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View Full Version : Frusterated! What is wrong with some people?



Bird Mom
02-18-2016, 04:34 PM
So, I do a daily browse of the local craigslist and the things I've been seeing just infuriate me. Yesterday I saw a cage full of finches with Christmas tree lights strung around INSIDE the cage! Today (and MANY other times) I've seen cockatiels for sale with one wooden perch in their cage and NO toys! They NEED toys, the NEED multiple perches with different textures (wooden, pruning perches for nails and beak, rope perches, etc). They don't even get a cuttlebone.
You know what's even more sad? Seeing the bird in there with almost nothing and that it has ripped out almost all its feathers.
I've even seen a women who cut off the crest feathers of the cockatiels and was trying to pass them as "just weaned babies" they had full flight feathers, full length tail, the developed shaped head, full adult weight. She wanted $200 a bird.
These people all ask REDICULOUS fees! People need to stop seeing animals as money. They have feelings and needs and if you can't simply afford a few toys, cage necessities, nor even take the time to research how to properly care for the bird then do NOT get a bird!! Ugh, it's so simple to make bird toys, it's so simple to make perches, there's no excuse. They could atleast do their best until they can find a good home for the bird.
There's even a registered breeder here who tried to sell me a brother and sister as a breeding pair! The picture they sent of the cage was filthy, all the toys had droppings on them, and the female had started ripping her chest feathers out. Then they tried selling me a 3 month old (going on 4) cockatiel who wasn't weaned yet. Acting like it was completely normal that she hadn't weaned yet, even though all the others did the month before. They too asked crazy rehoming fees.
I just want to adopt all of them. But there's no way I'm paying so much. It's just so sad.

lolsavannahh
02-18-2016, 06:26 PM
I hate seeing stuff like that too, and it happens too often. The only thing you can do unfortunately is sit and watch, or warn other people away from buying them. Buying the animals off of them is unfortunately supporting them, and you just really don't want to do that because they'll go out and get more.

Mare
02-18-2016, 11:37 PM
It is sad. I swore I would never buy from a pet store for just that reason, Savannah. I'm always drawn to the birds :(. The store I shop for supplies, in the city nearest me, is privately owned and I had been complaining for years about how they keep their birds. The large parrots had one perch and no toys, the small finches and cockatiels were way over crowded with not enough perches to go around, P***ed me off!..and I let them know! They finally quit keeping the large birds, thankfully.

Several months ago I went in to pick up some pellets for my crew and the small bird room reeled me in :(. The cockatiel cage was no bigger than a crate for a large dog and had maybe 10-12 cockatiels in it, gross! There was one little, ugly one sitting on the bottom because there was no more room on the perch. I felt so sorry for her, I purchased her. I gave the manager an earful about how awful their living conditions were and the next time I went back..there were no more cockatiels and the smaller finches and parakeets looked like they were being better taken care of!

I feel I rescued our sweet, beautiful, little Jellybean. Sometimes they just need a hand and I see nothing wrong with that. We need not be afraid to speak up when we see animals being given less than they deserve.

Bird Mom
02-19-2016, 12:46 AM
That was really nice of you to adopt her. I do believe if we are able to help them, we should. I got my two parakeets from Petco and they are healthy. The chain pet stores here typically take pretty good care of the birds, but unfortunatly they aren't tame once you buy them since they just sit in a cage without interaction untill they are purchased. The employees even told me the birds don't get any interactions besides the food and water being filled in the morning. It's sad. And it's sad seeing some who went to people who couldn't take care of them and have reverted to Craigslist to try to "get back some money." People need to realize pets cost a lot of money. There's no "getting it back." And these pathetic "breeders" who are just in it for the money.
I do typically go to craigslist for new birds. It's always a risk though. I have been lied to on a few accounts.
I find the pet store prices to be rediculous. They want $159.99 a cockatiel, $399 green cheek, $499 dusky conure, $599 sun conure, $599 green quaker, $699 blue quaker, etc. It's just unrealistic to me. The most friendly cockatiels I have ever had I paid $25 for with their cage. Because their owners just wanted to find a good home for their bird. It wasn't about the money with them. They were 100% honest about the bird's personalities too.

BirdWhisperer
02-19-2016, 01:22 AM
I feel ya. I clean my birds litter, the cages, everything, I change water and food daily. I do it all for my babies. I've seen pics too of dirty cages that are filled with droppings and feathers and the bird looks sick, it's sad. I try to baby my birdies.

Lady
02-19-2016, 02:09 AM
Seems to me that folks like that will never change, maybe if they get prosecuted or people stop buying from them. It is not only birds that find themselves being the victims, but other animals as well. Heck, look at the current issues of people trafficking. And we're civilized :th_shakehead:.

BirdWhisperer
02-19-2016, 02:13 AM
My poor Ruby I think of her, I'm glad I bought her but past owner said she was male, and Ruby is definitely not a male. She has missing piece of her arm, and I'm going through all this, but I love her and I wouldn't change a thing. The living environment there was not appropriate for the poor bird. We all make mistakes, let's strive to never treat our babies like that okay? :)

Bird Mom
02-19-2016, 02:27 AM
I was suggested to report the breeder to the humane society, but I don't know if they would even do anything. And whose to say they wouldn't continue after the whole thing? Then there's the situation of who the birds would end up with after. There's no guarentee they would go to someone else who would provide better care.
Unfortunatly we just can't save them all. We can just care for and love the ones we do have. But that's not to say it won't still frusterate me when I see those ads. To be honest I would take in some of them, if they weren't asking such a huge rehoming fee.

Mare
02-19-2016, 03:42 AM
Do you ever imagine yourself asking the person wanting homes for her/his birds..I am a bird lover, I will give this being a perfect home.. do you?..ever..?

Bird Mom
02-19-2016, 04:42 PM
Yes, I've actually gotten a few cockatiels free before. But I don't know about asking someone to drop a $150, $200, $300 (No cage) fee. The birds are years old and aren't even tamed. These people are out of their minds. A baby cockatiel at the pet store is $159.99 why in the world do they believe the will get that much? And I'll just see the fee slide down after a few months of them reposting the ad. It's rediculous, they aren't looking for a good home, it's just all about the money and who they can rip off. It's annoying, because I wish I could just give them a reality check, but I'm not going to start an argument with someone off of craigslist. I do think about what I would say though.

Sucre
03-13-2016, 11:36 PM
I have never done this with a bird, but I have private messaged people over dogs who listed them as "MUST GO TODAY OR WILL GO TO SHELTER TOMORROW." Most of them still seem to want that "rehoming" fee, even with the threat of surrendering them for $0 to the shelter - in some counties here you have to pay a $20 fee to surrender them - in most cases this covers the euthanasia. And, I have paid several of those "rehoming" fees just to take the dog in and find it a good home. Unfortunately, I am a "foster failure" and have two of them sitting on my couch to prove it. We have "extra" dogs at any given time - if I am not full up, I will do it. My dogs are used to it, so it's not a problem. It's those eyes. I can't resist those eyes.

There aren't a lot of "bird people" in my area, so I rarely see one posted. I had to drive 2-3 hours to get all of my birds except the insane U2 that we had. And even I couldn't work my way through that.