Good Deeds

[jessicaboyer89]

Last week I met my new PERFECT friend. Her, hubby and baby moved in across the street from me. We hit it off smashingly! Well....they introcduced me to their cockateil. Poor thing was in a teeny TINY cage and really had no place to move. My heart sank when I saw him. If he stretched his wings out he hit both sides. The door on the thing was probably too small for my parrotlet. On top of the small cage with no toys and super small food dishes, they also had him in the closet. (They weren't trying to be cruel by any means, they are just uneducated about birds). Well, he is a sweet bird and I had to do something. I took my new friend to my apartment first and introduced her to Tiki so she could see how happy Tiki was in her nice big cage with lots of toys. (Actually Tiki is still in her hospital aquarium, but she got the picture). Then yesterday at the pet store I just went ahead and bought him a bigger cage! It was SOOO much fun! I bought a comfy rope perch, a toy with beads and a bell and a nice colorful pinata! Oh my gosh....the cute little guy LOVED it! He was chirping and playing with his bell (sticking his head up inside of it...so cute)!
It made me VERY happy to do something nice for this sweet, beautiful cockateil. Does anyone else have a similar story to share? I'd love to hear them!!!

[Rue]

...I'm glad you're helping out...

...er, I don't understand the rationale (esp. if it's not intended cruelty) behind keeping a bird in a closet?...

[jessicaboyer89]

Rue,
They were not doing so with cruel intent. It wasn't meant to be punishment nor was it done with a mean spirit.

[The Outlaw]

Jess, that's a very kind a generous thing to do. By taking the initiative in thoughtful and helpful way, you may have forever changed the course of this bird's history. I commend you.

[Rue]

Originally Posted by jessicaboyer89

Rue,
They were not doing so with cruel intent. It wasn't meant to be punishment nor was it done with a mean spirit. Was it still wrong? Yes. Is it cruel? Yes.

Yes, I understand that. I was just wondering if they mentioned why they thought the closet was a good place to keep the bird. There must be some thought process behind it - and I was just wondering what it was.

i.e. Did they do it to keep the bird free from drafts? Did they think it would be less stressful for the bird? Were they wanting to min. the mess?...

[DocT]

That was a very nice thing you did for the bird and also for the owners. Mayby now when they see the tiel so happily at play they will want to allow him to be more a part of their life.

Bonnie

[basketbagley]

Great job JB!! and a really nice thing to do!! You really changed that birds life!

[Monica]

The closest I can come to is giving the toys that I buy for Noel that she doesn't pay attention to, and give them to an alexandrine who chews his feathers and is greatly misunderstood and is on a horrible diet. I atleast give him something to hopefully chew on for a week or two besides his feathers (his mate use to pluck him before she passed away).

Other than that, I occasionally take care of a friends birds (well, they belong to his step-dad, though no one really takes care of them, they are in a dirty cage which I've cleaned before, and have a budgie nestbox because they think that oh my gosh she laid an egg and it's going to hatch! Also, these birds are often starved and living off of a wild bird seed diet.)

[dino24]

JB that is so sweet that you did that for them. Now maybe the bird can live out its life in a happy and healthy way. Good for you.

[lyoness]

I applaud you. You have a big heart... thank goodness you were able to educate one of the many bird owners that doesn't know any better!