunate that my parents and I live under the same roof. Since I have been in the work force (10 years), it has been very difficult for me to maintain a steady job. Once the recession hit in 2008, my work fell too. I know have two part time jobs and do freelance work. I am a musician as well. One of my part time jobs cut my hours and so I am thankful for the other part time job which I obtained at the beginning of this year I am still not making much and if I were living by myself, I would be up the creak. A lot of my friends are also struggling so I know it isn't just me.
My parents and I get along great. My mother is an animal lover too and has a Westie. The birds and I live upstairs. They are cagemates and get along great because they grew up together. They are happy and healthy. In terms of my financial situation, things are starting to look up for me now, but I worry about what could happen down the road. I worry that my birds will get screwed because of my current lack of financial security and I will be forced to re home them. I made a promise to care for them for the rest of their lives. But you see so many people re homing their animals in this economy. I don't want to have to do that. My birds have been a huge part of my life and have even played a huge role in my compositions. So many of my compositions are about birds LOL! To give them up would be like giving up myself.
My question is do any of you have these anxieties. Do you worry about these sort of things and how do you cope with the worrying?
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Post by aaron on Jan 26, 2015 13:32:39 GMT -5
Hi!
I'm 33 as well, also a musician (although haven't been very active in that regard for the past few years, but I will get back to it) -- and I tend to worry about things excessively as well.
My concerns aren't exactly the same, but I often worry about things like Cupcake flying out a door, or getting hurt, or behavioral problems that we can't fix, etc.. If anything happened to Cupcake, our whole family would be a complete wreck. And with all of the ways quaker parrots can get into trouble, there's a constant stream of things to worry about.
It's unrealistic to think that these kinds of worries will go away completely, but I've worked to always remind myself how pointless worrying about this stuff is. So whenever I find myself thinking about it I remember that nothing good is going to come of it, and I try to force myself to think about something else. I just make sure I am doing everything I can to keep Cupcake happy and healthy, and beyond that, I remember that worrying doesn't help, and can only make things worse, if it has any impact at all.
Just do your best for your feathered friends-- that's all they would ever ask of you. If this was the last day you ever got to see them, they certainly wouldn't want you to spend it worrying or fretting about what was going to happen. So be proactive, prepare and protect for them where you can, and just try to enjoy and appreciate the time that you have with them, knowing that you have done everything for them that you can.
(I know, easier said than done... good luck!)
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Post by easttex on Jan 26, 2015 14:05:46 GMT -5
What worries me most is the possibility of my birds outliving me, especially my African grey. I don't know anyone in my area I would trust with them, and my husband is not a bird person by any stretch of the imagination. The way I deal with it is to plan for the possibilities as much as I can. My sister, who lives about 900 miles from me, would take them in. Peppy Quaker is a lot less likely to outlive me, but even if he does I think he is less intimidating to my sister than my grey is, and she would keep him. She lives in Denver, where they have a wonderful parrot organization called The Gabriel Foundation. Assuming she would not be able to keep them both, my request is that she turn my grey over to the foundation. Either to be adopted or to be kept in their sanctuary, as they judge best. I've made some provisions in my will to support that. It's my firm intention that we'll all expire peacefully in our sleep on the same night, many, many years from now, but if that doesn't happen, I know I've done what I can.  |
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Post by Pappagallo on Jan 26, 2015 18:59:41 GMT -5
What worries me most is the possibility of my birds outliving me, especially my African grey. I don't know anyone in my area I would trust with them, and my husband is not a bird person by any stretch of the imagination. The way I deal with it is to plan for the possibilities as much as I can. My sister, who lives about 900 miles from me, would take them in. Peppy Quaker is a lot less likely to outlive me, but even if he does I think he is less intimidating to my sister than my grey is, and she would keep him. She lives in Denver, where they have a wonderful parrot organization called The Gabriel Foundation. Assuming she would not be able to keep them both, my request is that she turn my grey over to the foundation. Either to be adopted or to be kept in their sanctuary, as they judge best. I've made some provisions in my will to support that. It's my firm intention that we'll all expire peacefully in our sleep on the same night, many, many years from now, but if that doesn't happen, I know I've done what I can. I know exactly what you mean. For this very reason, I did my will last year. Of course I got strange reactions from people like: "You are so young." or "I didn't make my will till I got married." Well, I could die at anytime. Death doesn't discriminate against marital status. Last year a guy who was 29 years old died in a car accident. A woman from my work died in a train derailment and she was 35. You just don't know and I wanted to have my ducks lined in a row. If it weren't for my birds I would have never made a will since I really have nothing and am worth very little (in terms of money that is). In my will I have it stated that my birds be left to one of the two sanctuaries I listed with a trust of 5,000 dollars taken from my savings account. I have no one in my family that would take them if I kick the bucket. My family and friends have no bird experience and some just would not take them. My four year old niece loves my birds and if in ten years she still cares for them I may consider changing my will to leave them with her in the event of my death. |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 27, 2015 3:16:22 GMT -5
I also worry about Shah outliving me and what would happen to him. The pony and dog will go back to the rescue organisations I got them from. It is very worrying and I know I have to do a will to make sure the birds are okay. I have no family to hand them on to so I do fret about it quite a lot. I know I have to do something soon but he is a mutilator and I just don't know who would take him on. I am glad this topic has been raised so we can share our concerns with each other and maybe find a way out.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 27, 2015 3:17:02 GMT -5
I also worry about Shah outliving me and what would happen to him. The pony and dog will go back to the rescue organisations I got them from. It is very worrying and I know I have to do a will to make sure the birds are okay. I have no family to hand them on to so I do fret about it quite a lot. I know I have to do something soon but he is a mutilator and I just don't know who would take him on. I am glad this topic has been raised so we can share our concerns with each other and maybe find a way out.
