Need To Vent

I help owners out when they go on holidays & look after their parrots. Lately i have been astounded at the lack of knowledge some of these people have on their parrots nutrition. Out of 3 clients this last 2 weeks only 1 knew what to feed their eclectus. 1 lady actually bought her bird from me 5 years ago & all the trouble i went to print out as much info on diet & she goes & buys her eclectus Coles Wild Large Bird Seed.

The birds that arrived today have the most terrible looking feathers due to being on a diet of seed with limited fruit & veg. How do i shock these people into feeding their birds a well balanced diet. Maybe if i show them some nasty pics of what birds insides looks like after being on a seed diet for years.

This really does my head in. When i try to explain why the feathers are edged in black they look at me like i am pulling their leg.

Thanks for reading & any good ideas would be accepted greatfully.

All I can say is Good Luck. These people obviously do not vet their birds cos their vet would go thro the proper diet with them. These birds are impulse buys? by inexperienced bird people. They obviously dont belong to a forum which is where you can gain heaps of knowledge and advice. I work at a supermarket and its amazing how many people buy home brand pet foods (I dont, my guys deserve better - dog, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish and birds all get branded name foods from proper pet shops or vets. Not to mention their fresh f&v) Again, I wish you the best but I dont like your chances.

It's not uneducated people, but LAZY PEOPLE. It's easier to open up a bag of seed and give it to them then to spend time making their meals. I feed my Ekkie and Senegal mostly the same food. I give them both about 2 table spoons of a high quality seed mix in the morning along with either fruit or veggies. Then in the afternoon, they get additional veggies. They both enjoy fruits and veggies and the seed gives them a little treat and a change.

I don't blame you at all for being miffed with these people. I would be afraid to watch their birds for them. If the bird died in your care, they could very well blame YOU. What gets me is they have someone so close to them with such a wealth of knowledge and don't use it. What a shame.

as said above good luck, now if a breeder/bird person told me i was doing certain things wrong for nut, i would seriously look up what they said and make changes where i can!

but problem is most simply do not wish to see the long term picture! or assume minium care is enough, and to raise level of care would mean they would have to put there hands in there pockets or spend more of there own time

i really cannot think of how to change these peoples perceptions, simply as they will not see they are at fault, and i agree with mike if the bird should fall ill/die in your care, they will blame you to recoup the $

I so wish people had to go through classes on parrot care before getting any bird. Phoenix Landing does this prior to bird adoptions. I wonder if these people would just feed their kids at fast food places, of course they would. No wonder there is so much heart diseast in our population and our birds. I think a scare tactic is a good idea Pedro.
They need to be shocked out of their shoes.

I think our biggest problem comes from pet shops that sell the cheap a%* bird seed. They tell new bird owners the seed is all they need. When the bird starts having problems the store will off advice that should never be used. I have walked into many pet shops full of beautiful hand fed babies. But as you walk through looking in to the cages you see seeds. Then you look at the food offered by the store. You got it all seeds. Walk more and you can not find any books on bird care.

I agree people are very lazy. They never think twice about buying that macaw or cockatoo. Take it home throw it in a cage and fill the bowl with seed. The only other food offered is french fries or pizza. Most new bird owners will never take a bird to a vet. Never take the time to look up info on what the bird needs. Pretty soon they have a adult bird with health problems that has bite them so it is no longer let out of its cage. A couple of months go by and they can no longer stand the screaming so it is sold to the next owner just to start the cycle over again. I spent 6 months reading and working with exp bird people before i felt i was ready to bring one home. But when he was carried in the door he came home to the larges cage i could buy with pellets in his bowl. A refrige full of fresh fruit and veggys plus a loaf of birdy bread.

I wish all pet stores was required to give parrot keeping classes like bird rescues before a new owner could take them home. I think it would save so many birds a life time of heart ache. It is to easy to buy something that just might out live you. Doesn't matter if they know the difference between a cockatiel or cockatoo if they have the cash they can have the bird.

When I was bird shopping I went to several bird stores. Only one place seemed very concerned with whether the bird went to a good home or not. The place by my is okay, but they have a lot of birds and they don't exactly grill you to make sure you're educated enough. They do feed pellets though.

I think people should definitely have to take a class before getting a bird.

Thanks for your words of wisdom everyone.

I don't blame you at all for being miffed with these people. I would be afraid to watch their birds for them. If the bird died in your care, they could very well blame YOU. What gets me is they have someone so close to them with such a wealth of knowledge and don't use it. What a shame.

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Mike that's why they entrust their birds to me because they know i have the knowledge to do what is necessary should they get sick.

Birdybabies that's the funny part, two owners purchased their birds from me & I can honestly tell you they were not impluse buys. Because i sell by word of mouth only, usually they have to wait until the baby is fully weaned. So they have plenty of time to get ready for the arrival. I spent hours talking to them, giving them diet print outs & so on. I think that is what makes me so angry. The 3 rd owner adopted an eclectus that was originally purchased from me. She was already a parrot owner.

I so wish people had to go through classes on parrot care before getting any bird. Phoenix Landing does this prior to bird adoptions. I wonder if these people would just feed their kids at fast food places, of course they would. No wonder there is so much heart diseast in our population and our birds. I think a scare tactic is a good idea Pedro.
They need to be shocked out of their shoes.

