What consititutes abuse?

[paper_lantern]

I think everyone has a different opinion on what constitutes abuse when it comes to parrots. I'm pretty strict with my definition. I think a small cage, no toys, or no human interaction besides cleaning the cage and changing food constitutes as abuse.

What do you think?

[Polarn]

I mostly agree with you the have though I think also has todo with how often you actually close it, I consider my. Age quite small and wouldn't feel good having it closed too much I have my bluefronted amazon In it closed for an hour every now and then but mostly it has the door standing wide open.
The cage is 110cm x 110cm and 185cm (excluding wheels and legs). Most people that do see my cage thinks it is huge. But it isn't that big if you consider your bird wants to fly. Then it is small, therefor not closed.
Basically what I wanna get forth is a cage this size I would consider abuse if your bird had to spend most of its time in it. However if it is open and a place where your bird goes to eat drink poo and play. Then I consider it to be a cage of satisfying measures to not be abuse

[liz]

Paper Lantern - I would consider that neglect and unconserned for the little creature. Neglect is not socializing with it.

Abuse is abuse. Even scaring the bird is abuse. Not feeding proper food is abuse because it harms it's health. Abuse (like Myrtle went through) is like keeping it in a cage right beside another bird that wanted to kill her.

[Maria]

I think everyone has a different opinion on what constitutes abuse when it comes to parrots. I'm pretty strict with my definition. I think a small cage, no toys, or no human interaction besides cleaning the cage and changing food constitutes as abuse.

What do you think?

Absolutely agree, Lantern. A parrot's MAIN needs are (1) Cage Maintenance. (2) Interaction. (3) Nutrition. If not taken care of well especially with these three basic things, birds can have acting out behavior, like plucking out their own feathers, and chewing on their skin giving themselvs soars. Which would be signs of an abused, neglected bird, depressed bird as well, and they can get sickly.

First of all the cage needs to be big enough to where when the bird spreads it's wings, the wings do not touch the sides of the cage. A bird can get diseases from a dirty cage. From the food that dries on the cage and from poo on the cage. These things need to be kept clean routinely. They can also get fatal infections from their own poo. One has to think, "Would I like to live in this mess?" No. Then don't make my parrot live in it either. One of the ways a parrot cleans their beak from the food after they eat is they wipe their beak on the cage, perches, and bowl rims (an bowl holders at the rims of the bowls, depending on the way the cage is built). Dried old food grows bacteria. These things have to be cleaned off at least once every two to three weeks on the dried food, and watched for. As concerning with their poo, IMMEDIATELY, anytime you see any poo has fallen on cage perches. Cage perches can be installed in a way so that they're not "overlapping" other perches or other things in the cage - keeping in mind that where ever the bird stands and perches, they're poo is going to fall under them from their hiney in that spot. This greatly helps minimize the poo getting on perches. Black and white only (not color) news paper should be lining the bottom of the cage to catch the poo, and changed at a minimum of every two days. Don't let it go passed two days without changing it. Colored news paper ink can kill birds, so only black and white. And even with black and white, if they go down and be chewing the paper up, then you cannot put paper in there; you have to remove it. It's not healthy for them. You can train your bird not to chew on the paper. But if they don't take to the training, then you have no choice but to not have paper, and then you will have to resort to cleaning the bottom of the cage daily or at least every two days. Mine does well with the paper, and any time he has gone down there and started trying to chew on it, I've shewed him away, so he doesn't do it much at all. Also, when the bird goes down to the flooring and tries to get food off the flooring, which has fallen on top of the paper, train him not to do that either. This is because if food has fallen in the poo, and he eats it, he can get a fatal infection. I shew my bird away from that too, any time he goes down there to get anything, or I distract his attention to something else, like a toy, or another piece of good food I put in his bowl or something. I be sure and change the paper frequently, especially when he eats, so that when it's his eating time, if he goes down to the flooring to get any food off the paper, there is no poo there at that time, etc. All spoiled food should be cleaned out from the cage pretty much daily also. Change the paper.

Overhall major thorough cage cleaning should be done every three to six months.

