Budgies in cages

I disagree.

Just because you failed to Keep yours well doesn't mean I did with mine.

Ok, cant be bothered with arguing the reptile thing cos that could go on forever! But back to the birds which this post was about... Thought id attach a couple of pics on here of my two babies...

Not exactly their 'natural habitat' but they seem fairly happy to me... Am i ill-treating my birds?

Jess

P.S. they are gorgeous too anyway! lol

That was Molly by the way, this is Indie... She certainly wouldn't survive in the wild...

aww I would so much like a parrot, parents areworried about massive craps on the new furniture!!

I went to a car boot sale and someone had taken his parot along with him, now thats what you call dedication, not leaving it at home alone!

I have been known to take Molly to the pet shop with me... lol

She loves meeting people!!! So cute!

And yeah, big craps on the furniture happen until you can toilet train them! lol

Jess said:

That was Molly by the way, this is Indie... She certainly wouldn't survive in the wild...

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yeah, i'm starting off with pickle and hopefully working my way up to something bigger in time as my career takes off and i have sufficient money
i would never keep an animal if i did not have sufficient time, money, knowledge and supplies for it
but with all of these covered i don't see a problem keeping most known, pets
its all about being realistic
too many times people come to my place and see my marvelously trained and friendly critters and the next time i talk to them they have bought their own
i almost feel guilty for inspiring them (even if it is unintentional)
i always hear a few months later how much they regret it and how they can't understand why theirs aren't friendly or tame
people don't understand that it takes time and dedication to shape them properly
if all their needs are not met, it might as well be prison

sorry,
we're al straying way off topic now

BTW today pickle was out of my sight for a split second and flew into a window
he scraped his cere
he's ok now but, see what happens in one second unsupervised?
i just stopped playing with him to pour a coffee and he flew off of my shoulder
now how responsible would it be to let him roam free?
i could probably count a hundred ways he could kill or badly injure himself

I know exactly what you mean! Ive had mine for about a year now, and they're both very tame. Molly more so than Indie purely because Greys tend to be 'one person birds' and she's bonded mainly with me

When i got mine, they'd both been hand-reared and obviously were both happy to be handled but it takes a lot of time and dedication to get them to do things like lie on their backs while you tickle their bellies (indie loves that... lol) and to do little tricks. What sort of stuff does Pickle do?
I started mine off with the important stuff like stepping up and down, lifting wings and feet to makes vets examinations easier and then i guess it just naturally progressed to more fun stuff! Molly loves being swung on a little rope toy - mad!lol And Indie likes that childs game... Im sure you'll all know it - Different shaped toys to fit in the holes?! Like Triangles, Squares, Circles... Indie's so clever

Is Pickle ok? You have to be so careful with the little guys dont you?!!lol

Not wanting to scare you but ive attached a picture which is of Peppi, a bird rescued by Birdline the Parrot Rescue charity im a member of.... She did that to her beak hitting a window But she is leading a perfectly happy, normal life now i believe! Glad Pickle got off with just a scrape!

Jess

Jess said:

I know exactly what you mean! Ive had mine for about a year now, and they're both very tame. Molly more so than Indie purely because Greys tend to be 'one person birds' and she's bonded mainly with me

When i got mine, they'd both been hand-reared and obviously were both happy to be handled but it takes a lot of time and dedication to get them to do things like lie on their backs while you tickle their bellies (indie loves that... lol) and to do little tricks. What sort of stuff does Pickle do?
I started mine off with the important stuff like stepping up and down, lifting wings and feet to makes vets examinations easier and then i guess it just naturally progressed to more fun stuff! Molly loves being swung on a little rope toy - mad!lol And Indie likes that childs game... Im sure you'll all know it - Different shaped toys to fit in the holes?! Like Triangles, Squares, Circles... Indie's so clever

Is Pickle ok? You have to be so careful with the little guys dont you?!!lol

Not wanting to scare you but ive attached a picture which is of Peppi, a bird rescued by Birdline the Parrot Rescue charity im a member of.... She did that to her beak hitting a window But she is leading a perfectly happy, normal life now i believe! Glad Pickle got off with just a scrape!

Jess

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thats really scarey your right
when pickle hit the window i heard a thud and he went rocketing off down the hall
i couldn't find him for like 10 minutes and i finally found him sitting on my bed quietly
i was so scared but he just has a teensy spot of blood and a thin piece of loose skin (much like when you scrape your knee) on his cere
smaller birds are so delicate

for his tricks he talks, mimics certain sounds (like a kiss) and sings
he also knows up, jump (where he hops to surfaces i point to), come (i say "here puppy" and whistle) , kiss, hanging upside down like a bat when i swing him, and he loves when he sits on my finger and i gracefully (but quickly) swing my arm through the air
he holds on tight and gets all excited and starts to talk with his elvis look (when budgies get excited their forehead goes huge and triangular like the "elvis presley" hair)

I didn't realise Julie was against people keeping birds, I thought it was only about keeping them singley and in a cage.

