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Need advice

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Need advice

Postby Krista » Thu May 09, 2019 9:01 pm

Hi everyone, my mom has two parrots, nanday I guess. They are 17 years old and full of energy. When we got them, we were told they live 12-13 years. Now I fount out they can live it to 25 years. My mom is not able to take care of them anymore. We found a good shelter, they are excepting the birds and will find new home for them. But they are going to separate them. Shelter workers said they will be fine and will easy forget each other. Is that true? They always together, and seems they have a good relationship. I don't know what to do, need you advice. No judging please.
Krista
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Nanday
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby Pajarita » Fri May 10, 2019 8:52 am

My dear, personally, I think that people who think rehoming is wrong don't really understand the reality of parrots. Now, I do not think badly of you for rehoming them but I would urge you to find a good private home that will take both of them together. Anybody who tells you they will be fine is lying to you. I am sorry to be so blunt but nobody who knows and cares about parrots would say such a thing. Be very careful of the rescue you are taking them to, it does not sound like a real or, at least, not a good one. There are lots and lots of what we call 'flippers' that call themselves rescues and have even gotten the tax exempt status that charity organizations get. Flippers take in birds for free and rehome them for money. It's as simple as that. And, just because they don't show a profit in their books (required to maintain the tax exempt status), it doesn't mean they are not doing it for money because all they have to do is simply use their own expenses to 'pad' the rescue's expenses - I've know a couple of 'rescues' that did that. They run the rescues out of their own homes and list their own birds as part of the rescue so any improvement or expense is put down as belonging to the rescue. Not hard at all.

If I were you, I would put them in 'rescueme.com' or put an ad on CL for them. Make sure you rehome them to somebody who:
1) is home all day long
2) has experience in conures
3) does not clip

It might take a while to find a good home but if you are not in a hurry, you will find one and they will be together as they should be after living their entire life together - it would be terribly cruel to separate them, these birds bond very deeply and actually mourn their beloved companions when they are no longer with them.

Where are you located? We might have a good member who might be willing to take them both.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby GreenWing » Sat May 11, 2019 11:16 am

I have to disagree with the Craigslist mention for the birds. Selling pets is prohibited for a good reason and I know about the rehoming option but it's a terrible idea. Craigslist is known to attract shady and bad people with bad intentions, I've read about animals being repeatedly killed off of Craigslist. Please don't use Craigslist for animals.

That being said, Krista, you don't mention where you live, but if you are in the United States there should be a bird rescue by state. I live in Oregon and I can definitely recommend the saints who run the exotic bird rescues here. That said I will PM you and try to help. I found a list of avian rehabilitation centers in the country and will get back to you.
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GreenWing
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1165
Location: Portlandia, United States
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African Grey ♥
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby Pajarita » Sun May 12, 2019 10:00 am

Yes, you have to be VERY careful very careful with people who reply to CL postings but it can be done if you do your part well. I've been adopting out kittens in CL for years (last year alone, 31 of them and, this year, I already placed 4) and all my kittens were placed in good homes (I get pictures and updates). If you check vet refs, picture IDs and ask a million questions, you can do it safely.

On the other hand, not all rescues are good. As a matter of fact, I think that no rescue is actually good for a parrot. Rescues mean bad light schedule, not too good a diet, crowding, no human of their own and, most likely, no even enough attention or proper medical. But, even when they are good, it's still not good for the parrot to be going from one hand to another... much better to go straight to their new home. Sometimes, we have no choice but to put them in rescues but if a rescue can find a good home (which I am not at all sure they actually do because they adopt out to people who work full time and that is a big no-no when it comes to a parrot's happiness), one can do it too. Mind you, I ran a rescue but I kept them all cage-free, never free-fed protein, and never charged a single penny when I rehomed but I know of a lot of so-called 'good rescues' that are not really any good and I am not talking about flippers, either, I am talking real rescues... Sheesh, one that was ran by a lady who was also an inspector for sanctuary classification had the birds in breeders cages, stacked one on top of the other four deep starting from the floor up and anybody who knows parrots knows that this is a terribly stressing set-up for them! And another one, ran by a very nice couple, kept the cockatoos in darkness so they would not scream and actually adopted them to families with small children!
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby NEPA94 » Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:59 pm

Given its reputation CL shouldn’t be an option. To say you can vet those that reply to the ad is unrealistic. People with less than admirable intentions will tell you whatever you want to hear!
I think your best bet is a rescue, but it has to be a good one. That’s who you should be vetting.
The ‘shelter’ that said the parrots will forget about one another if separated doesn’t seem to be knowledgeable about parrots. A parrot specific rescue is what you want. I can only speak from my experience in northeastern United States where the rescues have qualified volunteer foster homes that take care of the birds until a very suitable forever home is found. All the birds are checked/treated by avian veterinarians and the rescue extensively checks out all potential adopters. They require a number of visits to the foster home by the adopter to assure the parrot and adopter are a good fit!
I hope you have rescues like this in your area. I wish you good luck and appreciate how you are looking out for your mom’s parrots...you’re a good daughter!
NEPA94
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Cape Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby Pajarita » Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:43 am

