Does anyone breed exotic birds?
- Thread starter TheTeenyTinyFarm
- Start date
Quote:
Tutti says "Thank-you" and "where's my crapper?" in response to the comment she is cute.
crapper is parrot for cracker in this house.
Hi V!
Tutti is PRECIOUS!
Tutti says "Thank-you" and "where's my crapper?" in response to the comment she is cute.
Tutti is PRECIOUS!
I'm in parrot rescue as well.
Even small species are abused and neglected. Often.
And I wish I could count on my fingers and toes the number of times people leave parakeets, cockatiels and conures on curbs, in abandoned apartments, dumped on relatives. Because people pay less they're often even more likely to throw them away. I've even picked them up from second hand stores where they were dumped cage and all.
Sometimes cheaper to acquire also doesn't pay for the benefit of the animal unless the person doing the acquiring has actually studied and understands the animals' needs.
What they call a parakeet cage isn't fit for MOTH. They're winged. Flight is what they're supposed to DO. My conure - when he is in a cage - is in a cage sold for amazons and larger. My cockatoo in a cage that's for the large macaws.
And neither in them all day.
Even the wee ones need care, time, exercise and training. Something folks don't think about much. And they can live for decades, when their appeal usually wears off in three years if not sooner.
It's not the size of the parrot, or the age when you get it, that determines a "bond". That's horsehooey.
Parrots are intelligent individuals and they will, as they mature - decide who they LIKE. And they can decide it's not the person who raised them. Or they can decide to treat you like a mate - and that doesn't work well if you don't know how to train and work with the things that go with that. The parrot who loves you beyond all things will bite the stuffing out of you to "protect" you, to teach you something, to object to something or someone near you.
Add screaming when the bird is no longer a dependent baby, whether happy or sad, lonely or just chatty, parrots are loud.
Most parrots won't live their whole lives with their original purchaser. Most won't live a full natural lifespan, but die from injury or neglect or disease, or all three.
There are tens of thousands of parrots even small ones, in shelters and sanctuaries and rescue homes right now.
Want to help someone with bonding with a bird? Be a rescue home, a foster, someone who volunteers with a sanctuary. Be someone who refers owners having problems to places where they can get HELP keeping their bird.
The costs of a rescue bird are often not great. What they will do is generally require that the adopter actually display working knowledge in parrot ownership, proper habitat, and training or retraining sources for help.
Intelligent, self-aware wild animals are not "simple pets." The parrot is not domesticated. They want to fly, they need to scream, shout, yammer, laugh and cheer, they will sometimes or frequently bite.
Save a soul, save several souls. Adopt. Don't breed. Turn other people onto adoption. Expand the knowledge of what it really takes to own and care for a parrot.
It's not profitable. But it is rewarding.
Even small species are abused and neglected. Often.
And I wish I could count on my fingers and toes the number of times people leave parakeets, cockatiels and conures on curbs, in abandoned apartments, dumped on relatives. Because people pay less they're often even more likely to throw them away. I've even picked them up from second hand stores where they were dumped cage and all.
Sometimes cheaper to acquire also doesn't pay for the benefit of the animal unless the person doing the acquiring has actually studied and understands the animals' needs.
What they call a parakeet cage isn't fit for MOTH. They're winged. Flight is what they're supposed to DO. My conure - when he is in a cage - is in a cage sold for amazons and larger. My cockatoo in a cage that's for the large macaws.
And neither in them all day.
Even the wee ones need care, time, exercise and training. Something folks don't think about much. And they can live for decades, when their appeal usually wears off in three years if not sooner.
It's not the size of the parrot, or the age when you get it, that determines a "bond". That's horsehooey.
Parrots are intelligent individuals and they will, as they mature - decide who they LIKE. And they can decide it's not the person who raised them. Or they can decide to treat you like a mate - and that doesn't work well if you don't know how to train and work with the things that go with that. The parrot who loves you beyond all things will bite the stuffing out of you to "protect" you, to teach you something, to object to something or someone near you.
Add screaming when the bird is no longer a dependent baby, whether happy or sad, lonely or just chatty, parrots are loud.
Most parrots won't live their whole lives with their original purchaser. Most won't live a full natural lifespan, but die from injury or neglect or disease, or all three.
There are tens of thousands of parrots even small ones, in shelters and sanctuaries and rescue homes right now.
Want to help someone with bonding with a bird? Be a rescue home, a foster, someone who volunteers with a sanctuary. Be someone who refers owners having problems to places where they can get HELP keeping their bird.
