It takes time but an abused bird CAN improve!

[thermodynamic]

I'll have had Rosie for 3 years (in March), as I bought her just to get her out of a chain warehouse pet store. To keep the name of the guilty protected, let's call this company "PetStupid", since that means one of two obvious possibilities, of which one of those two isn't the right one...

I think I may have told the story before about how the PetStupid people kept chasing after the bird with their hands, terrifying it, not understanding how to properly train it (even if it would do step-ups onto fingers). The bird would remain quiet all day, collecting shiny things and doing somersaults overnight (since the PetStupid people put in a webcam overnight for after when everyone left.)

Rosie did take almost 2 years, but she would eventually say "I love you" and take millet from my hands. She will call out for me as well, after I've left the room.

...

Since then she freely does somersaults in front of me, to get me to laugh (and she knows when I've had a bad day), and will do more.

As of last night, she now will grab papaya treats directly from my pinched fingers, without fear or hesitation! That is a HUGE step forward for this poor little bird, who will - eventually - perch on my fingers and even let me scratch her neck (for about a minute before anxiety consumes her), though I can tell she still has severe anxiety issues thanks to those folks at PetStupid. That's also a plus, given how - because of her anxiety - I had no choice but to keep her in her cage often during the early days. But she comes out now, yay!

It's possible she's seen how I've handled Scooter, Rusty, and Tybbi, realizing that I'm not as monstrous as the other humans, but the severity of her anxiety was horrible to observe. I'm just grateful she's been able to take risks and get out of her comfy zone and try to trust me that much more. It still takes time, but she clearly doesn't equate human hands as being outright terror devices anymore. Or at least mine, "guilt by association"...

I don't know how many more years it will take for her to abscond her anxiety issues altogether... but I'm over 40 and still have anxiety issues from a few select terrors endured when I was a kid, so she might be addled with her issues for life, regardless of how much she tries. But just to see her open up and trust is something of an honor, and it makes me feel better knowing she's becoming more well-adjusted.

I know one of the employees at the PetStupid store still works there. I wouldn't dare bring in Rosie, but I know birds are highly intelligent and are capable of remembering. Which would be why I'd never take her back to that place, for any reason.

 

[JamesC]

Yes, they certainly can improve. My first Senegal Kelly improved to a people lover over the course of a year. It still amazes me that the frightened wreck that she was became such a friendly and gentle soul. It seemed that when she reached that first level of real trust that everything came faster and faster after that. Hopefully your bird follows the same pattern and becomes a real gem in the future.

 

[Aquila]

Our birds come to us already knowing how to step up. And not all locations "abuse" birds.

We're actually not allowed to spend time with the birds in an extended manor, nor "train." As they don't want them bonding with us. But most of us, while cleaning cages, will let conures sit on us and interact with them then, and personally, I will take the birds out when I can for people to see them and interact with them.

As I said in another thread, our birds come from local breeders. I don't know if my store is of the one you're speaking. My store has had a Jenday for quite a while, since the summer I think, that no matter what, has been nervous and afraid of hands, since it arrived. Even changing locations to a different cage, offering food, etc, hasn't made a dent in the behavior.

I'm one of the only ones he'll come to when I'm outside the glass, and I've gotten him the closest (A few inches from me crouched down infront of the open cage.)

Absolutely "abused" birds can become great birds, but don't assume all retail locations are the same! There are many of us who are bird people and try our hardest within the constraints of what we're allowed.

 

[JamesC]

I have to admit that I get concerned when I see how birds are housed in the national chains. The one near me disappointed me the first time I went in there after being away for 3 years. When I left, they had a nice glass enclosed room in the bird section that you could walk into and interact with the birds. They were housed in regular cages and each had a toy or two. Every time I visited, I spent time with the birds playing with them through the bars and trying to help keep them socialized.

When I returned to this area, I was sad to see that the room was gone. I didn't see any birds except for an overloaded tank full of budgies and thought that they had stopped carrying the larger species. Which was ok with me because I really don't think that most pet stores should carry birds. I was ticked off at the number of budgies in that tank but this was just before the holiday so I hoped that most would be out of there quickly.

But the next time I was in for supplies last week, I found the "closet" where they moved the larger birds to. Plexiglas front doors enclosing birds in Plexiglas cages with sterile white plastic backing and thin plastic perches. White to show off their colors more, I suppose. A few remnants of a single toy in each cage. 2 suns, a jenday, a sunday and a tiel each in their own little cabinet in that closet. It was late. Near closing and the birds were probably sleepy, but the only reaction I saw out of any of them was to turn an eye at me and watch.