Toys are a part of cage maintenance. But they are also a very important thing. They keep the bird entertained when you're away like when you're working. Birds spend approx. 50 to 75 percent of their time in the wild chewing bark off trees (chewing wood). This helps their motor skills, beak and jaw muscles, and helps keep their beaks trim. If their beaks get too long, they can't pick up their food with their beak; they will have trouble doing that. A large part of a birds activity, and to keep them occupied, is they like to chew things up. Play with things. And foraging (challenging with things to dig food out). These things also are a large part of their motor skills and development, entertainment, etc. Just think if you were sitting there all alone with nothing to do couped up in a cage until someone came home from work to let you out to play? There are hanging chew toys for the cage, which are hung toward the middle of the cage, and by perches so the bird can reach them and is able to stand on a perch while he is chewing on them and playing with them. If there are no toys, there will be a very bored, stir crazy bird. For this reason, also, the toys need to be changed out periodically, so that the bird doesn't get bored with them. Keep things interesting and varied for him. You will notice a bird will stop chewing on partly chewed toys sometimes. That's because they're either already spent, or the bird is bored with them and as soon as you put new toys in there, the bird will start chewing and playing with them again.

On the interaction, a bird is not meant for a show piece, to just put their cage in a corner of the room, and say to people, "Oh that's my bird!", and then ignore the bird and have not much to do with it otherwise. They also get sickly from lonliness. They need interaction and conversation. They need to be out of the cage AT LEAST two hours a day. Playing. With their "foot" toys, which you can put on top of the cage (if it's like a play-top cage), or purchase a parrot tree stand from a parrot shop as an alternate that the bird can climb on, stand on, and perch on. On these tree stands, they have hanging chew toys for the bird. I put my bird on his tree or let him out to go on top of his cage, and he plays, while I do my chores around the house, etc., too. Then every so often, as I'm passing by, I stop and play with him a few seconds and talk to him, and interact with him, give him treats, etc. This is also a large part of how the bird bonds with you. This is also a large part of how they learn to talk with you, how they learn what words mean, etc. Anyone who does not do things like this, will have a lonely depressed bird. They get depressed from lonliness as such, and they can get sick and die from it. This is a part of their very nature. They are flock animals. You will always see for example birds outside in flocks of other birds. Never alone. They MUST have interaction.

Feeding bowls must be washed clean daily, and food changed to fresh daily. Not leaving any spoiled food in their bowls. When washing, birds can NOT do soap. They can get sick from it, so if you use a mild soap to wash the bowls, be sure ALL soap residue is GONE. Cold water does that very well, you know that "sqeeky clean" you get when you rinse soap off with cold water. You will be able to feel this, as well as if there is any soap residue left or not.

As far as nutrition, well it's like people can not live on rice alone. We would be mal-nourished. Birds cannot live on seeds and nuts alone. They would die of what's called a "seed starvation diet"; mal-nourished, in about only seven years. A healthy bird will live approx 75 to 80 years, and you have to "Will" them to someone. Birds nutrition requires well-roundedness. They also require fruit and greenery. With no seasonings. And only boiled or baked. Never ever fried. Only fresh from produce section in grocery store. I've also found that some of the 99 cent only stores have fresh produce, and you can get alot of the good stuff there for your parrot too; that's where I started buying some of mine. Bless God, he has made a way for me to take care of my baby in today's economy. If 99 cent store, you have to be careful and get the good ones, some of it has gone bad and they may have not had a chance to clear the bad stuff off the shelving yet at times.

Fresh Food List For Parrots

Healthy Fresh Fruits For Parrots
No to Pesticides! Choose Organic!
Always wash fruit with a good fruit wash!

Apples without the seeds (seeds toxic)
Banana
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries (pitted)
Grapes (seedless)
Guava
Mango
Nectarines
Oranges
Papaya
Peaches (remove the pit)
Pears (remove the pear core)
Plums
Pomegranate
Prunes
Raisins
Strawberries
Raspberries

Healthy Fresh Vegetables
Asparagus
Beans (cooked only)
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Carrots
Cauliflower
Corn (corn on the cob is fun for parrot enrichment)
Chard
Cucumber (must peel off skin, due to wax on skin)
Hot peppers
Kale
Kiwi (peeled)
Kale
Pea Pods
Red Leaf Lettuce
Sprouts (Alfalfa, Broccoli, Bean)
Squash Cooked ( Acorn, Butternut, and Pumpkin)
Sweet and Baked Potato / Yams Cooked
Zucchini