The costs of a rescue bird are often not great. What they will do is generally require that the adopter actually display working knowledge in parrot ownership, proper habitat, and training or retraining sources for help.
Intelligent, self-aware wild animals are not "simple pets." The parrot is not domesticated. They want to fly, they need to scream, shout, yammer, laugh and cheer, they will sometimes or frequently bite.
Save a soul, save several souls. Adopt. Don't breed. Turn other people onto adoption. Expand the knowledge of what it really takes to own and care for a parrot.
It's not profitable. But it is rewarding.
I agree with Walkswithdog, my husband and I rescue Conures, I know, were crazy. We currently have 3, all were given up for different reasons. 1- the girlfriend didnt like it, 2 - divorce, 3 - dad bought a parrot for the kid, whod wanted a lizard and didnt know it would be loud.
Ive had other rescued bird over the years, a half moon conure I saved from the storage room at a pet store where hed spent 12 years, an Amazon on his 18th home in 20 years who was missing all his toenails from frost bite and was terrified of people. The family I got him from had been feeding him fruit loops.
Just because you d sell your bird to someone reputable doesnt mean that in their 10 90 years old life span they wont end up somewhere else. People think parrots and cute and fun and cool, they can talk! but really dont know how much work is involved, my boys are more demanding than my dogs.
I would suggest owing a parrot for a few years before decided to add to the population of unwanted birds. There are several exotic bird rescues and sanctuaries in your area, take a day trip and talk to the volunteers about what is involved in raising parrot before you make this decision, please.
Ive had other rescued bird over the years, a half moon conure I saved from the storage room at a pet store where hed spent 12 years, an Amazon on his 18th home in 20 years who was missing all his toenails from frost bite and was terrified of people. The family I got him from had been feeding him fruit loops.
Just because you d sell your bird to someone reputable doesnt mean that in their 10 90 years old life span they wont end up somewhere else. People think parrots and cute and fun and cool, they can talk! but really dont know how much work is involved, my boys are more demanding than my dogs.
I would suggest owing a parrot for a few years before decided to add to the population of unwanted birds. There are several exotic bird rescues and sanctuaries in your area, take a day trip and talk to the volunteers about what is involved in raising parrot before you make this decision, please.
Having pet birds is an incredibly rewarding -- but also lots of work and heartbreak.
I also do a bit of bird rescue and am still astounded by the way pet birds are often treated -- in fact, it is the 'lucky' ones who end up in rescue -- I try not to think about the others --
Do it for yourself -- for fun -- I'll bet there is a bird near you who needs you for a forever home -- check your rescue groups!
I also do a bit of bird rescue and am still astounded by the way pet birds are often treated -- in fact, it is the 'lucky' ones who end up in rescue -- I try not to think about the others --
Do it for yourself -- for fun -- I'll bet there is a bird near you who needs you for a forever home -- check your rescue groups!
- Thread starter
- #16
Thank you so much for all of your replies...I would much rather rescue birds and find them good homes than breed...thank you and I feel stupid for even thinking about it.
No, No --- never feel 'stupid' for exploring an idea!!!
Exotic birds are fascinating and there is ALWAYS more to learn --
I hope you didn't feel 'attacked' by the responses from 'rescue folks' ---
you would be such an asset to the groups who rescue birds --
There are birds out there who need you!
Exotic birds are fascinating and there is ALWAYS more to learn --
I hope you didn't feel 'attacked' by the responses from 'rescue folks' ---
you would be such an asset to the groups who rescue birds --
There are birds out there who need you!
Oh please don't feel bad! They ARE attractive to us - because they ARE intelligent, beautiful and share many of the same feelings that we have.
Unfortunately that is what makes them NOT PETS. Long term care of an intelligent UNdomesticated species is a lot more complicated than people think.
If everyone who loved them rescued, thought BEFORE they jumped in and learned how to work with a wild animal's needs, then there wouldn't be any in rescues and sanctuaries.
You asked First. You ROCK. The bird or birds you save will be better for it. Even helping MORE people discover all the birds already in rescue that need them is a terrific thing to do. Volunteering with a group will get you handling experience you should have, and tips you should know before getting a parrot.
Good clubs and rescue groups have a lot of good things to teach.
Yes, you can and do bond to birds of all sizes and ages. Yes, many of them are actually fairly problem free. If you account for being well... parrots.
It's a lot like dogs. People who want a dog that doesn't bark, shed, dig, poop, chew, chase, scavenge - need stuffies not dogs.
