Parrots - cruel to keep as pets?

HelterSkelter

Hi All,

I was just in a pet shop today and saw a few parrots. They were in cages which didn't give them much room at all to move about. In my mind it would be equivalent to a human being keps in a Nissan Micra 24/7. They all looked very depressed. Is this the kind of conditions they are kept in in the pet store all the time? How about when someone buys one, generally speaking, would they be kept in a cage like this by the owner? And can anyone just walk into a pet shop and buy one?

It strikes me as very cruel that people are allowed to keep these birds as pets, they should be free flying around in their natural habitat. What do you all think?

EGAR

I am of the very same opinion as yourself. Sadly, alot of birds not just parrots are existing in cages, it's an existence but not a life.

SuzyS1972

Don't agree with caged birds at all - I see a bird in a cage in an apartment block from the bus ( where the traffic jams for 15 mins :mad: ) and he is in a TEENY cage and he just hops up and down and up and down on the bars.

I can only imagine it is sheer frustration on the part of the bird - it's stir crazy.

It saddens me that a creature born with wings is kept confined in such a small space - I mean what IS the point ?


I think with exeption unless there is a huge aviary and proper stimulation for the birds then no it's just wrong.

tallus

It's different if someone keeps the bird in the cage for a time but lets them out when they are around, but unless you're willing to let the bird out for a lot of time every day, then yes it is cruel. They do however need to feel safe and have a place that makes them feel safe and the cage does that at night.
I do think it's wrong to keep them as pets unless you're willling to build a suitable aviary or put the required time in, they are extremly demanding as pets. It's like having a winged baby that likes chewing everything in the house.

mjffey

I now it's terrible to see those birds, and all those other animals, in the petshops. We were in castlebar a few weeks ago in a well known garden centre/pet shop and there I saw birds behind glass. They just looked like fishtanks. Maybe 70 x 70 x 60 cm with at least 5 birds in each tank. It was horrible to see.
Comming home I called somebody from the SPCA, but they told me they couldn't do anything, because the petshop told them before that the birds were in there only for a few days and then were sold. Of course that's not true, but how do you prove that it's not true?
I have to think about a way to make this public.

mysteria

I agree with Tallus. No animal/pet lover wants to see any creature caged but I've had parrots for years, can't live without birds, and the important thing is to keep them in a very large cage, give the loads of freedom, but for their safety they need to be caged if no-ones in the house. I used to put mine to bed at night in the cage and you can see it's their secure place, they want to sleep there. Most of the parrots on sale are bred in aviaries, not taken from the wild, so they adapt to living in an aviary or large cage once they spend lots of time out of their cages. And my house has the beakmarks to prove it. If anyone has seen birds for sale kept in those bad conditions, please PLEASE pm me details I'm desperately seeking birds.

Ruu_Old

I don't have a problem with it and any parrots I ever had, I bought huge cages for them and make sure they had plenty to do, gave them lots of attention.

Sigma Force

Cages and bird enclosures are important for safety, a bird needs somewhere safe to perch at night if the area is too large and they get a night firght they can do damage to themselves. Saying that most cages available are way to small for birds most can't stretch their wings comfortably in them. Pet shops rarely have any of the animals in the shop in proper facilities be they birds or smallies. Unless you can allow hours of free flight every day a cage in not acceptable.

If you have a lone bird you need to be there most of the day even a budgie can get depressed on it's own even if the cage is huge.

In my opinion most cages are over priced and flimsy and those round cages should be banned, they leave no space for the bird to even flutter from one end of the cage to the other. One option for someone with say canarys or budgies even if there is a lack of space it to deligate a corner of a room, and build a simple timber structure with aviary wire and a door and build it high and wide enough for them to fly about in as well and just stick lino on the floor of it.

If I'd of thought of that for my birds I would of done it years ago, but we finally finished the aviary something I've always been planning to build from the minute I got them but if I was to do it all again I would have an aviary up first and then the birds.

Pet shops usually don't take too long to sell the animals so thankfully they don't usually have to endure the lack of space for long, however it's hard to know what kind of homes they go to. Tbh I find some places that specialise in birds only are worse than pet shops. So many different species of birds under one roof in dirty conditions is asking for a nasty virus to spread and destroy the whole lot.

Just like with rabbits and guinea pigs a hutch or cage should be only seen as their bed/feeding/safe place area not a place where they have to spend 24/7 in.

