Parrot care - US vs Europe

Rozalka

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I know here on the forum are people from different countries, from all continents (except Antarctica of course :D). I don't really know if this is an interesting thread but especially in last year I see how much the parrot care is different here on the forum and on Polish groups and wanted to write as a curiosity.
My experience:
First few years (since getting 1st parrots) I wasn't on any forum or fb to contact with other parronts. The 1st place where I created an account was a Polish forum - there are mainly bird breeders and isn't really active. I gained a bit of knowledge there (eg I started bying more healthy food, understod I bought my fids in a wrong place). I would say there people were calm and nobody was inerfering in others opinions.
Next place was this forum. I didn't have any shock (except this one is very active) because I hadn't any chance to know the real Polish culture of parrot caring yet. So I knew the US parrot care culture first.
Next was Facebook. The 1st parrot group which I joined belongs to one of the mentioned Polish forum members. The group was very calm too. Once time another friend (met by the same forum) invited me to a big conure fb group and then I had a schock... In the first moment I was suprised they was sayng green cheek conures are conures (for me this was obvious but in Polish they aren't called conures) but later I saw they thought quaker parrots are conures too:eek: (Somewhere was a thread "Are quaker parrots conures" or something like this where I wrote more in details about it).
After few weeks my "forum-mate" started being attacked by other group members for.... having one parrot. And she wasn't the only one there... hopefully I wasn't really active there and avoided this (I have one conure too so also could be...). There also were some other attacks like somebody gives food from a shop because of from a garden... Well, posting a parrot in a cage was enough for the attack because wasn't let out!
We both left this group. Currently I am on few small and medium groups and nowadays I know this what I wrote is very common here :(


I think these are the biggest differences between these two cultures:
1. Having one parrot
As mentioned aboth - in opinion many Poles (and other Europeans) nobody should have just one parrot - but two, few or none. Some of us let having just one parrot in some cases, others will tell to buy another one...

I've seen about 2 times when somebody from Europe asked you here if this is true - can be just one parrot? I remember somebody wrote that this is common in Europe. Yes, this is so common - yesterday somebody told me to go for 25 years to the prison for thinking some parrots may be kept alone! Really! And it was on this forum which I thought is very calm...
Ps. I forgot to explain why they forbid having one parrot - because they are social and live in flocks in the wild

2. Mixing species
In opinion many Europeans: different species have different languages and they never are friends as seem to be. If somebody has one parrot of type A and one of type B they both are alone - here again is the point 1.
Exception are close realeted species eg green cheek and black capped conures or B&G and scarled macaws because their languages are simillar. But in these cases can't be bred. Here hybrids aren't tolorated in general.
if somebody has two parrots of type A and 2 of B and they tolorate each other this is ok here. I think the rules of aviary breeding are the same like in US.
3. Parrot tents
From what I read here you have to reasons why they are bad: some of them are so deadly and all of them may increase hormonal problems. The first reason also is here in Europe - to avoid famous happy huts. But... some Europeans say caiques, conures and some lorikeets must have a place for sleep. So here are done parrot tents from the safe material or given nest box even alone parrots.
But as mentioned this increases hormonal problems. I was talking with an expert who said that each parrot may have them. Yes, I agree but I mentioned about increasing not having... For these people it's not a reason why to not have. But why mentioned parrot types must have? Because they sleep in tree holes in the wild... The expert said only then they feel safe...
4. Wing clipping
I've seen many of you see pros and cons. Here most people see only cons.
5. Human food
Many people in Europe never give them. Some of them let parrots taking during letting out but others will not let them at all. Meat also isn't given at all.
Edit: This subject is a bit divided, Some Europeans let eat meat but others will forbid



This what I wrote is about Europeans which have a contact with other parronts. About 80% of all Polish parronts keep their fids in small cages, not letting out, without natural perches etc. But they aren't in contact with other parronts. They don't know about these points aboth what I mentioned.


Also, it's not like "all Europeans are like thsese". I know some tolorate wing clipping, having one parrot but often they are attacked by others (like me yesterday). Also I don't mean I am more by one side - eg I have one conure but I am against wing clipping. In some points I am divided between "US" and "Europe" opinion. But one thing I will never understand - why to attack others for different opinions? Ok, maybe sometimes I am angry when I see clipped wings... but I never said to go to the prison for it... lol
Finally: what if I show or mention this forum to Polish people?
Mentioned Polish expert: "It's just a forum"
Another person: "American forums aren't good sources - they feed their parrots fast foods!"