Parrots are wild animals, they're gonna scream sometimes, in most cases. They sometimes bite, some more often than others. Abused, abandoned, neglected, poisoned, thrown, shaken, beaten, locked in basements and closets - yeah those birds sometimes have problems.
I have one of each, Romeo was never beaten but locked in a closet for a year. He rarely if ever bites and is exceedingly sweet. Calvin... He was shaken, beaten, locked in a tiny galvanized cage ( lead poisoning) in a basement for years, hit with sticks, sprayed with cold water from a hose, thrown. We were his sixth home. He came with no words but shut up and stop it, it hurts, quit it. He lunged, panicked, bit and screamed. He feared perches, sticks, blankets, water spray, sinks, hands and well, anything new.
Today he talks about how he "loves Laura", greets her by name, says good boy and good bird and love you, and sings llittle mumbly ditties - he's the birdy birdy BIRDY BIRD. He steps up, transfers on command, will step onto a Ring of vines to be moved or lifted. Laura can let him kiss her face and can hold and pet him. He takes spray baths without fear and plays with toys.
Remember what I said about wild, intelligent and of their own mind? He was supposed to be mine. I'm retired. I'm home ALL day. I feed him, clean up after him, sing to him, read to him. My name is Chere. Not Laura. He LOVES Laura. Laura is gone 40 + hours a week.
They love who they love. They are individuals, with their own will. It's another reason they're not PETS. Dogs don't usually decide other humans in the home are rivals. You get a puppy you have a reasonable expectation that it will love you. It's NOT true of parrots. They decide, not us.
I had to take ONLINE CLASSES to learn to handle a fearful, 12 year old Moluccan Cockatoo that doesn't love me. He does love me, as a flock member. But I'm not it.
We've come to an understanding in the last three years. If he were healthy he'd live perhaps another 70 years. I don't know how long we'll have. His liver is permanently damaged. My daugher KNOWS she'll inherit him in all likelihood.
Parrots are a joy, if you learn to live with them properly, if you accept who they are. Most people want them to be pets. Most people don't think about DECADES of life with them. And then bad things happen.
You thought before you acted. There's nothing but good in that. You probably saved some lives just by that gesture. You can continue to do good.
There's a yahoo group that's worth joining just to read and study other people's problems with parrots. It's called ParrotBAS or PBAS. It's the online course I took. It's a great resource if you run across someone with a poor relationship with their bird. It's a great place to learn about how to think around common problems with parrots.
chere
Unfortunately that is what makes them NOT PETS. Long term care of an intelligent UNdomesticated species is a lot more complicated than people think.
If everyone who loved them rescued, thought BEFORE they jumped in and learned how to work with a wild animal's needs, then there wouldn't be any in rescues and sanctuaries.
You asked First. You ROCK. The bird or birds you save will be better for it. Even helping MORE people discover all the birds already in rescue that need them is a terrific thing to do. Volunteering with a group will get you handling experience you should have, and tips you should know before getting a parrot.
Good clubs and rescue groups have a lot of good things to teach.
Yes, you can and do bond to birds of all sizes and ages. Yes, many of them are actually fairly problem free. If you account for being well... parrots.
It's a lot like dogs. People who want a dog that doesn't bark, shed, dig, poop, chew, chase, scavenge - need stuffies not dogs.
Parrots are wild animals, they're gonna scream sometimes, in most cases. They sometimes bite, some more often than others. Abused, abandoned, neglected, poisoned, thrown, shaken, beaten, locked in basements and closets - yeah those birds sometimes have problems.
I have one of each, Romeo was never beaten but locked in a closet for a year. He rarely if ever bites and is exceedingly sweet. Calvin... He was shaken, beaten, locked in a tiny galvanized cage ( lead poisoning) in a basement for years, hit with sticks, sprayed with cold water from a hose, thrown. We were his sixth home. He came with no words but shut up and stop it, it hurts, quit it. He lunged, panicked, bit and screamed. He feared perches, sticks, blankets, water spray, sinks, hands and well, anything new.
Today he talks about how he "loves Laura", greets her by name, says good boy and good bird and love you, and sings llittle mumbly ditties - he's the birdy birdy BIRDY BIRD. He steps up, transfers on command, will step onto a Ring of vines to be moved or lifted. Laura can let him kiss her face and can hold and pet him. He takes spray baths without fear and plays with toys.
Remember what I said about wild, intelligent and of their own mind? He was supposed to be mine. I'm retired. I'm home ALL day. I feed him, clean up after him, sing to him, read to him. My name is Chere. Not Laura. He LOVES Laura. Laura is gone 40 + hours a week.
