Cairns and Birds

[Janet]

Does anybody own any pet birds (feathered variety) as well as a Cairn?

I have a lovely cockatiel which is very affectionate

I got her in the summer when my last little cairn Lucy was still alive. I had no problem letting her out and fly about as Lucy was old and blind and didn't show any objection towards her.

Now we have Gem who is 3yrs old and quite lively but very gentle natured. I am afraid to let the bird and her in the same room incase she pounces. I would be interested to know if any other members have pet birds and Cairns living together.

My bird doesn't get out much since Gem came along which is a shame but I just daren't risk it

[kcsdogs]

Not me I pretty much can't have anything smaller than them if it isn't another dog.......my almost 10 year old male Cairn has killed cats and has a intense prey drive. The other two Cairns we have right now are not going to be great with small animals either especially the other male, Montrose. I think that you can do a lot of training and live happily with small animals and terriers but in the end instinct and drive will probably win the day given the right situation.

[TNA]

Digger loves to chase the birds in the yard. I don't think I would trust him around a domestic bird for a minute. Maybe you can let the bird out when Gem is at the groomers, or on a walk.

[Nikki]

angel likes to chase and eat birds

Cairns+birds= dead birdies

[toomanypaws]

Birds, cats, rabbits, hamster, reptiles, we have it all. No, you won't see pictures of them posing w/ all of them. They honestly don't seem to care about them. I never make a fuss about the other critters in their presence and don't allow them to stay unsupervised in the same room w/ them. I do have a pictures of them w/ one of our cats, who will not give up space to a Cairn, and they all seem to love her. When we built this house, we added on an extra room for the birds, and reptiles. Our hamster was an easy addition, being we had a "pet room" for him. The rabbits have hutches outside unless weather conditions force us to bring them into our backroom. Even outside, the Cairns are more interested in the wildlife.

We have a Cockatoo and a Lovebird. We have had our Cockatoo out on his stand around the Cairns w/o a problem. We keep his wings clipped. I think the Cairns are intimidated by his size. He did jump off of his stand once and they all froze as if in fear of him. I never take our Lovebird out if a Cairn is in the same room. The Cairns do nap, and this gives me time to spend w/ the birds.

[Cairnmania]

Hi Janet,

Rudi killed a wood pigeon and a dove in my garden this summer. In the past, I stupidly put a budgie in its cage on a table and when I returned to it found my Cairn on top of the bird cage!

When I was a kid we had a cat and a budgie - we would let the two in the same room together, supervised. The cat knew this particular bird was "off limits" - and the bird knew too. The bird would fly down in front of the cat and pace back and forth in front of him I think that was pushing our luck, however.

Net - I would never leave Gem alone with your bird. Cairns will kill birds, if given the chance.

[OzGirl]

We have a cockatiel as well. Her life before cairns was spent living on the outside of her cage on a playground hubby made or sitting on my shoulder as I worked at the computer. Then along came Roxy and that was the end of her freedom, she only gets out now if the dogs are out walking or have been locked outside. The girls don't pay much attention to her in her cage but if they met without the wire in between them it would be "bye bye birdie".

[chrissysb]

We have a Green Cheek Conure and a Cairn Terror.

The bird's cage is open 24-7 and he is able to walk down so that if Cody is standing the bird could nip at Cody nose. I would never leave them alone unsupervised but in my experience, the bird hates the dog and the dog views the bird as a walking toy. The bird has fallen off the cage a couple of times while we were in the room and Cody just did the puppy bow to it and wagged his tail. I think if we let them at it Cody would have tried to play further resulting in an accidental death of the bird. Other than that, the dog really doesn

[toomanypaws]

Now for the treats the bird drops down to the dog... THAT is another story!!! The bird thinks its fun! I try to get most of it but Cody does get the occasional peanut, sunflower seed, or toy dropped on his head...

Our cockatoo is pretty much on a pellet diet and people food. He gets his thrill dropping a pellet out for one of the dogs to grab. I've watched him drop a pellet and tilt his head to see if anyone saw it fall.

[tlwtheq]

Olie, Teddy and Sweet Pea go out into the backyard like they're being let

out of the starting gate....straight for the birdfeeder. However, I have a feeling

it's because the birdfeeder is frequently populated with squirrels.

Inside, they and Bigwig the bunny and the kitty cat all frolic about the house together.

WHen I'm feeding gerbils, which includes walnut pieces as treats,

I have 3 Cairns and one bunny sitting at my feet waiting for me to pitch

walnuts to them.

It's all counter-intuitive, but it is my experience that it is possible

for Cairns to overcome their instincts if they perceive a prey species

to be a family member.

Hope this helps,

Tara, Mom of Many

[Amber and the zoo]

I have 2 Cockatiels...One is 7 and the other is atleast 10. I also have a parakeet. My Cairn, Ellie, is very interested in them but I never allow them alone time together. Mine also fly about the house once in a while, but I have made it a point to hold on to Ellie when this happens. I am pretty sure if she caught them, they wouldn't make it long. I think it's her natural instinct to chase anything that moves and the sound of the fluttering wings seems to fuel that fire! We did let them all meet nose to beak and she did fine, infact the birds just wanted to crawl on her...but Ellie definitely had a watchful eye and if I had let her go would probably have had her first taste of feathers!!! So, my thoughts would be to kennel your little one while the bird is out if it will be unsupervised Hope this helps!!!

Amber and the zoo!

[tena]

Sophie was an adult when she moved in to an established adult cat duo. They have done really well. Occasionaly we have a "hissy fit" or a chase the cat attack, but usually things are peaceable.

She has become briefly aquainted with a young puppy, and has tolerated her fairly well. Sophie is very quick to point out she is the "big dog", and the puppy (a terrior mi.x) is pretty invasive.

I don't trust Sophie with smaller animals. I can just picture her pouncing and shaking a kitten, or bird before we could stop her. It's the way she plays.

I am sure there is a way to give your bird freedom without putting it at risk. Sometimes pet ownership requires some creative thinking.