I hope nobody feels injured ;)
 
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charmedbyekkie

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Completely empathise with you there. Cultural differences have been brought up various members, especially by those of us who donā€™t live in US or even Western countries.

Tbh, the way Iā€™ve come to terms with it is that I just accept that the forum is majority American. If I want to have a discussion about parrots in an American approach, I post here. If I want to have a discussion about parrots in a local context, I post elsewhere.

At most, when someone from my country posts, I might step in to try to help forum members from both sides negotiate cultural differences.

I suppose the way I feel about it is that every group has rules. While this forum has written rules, this group dynamic also has unwritten rules (any group naturally does). When on this forum, I follow those unspoken rules or at least tread very carefully and expect to get shot down a little. I censor myself the same way in my local groups. E.g., I canā€™t advocate for harnesses in my local groups, but I can here. I suppose you might call it code-switching :p

Having grown up American (my fatherā€™s culture) and having assimilated into my motherā€™s culture, I can say that American do come off as very aggressive to me now, even the nicest of Americans ahahaha Itā€™s always a culture shock when I meet another American; I have to consciously code-switch to realise I shouldnā€™t be offended by how aggressive they sound and that a decade ago I wouldnā€™t have found that person aggressive at all (we probably would have had a lovely conversation)!
I do feel that is a significant factor in terms of accommodating another personā€™s cultural differences.
 

Laurasea

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Very interesting! Thanks fir your thread!

I think having more than one parrot regardless of if they are different species is better . I agree with the Europeā€™s way. Sure I can agree if they are similar species from the same geographical are it would be better.

Iā€™m completely out of step with the rest of this forum, when it comes to sleeping ( chamber? ). I agree with yiu that conures and I think Quakerā€™s do extremely well and seem feel safer with a safe non fluffy thread hut equivalent. I have used them fir 20 years, no issues save once. Neptune was going through puberty and very hormonal, he would go to other birds huts and try and claim and act a fool , but never with his.

Wing clipping I agree with yiu, negative. There are countless articles by behavior, veterinarians, and scientists on keeping your bird flighted.

Parrots, the world in general is slowly coming to terms that locking them up in small cages, is nit the best fir their wellbeing.......any creatures shouldnā€™t be so confined....I struggle that my whole house isnā€™t enough room.... science is showing us parrots are on par with primates, so depriving them of mental and physical choice and stimulation is being more widely excepted as being cruel....

I donā€™t share fast food, with my birds. I do share healthy ingress I make meals with, and I do share dishes I have made from scratch that have only Parrot safe stuff with my birds...
just about none of us are feeding our parrots all the different things they would eat in their nstiv wild habitat, nor have their been sufficient studies of what they are eating..., I only found a few studies that were limited in scope. I know many eat leaf buds and flowers, insects, and meat, nuts, veggies and fruits in their native environment. So I hope by sharing human food Iā€™m providing more nutrition, the joy of trying new things enriching their life, and as bonding and sharing as a flock...

Very much enjoy hearing how cries and tolerance and cultural norms differ
 
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Rozalka

Rozalka

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Completely empathise with you there. Cultural differences have been brought up various members, especially by those of us who donā€™t live in US or even Western countries.

Tbh, the way Iā€™ve come to terms with it is that I just accept that the forum is majority American. If I want to have a discussion about parrots in an American approach, I post here. If I want to have a discussion about parrots in a local context, I post elsewhere.

At most, when someone from my country posts, I might step in to try to help forum members from both sides negotiate cultural differences.

I suppose the way I feel about it is that every group has rules. While this forum has written rules, this group dynamic also has unwritten rules (any group naturally does). When on this forum, I follow those unspoken rules or at least tread very carefully and expect to get shot down a little. I censor myself the same way in my local groups. E.g., I canā€™t advocate for harnesses in my local groups, but I can here. I suppose you might call it code-switching :p

Having grown up American (my fatherā€™s culture) and having assimilated into my motherā€™s culture, I can say that American do come off as very aggressive to me now, even the nicest of Americans ahahaha Itā€™s always a culture shock when I meet another American; I have to consciously code-switch to realise I shouldnā€™t be offended by how aggressive they sound and that a decade ago I wouldnā€™t have found that person aggressive at all (we probably would have had a lovely conversation)!
I do feel that is a significant factor in terms of accommodating another personā€™s cultural differences.

I have the same - I write there where I would like.


Very interesting! Thanks fir your thread!

