Scarlet Macaw in Pet Store - Sad

I’m not sure if this is the place to put this. It just makes me so, so sad.

A few weeks ago, right after we got Percy, we went to this locally owned pet store. They generally have a variety of birds, mostly parrots, among other animals. The budgies and cockatiels are kept in what I can only describe as a “touch tank” similar to aquariums, where anyone (small children included) can just grab at them and pick them up. Every one of those birds has its wings clipped so you’ll see them trying to get away and just fall to the floor. It’s sad enough that way and I had a problem then.

Now they’ve got a gorgeous scarlet macaw baby. I say baby because he’s only 1 year old, he’s got a pretty long life ahead of him (one would hope). I was sitting there fawning over him because the poor thing just looked miserable. The kid (maybe 17 at most) that worked there was informing the group around him of his age, the fact that he had never been caged, and that he had never had his wings clipped... until now. As I was standing there, I asked how much time outside the cage he gets and I was told he is out all day, they’re just about to close so he was put away... in a cage with a chain and padlock. Really great in case something happens and you need quick access to assist the newly handicapped bird you created.

While I was talking to the bird, his name was Achilles, he came up and asked me politely to step up... one foot up and everything. At this point the tears in my eyes are welling up as I tell him how sorry I am that I can’t hold him and love him and bring him home right now. He, of course, asked again... in the most pathetic whiny voice that I have ever heard from a parrot. Of course this poor little one had no idea what he’d done wrong to end up locked up with his flight taken from him. He got pretty frustrated and loud when his polite attempts weren’t acknowledged. I’m sure he was cursing me in macaw, but I don’t speak it.

I returned the other day to visit him because hey, he was supposed to be out all day and only locked up at night... well...there he sat in all his gorgeous glory, chained and padlocked into that cage... looking absolutely miserable. No interest, eyes were so desperate and sad, quietly asked to step up as if he already knew the answer. He stuck his beak through the bars trying to squish his way out and trying to break the chain on his door. I just pet his little (ok gigantic) beak and told him that I’d come to see him again soon because he was a good boy.

If I had the money and the space, that little boy would already have a home with me. At least until I could find someone that was better versed in large parrots. If anyone is ever in or around Mobile, Alabama and looking for a new family member in the macaw form, I know one that could really use a home before the grabbing kids and finger poking folks change him too much.

I wish I lived closer and had the money. Poor baby! Though I'm not entirely against wing-clipping, I would've hated to see him locked up with a padlock in a cage trying to get out, he sounds so sweet.

Poor baby! It's like if suddenly someone locked you in a closet and tied your feet together so you couldn't walk... I can't imagine how that would feel for the poor thing. My advice to you is, stop giving this pet store your money until they stop selling birds OR begin to treat them right (not practical in a pet store, where employees don't have time to interact with the birds and can't manage them flying all over the place)

There is no such thing as saving a bird from a pet store. Sure, you can help an individual, but if the birds are selling, they will just get more and perpetuate the problem.
The rare exception is if the bird has been sitting there for years and the price goes down to get rid of him/her, then he/she may not be replaced.

it is sad but unfortunately the chain and padlock are for his safety

just last night saw a facebook post about someone who had walked into a pet store that liked to have the birds out or at least have the cages ready for easy access so they can bring the birds out and somebody just walked in opened a cage and made off with a sun conure (they tracked the thief down and got the conure back)

but it's the horrible truth of somewhere open to the public that they need to be safe and unfortunately it's safest to keep them in a cage as dealing with the public means dealing with the dregs of society.

Now as for the tank where you can just grab at tiels I would absolutely walk in and just begin transferring all those birds into cages regardless of what the owner thought

itzjbean said:

Though I'm not entirely against wing-clipping

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Im not necessarily against it in some cases either. I just hate to see that baby’s life changes so drastically in such a short time.

FlyBirdiesFly said:

My advice to you is, stop giving this pet store your money...

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Oh, I do not spend money there ever since I saw how they were housing and caring for sugar gliders, that was before Achilles showed up. The only thing I’ve purchased from them were natural branch perches because they were the only store locally that sourced in the U.S. and we needed to get Percy off of the wooden dowels. Now I only go in to visit with the birds there because I feel awful for them.

psychocircus91 said:

There is no such thing as saving a bird from a pet store.

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This is exactly why we went to a breeder, I refused to be a part of the cycle.

LordTriggs said:

it is sad but unfortunately the chain and padlock are for his safety...

Now as for the tank where you can just grab at tiels I would absolutely walk in and just begin transferring all those birds into cages regardless of what the owner thought

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I know there are some terrible people out there, but all of the other birds are in unlocked cages (those that would be easy to walk out with). Only the African Grey and Macaw that are “high dollar” are chained shut. So I think it’s more about money for them rather than the safety of the birds, or perhaps the fact that they can most likely figure out the latch. Someone would definitely notice if anyone tried to leave with that Macaw, he is not a small bird in any way and he is very vocal.

There are around 30 budgies and last time I was there, 3 tiels running to escape the grabbing hands of kids. I’m not even sure I could get them all into cages (they don’t actually have any for them... they live in that tank as far as I can tell).

Either way, it’s sad to see sweet birds there become “aggressive” out of self defense.

Awww it is sad isn't it but always the hope someone wonderful might buy him and give him the life he deserves.

oh I wouldn't use the cages there

I would walk in with a load of cages

I would then proceed to leave with all them birds including the grey and Macaw and go live with them all and if the owner tried to stop me. Well I'm not a violent person but I may just give them an idea of what they were doing to their birds

If we actually wanted to keep Kiwi in his cage, we would need chains and padlocks to do so. Large parrots are quite capable of disassembling their cages and "bird proof locks" are more of a inside joke than something to keep a parrot in their cage. Being free roaming is all well and good for pets in individual homes which have been carefully bird-proofed with diligent owners who don't leave doors open and watch where they're stepping etc... Of course, we don't have a million random idiots flowing though our private home who could harass him while our backs are turned, get a serious bite and sue us for everything we have or injure/kill him. We don't allow dogs in our home, but lots of people bring their dogs to a pet store (dogs kill and eat birds). We also don't allow people in our home who'd steal our bird because he's "valuable" either. A pet store has to, sadly, consider those things. Being caged in a pet store when staff cannot be watching every moment makes sense. Clipping makes sense too (say they're showing a customer the bird and another customer happens to come in and the fully flighted bird flies out the door).

What doesn't make sense is putting birds in touch tanks. I've seen those enclosures too in a bird store we used to visit. They had parrotletes in them. Now the owners of that store wouldn't have tolerated idiots or feral children to harass the birds, but still, it just seemed like a bad idea...