Other Healthy Foods To Offer
Bran Squares
Brown Rice
Cous Cous
Eggs (hard boiled)
Fresh nuts ( leave in shell for enrichment play )
Meats (chicken & fish only, boiled or baked with absolutely no seasoning at all)
Millet
Oatmeal
Pilaf
Shredded Wheat


Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Parrot
Avocado
Caffeine
Candy and Chocolate
Junk foods (chips, cookies, pastries)
Large amounts of dairy products
Mushrooms
Onions

Please note that with all fresh fruits, vegetables, and other foods, your parrot should not be given anything with salt, sugars, chocolates or caffeine. All fruits and vegetables should
be washed with a fruit and vegetable cleaner from your local supermarket. It really does make a difference! Some fruits and vegetables such as apples, strawberries, and cantaloupe may
contain extremely high amounts of pesticides. This can vary depending on the time of year and country that the foods are being imported from. It is strongly recommended to feed organically grown foods. Caution: Remember to remove any uneaten fresh food from the cage before it spoils.

Maria

[liz]

Neglect is the bird in the hotel loby. Neglect is the two little birds on the bottom shelf at a pet store in a dirty cage who were sick. Niether one is acceptable in my eyes and I would give it my attention to the owners.
This is done by stupid uncaring people who need public flogging to teach them.

Abuse is like the bird who was tormented and hit by kids who's parents let them play and have fun with it. Abuse is scaring a bird just to watch it flap and panic.
This is caused by .ss holes who do not deserve to live as far as I am conserned.

If I caught a kid tormenting a bug I would knock the kid over and step on the bug. (I don't like bugs)

[Maria]

Toys is also a big part of how they get exercise. And example, my bird swings and climbs around on his toys. You also exercise your bird by doing “step up” repeatedly, from one hand to another. For their legs. I also exercise my bird by doing “pretty wings”. He’s learned what “pretty wings” means; I taught him. (which reminds me, I need to upload that video about pretty wings from my home computer when I get a chance; I’m at work now – I have two pretty wings videos. Too cute). Anyway, when I say “Pretty wings!” - he flaps his wings. Good exercise. See also how toys are important for a lot of things?

I also play "bird-fetch" with him. Which also gives them exercise. When I throw his toys, he runs after them, gets them, throws them back at me, so I can throw them for him again.

[Maria]

Neglect is the bird in the hotel loby. Neglect is the two little birds on the bottom shelf at a pet store in a dirty cage who were sick. Niether one is acceptable in my eyes and I would give it my attention to the owners.
This is done by stupid uncaring people who need public flogging to teach them.

Abuse is like the bird who was tormented and hit by kids who's parents let them play and have fun with it. Abuse is scaring a bird just to watch it flap and panic.
This is caused by .ss holes who do not deserve to live as far as I am conserned.

If I caught a kid tormenting a bug I would knock the kid over and step on the bug. (I don't like bugs)

Agreed Liz. on the torment hitting, thinking it's fun, watching it flap in panic, they're highly stressing the bird out, scaring the bird, etc., and the bird can die from that. Birds have extremely sensitive nervous systems.

Some people just don't know or don't understand. Here's another example. I keep my birds wings clipped "timely". If you don't, there is a risk of the bird getting out and flying away. Indoor born and raised birds, once they get away, first of all, can not find their way back, because they have a poor sense of direction. It is rare they can find their own way back. Second, they can not survive outside, because they have not learned how. Very different from outdoor born and raised birds. So indoor born and raised birds need to generally be kept dependent on their owners for transportation (on the arm, taking them from place to place). Well, once you make a decision, especially, to keep your birds wings clipped timely - then if they are then NOT kept clipped timely, and the bird gets to fly - well, I had my best friend over with her kids one day. While I was in the kitchen preparing food, they were all in the living room. The kids had been running up to the bird on his tree stand, throwing their hands toward him, making him fly repeatedly, which became too excessively for the bird - that the bird got over stressed, a bit over exhausted, to the point where he was having trouble breathing. The kids and the mother thought it was fun, and was unaware of the stress and fear on the bird. They had no idea how to take care of birds.