I think having more than one parrot regardless of if they are different species is better . I agree with the Europeā€™s way. Sure I can agree if they are similar species from the same geographical are it would be better.

Iā€™m completely out of step with the rest of this forum, when it comes to sleeping ( chamber? ). I agree with yiu that conures and I think Quakerā€™s do extremely well and seem feel safer with a safe non fluffy thread hut equivalent. I have used them fir 20 years, no issues save once. Neptune was going through puberty and very hormonal, he would go to other birds huts and try and claim and act a fool , but never with his.

Wing clipping I agree with yiu, negative. There are countless articles by behavior, veterinarians, and scientists on keeping your bird flighted.

Parrots, the world in general is slowly coming to terms that locking them up in small cages, is nit the best fir their wellbeing.......any creatures shouldnā€™t be so confined....I struggle that my whole house isnā€™t enough room.... science is showing us parrots are on par with primates, so depriving them of mental and physical choice and stimulation is being more widely excepted as being cruel....

I donā€™t share fast food, with my birds. I do share healthy ingress I make meals with, and I do share dishes I have made from scratch that have only Parrot safe stuff with my birds...
just about none of us are feeding our parrots all the different things they would eat in their nstiv wild habitat, nor have their been sufficient studies of what they are eating..., I only found a few studies that were limited in scope. I know many eat leaf buds and flowers, insects, and meat, nuts, veggies and fruits in their native environment. So I hope by sharing human food Iā€™m providing more nutrition, the joy of trying new things enriching their life, and as bonding and sharing as a flock...

Very much enjoy hearing how cries and tolerance and cultural norms differ
about the fast food was just a quote;) I know you all aren't the same. Also, by writting "human food" I didn't mean everything what parrots don't eat in the wild. I meant things which we do for ourselves like cooking meat, yoghurts. Fruits, veggies, boiled eggs, boiled veggies are ok. I'm not able to explain better.... But some people may let them eat their dinner... Anyway this point still is a bit divided here. Some people say we can't forbid them trying forbidden food and in the Internet there are a lot of photos and vids of it. Others say it makes their life shorter nad shouldn't get even natural yoghurts (here I am).
 
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riddick07

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I question about the language simply because they are growing up in captivity. Is the language inherit to each species or are they learning a butchered cobbled together version in captivity? Like whale pods tend to have their own family Dialect/languages, so is it similar in parrots. So are parrots learning a language thatā€™s developed in captivity over the various species or is it still their own wild language for each species. I donā€™t know itā€™s just a thought Iā€™ve always had since my conures, cockatiels, cockatoo, & Amazon seem to communicate with each other to some degree. The littles can also set off the macaw in a panic. It seems the stranger danger call is similar over the species at least lol

Iā€™m not huge in hybrids of any species but that might be a leftover from the snakes & other exotics I have around here.

I offer a tent to the conures, a hiding corner for the cockatoo, a play box for the macaw but not in the cage for him. The amazon canā€™t have a box at all since it sets the hormones off like crazy. I think happy huts are just made like crap & thatā€™s what makes them dangerous since they fall apart if you just look at them. I get fleece huts off Etsy and they have lasted years without a single thread coming off. Small business handmade quality for the win! But yeah I have noticed we US people tend to be a crazy no on this issue.

I like keeping them flighted and recommend it myself. I donā€™t have a problem with free flight just wouldnā€™t do it myself unless I was training them for it since they were babies. I do tend to think we recommend clipping way too much still. I still remember being pissed that the shelter clipped my cockatoo before I took him home. We went thru something like 10-15 broken flight blood feathers while he grew them back since none of the new blood feathers had any protection.

I do offer human food off the dinner plate sometimes. I donā€™t really think it would reduce lifespan if itā€™s not even once a week but I could see why other countries itā€™s a no.

I donā€™t think having one parrot is an issue and never really heard of that from other bird people. I mean they do have large flock in the wild but wouldnā€™t go you have to have more than one or anything. It does make it easier when you can split attention with other birds so itā€™s not just on you the human for socializing haha. But my macaw, Amazon, & cockatoo are alone & they are fine. I have never gotten crap about it either.
 

