Hoarding, rescuing,collecting,arm candy or love

[Pajarita]

I forgot to comment on the hoarding, rescuing, etc issue. People usually think that a large number of animals has to, automatically, mean hoarding or collecting but that is not so. I know a lady who runs a sanctuary (she does not adopt out but she has, on occasion, given birds to other rescues if she thinks they will be better off with them than with her) and she has over 300 birds in it. I know it sounds like a hoarding situation but she has four birdrooms (one for budgies and another one for cockatiels -both species live cage-free, one for medium species like conures and another one for the large ones like cockatoos and macaws) which are always clean (I don't like the fact that she uses breeders cages stacked up against the walls for the medium and large birds but that's me), gives her birds fresh food every day (she layers chop on top of Harrison's pellets mixed with a budgie seed mix she uses for everybody - again, not my style but with all those birds, I don't blame her), has an avian vet come over and check all her birds once a year, etc. The only help she gets is a paid employee who comes twice a week to clean cages and such and her husband who is a retired pilot. Three of her birdrooms open up to an open porch that surrounds the house (she had the house built to her needs) so the cages can be wheeled out for sun exposure, etc. Now, does she have enough time to socialize with all of them on a one-to-one basis? No, she doesn't. She also follows the old 12L/12D light schedule with the consequence that she has off-season layers all the time. So, all in all, I would say that the whole situation could use improvement but I would never call it hoarding because the birds are clean, well-fed, allowed to fly and receive medial attention.

Would I take in a bird that needs it even if I needed another bird like I need a hole in my head? Yes, I would. I might not keep it forever but I would take it, rehabilitate it and then look for a good home for that particular bird. That is pretty much what I've been doing since I closed down my rescue and the next one is going to be, most likely, Peachy the lovie -if Pablo doesn't die first, then it would be Codee.

Speaking of hoarding, they are asking for volunteers in Georgia to help care for 300 birds seized (but, if you ask me, the 'should not have pet birds at home' requirement is stupid! who better to know how to care properly for parrots but somebody who has parrots?): http://www.cbs46.com/story/32744072/cou ... of-parrots

[dragonlady2]

I believe the there was an outbreak of PFBD among the birds. That's probably why they are recommending no other birds in the home.

[galeriagila]

Fascinating thread... so many complex/conflicting values, logistics, needs (of people AND birds). I admire any/all who take these issues on and try to make a difference in even one bird's life.

[Pajarita]

I believe the there was an outbreak of PFBD among the birds. That's probably why they are recommending no other birds in the home.

Ahhh, well, yes, that would definitely be a concern. But, what are the chances of getting somebody with experience in parrot keeping and who loves birds enough to volunteer but has no birds of his/her own with the huge overpopulation problem we have? Not good, I would think. Personally, I would have asked for volunteers and tell them of the problem as well as providing gloves and gowns for them so, when they leave, they don't carry the contagion back to their birds. Sheesh, I bet some of the volunteers would even be willing to provide their own gloves and gowns! I would!

[seagoatdeb]

Yeah it tricky to do a good quarantine you really need a separate facility. I have a downstairs with rooms with doors and that has to suffice for me. I can change my clothes too, but I really worrry about bringing in illness with hoarded parrots.

[Perroquet]

What is a fear to me is hoarder homes can be easy to see once see them. Some are easy to see. Hard one are fear to me.

They can be hard to see when hoarder hide from door. They clean up when you come so they dont look like hoarder. They speak good, join groups, have many around that help them and they are boss. Are obsessed with they are right and they come after you if you guess about them. One place I help to close, woman said she was not hoarder and sent me threats after. She had only 20 birds but they never saw outside, no toys, and many were ill. How found her was parrots she gave to others died soon. She was clean when people came. When surprised her, parrots were in dirty cage with dirty water. I was afraid to go out long time she was saying she would hurt me.

They dont start as hoarder, they like parrots, they get sick, or busy, aquire too many, they cant stop. It is illness. They get more have to be right as they get more ill.

[liz]

What you say about hoarders is so true. They don't start that way but start collecting birds that are not being cared for until they have too many to care for.

I questioned myself if I would be considered a hoarder by taking in so many cockatiels in such a short time. I have moved away from NC where people knew I would take care of their cockatiels and shelters called me when they had one they could not take care of. When I look at my Cockatiel room it is cleaner than the rest of the house. I guess that means I am not a hoarder.

[Pajarita]

Well, I haven't seen that many hoarder homes in person (only two, actually) but, in both cases and, for what I understand of the problem (this is going by the TV program, what is written about it and what the SPCA inspector told me), these homes are never really clean (they smell!) and they never allow anybody in. The two I went to, they kept me standing at the door, they never invited me in and I never actually saw the hoarder but a relative (one was a handicapped daughter that lived there and the other was a son who did not), but it was easy to see there was a problem because hoarders don't hoard just one single thing, they accumulate all kinds of stuff so both homes had a path that went from the door of the house to some sort of opening to the rest of the house and both had the entire front room floor and furniture covered with stuff... all kinds of stuff, tall piles of magazines, board games, boxes with clothing or toys or small things, radios, a couple of TV sets that were obviously not working, etc. Everything was piled up, not really strewn and everything seemed to have been separated into different categories but it looked like a garage sale explosion in there and there wasn't a single place where you could actually sit down! The birds I went to get (two severely splayed budgies and one sick cockatiel) were kept in the back and, as I was not invited to come in, I don't really know the conditions they were kept but I am sure they were not good (the one with the budgies did not even know that they needed to be supplemented calcium and D3!).

I don't know if you can say that somebody is a hoarder just because the cages are dirty because, going by the state of the cages where people brought their birds to me, I would say that dirty cages are much more common than people think!

[seagoatdeb]

It is only the large scale hoarders that make the news. The small ones dont. At the World Parrot Sancturary in Coombs, everything was running fine for a forever home untill the woman who started it got older and sick. Without her there, it became a hoarding case. There is no number, even a small operation can be hoarding. Its basically when you cant take care of them properly and you cant see it becasuse of an obsessive nature that gets too much and defends it. the hoarder does not know they have a problem, but can pick up who will criticism them fast enough.

Some bad breeders are called hoarders, but that is different, they know what they are doing and try to breed as fast as possible to make money and dont care about the health of their animals, so they are different than people that have obsessive illness and much worse in my opionion. Greedy and dont care.

The problem with inadequate care is a problem no matter what you call it. Whenever someone gets more than they can handle, the parrots suffer.

[Perroquet]

What you say about hoarders is so true. They don't start that way but start collecting birds that are not being cared for until they have too many to care for.

I questioned myself if I would be considered a hoarder by taking in so many cockatiels in such a short time. I have moved away from NC where people knew I would take care of their cockatiels and shelters called me when they had one they could not take care of. When I look at my Cockatiel room it is cleaner than the rest of the house. I guess that means I am not a hoarder.

Is true you not hoarder, hoarder thinks they not hoarder an do not question if they are.