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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
| Unnatural Acts: Fair or Not? |
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My parrotlet is involved in unnatural acts that I believe should be reported. There was a lengthy discussion awhile back on this forum about the fairness of keeping birds without opposite sex partners and with clipped wings. Much of the debate was about giving the bird a lifestyle as natural as possible. Mine is an only bird, clipped for now, and bonded to people and cats.
This week, I took my little bird to a nursing home in my pocket. We were sitting at the table where demented people are fed. At the other end of the table was a woman who only rarely responded to others and who had never initiated conversation. Her face was totally vacant and she sat, motionless, staring into space, when suddenly she asked, "What kind of bird is that?" The stunned aids sat silent while I responded to each of the woman’s perfectly logical questions—name, how old, how big, won’t she fly away, will she cuddle, etc. She held the bird for a long time, learned how to pet her, then watched her eat and do her tricks. For a half hour, this woman was interacting as a normal person. The bird was calm and attentive.
I was then asked to take the bird to see the woman’s roommate. That lady was lucid, but her hands shook so badly that the bird could barely hang on to her finger. So I held the bird in my palm and showed the woman how to pet her. After a couple of unsuccessful petting attempts, the bird solved the problem by pressing her beak against my finger so that she could remain perfectly still and in the correct position for the shaky hand that was trying to pet her. ("Ooooh, she's sooo soft!")
Do you think this is fair to the bird? |
Thursday October 19, 2006 12:38 am |
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Jrmno1
Flying tumbler
Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Posts: 2310
Location: Ohio, USA |
Meg,
There is no argument from me on this and many other things. What is natural for a bird or anyother animal. Is it Natural for us to keep Penn alive. He would sure be long time dead, and Dawn, should we turn her loss in the wild, how long would she survie. And Man, is it natural for use to buy land and build houses, Should we not burn our house and all our clothes and other belongs and chase after wild animals. I wonder how long that german young lady would survie.
We from a partnership with our birds, true enough they don't have much choice. But how much of a choice do they have in the wild.
Ok, I'll get off my soap box.......
John |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 12:57 am |
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Jrmno1
Flying tumbler
Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Posts: 2310
Location: Ohio, USA |
Oh, I think it is wonderfull that you took your bird with you. Maybe we could get together some saturday and go together. I have a couple of birds that love company, I know Carrie would love that...
John |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 12:59 am |
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cheekie_birdy
Experienced flier
Joined: 08 Jul 2006
Posts: 1719
Location: Canada |
that is sooo sweet!!
I agree with you. That is totally fair to the bird and your parrotlet seemed to enjoy being petted. And the women defiatley (sp) enjoyed your visit with your parrotlet.
Everyone has their own way of keeping birds. Some like the girl who started the topic kept her greys flighted, in an aviary, with a partner of the same species and opposite sex, as some other people do. Some people keep their birds without partners, clipped wings, no aviaries etc. But all that really matters is that the bird is happy and it is being cared for properly (right diet, clean enviroment, etc.) I guess everyone has their own way of doing it. Neither of these are right or wrong. Everyone has a different situation and a different bird, and we're all different people. Thats what makes this world so fun. Nothing is the same.  |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 1:00 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
That was a wonderful thing you & your parrotlet did Meg! You sure made their day, didn't you? Heck ... who knows, maybe you made their whole YEAR!
I got so tired of arguing on that other thread, when there was no "correct" answer. But it sure sounds like your baby was having a good time  |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 2:22 am |
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Yupra
Flying tumbler
Joined: 05 Feb 2006
Posts: 2206
Location: CA |
Oh that little parrotlet must be a special one, to do such a thing for a shaky hand! I think thats a wonderful story  |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 2:35 am |
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joti26
Fledgeling
Joined: 07 Aug 2005
Posts: 222
Location: Northants. UK |
Wow! I think that is amazing, well done you and your little bird. I too couldn't bear that thread any longer I think it was me that started it after asking whether my sennie would be ok with a Grey! You as a caring person would know if your bird was distressed in any way. Similarly when I took Pico in to school. I had a contingency plan if he was distressed in any way. I would have had him out of there in a shot if I felt or saw he was distressed. As it happened he loved it, his responses and relaxed body language told me that! I will take him in again after half term. Incidentally my sennie is far happier now and my new baby is just adorable! Trust your own judgement and don't let others judge you. Your bird would let you know! |
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Thursday October 19, 2006 8:29 pm |
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chispleeze
Flier
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 475
Location: Upstate NY |
I think it's great that you took her with you. I used to take my dogs to a nearby nursing home and it was a great experience for everyone.