Feeling kind of helpless I found it very hard to stay there for more than a few minutes. I picked up my supplies and went to check out. It was a bit of relief for me when the cashier saw what I was buying and asked me about my birds and I found out that she was a genuine bird lover. I commented about the housing that the birds were in now and she seemed upset though she didn't really respond to what I was saying other than to tell me that they were frequently taken out for socialization. I just assumed that it was company policy that the employees have to be careful about what they say or face a reprimand. I was very unhappy when I left.

I believe her when she said that she took them out. She was proud that she was able to choose names for all the birds when they arrived and talked about their personalities. But still, I think that birds coming out of a situation like that are prone to be at a disadvantage in their new home. Both because of the isolation that they must experience and I think that customers buying at chain stores are prone to be uneducated about birds and have no idea what they are bringing home with them until a few months later when they have a biting screamer on their hands that they want to get rid of. I know that this is not always the case and probably the majority of those birds land in a decent situation. But still, it makes me sad to know that many will not.

 

[Aquila]

Personally, one of the issues we had having an open wire cage for our birds, was we had an incident with someone feeding chocolate to our bird and killing it. We know who did it (something was clearly wrong with them, autistic or mild retardation) but after that we put up the plexiglass to prevent any other incidents. We were all devastated after that.

 

[thermodynamic]

Yes, they certainly can improve. My first Senegal Kelly improved to a people lover over the course of a year. It still amazes me that the frightened wreck that she was became such a friendly and gentle soul. It seemed that when she reached that first level of real trust that everything came faster and faster after that. Hopefully your bird follows the same pattern and becomes a real gem in the future.

Thanks!

"Gentle soul" describes Rosie as well.

Our birds come to us already knowing how to step up. And not all locations "abuse" birds.

We're actually not allowed to spend time with the birds in an extended manor, nor "train." As they don't want them bonding with us. But most of us, while cleaning cages, will let conures sit on us and interact with them then, and personally, I will take the birds out when I can for people to see them and interact with them.

As I said in another thread, our birds come from local breeders. I don't know if my store is of the one you're speaking. My store has had a Jenday for quite a while, since the summer I think, that no matter what, has been nervous and afraid of hands, since it arrived. Even changing locations to a different cage, offering food, etc, hasn't made a dent in the behavior.

I'm one of the only ones he'll come to when I'm outside the glass, and I've gotten him the closest (A few inches from me crouched down infront of the open cage.)

Absolutely "abused" birds can become great birds, but don't assume all retail locations are the same! There are many of us who are bird people and try our hardest within the constraints of what we're allowed.

I don't know which chain you work at, but I doubt I'm referring to it. The store I'd went to was on a whim and quite distant from where I live, and I revisited once, just to see if anything had changed...

True, not all chain stores abuse birds - I apologize for making such a glib generalization out of angst.

But some do and two Petstupid locations in my area both act "naive" toward their birds, and I just can't keep adopting... having 4 attention-nabbers is a delightful handful, but taxing.

But I do know one chain store, assuming they still sell even conures, where the employee took great care of them as well. From what you'd said, that store is far more likely the one I prefer to shop at... I almost bought a yellow-sided GCC one day, but a school teacher bought the bird between visits. Which is okay, because Tybbi showed up a couple of months later. And the store associate told a lovely story about who bought the parrot... about a school teacher who bought it...

Thank you for sharing your story as well. It's much preferable to read those situations, where people take the time to care! Your actions do great for the pets, and they do great for the store - even if the store's beancounters can't be bothered to see that what you do adds much value, which is more profitable to them in the end. Some of these stores are so busy chasing profit, they overlook the needed nuances.

I have to admit that I get concerned when I see how birds are housed in the national chains. The one near me disappointed me the first time I went in there after being away for 3 years. When I left, they had a nice glass enclosed room in the bird section that you could walk into and interact with the birds. They were housed in regular cages and each had a toy or two. Every time I visited, I spent time with the birds playing with them through the bars and trying to help keep them socialized.

When I returned to this area, I was sad to see that the room was gone. I didn't see any birds except for an overloaded tank full of budgies and thought that they had stopped carrying the larger species. Which was ok with me because I really don't think that most pet stores should carry birds. I was ticked off at the number of budgies in that tank but this was just before the holiday so I hoped that most would be out of there quickly.

