I do believe that, in this day and age, we are too irresponsible for such intelligent animals as birds, and that birds should not be kept in captivity.
I strongly believe that if the pet trade had never started pushing parrots and birds on us, and dumbed down their needs to make them more desirable; and if more people were to tell people the truth about keeping pet birds; not just what they want to hear, then more people would think and research before making such a commitment; and there would not be overcrowded parrot rescues/shelters that are forced to turn away 30 birds a WEEK who have severe behavioral problems; becuase they are jam packed full of unwanted, once-were-pet Cockatoos who had such behavioral problems that they would go deeper than plucking their feathers and actually chew threw their chest and mutilate their keel bone/breast bone.
Birds are wild animals; and if it is illegal for us to bring a tiger into our house; I believe there is no difference from that than us keeping birds, crippled/deprived of the one gift that they were given that sets them apart from us, and locked in a prison for crimes they never committed, other than being sought-after.
I think bird-keeping is very rewarding, don’t get me wrong. I have been into birds my whole life. I think birds CAN benefit from being our pets- I don’t think ALL birds have it bad, and that ALL owners have no idea what’s going on in Aviculture; but I do think that the percentage of parrots/birds in captivity that are treated badly or are in less-than-satisfactory conditions, daily, and the lack of animal cruetly laws for parrots in the United States more than outweighs those of us who are keeping their birds in healthy conditons. Did you know that it IS legal, in most of the US to fry your parrot up for dinner, if you wanted? There are no laws in the US that pertain specifically to parrots; so you can do just about anything you want to/with them, and there’s a loophole in the cruelty/neglect laws to set you free and unscathed.
Adopting is a great choice. Don’t feel guilty about it- In fact, I think adopting is the only GUILT FREE way of owning birds. The birds in rescues are in desperate need of homes. They were given up by their former owners, they never HAD freedom to begin with. By adopting a bird, and providing him with a better life; you’re not taking away his freedom; you’re giving him a life he never had a chance to have.
By not buying them from a Pet Store, you’re doing Aviculture, as a hobby, and birds, as a species, a favor by not supporting the mass quantities of birds that are produced every year in order to satisfy the pet store’s thirst for young, sweet, baby parrots; who are easier to sell than the adults with behavioral problems.
And most of all- Your parrot will be in a loving home, and you will be able to heal whatever emotional scars he may have, and thus you both will be great advocates for shelter birds, and the potential that they hold as pets that are just as good as, or greater than, buying a baby bird from a pet store or breeder.
By chance- What state do you live in? I know of som very good sanctuaries that you can visit that will tell you ALL you will ever need to know about parrots in adoption facilities, in the wild, in the pet trade and in captivity, in general. Good Luck- I hope you find the right bird for you.
And I know this doesn’t petain to the topic at hand, but “Mama Surf” or whatever sent me a nasty message yesterday, claiming that I am too mean to the people on these boards.. So I am going to set the record straight;
I think that unless you have personal experience with all the bad that’s going on in Aviculture, you’ll have a very distorted view of the things that are really going on, and the issues that are very real. Bird Talk magazine has been voted the number one source of information for bird owners out there; and that magazine gives a very filtered view on what Aviculture really is, in these days.
They seem to forget to mention the Sanctuaries who are out there, working tireless 60 hour weeks, for petty pay, who are trying to save what we all have ruined. Instead, giving breeders and pet stores the entire back of the magazine, pushing all of their readers to buy rather than adopt.
They seem to think that keeping you bird Fully Flighted is a ‘dangerous’ thing to do, for the bird’s sake. Keeping a bird’s wings clipped is severly dampening the bird’s overall health and wellbeing- Not just for physical excersize and obesity, but becuase birds’ bodies were DESIGNED for flight. Their resperitory systems were built to work with the motion of the wings flapping, and the keel bone is the most sensitive area on the bird’s body- and birds deprived of flight for years; they can land on the ground too hard ONCE and break their keel bone & die- Birds who have been given the chance to fly will have muscle mass built up around this delicate area, so it will not be suseptible to breaks & injuries. Yet Bird Talk refuses to publish THIS in their health columns, and even has captions in the back saying that if you send in a picture of a bird with fully flighted wings; they refuse to publish it.