People sometimes forget (or ignore) the fact that while birds in the wild may be free to fly around and mate at will, they also live continually having to be alert for predators, forage for food and sometimes starve for lack of it. They lose their mates, babies to predators. Endure sometimes harsh climate/rain conditions, etc. Are poached. Are killed for food. Killed for being pests to crops....etc. I think if my guys were given the choice they'd rather be in their nice climate controled castles with plenty of good food, fun things to do and a humand servant to wait on their every need.
Robin |
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Friday October 20, 2006 7:04 pm |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7405
Location: Canada, Toronto |
That's a sweet story
Sorry if I'm being dense, but I don't understand your question? Is what fair to the bird? The fact that you took her to the nursing home?
Nothing in a companion bird's life who is kept in captivity is natural, even if they live in a big aviary, have a mate, and are able to fly in the house, it's still not natural. So the big question is, is it fair to keep birds as pets in the first place? |
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Friday October 20, 2006 10:02 pm |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
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quote:
Sorry if I'm being dense, but I don't understand your question? Is what fair to the bird? The fact that you took her to the nursing home?
Yes, that I took her to a strange place full of demented people who I let handle her and trusted them not to hurt her. With clipped wings, she could have fallen and been run over with a wheel chair or stepped on, etc. At 28 grams, she is pretty vulnerable. It struck me that the bird was being used by us humans for... well, therapy. Remembering the long thread about creating a natural environment for your bird, I thought how totally opposite this was and began to wonder if anyone might criticize me for USING my bird this way.
Actually, the experience confirmed my notions and settled the question for me. My subjective observation was that the bird saw a job she could do and loved doing it. She really seemed to tune in to those people. My objective observation is that the bird did not scream at all that day. either there or at home, and I had been having a lot of trouble with her screaming whenever I left the room. I believe the trip to the nursing home enriched her life as much as it helped the old ladies. |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 3:02 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7405
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Well, I'm glad you came to that conclusion No, taking her to the old age home wasn't unfair in my opinion. Birds are really social animals and they love showing off, so I think it's a good thing to take them to new places and introduce them to new people. If there's one thing I worry about a lot with my birds is the possibility of them getting bored, because I don't take them outside to new places enough. The things you described that could have been dangers to her could have happened in your own home too, one time my lovebird had flown to the floor and I hadn't noticed and I steped on his tail and the whole thing came out. If I had stepped one inch over, I could have stepped on his body and killed him. We have to keep a close watch on our birds and be careful with them no matter where we are. I think you taking your bird out of your home and allowing her to experience fresh air, and new places and new adventures is a very good thing and your bird must love you for it |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 3:14 am |
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meg832
Fledgeling
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 365
Location: Ohio |
Oh, and thank you all for your comments. You put a lot of food for thought here.
quote:
Maybe we could get together some saturday and go together. I have a couple of birds that love company, I know Carrie would love that..
That sounds like fun, but don't wait for me! Just get your body and your bird over to the closest nursing home and see what happens! (You might want to check to be sure they allow animals first!) You might have a little Florence Nightengale, too! |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 3:16 am |
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fruitynutbird
Fledgeling
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 226
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I think your story is really inspirational! I'd certainly look forward to doing something like this, too! Many people in hospitals and other institutions feel really bored...sometimes the arrival of their meal is the only (somewhat) interesting thing for them for the entire day!  |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 5:42 am |
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fruitynutbird
Fledgeling
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 226
Location: Sydney, Australia |
The only issue I'm a bit worried about is whether the bird is at risk of catching something (eg, psittacosis) from the patients (and indeed, from the staff, too)...
Andrew |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 5:57 am |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7405
Location: Canada, Toronto |
 um.. how would the people at the nursing home have psittacocis? And I'm pretty sure if the staff had it they would stay home from work that day  I'm pretty sure the only mode of tranmission is through contact with open lesions or through breathing in dust from dried fecal matter of an infected bird. I don't think the nursing home people are leaving any of their dried poop lying around for the bird to breathe in I don't think this is something to worry about, chances of people who don't have any contact with birds in the first place having the disease is unlikely, and even if they for some reason did, chances of them transmitting it to the bird is again unlikely. The only place to worry about catching something like this is the petstore. |
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Saturday October 21, 2006 1:13 pm |
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