They love who they love. They are individuals, with their own will. It's another reason they're not PETS. Dogs don't usually decide other humans in the home are rivals. You get a puppy you have a reasonable expectation that it will love you. It's NOT true of parrots. They decide, not us.
I had to take ONLINE CLASSES to learn to handle a fearful, 12 year old Moluccan Cockatoo that doesn't love me. He does love me, as a flock member. But I'm not it.
We've come to an understanding in the last three years. If he were healthy he'd live perhaps another 70 years. I don't know how long we'll have. His liver is permanently damaged. My daugher KNOWS she'll inherit him in all likelihood.
Parrots are a joy, if you learn to live with them properly, if you accept who they are. Most people want them to be pets. Most people don't think about DECADES of life with them. And then bad things happen.
You thought before you acted. There's nothing but good in that. You probably saved some lives just by that gesture. You can continue to do good.
There's a yahoo group that's worth joining just to read and study other people's problems with parrots. It's called ParrotBAS or PBAS. It's the online course I took. It's a great resource if you run across someone with a poor relationship with their bird. It's a great place to learn about how to think around common problems with parrots.
chere
Verity is right, NEVER feel stupid for exploring any idea.
In fact, I applaud your willingness to come to the board and ask your questions. If people never ask questions how can they find the answers??
I hope that you did not take offense to my reply or to the others that responded. As you have probably guessed, to those of us who rescue birds, this is our soapbox. And we stand long and hard on it.
In regards to my first post, all I was trying to convey is that if someone breeds to sell, no matter how unwilling or unknowing, they are adding to the problem. If those of us in rescue seem to be a little harsh it is because we see, every day, the results of people that breed indiscriminately and have no care as to what happens to the birds after they leave the breeding facility.
As for breeding for enjoyment, half if not more, people on this board are bird breeders. I have to include myself here. Chickens, pheasants and quail are birds. To play Devils Advocate I have bred my Finches and also bred my parakeets ( that one was an accident though, Mother Nature was at work there). I had a beautiful pair of finches and wanted to see if they would breed. They did, and I enjoyed the babies as well as the parents for many years untll they all passed a couple of years ago. The babies from my parakeets whent to my cousin who still has them today. As for my chickens, I love to see baby chicks. When I have enough birds in my coup, I pull the eggs to eat. If for some reason a bird passes or I would like to have more I let the hens brood or I use a "bator". So to be perfectly honest I do breed birds. The fact is no bird leaves my house except to go to someone that I personaly know well. I feel that I brought this animal into this world for my enjoyment I should be the one to make sure that is taken care of properly for the rest of it's life.
The fact that you have decided to rescue rather than breed to sell warms my heart. There are so many birds out there that need loving homes and I am sure that you would make a great foster/forever home. The rewards are amazing!!!
In fact, I applaud your willingness to come to the board and ask your questions. If people never ask questions how can they find the answers??
I hope that you did not take offense to my reply or to the others that responded. As you have probably guessed, to those of us who rescue birds, this is our soapbox. And we stand long and hard on it.
In regards to my first post, all I was trying to convey is that if someone breeds to sell, no matter how unwilling or unknowing, they are adding to the problem. If those of us in rescue seem to be a little harsh it is because we see, every day, the results of people that breed indiscriminately and have no care as to what happens to the birds after they leave the breeding facility.
As for breeding for enjoyment, half if not more, people on this board are bird breeders. I have to include myself here. Chickens, pheasants and quail are birds. To play Devils Advocate I have bred my Finches and also bred my parakeets ( that one was an accident though, Mother Nature was at work there). I had a beautiful pair of finches and wanted to see if they would breed. They did, and I enjoyed the babies as well as the parents for many years untll they all passed a couple of years ago. The babies from my parakeets whent to my cousin who still has them today. As for my chickens, I love to see baby chicks. When I have enough birds in my coup, I pull the eggs to eat. If for some reason a bird passes or I would like to have more I let the hens brood or I use a "bator". So to be perfectly honest I do breed birds. The fact is no bird leaves my house except to go to someone that I personaly know well. I feel that I brought this animal into this world for my enjoyment I should be the one to make sure that is taken care of properly for the rest of it's life.
The fact that you have decided to rescue rather than breed to sell warms my heart. There are so many birds out there that need loving homes and I am sure that you would make a great foster/forever home. The rewards are amazing!!!
And I soooooooo agree with walkswithdog. The fact that you asked first shows that you really care.
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