Laurasea

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Charmed,

This comes off as derogatory to me, and for sure as an American ..
ā€œ , I can say that American do come off as very aggressive to me now, even the nicest of Americans ahahaha Itā€™s always a culture shock when I meet another American; I have to consciously code-switch to realise I shouldnā€™t be offended by how aggressive they sound and that a decade ago I wouldnā€™t have found that person aggressive at all (we probably would have had a lovely conversation)! ā€œ

I have yet to see a post that uses language to put down another culture ... perhaps the mods havenā€™t seen this yet.... what I see often is the forum working to understand each other , and understand there are differences

I have enjoyed and admired your participation and advice in this forum in the past. But yiu have also insulted Americans in the past. So I felt I had to say something this time.....
Sadly..... as I donā€™t wish to derail this thread, but as I would speak up fir others I must speak up for myself
 
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Rozalka

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I question about the language simply because they are growing up in captivity. Is the language inherit to each species or are they learning a butchered cobbled together version in captivity? Like whale pods tend to have their own family Dialect/languages, so is it similar in parrots. So are parrots learning a language thatā€™s developed in captivity over the various species or is it still their own wild language for each species. I donā€™t know itā€™s just a thought Iā€™ve always had since my conures, cockatiels, cockatoo, & Amazon seem to communicate with each other to some degree. The littles can also set off the macaw in a panic. It seems the stranger danger call is similar over the species at least lol

I'll write my opinion about different languages:
I think this is that "wild language". Especially if they live in flock of own species. In cases when somebody has one parrot, it may lose natural voice.
In the mentioned 2. point I am really divided (sorry, I was writing this world wrong all the time :D). Many Poles compare it to different people languages and I'll do it: Let's say an American is closed in one room with a Pole who doesn't speak English. They can't comunicate because of obvious reason. But if none of them don't wanna do something wrong like hitting they may try to be friends but would have a lot of problems. I think this is something like this in different species parrots which seem to be friends - they don't wanna wrong things but may have some problems in comunication but we don't see it.
But another situation: Let's say an American child and Polish child grow together. Children learn quickly and could learn their own languages. I'm not sure if this works in different parrot species but I think then they maybe understand each other
 

Ira7

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1) You know whatā€™s good for your bird and whatā€™s not. You can give human food very sparingly, once or twice a week maybe, but the same rules apply:

Chicken wings, eggs, pasta...but no salt, onions, garlic, tomato-based sauces, etc.

2) As long as the bird isnā€™t left alone for unreasonable periods of time (more than 8 hours), zero advantage to having more than one bird, and more often than not, an additional bird creates problems.

3) Birds need out of cage time...interaction with you...so I basically think itā€™s ridiculous to not clip them. A clipped bird gets the same exercise flapping his wings in place as one flying into a mirror, into a pot of boiling water, or out the front door. Every major flying injury is caused by FLYING.
 

charmedbyekkie

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Charmed,

This comes off as derogatory to me, and for sure as an American ..
ā€œ , I can say that American do come off as very aggressive to me now, even the nicest of Americans ahahaha Itā€™s always a culture shock when I meet another American; I have to consciously code-switch to realise I shouldnā€™t be offended by how aggressive they sound and that a decade ago I wouldnā€™t have found that person aggressive at all (we probably would have had a lovely conversation)! ā€œ

I have yet to see a post that uses language to put down another culture ... perhaps the mods havenā€™t seen this yet.... what I see often is the forum working to understand each other , and understand there are differences

I have enjoyed and admired your participation and advice in this forum in the past. But yiu have also insulted Americans in the past. So I felt I had to say something this time.....
Sadly..... as I donā€™t wish to derail this thread, but as I would speak up fir others I must speak up for myself

Perhaps weā€™re on different pages, and Iā€™m not translating myself well.

Iā€™m simply explaining that every culture has different norms of how people should interact and communicate with each other. Where I live, people donā€™t like to voice their personal opinions much, people donā€™t feel comfortable telling another person what to do outright. We work around it by either not engaging at all or speaking in an indirect way with many deferential qualifiers.

Example:
Person comes to the forum with a photo of a bird wearing a leg chain.
Two options of a response:ā€Øā€œDonā€™t use leg chains! Youā€™ll break your birdā€™s leg!ā€
Versus
[no comment on the leg chain] or ā€œI thought someone said that leg chains are risky. I donā€™t know lehā€¦.ā€

Cultures for which the second response is the norm are naturally going to find the first response aggressive.

And yes, I have witnessed complete cultural misses on this forum. When people were writing responses similar to the first response type, the original poster felt personally attacked. People then followed up with more of the first response type, saying that the original poster shouldnā€™t feel personally attacked.

