Not a bird owner (yet) but ?s about birds at local store

Hi,

I don't have any birds but I've been thinking about it for a while, so I decided to head over to a bird store I've always driven past but never been inside. I just wanted to see if any particular bird jumped out as the one for me because I know I want a small-medium sized bird but can't decide based on the internet. Well, that didn't happen because I was so focused on the fact that they had 10 or so macaws-- blue and golds, scarlets, a hybrid, and a hyacinth-- and all of them, except the hyacinth and one scarlet, were pluckers. Some of them were in really big cages but about half were sitting on ring perches suspended in the middle of the room. They had food and water but only a couple had something to play with. I thought the hybrid wasn't a plucker either but then he lifted his wings to reveal big plucking spots underneath. Two of the blue and golds seemed to have been plucking each other because they were both bald on top of their heads. The other bird species-- cockatoos, conures, caiques, love birds, and a single ring neck-- were all fine, with no plucking.

My initial reaction was that I felt horrible for the macaws and wondered if it was because of how they were being taken care of but then I considered that, perhaps, they were given/sold to the store with the plucking problem from previous owners. I have bad social anxiety and, even though I desperately wanted to ask an employee, I couldn't muster the courage. I talked a bit to the birds and then left. It's been bothering me though and I found this forum through Google and figured I could ask people who know about birds if any of this sounds bad or if it's normal.

Ultimately, is this a place I should steer clear of?

I look forward to your responses.

Hi and welcome! This sounds more like a rescue effort! What and where is this place? Mos likely we will have members familure with them!

There's no way to know about that particular store, but it certainly isn't unusual for stores to get birds that have plucked in previous homes. This might be more likely as it sounds like they have 1 or 2 of one kind, one of another etc, so sounds more likely to have been collected over time than bought or bred as a group.

Do you have anyone you could go with who could ask to ask the staff about them? You could try visiting more often and hopefully at some point you'll overhear an explanation.

Hello and Welcome!

Kudos to you for mustering up the courage to compose a thread. :smile049:
That can be intimidating as well.

You’ve come to the right place. There is a wealth of knowledge within these forums.

Good Luck on finding a bird companion that suits you and your lifestyle.
And please keep us posted.

Welcome, so glad you are here! This is a great place to ask questions and gather information.

I agree with Jottlebot, I do know that it is not uncommon for stores to help find new homes for birds that need them. There’s a couple in my area that have young birds, but also birds that are being rehomed. I suspect that may be what your bird store does - but it’s just a guess without knowing the store. I hope you can go back to the store and take another look around.

I volunteer at a rescue as well, and some of the sweetest birds I know just had a rough period in life and plucked their feathers. This can make it harder to find them new homes sometimes. I just wanted to reassure you that birds with bald spots don’t necessarily mean that they are living in bad conditions currently (but you should definitely assess their living conditions at the store).

Welcome to the forums! Your instincts are admirable, seeking a bird that might "jump out" at you. We call that "allowing the bird to choose you" and is often the beginning of a great relationship.

Sadly, plucking is not uncommon, though it is interesting you noted it with macaws and not with the cockatoos. The latter species are notorious for plucking, though it is in fact an equal opportunity affliction. If you wish to learn more about plucking: http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/52217-plucking-search-answers.html

You raise questions of the store worthy of consideration. Might it be easier to break the ice with a phone call or possibly email? It might be easier to follow up in person once you've established a hopefully friendly contact.

Great advice and support above. Good for you, for proceeding with care and caution. I'm glad you're here.

Welcome and thank you for asking!

