Bird in Small cage

[FeathersandDrums]

I sent this to someone in a PM and she thought I should post it-

This small family owned pet store in town has a bird that looks like an African Grey? It has been there for as long as I can remember (10 or 15+ years) and it has never been for sale. I don't know why though. Its cage isn't big enough and he is lonely..

I remember always going to see him as a kid. He use to talk all the time but he doesn't anymore.

I went in today to see if he was still there. They know me pretty well there but I haven't been in in a while because they stopped carrying bird stuff years ago. He is still there, same cage, same toys, no one plays with him or gets him out. I even asked them if they ever get him out and they said no, he bites. No one pays attention to him. It is so so sad. He looked at me so sweetly..

Also they use to have a little place for him to come out of his cage and sit on top of it but that it gone now. They use to leave it open for him to do that but they don't anymore. And they won't put him up for sale.

Is there nothing I can do? I don't want him to spend the rest of his life in a pet store in a small cage.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Oh also the store isn't even open every day and they don't take him home or anything. :/ They are good people but can't always answer all my questions and have some of the rabbits labeled as the wrong breed so maybe they just don't realize how smart the bird is?

 

[Kalidasa]

Make an offer on him, maybe they'll be willing.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

I don't know if I could handle a bird that size.. I'd love to have him. I would buy him in a heartbeat but I would have to do a lot of research first. And I really don't think they'd sell him. Lots of people makes offers and they say hes a "store bird." But I can try. What is a reasonable offer?

 

[BillsBirds]

I'd call or email the SPCA or Humane Society to check him & the store out. You can do it anonymously, but, they will not tell the store people who reported them. Keeping him in those conditions IS cruelty! I worked for the SPCA, and I'd be on their case ASAP.

 

[antoinette]

OMG that poor poor bird
Being treated like that between 10 to 15 years
Someone should have done something years ago
Please take BillsBirds advise
That bird has suffered enough

There are threads pertaining to pet shops please read then
(Sorry I would add them here, off to work now now)

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Omg Mishka is amazing! Love the videos.

 

[FeathersandDrums]

I will do what I can, I will try and talk to them again and if that doesn't work i'll call someone. I'll go back tomorrow.

 

[MonicaMc]

At minimum, you could try making friends with the grey, and if you can, the store may reconsider keeping him. Then again, if he's tame and friendly again, they might decide to keep him, thus not improving the situation at all...

 

[mtdoramike]

I'd call or email the SPCA or Humane Society to check him & the store out. You can do it anonymously, but, they will not tell the store people who reported them. Keeping him in those conditions IS cruelty! I worked for the SPCA, and I'd be on their case ASAP.

You are wrong unfortunately, this is not animal cruelty or even animal neglect. If the bird has been there for over 15 years, it shows that he IS being taken care of. There is no law that dictates what size cage a bird must have, nor the amount of toys or whether or not the bird gets any human interaction. As long as he has food in his bowl and water and is not physically abused in some way, there isn't a thing you can do.

Also, don't fall for the pretense when you file a complaint with SPCA or one of those animal protection groups that your name will be kept secret because if the visit results in any criminal charges, you will be required to testify in court. Yes, you can call anonymously, but lets face it, just about everyone has caller ID.

You think this birds living conditions are bad, try going out to an egg farm where eggs are harvested and see the conditions those chickens are living in. I worked at one for a few years when I was growing up shoveling chicken poop amoung other duties and it's a memory that sticks with you especially when you have eggs for breakfast.

 

[mtdoramike]

My suggestion would be to enter into a conversation about the bird with the owners and then casually ask if they would consider selling him and you could even throw out a dollar amount of say $400.00, which would be a fair amount for a non tame CAG. If they seem receptive, buy the bird and then resell him to get some of your money back. These are the few situations that I would have any use for bird flippers because in my area most bird flippers will buy the bird, work with him at least for a few months to get him receptive to human interaction again before selling him.

 

[Jayyj]

One random thought that occurred to me, why not try going in a couple of times bemoaning the lack of local stores selling bird toys, wax lyrical about how much your birds entertain themselves with toys in their cages and that you'd regularly buy a few things off them if they stocked them. Of course, if they had toys in the store bird's cage it would help sell them as people could see them in context. If they're doubtful that there is local business for bird stuff, you could suggest giving them a few old toys that your birds are bored of, that way they could put them in the cage and see if people ask whether they sell them. Either way, at least you'd get some toys in that cage with the poor bird.