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.

It was a huge decision to have some of our birds re-homed but life changes, work and other commitments meant it was no longer possible to give four birds the attention they needed and deserved. They all need a lot of attention and especially Teaka as he was quite literally a ‘one man bird’.

 Teaka is a Sever Macaw who has a great sense of humour and could be a real fun bird but he had bonded very closely with Mike and was quite aggressive towards anyone else. This meant that only Mike was able to feed and handle him.

Cherry is a Red Lory. A great little bird, very friendly towards everyone and loves to play all day with toys or anything he can get his beak into! Lory’s are nectar eaters and Cherry had always been hand fed so this had created a huge commitment to hand feed him twice a day and also a lot of mess in the kitchen while he was being fed!

 ‘Little Guy’ is a Cockatiel. Not strictly our bird as someone had found him outside and knowing Mike had birds bought him to the house to be taken care of.

 We found out about  parrotadoptontario.com  and emailed Nancy and made arrangements to go and visit the bird sanctuary and see what they do before we made a decision about the birds futures.

We arrived at Nancy and Brett’s house and were welcomed into their and the birds home! One thing we noticed right away was the calmness even though there were birds in the house! Every bird, without exception, even the ones Nancy told us were new to their home, looked happy and were calm and showed no signs of stress or nervousness. Indeed two of them quickly made it clear they could better check us out if they were on our shoulders!

 After a good visit we went home and discussed it all and made the choice for the birds to go to Nancy and Brett for rehabilitation.

 I am still amazed at the outcome!

 Nancy, Brett and their daughter arrived at the house and Brett went direct to the bird’s room and let Tika out! I had though this would result in complete chaos and anarchy but……… nothing! Tika came out of his house and calmly walked to the perch across the windows where Brett spent a few minutes talking to him and Tika was calm! Absolute silence and no stress. I have heard of the Horse Whisperer and here was the Bird Whisperer! Brett asked if Tika was used to being on someone’s shoulders and I said that he had been on Mike just that morning, he just said ‘Tika up’ and there was Tika on his shoulder, no biting, no screeching and calm. We bought the carrier into the room and Tika went towards it to check it out and Brett just said ‘Tika in’ and in he went. This was truly amazing! Even a couple of weeks after the evening I still find this so hard to believe and know that this kind of experience is only possible because Nancy and Brett are so experienced and the birds sense who is going to be kind and who presents no threat to them.

 Nancy and Brett’s daughter had, while all this was going on just made friends with Cherry who was also just put into a carrier without any fuss or stress,

 Within half an hour the birds had gone to their new home without any fuss, stress or problem.

Buzz (our African Grey) has stayed with us and even though Nancy warned he may do a little stress feather plucking with the change in the household and without his friends, he only had a couple of tentative pulls at his chest. He was in the room the whole time the other guys were moved and I think the calmness of Tika and Cherry leaving meant that his stress too was kept to a minimum.

 We cannot thank Nancy and Brett enough for their advice, calmness and professionalism in this difficult life change for the birds and for us and for anyone who is facing a similar choice we would have no hesitation in sending them to Nancy and Brett for help and advice.

Mike & Allie

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!

One of the questions that I frequently get is “do you think my parrot’s lonely” or “I want to get a companion for my parrot, what kind should I get?”.

There are many things to consider before introducing a second parrot into your home.

There are any number of variables that can happen and I hope that in reading this, you will be better informed on making a decision that will be right for you and your bird as well as ways to introduce a new bird into your flock.

Most people automatically assume that the same species/opposite sex, would be the best companion for their bird.  But that is not usually the case if you want to maintain your parrot as a pet.

  Birds tend to bond to a mate for life.  In the wild this would be  the opposite sex, same species. 

In captivity, they bond to their human companion and can treat it as a mate.  They can also bond to a different species of parrot.

Birds act in a very similar way that we humans do in that they don’t always like those around them.  Some birds have an instant attraction for another and some can have an instant hate while others can remain indifferent to one another.

It is very hard to determine how your parrot will react to a new comer until they are placed in the same vicinity.

Typical reactions will be:

•      Indifference to one another
•      Instant attraction
•      Fear
•       Aggression/Jealousy/Hate
•       Over bonding
•       One Sided Emotion
•       Reverting to wild tendencies

There is no way of knowing until the birds are placed together.   Which in itself presents a problem.  How do we know if our birds will be compatible or hate each other?  All kinds of issues need to be well thought out and there are no easy answers. 

