A large part of my self care is loving my pets. Taking care of them, watching them be the cute little animals they are, engaged in natural behaviours, brings me a lot of joy.
I have birds. Lots of birds. I have five birds currently, four budgies and one diamond dove. Many people don’t understand my love for birds. But they are the apples of my eye. There’s just something about birds. Caring for them makes me happy and some people might think I’m nuts because my birds have a large flight cage, tons of toys, a play area on top of their cage that I created and I let them fly around.
Yes, you read that right. My birds are allowed to come out of their cage and fly around. Your first thought might be, but don’t they poop everywhere? How do you get them back in their cage? Well, they do poop from time to time, but it’s pretty easy to wipe up and vacuums up easily too. As for getting the birds back into their cages, I don’t have to because birds are smart. They know the cage has their food and that it’s a safe place to rest. They actually put themselves to bed!
I highly recommend if you are interested in acquiring a bird as a pet to do your research before purchasing. Birds are generally social and may require a friend or two to be really happy. They tend to require large cages and aviaries and should not be kept in cages that are too small for them to stretch their wings. Many Facebook groups are devoted to the care of birds, so begin by joining one and asking lots of questions.
Caring for these little animals keeps me happy as seeing them play with toys and each other, hearing their chirps and chatter uplifts me when I’m feeling down in the dumps. Animal care often uplifts people as mere contact with another living creature helps reduce levels of anxiety. Pets cannot judge you, they rely on you, and force you to be mindful when you are paying to their needs. Plus, they are just so darn cute!
Caring for these little birds brings my heart joy, has helped me feel happier and calmer in those moments–and even days–when everything seemed to be wrong.
Do you have pets? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below. Be sure to follow the blog and on Twitter @tidbitsofcare
I don’t have any birds, but I have grown up with a few friends that shared their heart with a feathered friend. Honestly, I never thought of someone not allowing their birds to fly loose in the house. All of my friends did. The way I see it, you bring a pet home specifically to spend time with them, right? Not just to keep them locked away.
Many people sadly simply place their birds in cages that are too small and the birds never get to fly. My dad had finches and carnaries, and they were never out of the cages. However, with birds that small, this kinda makes sense. The best for them in my opinion is a large aviary. For parrots, many keep them locked up as well as many people do not understand the attention and can parrots require. Budgies are generally confined to a small cage, and I’ve known them to die of boredom/depression. They need interaction and companionship and people just don’t know this and some don’t even care. Breaks my heart. I have learned better and do better now. Both my doves and budgies get out of cage time, and lots of it.