But the next time I was in for supplies last week, I found the "closet" where they moved the larger birds to. Plexiglas front doors enclosing birds in Plexiglas cages with sterile white plastic backing and thin plastic perches. White to show off their colors more, I suppose. A few remnants of a single toy in each cage. 2 suns, a jenday, a sunday and a tiel each in their own little cabinet in that closet. It was late. Near closing and the birds were probably sleepy, but the only reaction I saw out of any of them was to turn an eye at me and watch.

Feeling kind of helpless I found it very hard to stay there for more than a few minutes. I picked up my supplies and went to check out. It was a bit of relief for me when the cashier saw what I was buying and asked me about my birds and I found out that she was a genuine bird lover. I commented about the housing that the birds were in now and she seemed upset though she didn't really respond to what I was saying other than to tell me that they were frequently taken out for socialization. I just assumed that it was company policy that the employees have to be careful about what they say or face a reprimand. I was very unhappy when I left.

I believe her when she said that she took them out. She was proud that she was able to choose names for all the birds when they arrived and talked about their personalities. But still, I think that birds coming out of a situation like that are prone to be at a disadvantage in their new home. Both because of the isolation that they must experience and I think that customers buying at chain stores are prone to be uneducated about birds and have no idea what they are bringing home with them until a few months later when they have a biting screamer on their hands that they want to get rid of. I know that this is not always the case and probably the majority of those birds land in a decent situation. But still, it makes me sad to know that many will not.

Even the employees are stuck with the rules given to them...

If all pet stores took the time to care, and educate customers, aviculture wouldn't be in a stagnant state, parrots would be happier, so would the families adopting them. But while some stores do allow some lenience, the fact more seem to be reducing or eliminating birds altogether is a sad sign, and birds do require a little more attention - which the accountants only deem as "cost"... since we're all product to be marketed in one form or another anymore these days, while keeping costs low... then people wonder about other things, since there are no small parrot competition stores that exist anymore thanks to these big chains, but I'm straying...

I once bought a pacific blue parrotlet - reduced to $150 (from $500). She was in the middle of a 3-tier partition, which was dark 24/7 despite the ambient lighting. There was one tiny toy that she would never play with. She was starved for attention, and parrotlets have HUGE personalities... and the bird was hand-tame, so she was starved of human affection as well... That was from a different chain store that no longer sells any parrots, however...

Personally, one of the issues we had having an open wire cage for our birds, was we had an incident with someone feeding chocolate to our bird and killing it. We know who did it (something was clearly wrong with them, autistic or mild retardation) but after that we put up the plexiglass to prevent any other incidents. We were all devastated after that.

It's a shame you had to do that, but I've seen plexiglass show up in stores everywhere. Probably to prevent incidents like that one, poking at the birds, etc...

The kid you referred to could have been a sociopath as well; but I'd hope that the incident took place due to ignorance rather than maliciousness... I'm terribly sorry that happened, and the emotional pain it caused.

 

[baron1282]

I have seen some Petchain stores that are not bad. I saw one Conure in a petchain that had plenty of toys and a nice big cage all to himself. I am not saying it was perfect, but if the right owner came along, I believe the bird would be happy.

I bought my Bird from a pet chain (Jacks) and I couldn't be happier. They socialized with their birds and take them out and play with them. We even kept the name given to the bird from the store being it was so use to his name already. The girl that works there we are friends on FB now and she still gives us helpful advice as most employees that work there own birds themselves. So that helps! Right now they have a pair of Conures that I want but don't have $1000 to get ($500 each. A Jenday and Sun conure that over time became best friends. I shutter to think that they will sale just the one Sun because the Jenday was a mean bird to all (He was a rescue from another store), but now with the Sun and Him together he has calmed down and even lets me pick him up without too much biting. I wish they would price them as a pair, because I know it would devastate one of the birds regardless of who sales. I know the Sun would go first because he is the nicest one out of the pair.

We can say what we want about Chain stores, but breeders are just as bad sometimes! We all know of puppy mills, but I a sure there is mills for every pet. To say that every chain is bad is just covering up the larger issue! That issue is there is too much pets for our own good. Because of our obsession with pets there will always be mills. :-( There will always be that one BAD pet store, and there will always be good pet stores. We can't rescue every bird, cat, or dog, but I wish we could. Heck Fish get it worse than any of them pets, poor gold fish that don't get enough room to swim and or used for decorations at weddings, it's horrible what people do to fish for the sake of decoration!

 

[Abigal7]

Personally, one of the issues we had having an open wire cage for our birds, was we had an incident with someone feeding chocolate to our bird and killing it. We know who did it (something was clearly wrong with them, autistic or mild retardation) but after that we put up the plexiglass to prevent any other incidents. We were all devastated after that.