The bird flew to me one time to try to get away from them. I put him back on the tree, not clicked yet, as to what was going on. Still preparing in the kitchen, then I came back into the living room where they and the bird and his tree were. My heart fell to the floor, as I saw the bird on his tree gasping for air, panting, and his eyes closing as he was looking at me kind of like, "mama rescue me", coming toward me on his tree. I immediately scooped him up, put him in his cage in my room, put soft, calming instrumental music on, sweetly, calmly, and soothingly talked to him, "It's alright; It's alright" (which he's very familiar with and he calms down whenever I say this). Upon my putting him into the cage, as well, he went straight to the highest perch in the back of his cage (his sleeping perch, they go to the highest perch to sleep). This perch, so, he associates with rest. I could tell in the expression on his face he just about immediately started to feel better. He was now covered, in his territory (his cage; a bird is very territorial about their cage), protected, and his mama was with him. And music is also used to soothe birds. It is very soothing to them. I then just left him alone a little while to be with himself and calm down. I told the kids not to go in there, that he needed to rest. That he was very stressed and tired because of too much flying, and that he was not use to that, and that he was afraid. I explained to the mother that indoor born and raised bird's lungs and heart are not developed for ALOT of flying, especially all at one time, like outdoor born and raised birds, and that the bird got too stressed from it, and explained how things are very different than outside birds. I brought her attention to the fact of the bird gasping for air looking very tired, and that they could get sickly from that. I made her understand to teach the kids how important this was, and to never push themselves like that on a bird, etc., etc., etc. I made her understand to teach the kids also to NOT be going toward the bird to try to make him fly like that. That this is not about a "for fun" thing, and that it can be detrimental to the bird.

Ever since then, I also be sure and keep my bird's wings clipped timely. He'll stand on his tree and flap his wings when I tell him "pretty wings" for exercise. But other than that, he knows he can't fly and does not try to, and he knows he's dependent on me for transportation.


Bird's whose wings have not been kept clipped timely, have flown into toilets and drowned, flown onto stove burners - caught on fire and burned themselves badly, flown into pots of boiling water on the stove and gotten boiled alive and died. People also do not realize that a bird has to explore and find his way around as to what is safe to land on and perch on. A bird becomes just about like your own child. Put a lid on the boiling pot on the stove. Make sure and don't leave stove burners on. Keep the toilet lid closed. Make sure there is no standing water left in your sinks or bathtub or close off the doors if there is, etc. Even when the bird starts to fly a bit, and therefore is ready for clipping, the bird can land on these things and hurt themselves. You have to protect your bird from ways they can unknowingly hurt themselves. There are things they can get into and hurt themselves. Even such as they can get electricuted if they chew on plugged in cords and wiring. You have to watch your bird for this and don't let him chew on things that can hurt him, etc. Cover wiring, tuck them away, and never EVER leave your bird lose unattended. They have to be watched. They chew on everything, and they could also chew on something that could be poisonous to them and/or hurt them.

If you see abuse as you referred to in a pet store, definately bring it to their attention, and also report it.

And never again will I leave my parrot with kids without my being there. Even if another grown up is in the room. Some people are just uneducated about birds, so they are unaware how they can hurt them, etc. They have no clue.

[Maria]

Anyway, the parrot shop said I did the right thing. And when she clipped him, she said I needed to teach him that he can’t fly again. By holding him on your arm over a soft surface, such as a bed. And raising your arm up saying, “fly, fly, pretty wings, pretty wings”. Let him take off and fly, and see that he will go down, and won’t be able to stay up in flight. He will land on the bed, which is soft, to where he won’t hurt himself. Do that little by little a few times for a few days, periodically through the day. So that he learns well, and gets use to it, and so that he won’t try to take off flying again, and will know he can’t fly and has to be dependent on you for transportation again, and keep him that way. She said to do this transition teaching thing this way so the bird won’t hurt himself. She said because a bird can hurt themselves when they’re making the transition from being able to fly to not being able to fly. Because when they fly, they put their legs and feet up against their belly. Then when they’re coming in for a landing, they smooth their feet into the landing, like a plane smooths into landing sort of. They smooth into it by first their toes hitting the ground, then to the middle of their feet, then to their heals. As they’re coming into the landing, gradually putting their legs down (if you get the picture). Well, when they’re then up in the air, and all of a sudden are realizing they can’t fly, they don’t know all of a sudden what to do with their feet either. It throws them off. So then they just put their feet straight down, instead, when going into the landing, which can result in them going into a big jolt to their feet and legs, resulting in fracturing or breaking their feet and legs.

Keep them stable. Don’t let them go from being able to fly to not being able to fly, continually back and forth. Just keep them clipped timely. It is also important for parrots/birds to have stability.