Photoperiodic, how does it work?

[Wolf]

This is true, we do indeed do them and ourselves a great disservice by keeping them as pets. We do an even greater disservice by thinking that just because we have the ability, that we also have the right to destroy their natural environment, not just their habitat but the whole ecosystem that it requires to sustain their habitat.

That makes for a situation wherein that if we don't keep them as pets, we may lose all of them to extinction. Our domesticating them may be their only hope foe survival. This to me is the hardest thing for me about having the birds that I do have, because my heart bleeds a little every time I look at them, and this is because I am partially to blame for this.

[Pajarita]

Well, we can donate to organizations that are trying to keep their habitats viable, that keep preserves for them and do breeding for release, we can support legislation and measures that help in this regard, we can sign petitions and boycott products that are produced by destroying these same habitats (like soybeans from South America and red palm oil). There are many things one can do... but keeping a species alive by keeping it as a human pet is not the answer, in my personal opinion.

I don't feel guilty about the birds I keep because these are birds that would not be able to make it out in the wild and I've never bought a single baby parrot from a breeder (which contributes to the overpopulation problem instead of solving it) or adopted a single bird for my own benefit. They never learned survival skills and, even if we taught them, they would still not survive because they are so physically inferior to the wild ones.

[Wolf]

I am in total agreement with you on this ,but as long as big business has as much control over our government, I don't hold much hope in this regard. But it is so vitally important that we really can not afford to do anything other than to keep on trying to make the difference. Who knows we may be able to succeed.

I don't buy birds or any other animal, never have and have no intention of doing so. All my animals are with me because they needed a home with someone who would care for them and love them just because they are, and for no other reason.

[Pajarita]

Same here. Almost all of my animals were given up because of issues and I took them in because as I don't have unrealistic expectations and like/love them even if they don't love me, they do much better here than anywhere else. I have a few birds that were supposed to have been aggressive but, after I took them in I realized they were not. I have rehomed some of them but I still have a number of 'good' ones for the simple reason that they have found a mate or a companion in my birdroom and are happy there. Also because, sometimes, the issues they had before show up again after they are rehomed. This happened to me twice and I've become a bit leery of rehoming because of it. Same with my dogs and cats, all given up or taken in because of one issue or another and all ended up been fabulous animals, clean, well-behaved, obedient and affectionate.

And you are right, Wolf, about the corporations and their greed. But, in America, like any other democracy, that's also the fault of the ordinary people like you and me who vote for the wrong candidate. Because environment is not only rain forests, oceans and animals, it's survival of the human species. And, if environment is an issue to you (and it should be an issue to everybody), don't vote for the candidate that puts money and corporations ahead of the environment and the common people.