I disagree. For one thing, she did try giving them to a rescue but the rescue wanted to separate them (a terribley cruel thing to do to birds that have lived their entire life together!). For another, the problem with CL is not the site itself, it's the people who post their animals there wanting nothing more than either money or to just get rid of them. I rehome through CL all the time (not only birds but also kittens and dogs) and I haven't had a single problem. The key is to know what to ask and analyze the replies, to do a home inspection and to check vet refs. If you do this and take your time about it, you can find the perfect home for any animal. Let's not forget that, after all, this is EXACTLY the same protocol that the rescues you recommed are following because it's not as if rescues are ran by clairvoyants or experts, they are ran by people who simply follow a protocol - and I'll tell you something else: rescues rehome to people without experience and who work full time -something that they should know is NOT going to work out for the poor bird so, in reality, any one person can do better at finding the perfect home for a bird than a rescue. But the biggest difference between taking to a rescue and rehoming yourself is that the bird does not have to go from one hand to another (foster home - very few bird rescues work only with foster homes) to yet another or to live for sometimes years in a place where they have no human of their own and, most likely, not the right care (diet and light schedule are never any good at rescues). And I say this because of personal experience, not out of any type of prejudice against rescues, mind you!
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby GreenWing » Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:26 pm

NEPA94 wrote:Given its reputation CL shouldn’t be an option. To say you can vet those that reply to the ad is unrealistic. People with less than admirable intentions will tell you whatever you want to hear!
I think your best bet is a rescue, but it has to be a good one. That’s who you should be vetting.
The ‘shelter’ that said the parrots will forget about one another if separated doesn’t seem to be knowledgeable about parrots. A parrot specific rescue is what you want. I can only speak from my experience in northeastern United States where the rescues have qualified volunteer foster homes that take care of the birds until a very suitable forever home is found. All the birds are checked/treated by avian veterinarians and the rescue extensively checks out all potential adopters. They require a number of visits to the foster home by the adopter to assure the parrot and adopter are a good fit!
I hope you have rescues like this in your area. I wish you good luck and appreciate how you are looking out for your mom’s parrots...you’re a good daughter!


Absolutely agree with you and your post.

There is a bird rescue here in the PNW and it is run by a bleeding heart who literally climbs trees to rescue flown parrots as well as rescue them from less than stellar environments. I've met him several times and he is a gem. He's also been featured in the paper and is generally known in the city with a stellar reputation. I've also met his own parrot, a cockatoo and he was adorable and very happy and talkative. THESE are the kinds of people you want to deal with when it comes to our beloved parrots. Not some random on CL with who knows what kind of past, criminal record, or intention.

So, no to CL. Yes to rescues.
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GreenWing
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1165
Location: Portlandia, United States
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African Grey ♥
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby Pajarita » Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:27 am

:lol: You don't really think that rescues check criminal records, do you? Anybody can get a bird from a rescue, even people that are too young, too old, without any experience, who rent, who don't make enough money or that work full time - sheesh! I know of rescues that adopt out large cockatoos to homes with toddlers! (to make a long story short: people to whom I would NEVER even consider). My problem with rescues is not the rescuers themselves, they are usually lovely people! (I was one and I am a lovely person ;)) It's that the birds end up waiting way too long for a human/home of their own and that they might end up in just another temporary one but, in the meantime, they get the wrong food and the wrong light schedule (unavoidable and not a criticism, just pointing out a fact). I have experience both ways: through a rescue and through CL and in my personal experience and opinion, the bird is much better off going from one good home to another than going through a rescue. Now, are there good rescues? Yes, there are but few and far in between because the greatest majority of them end up overwhelmed and/or bankrupt after a while. And the ones that don't have waiting lists of months and months. But all this is moot because this lady already took care of her problem a long time ago,
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby GreenWing » Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:58 am

No, not "anybody can get a bird from a rescue." This is inherently false and I know for a fact. For the bird rescue in my area, you and all members of the household must first attend a bird adoption class. I attended it when I was looking to adopt from the rescue and it was great. Then, second, you need to have a home inspection and all family members of the household need to be present for the safety inspection of the house. Third, if after those two steps are passed, then and only then you can make appointments to visit the birds for potential adoption. The volunteers get to know you and learn a lot about a person before they even allow a potential adoption. Before I met Chance, I took the class and had the inspection and obviously passed. I would talk on the phone with the volunteers asking about the different birds but had yet to meet one of the birds to potentially adopt. It's a very thorough process. Unlike giving a bird to some random on CL. Which shouldn't be allowed and selling of animals is prohibited for a reason.

It's important to get these facts addressed regarding rescues. I absolutely do not want guests or members getting the wrong idea about rescues. Regardless of how the OP addressed her situation, I feel a strong principle in addressing known facts about rescues and how much they do for parrots.
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GreenWing
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1165
Location: Portlandia, United States
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African Grey ♥
Flight: Yes

Re: Need advice

Postby Pajarita » Sat Jun 29, 2019 8:30 am

With all due respect, Greenwing, you only have experience from the end of the adopter and, as far as I know, not that many. The protocol you think it's a sure thing is actually full of holes and not strict at all. I am not criticizing rescues. There is no other way they can get birds into homes if they don't do it like that because people don't want all to be heavily imposed upon when they are regarding themselves as doing a good deed - and, after a while, moving birds becomes almost as important as finding them the right homes (because, let's face it, if they did look for the perfect homes, they would end up with 1,000 birds in two years). People who don't make enough money, have no experience, have a criminal background or do not have the lifestyle to keep a parrot healthy can pass this protocol super easily. And how hard would it be for a hoarder to ask a relative or a friend to lend them their house for an inspection that is pre-arranged for a date and time?

I used to do adoptions for the dog and cat rescue group and we had the same protocol which we followed VERY carefully (home inspections were done by two people and we had a two page list of items we had to check, we even made copies of picture IDs and asked for a bill addressed to the adopter to the home they list on their address) and we still made mistakes and had to go to court to get the animals back when we found out. We have a saying in Spanish: "Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa" which roughly translated means that there is a trick to bypass every law there is. But the point is that anybody can have a strict protocol, it doesn't have to be a rescue group.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

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