Rescued CAG

[Alika]

Oh, wow. 16? Is this true?

It is great that your heart is in the right place, but at 16 years old you just aren't in a good position to be able to take this and do really well with it. Please don't take that the wrong way.

Learn all you can now, and one day, when you have your own place and plenty of money to spend, if you still feel the same way there will be plenty of needy birds for you to rescue.

[spectre]

I'd second that. I've got about 6 months before I'm 30 and I just recently felt that I was in a position financially and timewise to have birds. (Of course my loves are the bigger macaws).
You need to think about what could happen to them in two years when you head off to college.

[~AshlieNicole~]

As I said earlier I do have a house that my family owns that will be devoted to my rescues. I do have wealthy parents. I dont think money is a problem. I just wanted to say that even though most of you do not believe I can do this, some of you do and I really appreciate that. Also I really dont think that it matters that I am 16. Ya know there are too many people out there who think that young people cant do very much to help out their communtiy. Well for most young adults that is true, but not for me. I understand your concerns, but seriously dont worry about me. And Alika I was talking about to get people to hand over their birds too my rescue. their are so many people here in Kansas who just find it easier and less expensive to just let their birds go or worse. I have been doing my rescue for about 2 weeks now and not one response from anyone except for the lady from Chad. Which Im starting to believe is a scam. I still havent got those health documents yet. Not even a picture. Well anyway thanks to everyone who doesnt compare age with maturity and ability.

[~AshlieNicole~]

Oh and too add one more thing to my last post, I am homeschooled online so time isnt an issue either.

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by ~AshlieNicole~

I have been doing my rescue for about 2 weeks now and not one response from anyone except for the lady from Chad. Which Im starting to believe is a scam. I still havent got those health documents yet. Not even a picture. Well anyway thanks to everyone who doesnt compare age with maturity and ability.

First of all, we told you it was a scam and you refused to believe us. That doesn't sound like someone mature enough to "run" a rescue. Have you asked your parents what they think? Go ahead. See what they say.

You are still in school and should be devoting your time to studying and caring for your own birds. Even if it is "homeschool online" (whatever that is), if "time isn't an issue" then you are not learning what you need to. If you have a few extra hours a week then volunteer with a local rescue.

Your parents may very well be wealthy but without proper liability insurance for your "rescue" activities, they are in a position to lose everything they have.

Your heart is in the right place but you aren't in a place in your life where you could properly rescue birds--especially the ones who commonly wind up in rescues: behavior problems, pluckers, etc.

[~AshlieNicole~]

First of all, I have spoke with my parents. They are the ones letting me use our extra house. Second, I just didnt think it was a scam, Im sorry for not believing anyone, but saying that someone is not mature just because they believed someone who wasnt tellin the truth? Thats absurd. I just have alot of faith in people. Your seriously think that I am that stupid to not know that I will need money for cages, food, toys, vet visits and things like that? I have plenty of money and I dont think that money should be any of your business. If Im going to do this then noone including you is going to stop me. I am just trying to do a good thing and thats what I plan on doing. So if I dont have any support then I guess thats fine.

[Freedomoflight]

You dont know how many birds you will get dumped on you. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it doesnt sound like you have it all planned out. A rescue usually IS NONPROFIT, because even if you do charge an adoption fee, that goes for food and housing for the bird (not all birds come with cages) toys, vet bills, etc. Plus, once its known that you have a "rescue" going on, you will get more birds then you know what to do with. Believe me. I am part of a birdclub that rehomes/rescues birds, and sometimes we get it 10 birds a day, half of those being macaws, cockatoos, larger birds. It may not seem like a lot, but if you are limited to 1 house, and you get 10 birds a day a couple times a month... you are going to have more birds then you know what to do with. These birds come with baggage a lot of the time. They come sick, or come because they are 'so aggressive I just cant handle him anymore' (thats how I got two of my birds) etc....
as for the congo grey thing- each bird has its own personality. Congos are usually sweet birds, but tend to be very one person type birds, unless well socialized at an early age. They are dusty, as they do not have an oil gland, but they are not half as dusty as a cockatoo. The first thing that came to my mind when I read this, is that if this is not a scam, you are going to be getting an illegal, wild caught bird. Just known, that if you do get an email from this person with shot records, etc, photos, those can all be easily falsified. I wouldnt do it. It is of course, a scam.
And my last 10 cents on the rescue thing, I dont belive I know of any rescues that are out there to make money. If you are not-nonprofit, sounds like you are out to make money, and that is not the right mindset to be running a rescue.

[~AshlieNicole~]

I am not trying to just make money. I have said many times in my last posts that I am just trying to do my part. I am going to be a non-profit rescue. I understand all of the challenges that are ahead of me. If I get 10 birds in at once I will just start using another one of my families extra homes. We have 5 here in town that we purchased so that should not be a problem.

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by ~AshlieNicole~

If I get 10 birds in at once I will just start using another one of my families extra homes. We have 5 here in town that we purchased so that should not be a problem.

No, see, you can only take in as many birds as YOU can properly care for--that means cleaning, cooking for them, playing, etc. Just storing them in various places without proper care is called HOARDING not rescuing.

Also, I really don't see people turning over their birds to a 16 year old. JMO.

[spectre]

Your responses nicely outlines the general issue - Maturity. You may have all the money in the world and all the resources and goodwill and may be bright but you lack the life experience and maturity. You are assuming people are attacking you which is not the case. You are still a child. While every teenager I've met, myself at your age included, assumes they are an adult and just not legally recognized as such you will find this not to be true. The number of personality and outlook changes you are going to go through over the next ten years are huge.

What the general age issue boils down to is two things: First you may find yourself not so interested in a year or two and then you have a large number of animals which suddenly find themselves in a precarious place. The bird I may buy is coming from a situation where a teenager older than yourself, who also breed and rescued birds, changed his interest after a few years and left it to his (also wealthy) parents. This wasn't fair to the creature and the boy in question originally had the absolute best of intentions. Fortunately the parents were caring people so the bird is safe.

Second, real behavioural problems are tough and generally it takes a long time to be able to really care for rescues. Some of the people here have decades of experience and still have problems.

In general no one here is attacking you, rather they are pointing out that given your age and future changes you are probably not in a position to really help these creatures in anything other than the very short term. Given that you were easily taken by an obvious scam you may well end up being duped into situations wherein you are harming the creatures more than helping them.

You probably wont change your mind but just think about it carefully. People are here to promote the welfare of pet birds and that is the angle people are taking with you. Ask yourself if you are SURE that what you are doing is helpful in the long term. Call the Gabriel Foundation and talk with them www.thegabrielfoundation.org Do your research, homework, etc. Let the idea percolate for a year while you gain the necessary background to appreciate it. Just be sure, you may be a one in a million possibility but be sure.

EDIT
I don't see this girl as out to turn a profit or collect birds for hoarding. I think we all have the right intentions but some of the responses seem a bit confrontational and I think she is honestly well intentioned.