I think that those of us who know the truth about what’s going on, and the situation that birds are in; mostly due to the fault of the Pet Trade, which is a multi-billion dollar industry; mind you; that Aviculture has suffered a great blow. Everyone who enjoys birds should be coming together and helping out the greater good; not pretending that the people who come in here asking stupid questions like, “My Budgies had babies.. And now they are rejecting their young- How do I handfeed?” are plausible questions that should be answered with a description with how handfeeding is done.
I am sorry, but breeding birds and handfeeding should be STUDIED, thouroughly, PRIOR to letting your birds mate!
Bottom line; Stupid Questions get Stupid Answers, Mama Surf/Smurf.
I apologize that this is so long; but I thank anyone who has given their time to read it.
EDIT: Ohhhh. The UK. I live in the US. I can get into contact with some one who can get you the name of a bird rescue over there, if you want? Adopting from a breeder is not the same thing as rescuing from a shelter- but it IS better than buying from a Petstore. And better than buying from a Pet Store!
If you are opposed to keeping caged birds, don’t support the breeding market. Avoid pet stores. 99% get their animals from huge breeding mills, where cruelty, neglect and poor quality are often the norm.
Please don’t feel guilty about adopting.. There is an over-population of tiels, many homeless birds are available for adoption from rescues and shelters, or are waiting to be rehomed from private owners.
Check petfinders and craigslist.http://www.petfinder.com/
Cockatiels are not native to the US, They are domestically bred, and are born into captivity, not freedom.
Since pet birds are not native to the countries where they are sold, it is illegal and cruel, to release them into the wild, where most perish – or worse, adapt to the environment and become a feral species like the Monk or Quaker parrots.
Wild native birds are not permitted as pets.http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusm…
Here are some of my favorite websites for cockatiels, and other parrots. Research should be done before considering any new pet.http://www.cockatiel.org/http://www.cockatiels.org/http://www.cockatielcottage.net/http://www.cockatielsplusparrots.com/mut…http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/http://www.birdsnways.com/http://www.birdchannel.com/
Birds require vet care, like other pets. Here is a link to find certified avian vets in the US: http://www.aav.org/
Good luck to you!
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I do believe that, in this day and age, we are too irresponsible for such intelligent animals as birds, and that birds should not be kept in captivity.
I strongly believe that if the pet trade had never started pushing parrots and birds on us, and dumbed down their needs to make them more desirable; and if more people were to tell people the truth about keeping pet birds; not just what they want to hear, then more people would think and research before making such a commitment; and there would not be overcrowded parrot rescues/shelters that are forced to turn away 30 birds a WEEK who have severe behavioral problems; becuase they are jam packed full of unwanted, once-were-pet Cockatoos who had such behavioral problems that they would go deeper than plucking their feathers and actually chew threw their chest and mutilate their keel bone/breast bone.
Birds are wild animals; and if it is illegal for us to bring a tiger into our house; I believe there is no difference from that than us keeping birds, crippled/deprived of the one gift that they were given that sets them apart from us, and locked in a prison for crimes they never committed, other than being sought-after.
I think bird-keeping is very rewarding, don’t get me wrong. I have been into birds my whole life. I think birds CAN benefit from being our pets- I don’t think ALL birds have it bad, and that ALL owners have no idea what’s going on in Aviculture; but I do think that the percentage of parrots/birds in captivity that are treated badly or are in less-than-satisfactory conditions, daily, and the lack of animal cruetly laws for parrots in the United States more than outweighs those of us who are keeping their birds in healthy conditons. Did you know that it IS legal, in most of the US to fry your parrot up for dinner, if you wanted? There are no laws in the US that pertain specifically to parrots; so you can do just about anything you want to/with them, and there’s a loophole in the cruelty/neglect laws to set you free and unscathed.
Adopting is a great choice. Don’t feel guilty about it- In fact, I think adopting is the only GUILT FREE way of owning birds. The birds in rescues are in desperate need of homes. They were given up by their former owners, they never HAD freedom to begin with. By adopting a bird, and providing him with a better life; you’re not taking away his freedom; you’re giving him a life he never had a chance to have.
By not buying them from a Pet Store, you’re doing Aviculture, as a hobby, and birds, as a species, a favor by not supporting the mass quantities of birds that are produced every year in order to satisfy the pet store’s thirst for young, sweet, baby parrots; who are easier to sell than the adults with behavioral problems.
