Breeder/Hoarder

[Pajarita]

This is just a news article telling of the Oregon Humane Society raiding a parrot breeder installation and the terrible conditions the poor birds were living under. Now, thanks to the 'reality' TV shows, we all know about hoarders and how bad the animals fare in their care so this will come as no surprise to you but the reason why I am posting it is that I am trying to show here that this is where the baby birds that people buy come from! This people keep the breeding birds in terrible, terrible conditions (basement, garage, etc) but they bring the babies to be handfed into the house and that is the only thing that people see when they go to buy it - then the baby grows up and they discover it has genetic defects, conditions, disease and abnormal behaviors!

Years ago, a member of my own website went to buy a baby grey from a breeder in NJ who told her he was closing down and that he needed to sell the last baby he had so she asked the other members for help in getting this baby so the breeder -a 'good' guy- could close down shop. I would not ever buy from a breeder but, if it was a matter of helping somebody get out of the business, I was willing to make an exception so we all put some money together and I went to see what was what. I never met the breeder, an old man, because he lived in NJ half the year and in Florida the other half and this was during the winter so I met with his son and daughter in law who took me to his house. He left the birds alone all winter long in the house with his son or daughter in law coming in every day to feed them (this was for months and months at a time, mind you). I started asking casual questions here and there of the son and DIL and found out that he was NOT closing shop, he just wanted to reduce the number of birds he had so he could move them upstairs as it was hard for him to go up and down the stairs. This was because the breeding birds were in the basement, in cages built out of pieces of wood bolted to the walls with old galvanized wire mesh only in the front which got the light from a single light bulb on the ceiling and one teeny tiny window. They had each one stick as perch and the nest in the cages - that's it! Nothing else but a bowl of water and some seed thrown on the bottom of the cages -which were FILTHY! The poor things hanged on to the wire to look at us when we came in and both the amazon and the gray pair were badly plucked. He also had a pair of cockatiels but I doubt they lasted much longer because they had the most terrible tail bob I had ever seen and were completely lethargic and all fluffed up standing both on the floor. In the small kitchen upstairs, he had a DYH in an old, small, round cage with a single dowel in the middle for the bird to perch -the son very proudly told me that his father had 'rescued' this bird and that he was the only one that could 'handle him' - now, remember that this bird stayed in that same small one-dowel cage for about 5 or 6 months without anybody to keep him company year after year after year. I thanked them, said that I was going to think about it and left. I cried all the way back to Pennsylvania... I couldn't get those poor birds out of my mind for months and months and months. I even called them and offered to buy the breeding pairs from the man but they were not interested - they just wanted to sell the baby.

And this man was considered by his family and himself to be a bird lover! Most likely, the same as all the other breeders that tell the people who want to buy a baby from them that they "love" birds and I sometimes wonder if there are some that actually believe this themselves...

PS. I don't know if you caught the fact that the breeder/hoarder of the story refused to give up the birds because he was planning on selling them instead -can you imagine somebody buying any of these poor birds unaware of the conditions they had been kept?!- so they had to get a warrant to get all these poor things out of there.

Here is the link to the story:

http://www.ktvz.com/news/oregon-humane- ... s/40414618

[liz]

Breeders are in it for the money and not for the love of parrots.

They feed the cheapest food and cut corners that hurt the birds. They are really ignored rather than the breeder taking time to socialize them. If the birds physical care is bad it just screams out at me that their emotional care is not important to the breeder.

If we stop buying baby birds the breeders cannot sell and will stop breeding them. Parrot people would get rehomes or rescues. The parrots would have more value and be treated better by the new owners.

I have done rescues. I have even paid full market price for damaged birds just to get them away from the situation they were in. Phoenix I paid $40 for sight unseen because of the way the human talked about him. Looking back I think the man was a flipper. He said Phoenix was not for sale because he was ugly.

[Pajarita]

Yes, there are lots of places that actually have a tax-exempt status portraying themselves as 'rescues' when, in reality, they are flippers. They get the bird for free, do not vet them, do not rehabilitate them, do nothing but 'rehome' them and, of course, they charge an 'adoption' fee for this. They say it's to help with the expense of keeping the birds but it's not true because a handful of seed and fresh water doesn't cost that much and they never keep birds for long because they don't really check on anybody, if they have the money, they get the bird.