Even the smallest garden can fit an aviary in it, flats are ideal for small birds because there is less of a chance they can escape than a regular house ie if the bird is allowed free flight. A small cage is no place for any bird. All to often canarys are the ones to suffer put in teeny cages, just because they are small doesn't mean they don't need room. Budgies are often kept then in the canary cages and cockatiels often kept in budgie cages. I wish there was a minimum size available so people would have no choice to buy a decent one and that all those starter kits were done away with. Same goes for hamster cages, they are a joke most of them.

Here's out aviary it took a long time but finally the birds have more freedom, eventhough we let them out in the house this is actually safer and they can spend all day out if they want to. Plus it's got a double door system and warm shed.

We call it Rockys Tavern.

Rocky


Their first day out in a cage at first to get them used to the weather and their new surroundings.


Sadly the blue budgie Tutter had to be pts due to a fast growing tumour :-( but at least he got to have some quality time with his buddy in the aviary.


A pic before the doors were put on


If you have a lot of birds and can't offer enough space in the house it's best to have an aviary. If you keep a birds as a pet you must be able to provide it with a large home with enough space to actually fly in the cage, a lot of out of cage time and lots of human company even if you have a bonded pair or trio etc.

HelterSkelter

Guineapigrescue, what's the story with keeping the birds in the aviary during the winter? It must get very cold, how do they cope with that?

BTW, very nice aviary.

Sigma Force

Budgies and tiels are very hardy birds but only one they have been weathered ie they need to be gradually introduced to the elements and it's best to do this over the summer or when you are guranteed to have warm weather. I stopped turning the heating on in the house at first, let the room they were in cool down gradually and then brought them outdoors every day for an hour, then two hours and so on. They can weather the winters here, some birds love the rain, however it's important to have a warm shelter for them esp. at night. We are going to cover about 1/4 to 1/2 the flights roof over to give them more shelter from the sun and rain should they want to sit outside in the flight during the day. There's a wee pop hole in the shed itself that they can fly in and out of to get their food.
The shed is shiplap, I've never had shiplap before and it's brilliant, no gaps. You can insulate the shed, I'm not sure you have to but I might do anyways. They don't need any extra heating in winter but you can provide it if you want to. As long as they are weathered it's grand.

I was putting it off putting them out I felt so guilty and missed them in the house but when you see them having so much freedom it's well worth it and now if I try and catch them they don't want to come in or go to bed in their shed, good excercise for me though lol.

HelterSkelter

So what about winter nights when the temperature drops below freezing? How do they keep warm?

Jotter

My husband always had birds and when we first lived together it was an apt and I wanted a pet so he suggested bird as nothing else was practical. We went to pet shop and got 2 cockatiels, I had never owned birds before and was unsure about how comfortable I was with the whole cage issue. As it turns out I didnt like it, I didnt feel the birds were happy despite the fact they were let out a good bit and the cage was big with plenty of toys etc. My husband felt the same so we did a bit of a search and ended up giving them to a guy in Roscommon who had an avairy. I feel glad that we got them out of the petshop (not a fan of them!) and Im glad they now have as much room as possible in captivity but I wouldnt own a bird again, it just doesnt feel right - particularly those little finches, they have so much energy they look like the just want to fly all the time!

Sigma Force

So what about winter nights when the temperature drops below freezing? How do they keep warm?

If weathered correctly and they have a warm place to go they do just fine.

Sigma Force

I should add I am talking about hardy breeds like budgies and tiels, there are other breeds that do require heating. Also any aviary must have their shed in a sheltered position and it can be insulated. We chose to go with a shed that was half the height of a normal shed, a normal shed will loose a lot of heat in winter where as a raised half shed holds it in much better.

darkflower

well, that would depend on the way you take care of them i guess..i myself believe parrots like other birds are free so they should be flying anywhere they would want,taking care of themselves..but when i visited my friend and saw that she's got a parrot that's well taken cared of-provided with nice and large cage with plants around, clean water and food, i had a change of mind. the parrot could also do some tricks so i felt the bird was happy being caged...;)

Sigma Force

The more intelligent parrots need even more time esp. if they are on their own, African Greys are notorious for getting into mischief out of boredom, more clever than your average dog these guys really should only be kept by people who really know what they are doing and have loads of spare time.