What they really mean is “I will resell your bird for more money”,  “I don’t believe I should have to pay for something and should get it for free so I can neglect it” and “I am looking for a cheap way to make money”.

I have heard numerous horror stories and feel its time to speak out about kijiji ads and those advertising.

Story One

A woman posted an ad to sell her senegal parrot.  She had several inquiries and one in particular who wanted the bird for a very reduced fee.  The lady then found the picture of her own parrot for sale on a different kijiji ad by this same individual that was reselling her bird for a much higher fee and didn’t even have the bird yet!  Luckily she found this persons ad before she gave him the bird.

Story Two

A woman posted a 25 yr old eclectus parrot for an adoption fee of $400 and sold the bird through kijiji.  The very next day the same bird was posted for $1500 and miraculously de-aged to only 15 yrs old!

Story Three

I will post the exerpts from this exchange.  The names have been changed.  Please note ZZZZZZZZ posts regularly on kijiji that she will take in your free parrots.

 Hi Nancy,
 
 This is XXXXX, my husband and I called you two days ago about adopting a Blue and Gold Macaw. I had spoke with you about ZZZZZZZ. Well my husband and I out of curiousity went over to ZZZZZZZZ’s house just to see what was going on there. We believed everything you had told us but we couldn’t believe what we walked into. It was a war zone. GGGGGG the blue and gold Macaw is in alot more distress then we expected and what ZZZZZZ had said. She was completely bald only feathers on her head, wings and tail. She seemed very scared at first shaking alot but calmed down once we started to talk to her nicely. ZZZZZZZ couldn’t even touch her besides on the tail, couldn’t even give her a walnut or get her down off her cage. No bond AT ALL that we could see. After a few mins of warming up GGGGGi was swinging side to side bobbing and shaking her foot as well as she said Hi to us. She seemed like she really wanted to come down and play but too nervous. ZZZZZZZZ’s house was a disaster. GGGGGGGG’s cage was so dirty I told her that if we were to get her I didn’t want the cage. It had piles and piles of old poop on it. I didn’t see any fresh food or water in there but again I didn’t fully check. I didn’t want to touch the cage. She had 3 goffen cockatoos I think in the living room too. One looked like he was starting to pluck some. She had a bird room with a couple in there as well a mess. I couldn’t believe my eyes that she would let us come over to her house in this condition. My husband felt terrible forGGGGGG and said he would give her 600 and take her right there just to get her out but her husband said no. Asked her if she had proof of the DNA testing she said well her friend did but lost it. Asked if she had been to a vet or had proof of that, no and no proof again. We left and GGGGGGG screamed while we went out the door. We have thought about her alot since then and I feel so terrible for her. WIsh there was something I could do. 

 
I emailed ZZZZZZ after and told her that she is asking a ridiculous price for a parrot in her condition, she had no proof of vetting so no proof she wasn’t sick. I said we could offer her a good home and take care of her but she wasn’t intersted in that like you said, only the money. I know it is for the best and I know GGGGGG needs a ton of work, I hope she get the help she needs soon or I don’t know what will happen to her.
 
She got really offended by my email back and has changed her ad on Kijiji now. She is a sick lady!!
 
heres the ad in case you want to see. The pictures are old for sure because the parrot doesn’t have ANY of that fluff and GGGGGGGG never mentioned it before we got there.
 
http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-pets-birds-for-sale-Blue-and-Gold-Macaw-W0QQAdIdZ214007817
 
She said she could sell her for 1500-2000 LOL

(here is the content of the ad incase the ad itself comes down.)

located in windsor.

Story 4

Someone who regularly posts they will take in free birds, was given a bird that was sick and needed medical attention.  Because of their inexperience with birds, they did not see any of the signs that this bird was sick.  It was something that could have been easily dealt with had they any knowledge of parrots.  The parrot died due to their inability to see that something was wrong. 
These are only a few of the stories I have in more recent days heard about kijiji and craiglist ads. Geez I could go on and on as there are just way too many!  Just hearing one more today has prompted me to put out this warning.   It is so important that people investigate who they are actually dealing with.  A true parrot rescue, will NEVER advertise that they take in free birds!  They have built a reputation via word of mouth and through affiliations and do not need to advertise they will take in birds.  It is pretty safe to say that no one posting on kijiji claiming to be a rescue, really is…..

The majority of those on kijiji and craigslist are predators that are looking for easy ways to make a fast buck or people who don’t want to pay for a parrot but want to have one.  They are also looking to take your pet and put it into a breeding situation so they can make money.  They do not care for the birds or their well being.  Only on the dollar figure.

Please please be careful posting ads on any of the free classified sites!

To understand the dynamics of bird breeding;  Birds that are parent raise and kept wild are typically used in breeding as they have the natural instinct, drive and are parent taught the dynamics of breeding.  Where pet birds are usually removed from their parents before their eyes are open and do not have the same natural drives and instincts.  Now this does not mean that some don’t get hormonal urges, but these are usually seasonal and can be controlled somewhat with a few behaviour modifications. 

What we have found is most pet birds, when placed into a breeding program are not very successful breeders.  They don’t understand the dynamics, have a higher rate of killing their mates or being killed or having their beaks ripped off  or other injuries(this is fairly common even with normal breeders but much higher in pet/breeding).

