Controversial parrot opinions/controversial things I do with my birds!

[BirdyBee]

This is just a controversial parrot opinion thread. You are welcome to share your opinions as well

1. I don't have my birds taken for annual blood testing

Why? Because not only does it cost a lot, but mainly because my birds are too small for it. Budgies can just loose 12 drops of blood before it kills them, so it can really have an effect on their lil' bodies. It's also very traumatic to lil birds.

2. I have foam toys in their cages

A lot of people disagree with foam toys. IMO, it's fine as long as they don't ingest it. My foam I mean those sheets of "craft foam"

It looks like this:

I only give it to pipp because the budgies seem to be.. eating it??! Yup, the budgies may definitely NOT have it.

Edit: Pipp also ate it, lol, so I removed it

3. I only take them to a vet when they show symptoms(edit: I mean yearly check-ups)

(Some of you are going to hate this) Why? well first off mom usually won't let me take them for "check-ups" unless they're ill, and secondly, it's very stressful for them, since the budgies aren't tame so I have to grab them.

4. I feed them pellets with fillers
Most of us are aware of fillers. A lot of people hate it when people feed their birds pellets containing them. Well, do you REALLY expect ME to pay $40(or R600) for a 1.8KG(4 pounds) bag of pellets? That only lasts 45 days, if I give them 2-3 teaspoons each? That's how much top's costs here.




Now, lets talk about my controversial opinions!



1. Wing clipping

IMO, wing clipping is fine if:

1.They have had multiple severe injuries from flying into stuff

2.They have medical issues


I also believe that in some other cases it can be best for you and the bird to have them clipped.


2. Diets with seed instead of pellets are fine as long as it is a good mix and is supplemented with other nutritious foods(such as veggies/sprouts)


3. Birds can thrive in the bare minimum cage size

Yes, most don't, but some of them can!


4. Mirrors are OK as long as they don't show hormonal behaviour

I still think that if your bird isn't used to a mirror that you shouldn't add it.


5. Pellets shouldn't be the "base" of their diet

6.(edited to add) Birds are fine if housed alone(that is, if they get enough attention)

Soo yeah that's all I can think of for now, I'll updated it if needed.

 

[Laurasea]

controversial
All my birds have sleep tents. Edit except budgies
always have. No hormonal, no egg, no aggression, no obsession.
Pikachu came to me with history of night fright. Never had them since given sleep hut.
check and replace if chewing, don't use fuzzy stuff.

 

[texsize]

I admit I give my Bingo a single sip of coffee in the morning like once a month.

 

[Rozalka]

probably for you it's controversial that I don't feed pellets at all (I didn't even know about existence of such thing until I joined this forum)
(here in Europe it isn't controversial)

 

[BirdyBee]

probably for you it's controversial that I don't feed pellets at all (I didn't even know about existence of such thing until I joined this forum)
(here in Europe it isn't controversial)

It's fine. As long as it is a good seed mix with a lot of variety and they get a lot of exercise, they should be fine


Vets see the same issues in birds who eat pellets than they see in birds who eat seed. So whether you want to feed seed or pellets is up to YOU.

 

[SailBoat]

Hi,

We take in very sick, abused, older, and left to die Amazons, so that we can spend a vast amount of money on very expensive services just so they can live a few days, weeks, months and with hope a couple of years longer! We also purchase near or the most expensive, sometimes special blends of Seed, Grains and Nuts with top of the market Pellets for the same reason as above. We also, spend huge amounts of money on Fresh Foods and Veggies, and of course, out-of-season for the same reason as above.

All of that could be likened to burning money in a fire pit as the Amazons commonly do not live long enough to provide a decent Cost vs Life advantage. Why would we do that? We are not independently wealthy. Because we are adults, i.e. we have transitioned from being into ourself to being other orientated, because that do what adults do. Care for others, in our case our Amazon.

So, as a rap-up: They are your birds, in your care and you can do what you wish. Based on your positions, at this point in your life, I am not surprised. Enjoy your time with your birds. You have that right. Take care rights are disappearing at a frightful rate!

 

[Scott]

I cuddle with my tame cockatoos. Everywhere and frequently except the vent and central belly area. No hormonal or behavioral issues!

