A Crazy Bird Rehoming Duplicatable System Idea

[charlieandkiwi]

Okay, I've had this idea for a while, but as a full time science major, don't have the time to pull it off. I'm hoping I can one day do it and/or convince others to try it. I also realize that there might be unforeseen problems that I haven't thought of, so if you see one, please let me know:

Ending the Passing Around of Birds with Behavior Problems One Bird at a time

Basically, I think that it would be great if someone were to adopt some of these terror birds off of craigslist one at a time, use clicker training to not only tame them, but to teach them a bunch of tricks as well. This person could easily, after taming the bird with clicker training and positive reinforcement, train to bird to wave, turn in a circle on command, fly to them on command, flip upside down on command, and lay on it's back in your hand, stretch it's wings for inspection, and desensitize it to the vet and toe nail clipping.

Then this person could place advertisements around town to sell the bird at a much higher price than they bought it for and actually make a profit. In addition to just selling it, they could sell the bird as a package deal with some behavior training sessions and extensive care information for the new owner. They could use one behavior session to explain how they trained the bird to do everything and to show how to use the clicker. They could then end the session by having the person teach the bird something simple- like waving. The seller would then remain in contact with the buyer and teach the buyer everything they know about parrot training. Within about three months, the buyer, who could have been completely inexperienced with birds, could turn around and take on a less-extreme but still problematic bird project of their own for profit.

It's basically a duplicatible system that could end the "bad" parrot problems, earn people a little side cash, and promote humane, evidenced training methods.

I don't currently have the resources or time to do this, so for now I'm posting information about this forum where ever I can. Here is an example of a craigslist ad I've been posting around Washington state. http://spokane.craigslist.org/pet/3424738182.html

Let me know what your thoughts are.

[Michael]

It's already done. This is the principle that Ginger's Parrots is founded on. However, in reality it takes a lot more than just teaching a couple tricks to make a parrot friendly and it takes a lot of time. The bird's entire lifestyle needs to be adjusted starting with diet, weight, taming, training, flock dynamics, socialization, travel, and other preparations. This is a very time consuming process and can take from 6 months to 2 years for most parrots and even longer with some of the more troubled ones. Other problems that parrots are homed around with include screaming and plucking which take a very long time to reduce but sometimes can't be solved. It takes a thorough understanding of the species and training process but also a ton of patience. Considering how long it takes and how difficult it is, it is impossible to make any money on this type of system. It is only for the benefit of the rescued parrots.

If you believe in the cause but don't have time to personally pursue it, I'd suggest making a donation to Ginger's Parrots Rescue & Rehabilitation to aid in enacting this process with the parrots she rescues.

[charlieandkiwi]

It's already done. This is the principle that Ginger's Parrots is founded on. However, in reality it takes a lot more than just teaching a couple tricks to make a parrot friendly and it takes a lot of time. The bird's entire lifestyle needs to be adjusted starting with diet, weight, taming, training, flock dynamics, socialization, travel, and other preparations. This is a very time consuming process and can take from 6 months to 2 years for most parrots and even longer with some of the more troubled ones. Other problems that parrots are homed around with include screaming and plucking which take a very long time to reduce but sometimes can't be solved. It takes a thorough understanding of the species and training process but also a ton of patience. Considering how long it takes and how difficult it is, it is impossible to make any money on this type of system. It is only for the benefit of the rescued parrots.

If you believe in the cause but don't have time to personally pursue it, I'd suggest making a donation to Ginger's Parrots Rescue & Rehabilitation to aid in enacting this process with the parrots she rescues.

Thanks for the info, Micheal. Most of the ones that catch my eye one craigslist have biting and/or aren't hand tamed problems. I figured it might be unrealistic to make money off of the idea, but thought I'd through it out there as a potential added bonus.

I read your blog post about Ginger's work a couple days ago. Does she do the behavior training sessions with new owners? Is she trying to train anyone else on how to do what she does?

The reason why I ask is because I've worked for animal rescues nearly all of my life (mostly horse rescues). The main problem I see is people not passing off work. They try to do it all themselves and pass off good animals, rather than not taking on as many animals, and instead taking on people. If they focused half the time they spent trying to take on more animals on trying to take on a few potentially talented individuals instead, they could make the over all bird community's ability to solve the problem grow exponentially.

That's why I really like what you've done with your blog and your forum here. I was so happy to find it! Thank you for doing this for the world.

[pennyandrocky]

micheal is so right about this all of mine have been rehomed/rescues. it is not that simple it's alot to deal with and why anyone would go through all of that just to make a profit? plus no ones looking to pay alot for a "used bird" when they would prefer a baby at the same price. i do love my birds and wouldn't trade them for anything but it does get hard having to fix all of the mistakes people made to damage the birds in the first place. there are issues i have with craigslist too aside from alot of abusers selling birds to people who buy the birds out of pity there have been people stealing birds to sell on craigslist.