[Bird woman]

Well I'm glad to hear you guys talking with the anger in your voice and passion in your hearts for the poor birds that end up as breeders. That place that was raided is only about 30 miles from me. I was appalled when I heard about it. Several of us down here offered to help but because we didn't jump on that registered rescue statis we were turned down , even after 2 of us offered for them to come out to see how things are run privately with out donations or money from birds being resold. They took the birds to Portland and killed several of them that they deemed to much work . Saved I think 13 and called them the lucky 13. I know I could have nursed the most back to health if not all of them. How gratifying would it have been to give those poor birds the retirement they deserved . I know there are those that feel there responsible breeders and some that feel there keeping an indangered spicies from extinction but I don't think there is any kind of responsible breeding unless there being rehabed to be released into the wild for repopulation. I'm sure this post is going to ruffle some feathers but this is my heart felt opinion On the subject . And there is nothing that could be said to change my mind. I'm probably a little touchy right now because of the shape the macaw is in that will be coming to live with me Saturday . The owners told me how beautiful there bird is and healthy and then I took them inside to meet mine. well my big Brutt huie flew through the house and landed right beside them and all the woman could say was oh my god he's beautiful . She truly didn't know what shiney healthy full flighted and happy looked like , but she does now. She is happily giving up her bird at least she loves it enough to find a better life for him even if it took her 35 years. B.W.

[Bird woman]

I didn't see your link to this post then I found it and omg this is another one !!! That just happened the one I was talking about was out of Jacksonville OR. Last year. And yet Another one here in Oregon what the hell are people thinking !!!! I think I'm to isolated I didn't even hear about this one . I hope there is a special place in heaven for these birds and an even more special place for people that do this to all innocent creatures . iF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN B.W.

[ParrotsForLife]

I posted this on my group a few days ago but I got the video as well and also saw a Plum headed parakeet poor birds.

[liz]

I don't like breeders of any kind. My sister breed little dogs and her husband breed English Bull dogs. The little ones are in her house and the bigger ones are in lots in the back yard. They are fed and cleaned but do not get human socializing. My sister and her husband know how I feel about breeders. I have had 3 of her Chihuahuas but did not buy them. She gave them to me because they were too big. Each litter seemed to have one big one and one runt. She would have sold them as discounts. People like us are the only ones who understand that the discounted ones have worth.

I think I paid $20 to get Maggie from a breeder. Her mate had died and she would not take another. I found out about her through a friend of a friend who knew my son. I gave the money to my son to pass down to the person who knew about her and would get her for me. She was far from socialized. She would have gone through more trauma at the hands of another trying to turn her into a pet. She knew her name so I did not change it. She was so scared that I treated her like an invisible bird. I would say her name while talking to the others but pretend that I could not see her. My heart just melted when she started coming to the side of the cage and tweet to me. I don't remember how long I have had her but she preferred to hang out with the other girls. We have been here more than a year now and Andy has worn her down. She allows him to sit by her. He is bonded to her but I don't know if she has committed herself to the partnership. I am just happy that she has Andy to be her friend.

The post on CL for Myrtle was that she wanted to get rid of her. I called immediately and found out she was giving up trying to rehome her and was going to sell her to a breeder. I told her I would be there to get Myrtle the next morning. I raided my savings for the $300 to get her and my daughter backed me up that I was taking a days vacation and she did not know where I
was. The condition she was in, I don't think she could have survived.

Not all of my Cockatiels are free rescues. I paid for some just to get them away from the humans not caring for them.

If by some miracle breeders stopped breeding for a few years there would be no homeless birds in shelters.

[Wolf]

I have given the idea of breeders a lot of thought, I think. I am really against the breeding of animals for the pet trade although If breeding id done for the sole purpose of replenishing the wild birds in their natural habitat, then I am for that.