I have witnessed these issues more than enough in my own childhood, having been raised in a mix culture home as an American and finally only understanding the pain my mother went through when I returned to her home country and assimilated into her culture. I still remember the phone call I had with her where we both cried over the fact that someone (surprisingly the most American child of hers) finally understood her, was able to identify, voice, and validate her struggle, and could empathise for once in her 3 decades in the US. The rest of my family members have never assimilated into another culture and still believe cultural differences are limited to clothing, methods of cleaning, etc.

If you don't agree with the idea that other cultures, even other places that use English as their main/official language, use the language differently and have different norms of how to interact (linguistically and psittaculturally), Iā€™m not sure how to proceed.

Iā€™m not sure where I have insulted you personally or Americans in general. If you could PM me a link where I insulted my fellow countrymen, that would be helpful for me to learn from it.
 

Ira7

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Charmed,

This comes off as derogatory to me, and for sure as an American ..
ā€œ , I can say that American do come off as very aggressive to me now, even the nicest of Americans ahahaha Itā€™s always a culture shock when I meet another American; I have to consciously code-switch to realise I shouldnā€™t be offended by how aggressive they sound and that a decade ago I wouldnā€™t have found that person aggressive at all (we probably would have had a lovely conversation)! ā€œ

I have yet to see a post that uses language to put down another culture ... perhaps the mods havenā€™t seen this yet.... what I see often is the forum working to understand each other , and understand there are differences

I have enjoyed and admired your participation and advice in this forum in the past. But yiu have also insulted Americans in the past. So I felt I had to say something this time.....
Sadly..... as I donā€™t wish to derail this thread, but as I would speak up fir others I must speak up for myself

Perhaps weā€™re on different pages, and Iā€™m not translating myself well.

Iā€™m simply explaining that every culture has different norms of how people should interact and communicate with each other. Where I live, people donā€™t like to voice their personal opinions much, people donā€™t feel comfortable telling another person what to do outright. We work around it by either not engaging at all or speaking in an indirect way with many deferential qualifiers.

Example:
Person comes to the forum with a photo of a bird wearing a leg chain.
Two options of a response:ā€Øā€œDonā€™t use leg chains! Youā€™ll break your birdā€™s leg!ā€
Versus
[no comment on the leg chain] or ā€œI thought someone said that leg chains are risky. I donā€™t know lehā€¦.ā€

Cultures for which the second response is the norm are naturally going to find the first response aggressive.

And yes, I have witnessed complete cultural misses on this forum. When people were writing responses similar to the first response type, the original poster felt personally attacked. People then followed up with more of the first response type, saying that the original poster shouldnā€™t feel personally attacked.

I have witnessed these issues more than enough in my own childhood, having been raised in a mix culture home as an American and finally only understanding the pain my mother went through when I returned to her home country and assimilated into her culture. I still remember the phone call I had with her where we both cried over the fact that someone (surprisingly the most American child of hers) finally understood her, was able to identify, voice, and validate her struggle, and could empathise for once in her 3 decades in the US. The rest of my family members have never assimilated into another culture and still believe cultural differences are limited to clothing, methods of cleaning, etc.

If you don't agree with the idea that other cultures, even other places that use English as their main/official language, use the language differently and have different norms of how to interact (linguistically and psittaculturally), Iā€™m not sure how to proceed.

Iā€™m not sure where I have insulted you personally or Americans in general. If you could PM me a link where I insulted my fellow countrymen, that would be helpful for me to learn from it.

It is a very common, very accepted viewpoint that us Americans come across as aggressive, as well as being phony in our friendliness.

But you explained it perfectly, that each culture lives by a different social code. You werenā€™t criticizing anyone in any way whatsoever.
 
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Rozalka

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1) You know whatā€™s good for your bird and whatā€™s not. You can give human food very sparingly, once or twice a week maybe, but the same rules apply:

Chicken wings, eggs, pasta...but no salt, onions, garlic, tomato-based sauces, etc.

2) As long as the bird isnā€™t left alone for unreasonable periods of time (more than 8 hours), zero advantage to having more than one bird, and more often than not, an additional bird creates problems.

3) Birds need out of cage time...interaction with you...so I basically think itā€™s ridiculous to not clip them. A clipped bird gets the same exercise flapping his wings in place as one flying into a mirror, into a pot of boiling water, or out the front door. Every major flying injury is caused by FLYING.
I hope it's not to me but to forum in general. In my opinion any meat is not good for parrots. We're talking about different cultures and opinions not writing what we can do or not. We are from different countries and have different opinions writing what is good or not would start an argue. I know I could be lost in your 1st point here because of being minority but not on Polish sites.
 

