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Post by rachaelslp on Aug 11, 2015 19:06:58 GMT -5
Still doing some research for my book with the adorable quaker, and I wanted to find out which types of parrots mix. Have you had one with bigger birds? How about little budgies? Or a softbill? I was thinking about having a raven in my story...
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Post by biteybird on Aug 12, 2015 3:27:31 GMT -5
I have zero experience with letting our quaker, Bonnie, play with any other birds, but I know that cockatiels will come off second best if left with a quaker. Other forum members will chime in soon, as this has been discussed on and off quite a bit in other threads (rarely under the heading of the thread though, as some of us - GUILTY ME - tend to digress...).  |
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Post by easttex on Aug 12, 2015 5:05:20 GMT -5
I have a CAG and a Quaker, and I don't let them come into contact. Allie CAG was here first and has shown signs that indicate just a little too much hostility for comfort.
A wildlife rehabilitator friend has an unreleasable crow, and he is fascinating. He talks, and I assume a raven could, too.
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Post by siobhan on Aug 12, 2015 11:28:50 GMT -5
I have tons of experience. LOL Benjy the budgie has come to grief a few times with Jade (and that's specific to Jade's personality, not interaction with a Quaker in general) but he and Clyde are great friends. Clyde lunges at him when he gets tired of his hero worship, but he doesn't try to hurt him. Benjy will buzz a few feet away and come right back. The tiels and the Quakers co-exist but I wouldn't say they're friends. The two tiels are bonded to each other. My pigeon lives in that room, too, and while they don't hang out or play together, they also don't have confrontations with her. If she wants something she takes it, and they back down. I have a starling, too, and she once got into their room by mistake and I was terrified for her, so I wouldn't let her play with them, but a raven is of course much larger and would probably hold his own, like Maggie the pigeon does. As for bigger parrots, I have a cockatoo, and I took Clyde in to see him, and Clyde was terrified. Rocky was indifferent. I wouldn't let them play with each other even if they wanted to, because the size difference is too immense, but I wanted them to know about each other. The tiels and Quakers are about the same size, so they can be together, and Benjy thinks he's bigger than he is. They've worked out a pecking order. Generally, I'd say tiels, Quakers, conures would be okay together. Budgies and tiels would be okay together, but most budgies wouldn't be okay with Quakers.
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Post by rachaelslp on Aug 15, 2015 13:55:32 GMT -5
Wow, what a flock, Siobhan!!
Jade is the Quaker? Benjy the budgie. Clyde is a quaker? Rocky is the too? What type too?
In my book (and I understand you're an author too so you'll get this), I have several birds in one household that are rescues. So I have the Raven, a quaker, and a budgie. They don't necessarily have to bond, but I was curious what their responses would be....
Thanks for the help!!
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Post by easttex on Aug 15, 2015 14:23:31 GMT -5
Maybe you are already accounting for this in your book, but it would not be legal to keep a raven in an ordinary household. You'd have to be a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or otherwise have a permit for it. Not that it doesn't happen otherwise... |
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Post by siobhan on Aug 15, 2015 22:07:13 GMT -5
Rocky is an umbrella cockatoo.
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Post by rachaelslp on Aug 16, 2015 19:22:16 GMT -5
I had wondered about the license for the birds. I think I'll have to state it in the story. Anyone know what would happen if they were caught? Hmmmm
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Post by aaron on Aug 16, 2015 22:34:16 GMT -5
Do people often get caught for such things? I often wonder about this myself.
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Post by biteybird on Aug 17, 2015 3:13:35 GMT -5
This concept could make for an interesting twist/diversion in the plot!
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Post by easttex on Aug 17, 2015 5:26:41 GMT -5
I suspect there is a whole lot of looking the other way when it comes to individuals, but can't confirm that, and wouldn't want to rely on the kindness of strangers/government workers. The main law I'm aware of is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It covers more than the migrators. Technically you can't even collect old nests, molted feathers, etc, of covered species. I've read of incidents where people had to remove displays of dead birds in roadside museum-type things, but not actual prosecutions. The only federal case I know of was pretty recent, and that was against a wind farm in Wyoming. There may be some state laws that are more enforced. For what it's worth, here's my opinion. An individual trying to help an injured bird or abandoned babies is not likely to run into legal problems. But if I were keeping an adult bird captive illegally, I would not advertise it, e.g., I wouldn't go on the local a.m. talk show with it. It's hard to imagine being prosecuted for it, but a fine is a possibility, and the bird could be taken away. I admit I'm a scofflaw myself, but I have a not-entirely untrue story ready if I need it. I have a friend about 100 miles from me who is a licensed rehabber. I have done some things to help her out in getting birds to her, etc., and I can sorta claim any of the stuff I do is under her direction. That's my story. |
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Post by siobhan on Aug 17, 2015 10:31:45 GMT -5
The laws vary from state to state. Starlings and house sparrows are not native species, and neither are pigeons, so in my state, for example, it's perfectly legal to keep them. Some states have laws against keeping starlings even though they're not native to the United States. Mourning doves, on the other hand, ARE native and therefore illegal to rescue or keep, even temporarily, unless you are a licensed rehabber. Naturally, I've done it anyway. LOL If a bird knocks itself silly on my porch windows, I'm not going to let it lie there for a cat or hawk to eat. I'm going to bring it in and give it a safe place to recover and then let it go, and if it's hurt too badly to survive, I'm going to give it a safe place to peacefully die. I don't know what the laws are regarding crows and ravens, but I know a lot of people have crows as pets. My mom knew several and usually they didn't keep the bird in the house locked up; they let it come and go as it chose, and come inside when it wanted to and go outdoors when it wanted to. Both species can talk, and talk better than most parrots, more clearly and with larger vocabularies. Still, if your book is fiction, you can gloss over that sort of thing.
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Post by easttex on Aug 17, 2015 12:49:05 GMT -5
About all the native birds are covered federally, except for some of the game birds. States may have additional restrictions on game birds or they might cover some that are considered invasives, like starlings and English sparrows, but the feds have it pretty well covered, otherwise. It does include crows and ravens. But a creative writer can account for that, I'm sure. As they say, that's no hill for a climber. |
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Post by cnyguy on Aug 17, 2015 19:50:59 GMT -5
Literary license can come in handy sometimes, so you could choose to overlook the legal restrictions on keeping native birds. If you do, there's a good chance some reader will point out your omission. Agatha Christie often said that she suspected that some people only read her books so they could inform her of any mistakes she made; she wasn't a stickler for accuracy about weapons, poisons or legal technicalities.  |
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Post by easttex on Aug 18, 2015 6:36:28 GMT -5
I confess, I'm one of those nit-pickers. |
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