A Rant about Ignorant Bird Owners

[pycthedragon]

Ugh, I know exactly what you mean.

I'm in multiple parrot groups of Facebook, and some of the photos and questions you see...
People using cat litter to line cage trays, so they "don't have to clean it every day", people selling "cockatoo cages" which are just flimsy homemade wire cubes.

And of course the myriad of problems that could have been answered with a 5 second google search or a bit of preparation.
"I bought a macaw but he screams all the time, do you think I need to give him a toy?"
"How many toys does he have at the moment?"
"None, I thought he would be happy just looking out the window."

It really makes me sad to see the way people treat aviculture and parrot ownership in Australia sometimes.

If you're spending that much money on something don't you think you would at least do a little research on it first? LOL

 

[Timothy]

Ugh, I know exactly what you mean.

I'm in multiple parrot groups of Facebook, and some of the photos and questions you see...
People using cat litter to line cage trays, so they "don't have to clean it every day", people selling "cockatoo cages" which are just flimsy homemade wire cubes.

And of course the myriad of problems that could have been answered with a 5 second google search or a bit of preparation.
"I bought a macaw but he screams all the time, do you think I need to give him a toy?"
"How many toys does he have at the moment?"
"None, I thought he would be happy just looking out the window."\

It really makes me sad to see the way people treat aviculture and parrot ownership in Australia sometimes.

If you're spending that much money on something don't you think you would at least do a little research on it first? LOL

Of course not! they spent the money so they had something to show off with guests over (Thats the only time the poor creature gets any attention) and it's forgotten about the rest of the time. It doesnt have feelings right? its not a furry dog or a human. It's completely content sitting on a perch thats too narrow in a cage thats so small the parrots tail looks like a broom he*Sarcasm*

 

[Sterling1113]

I also hate when parents buy little birds for their kids as toys. And then dump them when kids lose the interest. I've seen a lot of such ads on craigslist and almost got one of these poor birds.

That's how I got my white eared conure, saw an ad on craigslist and she stood out to me. The was in a small cage with a budgie. The man told me he got the bird for his daughter, but he didn't realize how much work a "bigger"(compared to a budgie) bird is. As far as I know they kept the budgie.

 

[Timothy]

I also hate when parents buy little birds for their kids as toys. And then dump them when kids lose the interest. I've seen a lot of such ads on craigslist and almost got one of these poor birds.

That's how I got my white eared conure, saw an ad on craigslist and she stood out to me. The was in a small cage with a budgie. The man told me he got the bird for his daughter, but he didn't realize how much work a "bigger"(compared to a budgie) bird is. As far as I know they kept the budgie.

Wow, and how is a caring for a white eared conure any different than a budgie.. not at all if your a good parront. I feel bad for that poor budgie. Prolly gets no attention or proper care. So sad!

And exactly why i made this thread.

I. Hate. Ignorant. Bird. Owners.

 

[Phlox]

I don't hate ignorance unless its coupled with the unwillingness to learn to do better....we all probably did some dumb stuff during our first experiences with birds. I think we need to be careful to not scare people away...if you don't know, you don't know that you don't know. But eventually, they might come for help and then we can make a bird and a person happy. Hate is a pretty strong term for just not knowing.

I do hate ABUSIVE pet owners...and that's not the same thing IMHO.

 

[Abigal7]

I also hate when parents buy little birds for their kids as toys. And then dump them when kids lose the interest. I've seen a lot of such ads on craigslist and almost got one of these poor birds.

I do think it is important to get across that parrots are not a easy pet or a pet for a child. My parents had this mentality that birds would be a easy pet and appropriate for a child. Of course I was old enough to feed and water my bird etc (when I got my first bird which was a budgie). Another thing that happens is a teen pr child is given a bird and the parents find themselves responsible for the bird when the they go off to college. That story has been told on this forum an it is a important story for teenagers to know.

 

[Abigal7]

I don't hate ignorance unless its coupled with the unwillingness to learn to do better....we all probably did some dumb stuff during our first experiences with birds. I think we need to be careful to not scare people away...if you don't know, you don't know that you don't know. But eventually, they might come for help and then we can make a bird and a person happy. Hate is a pretty strong term for just not knowing.

I do hate ABUSIVE pet owners...and that's not the same thing IMHO.

I hear you there. When I first got Clover I used corn cobb bedding due to reading online it was fine to use. I learned here that if can cause respiratory problems. I then switched to newspapers (which I love better then corn cobb bedding). It is frustrating when people refuse to do the right thing by their bird but it is pretty sick that some people may intentional post false information to questions because they enjoy being a troll.

 

[Timothy]

I don't hate ignorance unless its coupled with the unwillingness to learn to do better....we all probably did some dumb stuff during our first experiences with birds. I think we need to be careful to not scare people away...if you don't know, you don't know that you don't know. But eventually, they might come for help and then we can make a bird and a person happy. Hate is a pretty strong term for just not knowing.

I do hate ABUSIVE pet owners...and that's not the same thing IMHO.

You know, your right, I've been using the wrong terminology. I hate ignorant bird owners who just dont care to learn or are too lazy to do anything about their lack of understanding. Unwillingness to be responsible for a sacred life.