I do believe that if we are going to have birds that we should have a thorough understanding of their natural breeding cycles and the behaviors related to their reproduction and that we should consider this when we set up a home for them with us. This is a natural part of their lives that they should not be deprived of, besides it is so easy to allow them to go through all of the motions and still prevent any offspring from being produced. If we are to keep birds we should always consider letting them have a mate and to live their lives as close to natural as we can. But we should be responsible enough to replace the eggs with ones that can't hatch, like with dummy eggs.

I know that this still deprives them of having actual babies to raise, but we don't allow them that any way. We stole their lives and it stands to reason that we owe them another one.

[Bird woman]

The biggest problem with all of us and that defiantly puts me right at the top of the list is the viscous little circle we create by taking in these poor birds in need no mater what we have to do to get them out of a bad situation and then we have made more room for breeders to replenish the supply to ignorant , uneducated and unsuspecting people that think they want a bird cause there easy live in a cage and don't require much care. And most of us know the real truth of it. I just wrote the person that did the article on this latest bird bust here in Oregon and asked them to forward it on to the people careing for these birds offering help with the things they need to care for them properly. I've attached strings to my offer that need to be met before I will provide anything. That is that I be put in direct contact with the actual care providers to be able to determine what the most critical needs are , kept updated on the situation pictures included and be provided the physical address where they are being housed so I can start deliverys directly to them. I will have produce delivered on a regular basis through my distributors and other nessesary items. We will see if they take me up on it. I don't make cash donations ever because of administrative fees etc. that always seems to eat up most of the money!!! I'll keep everyone posted on this and we will see how this works out. BW.

[Pajarita]

Well I'm glad to hear you guys talking with the anger in your voice and passion in your hearts for the poor birds that end up as breeders. That place that was raided is only about 30 miles from me. I was appalled when I heard about it. Several of us down here offered to help but because we didn't jump on that registered rescue statis we were turned down , even after 2 of us offered for them to come out to see how things are run privately with out donations or money from birds being resold. They took the birds to Portland and killed several of them that they deemed to much work . Saved I think 13 and called them the lucky 13. I know I could have nursed the most back to health if not all of them. How gratifying would it have been to give those poor birds the retirement they deserved . I know there are those that feel there responsible breeders and some that feel there keeping an indangered spicies from extinction but I don't think there is any kind of responsible breeding unless there being rehabed to be released into the wild for repopulation. I'm sure this post is going to ruffle some feathers but this is my heart felt opinion On the subject . And there is nothing that could be said to change my mind. I'm probably a little touchy right now because of the shape the macaw is in that will be coming to live with me Saturday . The owners told me how beautiful there bird is and healthy and then I took them inside to meet mine. well my big Brutt huie flew through the house and landed right beside them and all the woman could say was oh my god he's beautiful . She truly didn't know what shiney healthy full flighted and happy looked like , but she does now. She is happily giving up her bird at least she loves it enough to find a better life for him even if it took her 35 years. B.W.

Well, no feathers been ruffled here! I absolutely agree with you 100%. I don't actually believe there is such a thing as 'responsible' breeding when it comes to ANY and ALL undomesticated species that are in overpopulation or have difficult to fulfill husbandry requirements. Period! And, yes, the anger is there! But not for the unsuspecting people that buys from them. Do I wish they would adopt instead of buying? Of course!!! But most people who buy are first-timers who actually believe the fallacy that a baby is easier/better than an adult (we went through this with dogs and cats) and that the breeders 'love' birds. They think they are making an informed decision when, in reality, they are not. They just don't have the right information. They think that the research they do online is sufficient and that their good intentions will carry the day but we all know they don't. And, by the time they find out, it's too late for the bird and it ends up been rehomed.

My biggest beef is with PIJAC for the misinformation they put out to keep the inadequate animal laws we have from changing in order to preserve their unaccountability for the wellbeing of the animals they exploit. I understand why they do it: it's their business and they want the most profit, but I still dislike them intensely and think of them as lower lifeforms (and this WILL definitely ruffle feathers ) in the sense that I feel these are people are not as evolved as they should be. And, it might come as a surprise to lots of people to find out that veterinarians are the ones that donate the most to keep animals as property and to not give them any rights whatsoever to a good life (they are afraid of having to pay a high premium on malpractice insurance).