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Spritbird I had actually thought of that & i agree 100% but where to start. Maybe i could start a class in my carport. I thought at least if i gave my customers as much info about the parrot i was selling it would have a great home with everything they need. But now i see they don't & it's so disappointing.

Melinda yes i do know a lot of misinformed advice come from Pet Stores & I agree they have a lot to answer for. Some still tell Eclectus owners they have to feed their birds Large Parrot seed. We don't have to many of these stores where i live & the Avian Vets are way to far away. The only contact i have with an AV is by phone or email. I also work on behavior as well but like you have no degree & only have my books & my experience.

Suebee, I really had to laugh to myself, the look on this womans face when i started asking what she fed her birds, she had no idea she was doing the wrong thing. I mean to say 1 sun conure in a cage with 2 bowls of seed. Then they say they get fruit & veg. I find out the poor birds get only 1 piece of fruit or veg a day. No wonder they have poor feather. Oh yes she is killing them. She also told me her 9 year old tiel has to go to the Vet every 2 weeks to have it's over grown beak trimmed because the Vet thinks it has cancer. Told the lady to get the Vet to test for liver disease. The bird has had nothing but seed for the last 9 years.

I have 2 weeks to try to get these poor birds to eat a more healthy balanced diet. I mean to say giving an eclectus 2 bowls of seed a day is not doing the bird any good.

Well it's a new day here so i will go see what i can get them to eat for me. Think i will be in for a very frustrating day.

Pedro i know what you are going through. I have worked with many new owners Showing them what to feed how to do sprouts make different things that they could freeze in servings and feed daily. After spending all that time only to get a call a few months asking if i will take that d%#n bird because they can't stand it anymore. If i have room i will. And to my surprise guess what the bird is eating. 8 in 1 seed from walmart. I have held many birds in my hands when they passed away from liver problems. Sometimes help comes too late. Each time it happens i ask myself is it worth the pain i go through. The answer is yes because if i don't that many more birds will not make it. It will always be this way until stores stop selling that type of food as a complete diet. I wish you much luck in the next weeks. Maybe your work will no go out the door when the bird leaves.

I must say that when a friend asked me to take on her bird, a U2, she was desperate...I was not prepared AT ALL for what I had gotten myself into! I had no clue how to take care of this bird. She told me, when I took him, to feed him good seed and pellets, nothing more. Well, the next time I went to the pet shop nearest us, I found a book called "Parrots for DUMMIES", written by Nikki Moustaki. I'll quote something on the cover, "This book goes beyond 'care' into the realm of true parrot-ness and what it's like to live with these remarkable creatures." This book saved both the bird's life and my sanity. I highly recommend this as a 'must read' for first time, even long time parrot owners.

There is many great books out there for new owners but many will never look in a book to see that they are wrong in the way they care for their pet bird. Every bird i have ever adopted out comes with a brand new copy of that book. But i can never make anyone read it.

hi melinda, I was so desperate to understand why this bird 'is what he is' that I read it from cover to cover and learned sooo much. Not just on nutrition but behavioral issues, intelligence, taming, training and I'm sure there are many out there that can help with that. This book talks about all parrots, which to me seem to have a lot of similar behaviors. This is not an add to buy this particular book, any good reputable information is always good and I find it sad that caretakers of these amazing birds don't take advantage of what's available.

It is very sad to know many people like Pedro do everything in his powers besides moving in with the new bird. We have so many new books that are great. Forums like this one. The info is out there for anyone. But most could care less.

Update, well that didn't go to well did it, the only food that was touched was passionfruit & sunflower seed. I will try again today. I really can't understand how any new bird that i purchase, will, after settling in eat anything i give it. This Eclectus was weaned onto a balanced diet while it was with me & i do know the lady i sold him to fed him all the right foods but his new home, how can he be so darn fussy now. They have only had him for a year.

Books, i buy any book that has a Parrot on the cover. I actually loaned my Birds for Dummies to a lady last week, she was having screaming & biting issues with an eclectus. Although i find most books very helpful I still want to know more. I have Vet medical books, Behavior, Hand-rearing & books on every species i have had or now own.

I guess i keep trying to make a difference. As always the people that care will listen & the ones that don't give a toss, well what more can i say.

Melinda, when i sell one of my birds i offer free boarding for my customers should they need a holiday, that's how all this boarding started. Anyways it gave me a chance to check the birds & see if everything was OK. It's so easy to pick up problems just by looking at the bird & the bag of goodies the owner brings.

As a bird breeder I would say your are one of the better ones. You have good followup with customers.

Update, it's been a week now since my boarders have arrived. Was worried about the Alex's they didn't even want to look at the food I served, I almost relented & filled their dish up with seed. I was so busy yesterday I gave them the usual sprout, fruit & veg mix & when i got home from being away all day there wasn't to much left. So I was happy with that. I have put pellets on their small amount of seed & noticed they have even eaten them as well.

I know being here for only a few weeks isn't going to make much difference to their feathers but the Alex's are starting to molt so hopefully the new ones coming through looks better. All i am really doing is giving them a tablespoon of seed with pellets & lots of what they should be eating.

I don't know if it's my imagination but iam sure they all seem a lot happier, eyes are brighter & their droppings have improved out of sight. When they arrived 2 of the male eclectus had sticky green poop with urates green tinged. Needles to say was a bit worried about that. I did put them on Probotics in their water, I figured it would at least do more good than harm. I think yesterday was the turning point. Just hope the owners of these birds change their way of thinking & change their birds to a balanced diet.