  I will describe each scenario and the implications or benefits and how we can do our best to make it work.  In each scenario, birds should be housed separately and only allowed to interact under supervision until you are confident that no issues will occur.

 Indifference – This would be fine for keeping a lonely bird company and would also work well as it should not affect the dynamics of existing relationships.  This is how many of the parrots at the rescue behave.

 Instant Attraction – As long as they get along and do not fall into the over bonding stage, this also works well.  Over bonding can take place later down the road, especially in the spring.  There are a few things that can be done to help avoid this.  In all of the scenarios, NEVER keep the parrots in the same cage.  They can have playtime outside of their cages but should never be housed together.  Certain types of toys can also stimulate hormonal/nesting behaviors and those should be avoided.

 Fear – One or the other bird is afraid of the new arrival, which can lead to other problems such as plucking, stress and anxiety.  The solution would be to remove the new arrival to a different area of the home.  This does not help the lonely parrot, but then he may not need/want the companionship.  However now, you are stuck with a second bird that may or may not share the same fears and have opened up another area of your home to have to keep bird safe.

 Aggression/Jealousy – Typically the existing bird would become jealous of the new bird which will lead to aggression.  They also may just not like each other.  This can be onesided or  with both birds.  Great pains will have to be taken to keep them apart and safe.  These birds can hunt the other one down either inside the cage or outside the cage.  There is a great chance of injury for these birds.  There can also be a greater chance of you getting bitten by one or the other as birds bonded to their human will try to protect the human by biting them to scare them off from what the parrot feels is a threat in order to keep them safe.  This aggression can lessen over time but great care would need to be taken to keep the parrots safe. See below about how to introduce a new bird into your flock.

 Onesided Emotion – It is quite common and happens here frequently, where one bird is attracted to another bird but the other bird does not reciprocate the feelings.  This can cause stress on both birds as the one bird will try to follow the other around and sit close to it, wanting to preen it etc and the other bird wants nothing to do with it.  This can cause stress on both birds. 

 Reverting to Wild Tendencies – Birds that bond tend to want to mate and want to breed, typically revert back to a wilder state where they will no longer interact with humans.  They want to protect their nest (cage) and become aggressive towards anything that tries to interfere with that, including feeding them etc.  Sometimes they only become aggressive during the breeding seaons and can be handled at other times and sometimes they become totally wild.  They will no longer make a pet for you and may or may not lay viable eggs.  It could destroy any relationship you had with your bird.  This does not always happen with same species birds as two birds of different species can sometimes revert to breeding mode and become wild, go through all the breeding motions but of course would not produce viable eggs.

(**Note when you adopt from PASO you are required to sign a no breeding contract)

 There is no way of knowing how your birds will react until you put two together and see how they interact.

 How to Introduce a New Bird to your Flock

 Whether you have a flock of 1 or 10 there are a few tips you can use to introduce a new bird into your environment.

 -         Make sure that when you introduce the birds, that it is done away from their cages and play areas and is done in a neutral area.    Preferably away from view of their cages.

-         Do not hold them and introduce them.  Use a chair or something and place each one on a separate chair so there is some distance between them.

-         Be prepared for anything.  Have a towel ready in case they try to attack one another so that you can separate them and keep them from harm. 

-         Have a carrier or cage handy and open to place at least one of the birds in if there is a  problem.

-         Spend time with the original bird first and reassure him about his new friend.

-         Watch for signs of aggression or fear. 

-         Keep their cages well apart from one another until you are confident that they will tolerate each other.

-         Continue to monitor any changes in behaviors.

-         NEVER put the birds in the same cage.  At some point if the birds are comfortable and seem to be getting along, they can play on the same cage, but should not be caged together or aggression and over bonding can take place.

  I order to lessen chances of over bonding and reverting to wild tendencies, bring in a different species of bird or a playmate of the same sex.  You will want to keep either only males or only females.  Later if you try to introduce an opposite sex bird (more so of the same species), you may run into troubles again as the two may fight for the love of the new bird.

 This is just the basic way of introducing a new bird.  There are other variables but these are the most common and should provide you with at least the basics of what can happen when you are considering introducing a new bird into your home.