Obviously, there are a lot of factors here, but it is not uncommon to see a bird store set up as you describe. In fact, your description sounds very much like our local parrot store, The Bird Hut, here in Portland (is it? If so, I can vouch for this store). I personally shop there and it is owned and staffed by wonderful, knowledgeable, caring bird people. I have no doubts other stores are set up and run in a similar fashion. I'm fairly certain they only raised small and medium birds (budgies, cockatiels, conures, caiques etc...) and all their large and XL birds are all older rescues or the owner is selling them for one reason for another. Some are pluckers and how many pluckers they have, of which species and how severe the plucking is at any given time depends on what birds they get in. Plucking is sadly quite common in larger birds who are not getting what they need at home, so it is not surprising to see a large number of older pluckers being sold in a store. I will also note, the store I shop at also has a large central area with various hanging boings, spheres etc... where they have birds hanging out. They let each bird out for several hours every day and rotate the birds in and out of the cages into the central area so everyone gets some out of cage time to interact with others. I personally think it's a wonderful practice so they aren't stuck in cages all the time unless someone wants to look at them Toys in cages are likely to be fairly scarce in a bird store since the birds will hopefully not be there for long and they're costly to provide so it makes sense (from a business perspective) to keep toys to much more of a minimum with birds for sale than you would at home. If they sell older birds, many older birds won't play with toys at all and I doubt staff has time to really teach a bird to play. That would be on the new owner to do. Also to keep in mind, parrots are appallingly messy/dirty creatures and poop 20+ times a day (no joke, smaller ones even more frequently). Having a store full of them means you really just don't see any parrot store that is ever pristinely clean Obviously, no mountains of poo anywhere or floors completely covered in food/poop/wood from toys, but don't judge too harshly if it's a little messy. If you get a parrot, that's how your house will soon look no matter how much you clean lol

If I were you, I'd take the time to talk to the staff/owner and learn more about the store. See what vibe you get off them. If you have a question, ask politely and I'm sure in a good store, they will have a good answer and won't mind answering any and all questions or addressing any concerns you may have. Good luck in your search!

I agree with April on the fact that it is just not realistic to expect a store that deals exclusively with parrots to be spotless. It really is like expecting a daycare to have no toys on the floor in the middle of the day. Honestly, when I walk into a bird store, I am much more concerned about seeing what their bowls look like than what their trays look like. Do they have food? Relatively fresh water? Again, you can't expect pristine water at all times either. You may think they should, but I know with my own boys, there are times that as soon as I give them fresh water, they decide to drop a piece of green wood in their water and dye it rainbow colors 5 minutes after I give it to them. However, you don't want to see rancid looking water with bugs floating in it (which I have seen at birds stores, sadly). Also, to get a feel for what kind of breeders they are (if they breed some of their own babies), look at what their babies are fed. Are they eating just cheap seed or are they eating a good variety of food that includes fresh veggies, fruits, pellets, and a little seed? You can't judge based on what any older birds they have are eating, as it can be an ordeal to convert an older bird that has eaten a poor diet for years to a healthier diet. Sometimes you just have to give an older bird whatever they will eat in order to get them to eat until they are in an environment where they can be worked with one on one (usually once they are in their new home). Hope this helps give you an idea of some of the other things to look at if you decide to go back in, which I hope you do, even if you don't work up the courage to talk to the owners.

OutlawedSpirit said:

I agree with April on the fact that it is just not realistic to expect a store that deals exclusively with parrots to be spotless. It really is like expecting a daycare to have no toys on the floor in the middle of the day. Honestly, when I walk into a bird store, I am much more concerned about seeing what their bowls look like than what their trays look like. Do they have food? Relatively fresh water? Again, you can't expect pristine water at all times either. You may think they should, but I know with my own boys, there are times that as soon as I give them fresh water, they decide to drop a piece of green wood in their water and dye it rainbow colors 5 minutes after I give it to them. However, you don't want to see rancid looking water with bugs floating in it (which I have seen at birds stores, sadly). Also, to get a feel for what kind of breeders they are (if they breed some of their own babies), look at what their babies are fed. Are they eating just cheap seed or are they eating a good variety of food that includes fresh veggies, fruits, pellets, and a little seed? You can't judge based on what any older birds they have are eating, as it can be an ordeal to convert an older bird that has eaten a poor diet for years to a healthier diet. Sometimes you just have to give an older bird whatever they will eat in order to get them to eat until they are in an environment where they can be worked with one on one (usually once they are in their new home). Hope this helps give you an idea of some of the other things to look at if you decide to go back in, which I hope you do, even if you don't work up the courage to talk to the owners.

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All very good points you bring up and why it's important to talk with the staff to get a better idea of the care-level provided and the unique situations an individual bird may have (such as a bird who won't eat pellets being provided seed).

With just a single bird who is (relatively) clean (for a parrot), we can easily go from surgically clean to "bomb has been detonated" within a few hours. Most of the time, to a non-parrot person, it probably looks like I haven't cleaned Kiwi in weeks when really I clean his area top to bottom every other day and provide fresh food 2X a day and fresh water usually once in the morning and once in the afternoon as he empties the dish taking a daily bath in it

If you can't speak directly to the employees, is there someone who could go check out the store with you and help you ask the questions?