Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!dinorah!mary
From: mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Contributions from Exotic Bird owners.
Message-ID: <999@dinorah.wustl.edu>
Date: 17 Oct 89 17:28:14 GMT
References: <7995@cloud9.Stratus.COM> <5280002@hpavla.HP.COM> <4337@jake.UUCP>
Organization: Washington University (St. Louis)
Lines: 49
In-reply-to: dc@jake.UUCP's message of 16 Oct 89 13:54:08 GMT

dc@jake.UUCP (Don Chiappone) writes:

>I have an African Grey and an African Senagal and neither bird is caged.
>There are 2 large cages with perches on them and they seem to spend most of
>their time climbing about or just sitting there.  They both fly and the only
>problem I initially had was their tendency to chew dry wall (of all things).
[...]

Sounds really neat.  I wish I could have my parrots loose all of the
time, but Vila(Conure) has to be supervised constantly, or Blakey
(Parakeet) gets her foot bit.  I have never had Blakey out when the
other two were, Blakey gets attacked when there are cage bars between
her and Vila.  The only way to stop it is to heavily supervise Vila
when he is out, and have Blakey's time out after I have put the
terrible twosome to bed with their cage covered.  Otherwise, everyone
would be allowed out all the time I was home (and conscious!).

>A caged bird is a sad sight.

Mayhaps you should tell Dayna and Del that.  Being wild finches, they
spend all of their time in their 36"x24"x20"high flight cage.  You should see
them HAPPILY fly from branch to branch (yes they have natural
branches), shoot straight up like rockets from bird bath to high
perch, etc.  Exactly one week from moving into this cage, their first
egg was laid.  We now have a nest of six, which should hatch in a week
or so.  I'd say they were happy.  And I am happy watching them.

You want to see a REALLY sad sight?  Go to your local department store
and look in the pet section.  It seems to be the fashion for them to
have these tinsy-tiny cages, and crowd a lot of budgies, or two
cockatiels in them.  This results in health problems, and some times
mutilated birds from them fighting in the cramped quarters.  I have
seen bloody birds, sick birds, and dirty-bedragled birds.  As a
result, I boycott any store that carries birds and abuses them in this
fashion.  I won't buy any thing there: clothes, videotapes, etc.  It
is really aweful.

	-Mary

PS: For the birders who feed birdies in their backyards --

Want to treat your little friends?  Get a bag of good quality small
parrot seed from the pet store.  Put it in the feeder for a treat.  My
mother says they go crazy over the stuff.  They also are grateful if
you put a little parakeet gravel in the feeder when the ground is snow
covered.  See, the bird hobby isn't such a menace to civilization.
('Cept the dumb department stores!!!)

This has been a Blake's Birds (tm)  Bird Tip.