They usually don’t understand the physical aspects and typically don’t produce viable eggs .  They also have a much higher rate of killing their own babies as they don’t understand the parenting aspect as they were not taught if they are able to produce viable eggs.

They have now reverted back to their wild nature to an extent where they don’t want to be handled by people and their homonal instincts are now much higher.  The breeders encourage this by not handling them at all, not talking to them and no toys so they learn that the only thing left for them is to breed.  They leave them strictly with a mate and breeding box for a number of years.  They typically end up plucking themselves bald and/or get plucked by their mate from all the stress.

The majority of breeders once they realize that this particular bird will not successfully breed,  usually try to sell them to someone again as a pet. Usually for a reduced price as they are now damaged goods and typically they sell them to someone without the knowledge or ability to care for it properly think they are getting a deal with the cheaper price.  In some cases they go off to another unsuspecting breeder.   They no longer want the burden or expenses for housing, feeding and space so they can make room for other breeders.  

What is left of the bird?  He no longer wants human interaction as it once did  as it has now become fearful of humans and touch.  It is usually badly plucked with little hope of regaining its feathers and now gets hormonal with more frequency.  It is no longer a pet or breeder.

These birds are now very messed up.  They are much harder to manage and typically end up in rescues.  If they are lucky they will get an experienced behaviourist that may be able to help them to adjust to life with humans again.  Otherwise they end up in a cage somewhere where they live a fearful life not wanting interaction, unloved and very stressed.

Presently we have 6 such birds at the rescue and we are finding our own frustration in trying to reintegrate them into a place that would be best suited to them.  We do work towards behaviour modifications to help them re-adjust back to life with people.  We just hope some peeople will read this and realize the long term results of wanting their parrot to breed.

I have been involved in Political By Law issues in Oshawa for a number of years and this is an important piece of legislature that needs to be nipped in the bud immediately even though it is in BC.    During my involvement in By Law issues, City Councilors, look to see if another city have set a precedence and typically follow suit believing that it has been fully investigated and not challenged by other Cities/Townships etc.

If this piece of legislature is allowed to pass, it WILL sweep across the rest of Canada as it gives the Animal Rights folks a foot hold and credibility into the parrot world.

This is exactly how the Pit Bull Ban and other animal issues evolved.
I hope you will spread the word on this issue and voice your opinions to those in power in BC that this is totally unacceptable.

If we do not act now, within a very short period of time, exotic parrots will be banned from our homes faster than we can shake our heads!

During several discussions, I realized what a great job we have been doing in placing parrots into permanent homes.  Several rescues (US) were discussing the number of returned birds after placement two rescues responded that they had place 500 parrots in the past 10 yrs (very similar stats to our own) they have had 100 parrots returned to them! That is over 20% where the birds have to be relocated a second or even third time!

In our twelve years of operation, we have placed over 600 parrots into new homes and have only had 7 returned!  We had no idea how good we were doing until we got the statistics from some of these other rescues!  That is only 1%.  Although a zero return rate would be perfect, we did not realize how extraordinary that was and definitely worthy of bragging about!  Given that many of the birds arrive here with behavior problems, plucking issues etc we are very lucky that our numbers are this low.

We are now offering tips to other rescues to help them decrease the number of birds that are returned to them through behaviour modifications and screening processes.

Due to our work in the avian community, we get asked regularly to help owners find new loving homes for the fids (feathered kids).  They count on us as they know our standards are high and we are highly involved in the avian community from bird clubs to humane societys and local vet colleges.  They want to utilize our experience and vast network to find the best placements for their birds.

Many of the birds that come to us have come from wonderful loving homes that due to unfortunate circumstances have to be placed into a new home.  The owners are devastated at having to give up their loved ones and have entrusted them into our care  to find a proper home for their loved ones.

We do get cases of abuse and neglect from time to time but most of the birds that come here are not abused or neglected.  It is still sad and devastating on the birds that they have to be removed from their loving homes. But cases of abuse are not common place.  You might find some of these birds here for months on end while we work on behaviours.  They are posted available for adoption in the event that another experienced person may be able to take on a bird with  some of these problems and do the behaviour modifications themselves.  This does happen on ocassion.  We also believe in full disclosure and make sure each potential adoptive home, understands with eyes wide open, what to expect then they bring a particular bird home.  Some are definitely harder to place than others but during their stay with us we work on behavior modifications to fix some of the problems they arrived with.

My own philosophy and how I have always viewed what we do is that the owners have come to us and entrusted us to find the best possible placement and most suitable home for their bird.  It is my job to make sure that the birds come first and their needs will be met regardless of who wants the bird.  This job I take very seriously.

We try not to refuse homes when people want a bird.  We try to direct them sometimes on a more appropriate bird than what they may be inquiring about.  As we are aware of the various species needs and abilities or we direct them to further their research before deciding on a parrot as a pet.

It is our firm belief that pet birds belong in  loving homes and deserve to be loved and given lots of attention.  We carefully match up the birds needs to what potential homes are able to offer the parrot.  Only then will an adoptoin take place.

If you look at our past successes and reference letters, you will see that we are good at what we do!

Please consider giving some of these wonderful second hand parrots a chance at a new life as they can make wonderful companions and most come already trained!