what skills have helped you with your birds?

[shel]

a skill we have in one area can (sometimes) surprisingly lead to a skill in another area. what i have found recently is that knowing how to knit and crochet has allowed me to take a variety of bird cages and "see" how i can fit them together to make bigger and more interesting cages. it takes some cutting of cage bars and then attaching the cages together securely, but i can just "see" how it will work out. the same way i can "see" how a knitting or crocheting pattern will work when it is finished.

i am not a math wiz (took as little as possible and barely passed) and i never had any interest in engineering....but it's cool to be able to look at 2 or 3 cages and say to myself "i can see how this can work to give my birds more room".

does anyone else have skills that they never thought would help with keeping birds but have turned out to be useful? if so, please tell me about them. i'm always interested in learning!

shel

[Mare]

Very cool thing you are doing with the cages, Shel! I crochet but don't knit, I also have done many quilts. Back to your question,,raising children..this would have to be my foremost skill in helping me know how to deal with my birds. I learned patience, timing, and unconditional love :)

[shel]

Very cool thing you are doing with the cages, Shel! I crochet but don't knit, I also have done many quilts. Back to your question,,raising children..this would have to be my foremost skill in helping me know how to deal with my birds. I learned patience, timing, and unconditional love :)

oddly enough, i don't really *like* children. i'd never harm a child, but i don't enjoy time with them. at best i find their conversation boring....at worst i can't wait to get away from the noise and confusion they create.

once they get to be 12 or so i usually REALLY like them, and i get on exceptionally well with teens....

[Mare]

Such an honest reply, I appreciate that. Not everyone likes kids, I don't know if I did, before having them. I also don't know if I would have liked birds before having them? Question of the year!:th_biggrin:

The noise and confusion that children make is what prepared me for my cockatoos!

[Feathers First Aviary]

Patience and a high pain tolerance lol!

[Turquoise]

I love your idea and thought process with knowing how to crochet and knit in determining how the cages will fit together Shelly. :th_biggrin:

I also crochet and knit (when I find the time anymore) and I understand where you are coming from with your concept on it. I know what you mean about 'just seeing' it and knowing it will work. I have always been that way when I built anything, not a math genius either. My hubby would always try to 'analyze' everything and had to use this formula and that to figure if something would fit together or fit a certain place. I did all my building of cages and other things while he was gone to work as we could never agree on how it should be. I didn't need his fancy figuring for days & weeks to get the job done in a day's time.

I feel a color when I work with any of my art type objects, be it painting, crocheting, knitting, cross stitch or whatever. I see it as a whole coming together and I just know when it will work & when it won't. Oh yes, I do know what you mean about this one Shelly. Great comparison of the two.

Now on to your question about what skills have helped me in living with my birds. Hmmm, well I don't know what to think on at the moment. Animals of some sort, shape or size have always been in my life. They were my only friends I had when I was young living 10 miles from town, so no one else to play with. My older siblings were all grown & gone from home by the time I was 8 yrs old, so I had lots of alone time. Animals filled the void for me so my life was not so empty. My Mom had a lot of mental problems, was very difficult to live with or around. I never knew when or if she would kill me, literally. Not joking with this one!

So in all fairness to my Mom: I have to say learning to deal with a mentally ill Mom and her bi-polar, schizophrenic, paranoid personality with huge bouts of anxiety was one of the best learning skills that has helped me with dealing with the same personalities in my birds! My son did mention while he was home recently that he figured out why I chose to start keeping parrots again. I asked him why and he said, "They remind you of Grandma." "She never wanted anyone to sleep late, she was mad all the time and had a devious attitude like they do." I hate to say it, but he is right about them being a lot like my Mom.

Shelly, I also understand where you are coming from about being around small children. I was never 'child oriented' myself. I chose to have one & only one child. I did not have the desire to fill my home with the little creatures on 2 legs. No, that was reserved for the 4 footed & no footed ones, as well as the 2 footed feathered ones. :th_LOL:

[kendrafitz]

Before I got married, I thought I would never have kids. I am an only child and had no experience with kids. I just had no idea of how to relate and very little interest.

Once I married my husband, my view changed a bit. I wanted to have a family but kids were alien to me. Fast forward 13 years, we have two children and I can't picture life without them. I have found I am actually a kid person, mostly bc I still act like a child myself. My kids friends like to joke with me and have told me I am not scary like lots of other parents. Which is good and bad I guess. :)

The same happened with Rosie. Not a bird person, never had an interest. As fate would have it, since my daughter was in love, we took the plunge. Adore my red girl more than I thought possible. I have now discovered I love big parrots and most seem to respond well to me.

So I guess the most helpful would be from what I learned from being a parent. Being silly, singing loudly and off key to amuse others, not taking things too seriously, chaos often means fun times & it's ok for the house to be messy. Also being able to tune out lots of noise. :).

Really my Rosie and my kids have taught me more than I think I will teach them. And I am eternally grateful that I allowed myself to have the wonderful experiences I do daily with little creatures I never anticipated having.