I can understand why pet stores have switched to glass for birds due to the example you given. Or people poking fingers in the cages, a risk to be sue if someone is bitten etc. But I do not like how some of of the cages are not the cleanest. Our pet store in town has budgies lovebirds and cockatiles. They have perches and toys but one cockatile looked puffed up and just sitted on their perch. That said the owners are not bad and I can not say they do not care for the animals. The point is petstore cages never give the animals space. We went to a chain pet store and the conure glass cage bottom was a mess. Granted birds can be pretty messy. The green cheek conures looked lively though and one was playing with a toy. I got my cockatiel from a small pet store and it was a great bird but the first bird a budgie needed to get use to me and tame. I took some bites before he saw I would not hurt him and that he would come out of the cage and onto my hand.

 

[Abigal7]

I have seen some Petchain stores that are not bad. I saw one Conure in a petchain that had plenty of toys and a nice big cage all to himself. I am not saying it was perfect, but if the right owner came along, I believe the bird would be happy.

I bought my Bird from a pet chain (Jacks) and I couldn't be happier. They socialized with their birds and take them out and play with them. We even kept the name given to the bird from the store being it was so use to his name already. The girl that works there we are friends on FB now and she still gives us helpful advice as most employees that work there own birds themselves. So that helps! Right now they have a pair of Conures that I want but don't have $1000 to get ($500 each. A Jenday and Sun conure that over time became best friends. I shutter to think that they will sale just the one Sun because the Jenday was a mean bird to all (He was a rescue from another store), but now with the Sun and Him together he has calmed down and even lets me pick him up without too much biting. I wish they would price them as a pair, because I know it would devastate one of the birds regardless of who sales. I know the Sun would go first because he is the nicest one out of the pair.

We can say what we want about Chain stores, but breeders are just as bad sometimes! We all know of puppy mills, but I a sure there is mills for every pet. To say that every chain is bad is just covering up the larger issue! That issue is there is too much pets for our own good. Because of our obsession with pets there will always be mills. :-( There will always be that one BAD pet store, and there will always be good pet stores. We can't rescue every bird, cat, or dog, but I wish we could. Heck Fish get it worse than any of them pets, poor gold fish that don't get enough room to swim and or used for decorations at weddings, it's horrible what people do to fish for the sake of decoration!

I agree with you. My cockatiel I had as a child was from a pet store and it was a nice bird. I do not like puppy mills. A good breeder knows their dogs and cares for them. My mom breeds dogs and she has the puppies in the house. My moms female pomeranian (named Bella) that she breeds get to stay in the house and interacts with us. She is a sweet dog. I like neither pet stores that do not take care of their animals or those that think they are the only good ones (being arrogant does not help the cause for animals). I know a good small pet store in the next town that is good. The lady that owns it is a dog groomer and I know she is an animal lover. They had a ferret in a two level ferret cage in the store ( which was clean). A guy bought the ferret. The man held it with no problems .I was impressed how tame it was (the ferret let me pet it when it was out of the cage and was not fearful). Not to mention the ferret did not have a strong repulsive smell. One of my moms friends that trains dogs owned a small pet store and I know she spent time with the animals (my cockatiel would not have been so tame if she didn't). Betta fish and gold fish no doubt do not have it that easy. Sadly there are still people that have the wrong idea that they only need a small space to live in. And as you stated sadly we can not rescue them all.

 

[crimson]

there are as many poor pet stores as bird breeders. Unfortunately they are only in it for the profit.
there are thousands of poor bird breeders and only a handful of good ones, same as the stores.
Our 'petstupid' store is one of the better ones. we live in Canada, and they have gone thru some major up dating, especially on the bird cages. they are now partially enclosed with glass in the front, and black bars in the back for ventilation.
they are kept exceptionally clean, brightly lit, plenty of nesting material, clean perches.
If they have conures, they have the java wood branches with ample toys
they are given fruits and vegetables every morning, along with bathing dishes, after the cages are thoroughly cleaned.
every bird is banded and can be traced if need be through the store records.
return policy is 2 weeks.
Now having said that, there are many stores that we have in canada, are diplorable.
I just happen to live within 20 min. of 2 stores that only deal with breeders.
Personally I would rather see people purchase an animal or bird from a reputable breeder, me, being one of them. At least they know where their birds came from and have been treated with the utmost respect that they deserve.
On occassion I have rescued a bird from a store. typically if they are in need of some TLC and good food, then I find them a good home.