[charlieandkiwi]

First of all, I do realize what a commitment it is, as I adopted my second bird, a green cheek conure, off of craigslist and I have a long history of involvement in animal rescue efforts both in the horse world, and through Pasado's Safe Haven. I also adopted my shetland pony off of craigslist and he was a terror for the first year (he's now an angel). I understand what the commitment is and I am thoroughly educated about all of the diet, housing, and lifestyle issues (I've been researching birds since I was 12 and wanted a budgie. I started by checking out every book in the library system on small birds. I moved on to every resource I could find and that has been doing on for over 15 years, as I'm 27)

The issue is, do any of us really have enough time and space to take on all of the birds out there that need homes?

I think the answer, if you were to combine all of the bird community in the world, is that there are just not enough people and resources to deal with all of the birds. That's why the main unique thing about my idea is the after-rehoming connection where, not only does the previous trainer try to give the new home basic info and see that it's suitable, but they would go the extra mile in teaching them everything they know about training and care and eventually encourage them to take on a second-hand project of their own if the person is willing, capable, and has the resources.

Secondly, I think that more people would be interested in a second hand bird if it wasn't called a second hand bird, but something like "a master trained bird" and a lot of advertising focused on the fact that it's actually a much better investment than an inexperienced baby. I bet a lot of people would prefer a bird that is already potty trained, interacts well with strangers, is past sexual maturity, and who they can handle for vet visits and all situations, rather than an unpredictable baby. At least they might if they were properly educated by advertising efforts.

After all, that's how hand-fed babies became so popular in the first place- it was seen as the best way of getting a great pet. What if you could convince people that there was an even more assured way of obtaining that?

[Michael]

Yes, Ginger requires multiple visits and a transition process for the birds. I have been coaching her and developing a process for making this switch as seamless as possible. A lot of the advice isn't even formal training but an approach that is built to work. For example, developing a feeding schedule based on the following increases the likelihood of the parrot remaining tame (while getting the right amount of sleep):

9AM uncover, take out
9:30AM put parrot in cage for limited meal
6:30PM come home from work, take parrot out and put on tree
7:00PM play with parrot and return to tree
8:30PM put parrot back in cage to a limited meal

By developing a rigid schedule with the adopter as outlined above, it ensures that they have to get the bird to step up at least 4 times a day. Every instance of step up is reinforced. This ensures that the parrot looks forward to coming out but no less to going in. The newbie owner doesn't even realize that he/she is training the parrot in the process. No clicker, tricks, or treats even need to be involved for one of the most important training measures. The process for getting to this stage would obviously be put in place beforehand by an expert.

Ginger provides virtually a lifetime consultation service for birds adopted from her and I am volunteering a certain number of hours of free training/problem solving consultations to people who adopt parrots from Ginger's Rescue. Even though it's called adoption, it's really like getting a brand new parrot or better. Better yet, the bird comes with a ton of supplies at a fraction of the cost (many of them are brand new for that matter) because it's a non-profit. Definitely something to look into if you live in that area but if you don't I really urge donations or at a minimum moral support by spreading the word.

[charlieandkiwi]

Yes, Ginger requires multiple visits and a transition process for the birds. I have been coaching her and developing a process for making this switch as seamless as possible. A lot of the advice isn't even formal training but an approach that is built to work. For example, developing a feeding schedule based on the following increases the likelihood of the parrot remaining tame (while getting the right amount of sleep):

9AM uncover, take out
9:30AM put parrot in cage for limited meal
6:30PM come home from work, take parrot out and put on tree
7:00PM play with parrot and return to tree
8:30PM put parrot back in cage to a limited meal

By developing a rigid schedule with the adopter as outlined above, it ensures that they have to get the bird to step up at least 4 times a day. Every instance of step up is reinforced. This ensures that the parrot looks forward to coming out but no less to going in. The newbie owner doesn't even realize that he/she is training the parrot in the process. No clicker, tricks, or treats even need to be involved for one of the most important training measures. The process for getting to this stage would obviously be put in place beforehand by an expert.

Ginger provides virtually a lifetime consultation service for birds adopted from her and I am volunteering a certain number of hours of free training/problem solving consultations to people who adopt parrots from Ginger's Rescue. Even though it's called adoption, it's really like getting a brand new parrot or better. Better yet, the bird comes with a ton of supplies at a fraction of the cost (many of them are brand new for that matter) because it's a non-profit. Definitely something to look into if you live in that area but if you don't I really urge donations or at a minimum moral support by spreading the word.

That's really cool. Glad to hear about it. I bet those birds are a lot better than getting a baby parrot. If I had extra money, I would give it, but right now it's all going for my own babies (hence why I can't even consider getting more birds. It'll be nice to be done with this whole school thing.)

[CaitlinRice413]

[CaitlinRice413]

[charlieandkiwi]

I feel like the real issue that keeps being focused on is that I presented the idea of profiting from a bird rescue effort, because none of the other issues that have been brought up are much different, or even badly different, than one would face with a bird rescue with many parrots. Also, the idea of "for profit" keeps getting brought up in every post that brings up potential problems with the idea.

I'm getting the impression that when I say "profiting from a bird rescue" it immediately throws people for a bad loop. Apparently there's something morally adverse about the putting "profit" and "rescue" together.

If I had not put the word "profit" in the original idea, what would you think of it?