And most of all- Your parrot will be in a loving home, and you will be able to heal whatever emotional scars he may have, and thus you both will be great advocates for shelter birds, and the potential that they hold as pets that are just as good as, or greater than, buying a baby bird from a pet store or breeder.
By chance- What state do you live in? I know of som very good sanctuaries that you can visit that will tell you ALL you will ever need to know about parrots in adoption facilities, in the wild, in the pet trade and in captivity, in general. Good Luck- I hope you find the right bird for you.
And I know this doesn’t petain to the topic at hand, but “Mama Surf” or whatever sent me a nasty message yesterday, claiming that I am too mean to the people on these boards.. So I am going to set the record straight;
I think that unless you have personal experience with all the bad that’s going on in Aviculture, you’ll have a very distorted view of the things that are really going on, and the issues that are very real. Bird Talk magazine has been voted the number one source of information for bird owners out there; and that magazine gives a very filtered view on what Aviculture really is, in these days.
They seem to forget to mention the Sanctuaries who are out there, working tireless 60 hour weeks, for petty pay, who are trying to save what we all have ruined. Instead, giving breeders and pet stores the entire back of the magazine, pushing all of their readers to buy rather than adopt.
They seem to think that keeping you bird Fully Flighted is a ‘dangerous’ thing to do, for the bird’s sake. Keeping a bird’s wings clipped is severly dampening the bird’s overall health and wellbeing- Not just for physical excersize and obesity, but becuase birds’ bodies were DESIGNED for flight. Their resperitory systems were built to work with the motion of the wings flapping, and the keel bone is the most sensitive area on the bird’s body- and birds deprived of flight for years; they can land on the ground too hard ONCE and break their keel bone & die- Birds who have been given the chance to fly will have muscle mass built up around this delicate area, so it will not be suseptible to breaks & injuries. Yet Bird Talk refuses to publish THIS in their health columns, and even has captions in the back saying that if you send in a picture of a bird with fully flighted wings; they refuse to publish it.
I think that those of us who know the truth about what’s going on, and the situation that birds are in; mostly due to the fault of the Pet Trade, which is a multi-billion dollar industry; mind you; that Aviculture has suffered a great blow. Everyone who enjoys birds should be coming together and helping out the greater good; not pretending that the people who come in here asking stupid questions like, “My Budgies had babies.. And now they are rejecting their young- How do I handfeed?” are plausible questions that should be answered with a description with how handfeeding is done.
I am sorry, but breeding birds and handfeeding should be STUDIED, thouroughly, PRIOR to letting your birds mate!
Bottom line; Stupid Questions get Stupid Answers, Mama Surf/Smurf.
I apologize that this is so long; but I thank anyone who has given their time to read it.
EDIT: Ohhhh. The UK. I live in the US. I can get into contact with some one who can get you the name of a bird rescue over there, if you want? Adopting from a breeder is not the same thing as rescuing from a shelter- but it IS better than buying from a Petstore. And better than buying from a Pet Store!
If you are opposed to keeping caged birds, don’t support the breeding market. Avoid pet stores. 99% get their animals from huge breeding mills, where cruelty, neglect and poor quality are often the norm.
Please don’t feel guilty about adopting.. There is an over-population of tiels, many homeless birds are available for adoption from rescues and shelters, or are waiting to be rehomed from private owners.
Check petfinders and craigslist.http://www.petfinder.com/
Cockatiels are not native to the US, They are domestically bred, and are born into captivity, not freedom.
Since pet birds are not native to the countries where they are sold, it is illegal and cruel, to release them into the wild, where most perish – or worse, adapt to the environment and become a feral species like the Monk or Quaker parrots.
Wild native birds are not permitted as pets.http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusm…
Here are some of my favorite websites for cockatiels, and other parrots. Research should be done before considering any new pet.http://www.cockatiel.org/http://www.cockatiels.org/http://www.cockatielcottage.net/http://www.cockatielsplusparrots.com/mut…http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/http://www.birdsnways.com/http://www.birdchannel.com/
Birds require vet care, like other pets. Here is a link to find certified avian vets in the US: http://www.aav.org/
Good luck to you!