 

[Skarila]

Not sure how controversial is this:

We cover our bird's cages every night before sleep, no exceptions, and uncover in the morning (they get approx 10-11h undisturbed sleep minimum)

We don't take our budgie for annual checkups as it is VERY stressful for her. Only when she is showing any simptoms of illness (for bad shaped poop we just send it for analysis)

Annual blood check up is a no no for my birds as they are small and fidgety - even our avian vet said for small burds not to take blood samples unless there is a good reason for it, as they must go under anesthetics.

I find that budgies and other similarly small birds shouldn't be on full pellet diet without seeds, 50/50 sounds good for them. (Not mentioning veggies here - just pellet vs seeds)

If a bird eats most of the seeds/legumes offered in a mix - this kind of diet is ok. If a bird is very picky about their mix - pellet diet it is. My personal thought that pellet is good for picky eaters who really pick out 2 types of seeds out of the whole mix.

Pellet with "fillers" is ok. I find Roudybush and Harrison's more than perfect.

I find that single parrots that are strongly bonded with their humans can thrive and be happy without a 2nd parrot. This strongly goes to the Poicephalus family who don't stick in big thick flocks in the wild.

I am against "i have a female, I am searching for a male, but I don't want to breed" thing. I cannot fathom it, it is SO common in my country it drives me nuts.

I am against adopting unweaned baby birds to those who are inexperienced in feeding baby chicks. Stories where I hear "but I weaned the baby myself and now it hates me" way too many times. In short: weaning babies doesn't guarantee in forever strong bond.

This is more of a pet peeve of mine: why are IRNs so popular in the pet trade? It is like a russian roulette with then, a wild IRN is bound to stay wild, hard to tame, generaly afraid of hands, VERY loud. Probably speaking from my own experience, but I personally would never-ever have an IRN ever again. Mine was the sweetest, don't get me wrong, I loved him dearly, just I am vary of the species.

I am such a negative person, I see :')

 

[Rozalka]

From my observations if the fact is a controversial or not, depends also on the country - for example parrot tents - in US it is controversial when somebody uses it, and here - it is controversial if somebody does not use such thing for conures, caiques, lorikeets

 

[Skarila]

From my observations if the fact is a controversial or not, depends also on the country - for example parrot tents - in US it is controversial when somebody uses it, and here - it is controversial if somebody does not use such thing for conures, caiques, lorikeets

Right you are. I forgot to add that I do use a "tent" (or a big carton tube) for my Pascal.

For example in the Balcans pellets (any kind) are controversial. Many people find it "dumb" and for "lazy people" and "artificial".

 

[Rozalka]

controversial things I do (at least for Europeans):

• fids have bells
• I have a bourke and budgie in one cage (a typical European is against any species mixes)
• seeds are used as the main food for bourkes and Angela (sure they eat veggies too)
• I've never been at vet (because my fids have never been ill with one exception when I was 13 y/o and asked my mom to go to the vet but she just said "it's too late" )

 

[Rozalka]

Btw that's nice that here people tolerate other's decisions. On a Polish group such thing is not to think.... I was on one, where admin decided to block all people who attacked others for different opinions (especially when it was just because somebody had one parrot). One of such blocked persons was so angry and wrote on another group that our admin is a pest... and our group is deleted now.

 

[BirdyBee]

That's sad. We should all respect each others opinions. Unless one is physically abusing an animal(Example: hitting it), they should not shame each other.

 

[BirdyBee]

Not sure how controversial is this:

We cover our bird's cages every night before sleep, no exceptions, and uncover in the morning (they get approx 10-11h undisturbed sleep minimum)

We don't take our budgie for annual checkups as it is VERY stressful for her. Only when she is showing any simptoms of illness (for bad shaped poop we just send it for analysis)

Annual blood check up is a no no for my birds as they are small and fidgety - even our avian vet said for small burds not to take blood samples unless there is a good reason for it, as they must go under anesthetics.

I find that budgies and other similarly small birds shouldn't be on full pellet diet without seeds, 50/50 sounds good for them. (Not mentioning veggies here - just pellet vs seeds)

If a bird eats most of the seeds/legumes offered in a mix - this kind of diet is ok. If a bird is very picky about their mix - pellet diet it is. My personal thought that pellet is good for picky eaters who really pick out 2 types of seeds out of the whole mix.

