Parrot Lovers - Your thoughts on this Ebay auction

[PurpleChicken]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Egg-Hatching-Eggs-Incubator_W0QQitemZ260273346925QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260273346925&_trkparms=72%3A1072%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&timeout=1218517863968


There was a thread a while back about hatching parrot eggs.
It's a hard thing to do and the birds require a lot of TLC.

The "hen" in this auction has a severe case of feather plucking.
I'm surprised the seller posted a pic.

I'm not drawing any conclusions as feather picking can happen to
even the most well cared for birds. I just find this auction curious.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Well, we have our own parrots and we have tried it both ways. Parrot chicks hatched from the brooder were MUCH smaller than parent hatched. Parrot chicks from the brooder must be fed every 2 hours for the first week, 3 hours for he second and so on. We have done it and it is possible but crazy. Parent hatched and raised to just at the opening eyes stage only need to be fed every 3 hours during the day time and can go through the night. Just our experience.

I tease DH, he had conures that needed to be fed every 3 hours and I had chicks that found their own food and water but were younger. I still tease him and I remind him that my flock will give us eggs to eat and good chicken stew at some point down the line....

But on the other hand our first day one cockatiel who I fed every 2 hours for the first week was the best bird ever....She loved to be loved and Loved to love....

 

[crtrlovr]

I agree; very strange, and obviously very emotionally disturbed bird. (looks like a Moluccan to me...) I see that there's already a bid on it, which is troubling, and I hope the bidder isn't counting on spending $40 to get an egg that he/she can hatch & sell a cockatoo chick for a few hundred $. Ah, well... I have a naked cockatiel who had a trauma when she was very young and became a self-mutilator. After months of wearing an E-collar, then trying amitryptiline, the avian vet finally said, "she can't really get any worse, she's not going to get any better, so why keep torturing her with an e-collar or doping her into a stupor to keep her from pulling out feathers? I think we should just leave her alone." By that time, I had to agree with him. I did get her a little fleece "dress" made for feather pickers so she wouldn't freeze her little self to death since she no longer has any breast/abdomen feathers to regulate her body temp and some heated perches. A few of the others pick (particularly each others' heads, in the mated pairs), but I love them anyway. They're not overcrowded, they have good quality pelleted food (Zupreem), and they're my babies, regardless of whether or not they're "show" quality. It does make me wonder how that cockatoo's owner is addressing that poor bird's issues...

 

[Psittizen Shikkin]

I think it's highly irresponsible. Not very many people are prepared or equipped to take on the responsibilities to care properly for this particular type of parrot. Most parrots in rescues are the large cockatoos. I think this is just another tragic situation in the making. I've seen this ad before and he was offering them for $99 at that time but got no bids. Anything for the almighty dollar I suppose.

 

[klf73]

I had a Moluccan, crest is much smaller.
This poor bird has issues

Krista

 

[WisconsinChick]

IMHO birds like that shouldnt be caged AT ALL. You dont see feather picking like that in the wild, do you?

 

[Psittizen Shikkin]

Yes, that is a moluccan.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
You're a bird lover.

Quote:
I've known many well care for birds to be bad pickers. Our Conure
has gone through periods of picking but it had to be due to
boredom & nutrition. My buddy recommend Profeta (bad spelling)
that helped a lot. The rest was resolved by more attention. She
has a good blend of food and hasn't picked in years now. She's
15 years old and very healthy, loud and cranky, but healthy.

Sometimes once they start picking there is nothing you can do to
stop them. Cockatiels seem more prone to it also.


I'm glad people are giving their thoughts on this auction. I was
surprised to see it.

 

[klf73]

Quote:
Sorry, I was barely awake

My 9 mo woke me up and I figured I would check out what's going on. Teaches me to post when not fully conscious.

Other than the fact I think selling a parrot egg is so wrong in this case, they only show the one bird. How would you even know the egg was fertilized, or that they own a mate for this bird and then blame shipping on it not hatching.

My moluccan was wild caught and very neurotic. I tamed it but could never leave it. I was a teenager and had to bring the bird to work with me or else she started to look like that.
I had to place her with a stay at home mom so she could get enough attention.

Krista

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
I respect your opinion on this but I must offer the following thoughts:
Responsible bird owners will either purchase breeder hatched birds or rescue birds from neglected conditions. To pull a wild
bird out of a tree and try to domesticate it IMHO is just wrong.

Caged birds do live a lot longer than their counterparts in the
wild. I like to think (I may be wrong) our bird is happy and
part of our family/flock.