Please help me, my parents are killing my bird!

[xhexk]

I've had my conure Neo as some of you here may know, for about 8 months now. Couldn't wish for a better companion, we get along so well!

But my parents are slowly killing him, they claim they love him and play with him when I'm at college. But they always give him stuff they shouldn't, like coffee, yoghurt, milk, frosties cornflakes etc. I always tell them not to and they never acknowledge what I'm saying, give me a look as if I'm crazy for suggesting this and tell me "it's never done him harm".

Today I came home and seen he had crunched on a really high amount of frosties, I'm talking a lot. based on the crumbs left he probably had around 8-10 while I was gone... I could see he wasn't feeling well.

She (my mum) tried to play it off as she does and said she didn't know anything about it, but I found them in his food bowl. Does she mean to say he carried them there? I actually don't know what to do with her anymore, she cares for him but then feeds him loads of garbage that could kill him.

I'm off to University next September, and I can't trust him to be left here so I have to take him with me, granted that's if the university allows it. This has really stressed me out and I keep trying to get through to them, but they've got that superioristic middle eastern mindset, god forbid their son tells them they're doing something wrong. I sh*t you not this is what they said just earlier: "We'll feed him what we want, if you don't like this you can sell him"

I don't know what to do anymore. Sorry for ranting on about my personal life, but this bird is precious to me and I refuse to see him suffer over irresponsible people. Can anyone help me?

 

[Kiwibird]

Many parrot rescues here in the US offer day long classes on parrot care that you can take even if you aren't adopting a bird. Perhaps you could find something like that where you live and encourage your family to go so everyone can learn together more about companion parrot keeping It may be better for your parents to hear something from someone they look at as an 'expert' rather than you (not trying to insult you, but I have daily members with that "I'm always right" mindset too).

 

[Agapornis]

I feel your pain, my mom would have done that same thing. I haven't lived at home for 30+ years, and it still pisses me off to think about it. Every single animal we had growing up was super overweight, and had health issues due to eating people food.

I think the only thing you can do is take him with you to college. I hope they allow it! If not, maybe you can give him to a responsible friend to watch? I don't have any perfect answers, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone, having parents who won't listen to you.

 

[xhexk]

Thank you for the replies. I'll have a look around the area to see if anything like that is available.

I hope they do too Aga and it sucks you went through the same thing. I don't think any of my friends could handle a parrot so he'd either have to come or stay at home.

 

[RavensGryf]

It's even hard for some adults... Some partners, bf/gf, husbands, etc. don't quite 'get it' or always comply either, and with chemicals

Can you live in an off campus apartment rather than a dorm? That way you'd be able to take your GCC. Here in the US anyway, I've never had a problem with birds being okay in an apartment managed by a company (not private owner). Best of luck to you

 

[GlennO]

It's unlikely that your parents would knowingly harm an animal. Perhaps they just don't believe you and maybe they'll take more notice of professional advice, as someone else suggested. There are lots of veterinary and pet health websites that list all the food types that are bad for parrots. Maybe you could print off a page, highlight all the foods, and attach it to his cage or nearby. With luck they will read it and take note.

A more forceful approach would be to talk to your local vet, who I am sure would acknowledge your concerns, and may agree to give your parents some advice over the phone.

 

[getwozzy]

The problem with them feeding him those bad things is that they don't see any immediate harmful effects from it- so they brush it off as not being bad. When in reality it takes time for those things to take their toll on his body and organs.

I suggest that you follow the advice of others- try to find a class your parents can go to, or find some articles online from reputable sources that you can print out and have them read.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Or even - with the holidays coming - give them a gift of a bird care book with the nutrition section bookmarked?

 

[Paruula]

I had the same problem when I went off to college. I visited home and found my mom routinely feeding my cockatoo coffee, cereal, and cheese. I had explained how to feed him before, but this time I actually gave my avian vet a call and had her email my mom, which was super nice of her. Fortunately, that seemed to fix the problem; I had one of my brothers working on the inside to give me updates.
I am lucky enough to now live in a pet friendly dorm, so I only went without Cielo for one semester. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[strudel]

If you supply "legitimate" treats for him, would they stick to offering those? He'd still be getting too many treats, but at least they'd be bird food and you could adjust his meals to allow for it.

Can you include them in organising his meals? Making chop for him, giving your mum a birdie bread recipe to make for him?

A lot of people see "food as love". They've shown they aren't going to stop, you've either got to segregate or remove him, or channel their offerings to something you're happy (or more happy) for him to have.

 

[SoCalWendy]

Wait til you have kids... Haha, sorry I know that was shameful but it's kinda what you can expect.

 

[kalypso123]

Parulla how do you keep a cockatoo in a dorm without complaints? Just wondering because they are so loud especially a Moluccan.

 

[Paruula]

Hi kalypso123,

I'm mostly very, very lucky! I've had him for 9 years (I got him when I was 13), and when he was young, I would run into the room to reward him for talking or whistling, and ignore him if he made a sound over a certain volume. For the most part, he has always preferred making human-like sounds. Usually in the evening I will harness him and take him outside so he can holler and whoop for about 10 minutes, and then he's done for the day. This is the third year I've had him with me at college and he has been great aside from being a little cantankerous in the spring. :>

 

[JellyBean]

I think that Strudel has the best advice - give your Mom some birdy bread to bake... a great treat, good for your bird, and has that muffin quality!! Ask her to chop up some veg...

 

[yorkshiregal]

I would ask my parents to come along for a vet visit (check up) and ask them to pay the bill!