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Post by Pappagallo on Jan 27, 2015 17:19:16 GMT -5
I can understand where you are coming from. I have family but not a family of my own unless you count the birds. I don't have a spouse. My next in kin would be my nieces and nephew. It is really sad that I am closer to them than I am to my two sisters. One is the mother of my two older nieces and the other my nephew and youngest niece. On top of worrying about what will happen to my birds, I worry about my parents going too since my sisters have their own families. I am hoping the nieces and nephew will not outgrow me when they get bigger LOL!
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Post by biteybird on Jan 28, 2015 3:59:13 GMT -5
I can really relate to all the comments made here. I, too, worry about what will happen to Bonnie if I or my husband are not around. I'm 46 and hubby is 52, so we'll be in our 70s/80s by the time she passes away (assuming we and she all last that long). We don't have kids and don't have any capable relatives to look after Bonnie if we're not around. As all of us on the Forum are aware, any one of us can go at any time, regardless of age. So I guess one could live in fear, 'play it safe' and never do anything...but I choose not to live that way. I agree with Aaron - all we can do is plan the best we can for these contingencies (e.g., make a will, find rescue organisations, etc.) and, meanwhile, minimise the harm that can come to our loved FIDS from daily human life and environment.
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Post by siobhan on Jan 29, 2015 13:35:44 GMT -5
My husband often expresses a wish to have a "big" bird (cockatoo or macaw) but they live to be 70, 80 or older and he and I are both in our 50s now. My birds are all approximately the same age -- my canary is 1 and Ringo is 2 1/2 but the Quakers, tiels, Maggie and Benjy are all in the 6 to 10 year old range. With luck and good health, we can all spend many more years together, but the birds won't outlive us like a big parrot would. My parents lived into their 80s and my husband's father is 89, so I expect our life spans will be adequate to take care of the birds ourselves for the rest of their lives. I have several friends who have birds and anyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about them, so I would hope that my friends would step up and take over if necessary. I certainly would do it for them. But I do worry about it, too. My only sibling is 13 years older and my husband's siblings live out of state and we have no children (nor do any of our siblings), so friends it is.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 29, 2015 15:35:32 GMT -5
Thanks for everyone's comments. It has really helped me make some decisions and do something about it now. I am hoping to outlive my animals but there is always that potential for illness and accidents. Plus I just know that I will take on more animals that are in need. When Rebel died I said no more animals - I have the quaker, 2 cockatiels, a dog and a pony. That's enough. And what have I done but agreed to take on a lorikeet who is living in desperate circumstances. So I guess my door will never be closed to any animal that needs a home.
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Post by easttex on Jan 29, 2015 16:43:39 GMT -5
Siobhan, I know you're the last person who needs to be encouraged to seek out needy birds, but there are some older big birds out there up for adoption. You know, just in case your husband really, really needs one. |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 29, 2015 23:08:54 GMT -5
A friend of ours was trying to talk me into taking a macaw he knows of that needs a home just the other day. I would be afraid to have one around the others, and the house isn't big enough to create a THIRD bird room.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 30, 2015 3:11:40 GMT -5
I would hope that my friends would step up and take over if necessary. It seems you've learnt the "step up" concept  . |
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