SailBoat

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As a means of getting back to the topic provided by the OP, I recommend that differences between cultures (language and tone) be left for another Off Topic Thread. Just my two cent...
 
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Rozalka

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As a means of getting back to the topic provided by the OP, I recommend that differences between cultures (language and tone) be left for another Off Topic Thread. Just my two cent...
Can super mods move it? I wasn't sure where to post - I didn't know members would start writing own opinions (I didn't have it in plans)
 

Laurasea

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When ever we talk about flight, it seems to such a hot topic. Birds have wings itā€™s their go to locomotion... I can understand that sometimes clipping wings is an option. But I will find and link about the science that shows other forms of parrot excercise doesnā€™t come close to flight, birds whole physiology is built around flight, as us eyesight and muscle and bone development.. Burds that have fledged and learned to fly well, dint go crashing into things.
Clipped burds still escape and can fly a mile ....
as you know I had my parrot out, I knew he was out, I foolishly thought he couldnā€™t make a standstill flight u turn and follow me out the door, he did and I havenā€™t been able to find him. Parrot rescue 911 has been a wonderful resource, and even they are pro flight and asked me not to clip his wings when I recover him, and told me most of the burds list are clipped. I can tell you I do not regret keeping him flighted. I do regret that I wasnā€™t careful
 

SailBoat

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As a means of getting back to the topic provided by the OP, I recommend that differences between cultures (language and tone) be left for another Off Topic Thread. Just my two cent...
Can super mods move it? I wasn't sure where to post - I didn't know members would start writing own opinions (I didn't have it in plans)

IMHO, your Thread is in the correct Forum.
Your discussion points perfectly fit.
 

Terry57

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Rozalka, your thread is fine where it is. I find it interesting to hear about the differences in forums and bird groups in other countries.

While cultures may be different in tone, I would hope that everyone has a bird's best interest in mind. Bird forums exist so people can gain knowledge about the best way to care for their birds. Can people sometimes be more considerate about how they say things? Absolutely.

However, I feel that getting the information to someone who may not know better is important. The way it is presented is key to having someone learn. This is something to keep in mind no matter where someone is from.

I think that as long as people are shown respect that an educational dialogue can be had, no matter where the poster is from.
Parrot Forums may be based in the US, but we have members from all over the world. Everyone is welcome, and all deserve respect. People wouldn't be here if they didn't want to learn to do better for their feathered friends. I ask that we all keep this in mind when talking about different cultures.
 
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chris-md

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2010
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Maryland - USA
Parrots
Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Having lived in both Japan and Europe, I'm always sensitive to cultural differences. I fully take and agree with you, Charmed, some cultures tend to be more passive, whereas Americans are definitely more direct, which may be misunderstood by others. But being an online forum, we have an added layer: we are also dealing with TEXT. Emotions often don't convey through text, and I'll say it loud here: The times posters though I was being "too harsh", had I said the same thing in person, there would NEVER be any misunderstanding of my intent or tone. I'm direct but never harsh.

Text is just a challenge. Then throw in cultural disparities on top of that, and you have a recipe for disaster just as much as beautiful meeting of the minds.

To Charmed's point about new members taking umbridge, I'll disagree somewhat - only to say many of the recent people who were offended were actually Americans. Many Americans can dish out the directness, but they can't take it and expect their butts to be kissed. Its that american entitlement and sensitivity. We've had several examples lately, even with frequent posters. They demand a yes for answer, and get angry when the answer is no; the NO catches them off guard. Most PEOPLE aren't great at being told NO, especially when not expecting it.

And I wholeheartedly agree with you Rozalka, to a point, about people doing things different ways. In many cases cultural differences are just that, cultural. And judegements should be set aside. To me personally, however, its important to remember that just because its cultural doesn't make it correct. Facts are facts.

As a non-controversial example: Leg chains were brought up by Charmed. Its an anatomical, scientific fact that psittacine legs aren't built for the chains and jesses, originally designed for raptors. Asian countries can argue all they want about how its "culturally just what we do"...doesn't mean they have science on their side or that its any better for the bird

As a slightly more controversial example, to equally pick on americans: We are all here *MOSTLY* like minded where it comes to clipping, but America as a whole is still a mixed bag. If we keep the relatively common assumption here that clipping is not a great practice, then America may "culturally" prefer to clip, doesn't mean that culturally they are doing the right thing when clipping. Americans work HARD in many respects, but they can also be lazy AF not wanting to put the work in.
 
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