I am very opinionated about how people tke care of their birds. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut alot, because i can walk into someone's home and see one or two things that i dont agree with and i end up ridiculing them. (after i try helping and they just dont care)

Like for instance. I met these people who have a blue and gold and an umbrella. Ok so i visit their birds and the blue and gold is plucked bare. They can hardly handle him to begin with. Hes full of energy and he loved me, i handled him with no problem nd they looked at me like i was a bird god or something. i just didnt show him any fear and i was like "Your either gonna let me touch you and give you treats and toys or your gonna be bored and ignored" basically.

So i ask them why he was plucking. They said they had no idea. so i asked a few questions about has his cage been moved, is there new stuff going on, etc etc. come to find out the plucking started when they got the umbrella cockatoo. these are the 2 reasons he was plucking

1) he was not getting any attention except getting yelled at when he screamed

2) he is scared of the cockatoo and they have him right next to the cockatoos cage. (when the cockatoo is noisy it upsets the blue and gold)

So i said, ok so you guys realize he's probably plucking because he's scared of the cockatoo right?

"yeah well we sorta had that idea"

So you guys realize the best thing you could possibly do right now is seperate them and have them in different rooms, and then work with them to get them to like each other which is not really that difficult

"yeah but we really dont have the time to do all that and we dont want the birds in any other room because their messy and noisy"

So i started yelling at them about how their causing this poor blue and gold to SUFFER HORRIBLY because they are terrible people who are selfish enough to keep them in the same room when he is scared to death of the other bird in the room, and because they refuse to work with the birds, and because they ignore the B&G now that they have a "New toy"

Which btw when they introduced me to the cockatoo they referred to him as "their new expensive toy"

They even asked me if they should trade in the B&G to get a "better" bird that has feathers and is pretty

I told them there's nothing wrong with the bird, its them thats flawed and they have no business owning any birds at all and that i would call the authorities if they didnt do something about it (they got a nice official restraining order placed on me after that happened)

 

[MrsKay]

I used to know these people that had fish, birds and a dog and a cat that they never even looked at. The poor dog was in a dog run 50'L x 4'w on the opposite side of the house where the barking wouldn't bother them (yes, that's 4 feet wide) The poor love birds, which they had because they thought they would 'look pretty' were always being replaced because they flew away (they were outside in an atrium, in a hanging ROUND CAGE 15"w x 24"h. They were always replacing the love birds. They hired someone to take care of the fish pond, but they were still always replacing fish due to over-feeding and water quality issues. They gave their youngest son the house and moved away. Years later, the son and his wife and two children, arrived home only to find that their new puppy had drowned in the fish pond. Poor thing couldn't climb out.
This is the type of irresponsible pet ownership that these people are teaching to their children, then they have children, and so on and so on, until, the way our society is becoming today can truly be explained. Too sad

 

[MrsKay]

I use ground walnut for my large parrot. I use a cat scoop to get any leftover food/doo doo/wood chips/ every morning, and i change the walnut once a month. I love it and its sanitary.
I dont like corncob cause if it gets wet mold can grow so fast, even overnight

I am using the ground walnut shells too. I find them clean, and effective in catching the debris, even the molting feathers don't fly around the room when my bird flaps it's wings. I sift it daily to clean and add some when necessary. It lasts a long time and is fairly inexpensive. I am loving it

 

[Timothy]

I use ground walnut for my large parrot. I use a cat scoop to get any leftover food/doo doo/wood chips/ every morning, and i change the walnut once a month. I love it and its sanitary.
I dont like corncob cause if it gets wet mold can grow so fast, even overnight

I am using the ground walnut shells too. I find them clean, and effective in catching the debris, even the molting feathers don't fly around the room when my bird flaps it's wings. I sift it daily to clean and add some when necessary. It lasts a long time and is fairly inexpensive. I am loving it

Yeah i buy 50lbs at a time, it lasts me around 4 months (i have a kings cage 506)

Kings Cages Model 506

I have it in black/silver - its an awesome cage - Maya SWIMS inside it (you could comfortably fit 3 macaws or 2 hyacinths inside, and theyd be able to flap in various spots, its a huge cage and its super srong)

I got my cage brand new for 200 bucks cause i worked at Todd Macrus Birds Exotic (the store that link goes to)

But yeah, Ground Walnut shell is AMAZING! If it gets wet no mold will ever grow, it drys fast if it does. It scoops perfectly and NOTHING is left behind. Super Sanitary! I reccomend it for anything from Conures and up!

 

[Timothy]

Heres short video of some of the bird store i used to work at. was my very first job when i turned 17. was the best job i ever had and it's what got me into parrots to begin with - now it's my passion and soon to be full time career

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vfo-z3raLg"]Best of the Best Bird Store on the East Coast !!!!! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[saka_sandora]

I agree with ignorant people who after being told this what your pet needs would then turn around and do the complete opposite. I loved working at Petsmart, it was just the people who were terrible owners and didn't deserve to have an animal. Don't even get me started on grooming.

 

[EAI]

I don't hate ignorance unless its coupled with the unwillingness to learn to do better....we all probably did some dumb stuff during our first experiences with birds.

Indeed, my parakeets had to live in one of those small cages from every petstore and were eating millets almost everyday. And since they weren't tame I kept thinking about trading them
I regretted it and keep thinking I'm going to shorten their life so from there I kept trying to get the biggest cage I could and they eat fresh foods at least everyday. But now I really love them, and I love coming home to hear them chirping.

 

[Timothy]

It also doesnt start to smell after a month or so (with regular scooping) like alot of beddings. The only thing its really just not good for is for baby baby's, as it is so finely ground.