I don't think birds should be kept in cages wherever possible, a bird having no room to fly is like a fish having no room to swim.

I think that the birds I have seen on here all look very happy and the pics I have seen have pretty much all been of the birds out of a cage which makes me happy.

I admit I've never owned a reptile.Most aussies spend their time trying to avoid the little buggers! This winter I had to move a diamond python who has taken up residence in my garage.He was in the engine compartment of my car. That snake was going places. Danio 2004,My friend Chris who is koori (aboriginal) pointed out that his people will eat just about anything including ants, kangaroo, grubs dingo, possum,snake and goanna.He also pointed out that after living on this continent for 60,000 +,his people never had the need to "own" any animal. The concept to them was ludicrous as suggesting you could own the land.The closest they came to domesticating anything was the dingo, which was sometimes used as a hunting aid and just as often eaten. And no, budgies have not been domesticated for hundreds of years. Australia was only discovered 220 odd years ago so in the larger scheme of things their domesticity is a fairly recent phenomena(say compared to cats who were household pets in ancient eygpt).
IMO the pet trade is mostly about $$$$.Once the sale is made I don't think most of them give a toss about how you keep your pet.Any unfortunate outcome just might see you back their to spend more $$$$$$. Take your interest, your money and your time and channel it in to supporting animal welfare and rights organisations. Educate others and actively protect your countries wildlife.

"The animal shall not be measured by man.In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete,gifted with extensions we have lost or never attained,living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren,they are not underlings:they are other nations caught with ourselves in the net of life and time,fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth"Henry Beston.

Julie said:

Take your interest, your money and your time and channel it in to supporting animal welfare and rights organisations. Educate others and actively protect your countries wildlife.

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i think i must have misread something
are you saying not to "own" pets but to do this instead?
if so



no comment

Well, what can you say to that! I'm not too sure i understnd your point anymore!

Should we not buy anything from a pet shop again? Are you completely against people "owning" animals and taking responsibility for their pets?
We all agree with you that wild animals should be kept in the wild and their habitat protected and that some pet owners are irresponsible and even cruel. But why are you against owning domesticated birds that are bred and raised in captivity and are kept in kind loving environments and who like dogs and cats enjoy human company?

As for keeping budgies try and tell my boyfriends 75 year old gran to give up her budgie. She's in the house all day by herself and the budgie is her best friend and gives her so much joy. The budgie will follow her everywhere and repeat nearly everything she says. I ain't going to tell her its wrong to keep a budgie not when it makes her so happy!!

you talk about how the aborigionals don't own any animals and about how cats have been domesticated for a long time so its obviouse that owning animals isnt some sick twisted perversion of our generation and has acctually gone on for a long time (I dont think that we should arbitrarily be held to the standards of a foriegn people just to satisfy your whims but thats just me).

Also When a new land is first discovered the first people to show up are pioneers and naturalists and the first thing naturalists catch to send home are specimens ... first dead then alive so if australia were discovered 220 years ago budgies may have been first domesticated 219 years ago which would be tecnically hundreds of years also 101 years might be said as hundreds depending on where your from ... You dont say "I have one point Zero One Cupcake!" do you ... no you say cupcakes I find it very hard to believe that Budgies were first domesticated less than 100 years ago seeing as how domestic birds as pets have been around since ancient china.

But thats JMO, I could be wrong

Julie, I understand where you're coming from but you're fighting a losing battle. Remember, you are trying to convince a group of humans that "owning" a pet for their convenience is wrong. Very few people understand the concept of respecting what is natural.

Don't get me wrong, I keep animals too. I have 2 cats (outdoor/indoor) and fish. I agree with what you're saying and wish it could be different too. For example, I live in a condo with no backyard and I work all day. I would never get a dog because that is an unfair life for him.

If you think keeping budgies in cages in unfair to the budgie then I respect your opinion. I've never kept a bird so I wouldn't know what is fair. I do know that free flight is something that shouldn't be taken away from a bird, just as a cat should be allowed to stalk a butterfly and have a nap in a tree.

Yes 21yrs old, he outlived 5 cats and 200+ gerbils.

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Its not very difficult to outlive a gerbil since their life span is about 3 years.

I actually think that Julie has a fair point about people owning animals. Pople have the impression that they've paid their £20 for this bird and it is now their property. They will do what the hell they want with this bird, so butt out. (I'm not trying to attack anyone, I'm just stereotyping everyone who isn't on this forum so please don't take this personal. It happens too often.)

Its the same with dogs, cats, horses, and especially fish. Most especially Bettas. How many people on here keep bettas in 1/2 gallon bowls because they can? Because the fish can survive in a tiny space. That doesn't mean that they enjoy it, or it is good for them it just means that they are capable of it.

Also with the comment about letting all dogs cats and horses out, you forgot cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits etc. Just a small point.