Pellet with "fillers" is ok. I find Roudybush and Harrison's more than perfect.

I find that single parrots that are strongly bonded with their humans can thrive and be happy without a 2nd parrot. This strongly goes to the Poicephalus family who don't stick in big thick flocks in the wild.

I am against adopting unweaned baby birds to those who are inexperienced in feeding baby chicks. Stories where I hear "but I weaned the baby myself and now it hates me" way too many times. In short: weaning babies doesn't guarantee in forever strong bond.

1. covering their cage

I am not against it. Unless your bird gets very anxious, I recommend it.

2. Vet visits

I agree that it's better for your budgie not to see a vet unless absolutely nessecary.

3. Blood testing

Agreed! It's totally unnecessary imo. Unless a vet recommends it, I would never do it.

4. Pellets with fillers

I believe that if it's all you can afford, then so be it. If you can afford pellets without it, then go ahead.
But any pellets with by-products, sugar, colouring/flavouring is not good and should never be given.

5. Seed mixes

Agreed! If they only eat 2-3 types of seed then they're better off with pellets.

6. Single birds

Agreed!

7. Unweaned babies

Pippen was unweaned when I got her, but it's really because my parents got her unexpected lol. But we already had hand-rearing experience. It is false that hand reared babies are tamer. A friend of ours got a tiel that was weaned since they did not have they time and confidence to hand-rear one, and the tiel is quite tame! I don't recommend hand rearing. Weaning pipp was a pain!

 

[Rozalka]

1. covering their cage

I am not against it. Unless your bird gets very anxious, I recommend it.

2. Vet visits

I agree that it's better for your budgie not to see a vet unless absolutely nessecary.

3. Blood testing

Agreed! It's totally unnecessary imo. Unless a vet recommends it, I would never do it.

4. Pellets with fillers

I believe that if it's all you can afford, then so be it. If you can afford pellets without it, then go ahead.
But any pellets with by-products, sugar, colouring/flavouring is not good and should never be given.

5. Seed mixes

Agreed! If they only eat 2-3 types of seed then they're better off with pellets.

6. Single birds

Agreed!

7. Unweaned babies

Pippen was unweaned when I got her, but it's really because my parents got her unexpected lol. But we already had hand-rearing experience. It is false that hand reared babies are tamer. A friend of ours got a tiel that was weaned since they did not have they time and confidence to hand-rear one, and the tiel is quite tame! I don't recommend hand rearing. Weaning pipp was a pain!

I agree with most things said by Skarila too only I don't have own opinion about pellets with fillers (I hear about it for the first time)

Personally I don't cover cages but I'm not against it

 

[Skarila]

4. Pellets with fillers

I believe that if it's all you can afford, then so be it. If you can afford pellets without it, then go ahead.
But any pellets with by-products, sugar, colouring/flavouring is not good and should never be given.

I agree with this. First one that came to my mind was the ZuPreem fruit blend. There was some discussion about certain food colourants that are really bad. In some countries they are banned apparently, but in EU there must be a warning label about those colourants. This is something I would never ever give to my birds. I personally like Harrison's because it has the Organic certificate. Also cold pressed pellets are much better than kibbles imo.

 

[Skarila]

I agree with most things said by Skarila too I only don't have own opinion about pellets with fillers (I hear about it for the first time)

Personally I don't cover cages but I'm not against it

Pascal goes into a fit if I don't cover him in the evening! He just doesn't want to settle unless he is covered.

 

[StormyPica]

Controversial things I do:

1. Tents for the budgies, never had problems
2. Feed seed in their diet
3. Do not train them for 15 minutes every day, we usually just interact
4. No annual vet checkups

 

[BirdyBee]

I personally am against tents but it's just my opinion!

 

[wrench13]

1) I let Salty listen to the Devil's music, ie: Rock and Roll
2) I give money (big heavy Chinese coins) to Salty for his birthday to play with
3) We let Salty watch TV all day long

Come on people, the bird police are not going to come and take your parrot away from you if you feed seed or use a hut or clip wings or dont do the annual checkup.
THe parrot is your responsibility and your conscience is your guide.