Newspaper ads...so sad

[Bonesy]

Originally Posted by jriley

The other moral is to have your spouse or friend hold your credit card for you when you go into a pet store LOL.
Julie

Agreed. All the way.

On Subject,

I'm terrible as an impulse buyer, BUT I will research the animal to death before actually handing over any money.

My first bird was an impulse. The local pet shop here know me well and often give me deformed fish. One afternoon I was buying a deformed fantail fish and the owner said "there's a deformed budgie in there if you want her too!!"

I thought about it and decided as we had a cat it wouldn't be practical. Yet the thought niggled for a few days and it really dawned on my how little the cat was actually in the house. I read up on everything I could find, and tried to put her out of my mind. The expense of the cage was putting me off. (I don't have much money to myself)

However I made the awful mistake of asking to see her one week when I was in there. Needles to say she came home with me the next day.

Luck would have it that the day before I went to the shop, my landlady had emptied the flat attic and had chucked a load of cages by the bins, one being a nice big teil cage. A buff with some wirewool and a bleach and it was fine.

Sadly though many shops will target the BAD impulse buyers out there, but I'm greatfull my local isn't one of them. They know me well and I often swap my home bred guppy fish for birds or kit there.

And on the same note, there are many genuine reasons for Ads, and many sinister ones. I place my rehoming ads in the papers so I can hopefully catch the genuine people needing a new loving home for that bird they just don't have the commitments for. and that is often the case. They dont have enough time to devote to the bird, and I'd rather they re homed the bird with someone like me than ignored it until it became a chronic biter and screamer while pulling out every feather in it's hide. We all know the sad storeys of the pluckers, biters and screamers. And, you can imagine, It's often where they start, isnt it?

[cbalvino]

well this is how 58 fids have been rehomed with me! How ever for the "most" part,my flock was given to me,even a couple of petsmarts with foot deformed birds,when i inquire on CL I tell folks that I don't purchase birds,so if they are looking just for the $ they don't contact me,but if they want agreat home they do,sometimes they ask for a fee because they are afraid to put "free"most of mine were truly loved but different life things happen,I don't judge others,I keep in touch if they want,send pics,and tell them of any illness or problem.I have turned down some esp when I first started out,I got more as I learned more.I am fortunate to have the time and resources to care for them!

[Wally]

This is a good thread, as it helps us to be aware of the realization that some birds were bought as an impulse purchase, or with the fact of someone not doing their homework. I do like the thought of calling some ads back and talking to the person to see if they need help understanding their bird, or to help them find solutions, if not at least to push them a little towards a club or rescue for a link to find a good home. There are a lot of birds sold, and we do see some for sale/adoption, some are truly legitimate [health reasons, having to move where you can't have parrots, etc., etc.] and some are from people who didn't know what they were getting into.
My first parrot, BFA, Pepe, was a rehome. I purchased him from a man that was trying to find a home for him as he had gotten married to a lady with toddlers and they were not bird saavy. He asked for $240 and I was glad to give it to him. He threw in the cage as well. My Pepe bonded with me right from the start. We had Pepe for 8-1/2 years before he died from a liver tumor/cancer. I will never forget him, and get choked up a little every time I think of him.
After 3 months, I replied to an ad on an amazon group for a Mex. Redhead Amazon needing a home. This bird was left at a parrot breeders [of a different parrot species] with a note of 'I'm over it'. The breeder put the ad out on the Amazon group, and being I had an empty cage and room in my heart, I answered the ad. I've yet to find out what was to get over, as she [turned out to be a Lilac Crown Amazon] is the sweetest little girl. She fit very well in our flock. The breeder was just interested in placing her in a good home, and didn't ask for any $$. Our Skippy is just what I needed to help me over the loss of my Pepe, and such a different personality that I can no way compare the two. We've had her for almost two years now.
Wally

[AndreaSctlnd]

Originally Posted by Vega

I was reading through the pet ads in my local paper today...and I'm just so sad at what I saw! 1 african grey, 1 moluccan too, 1 scarlet macaw (for $600??), 1 umbrella too, 1 conure, and 1 grasslands parakeet....these ads were placed by 4 different people!! (the grey, conure, and keet were in the same ad)

I'm just so sad to see that many babies "for sale". And the macaw I'm worried about...$600?! It said something about calling for more info, so I'm thinking there's more to the story. Yes, I'm half tempted to call, but I KNOW I don't have the room or money to support another baby at the moment.

It's jsut so so sad.

What part of PA did you see this add? I contacted a "woman" who was "selling" her gray and wanted $400.00 for it. I contacted "her" via email through the add and "she" never let me have any information on her...just wanted me to send her the money and the flight information and "she" would send it right to me. I think maybe it could be a fraud, like mine was.

[Cece4]

I havent read all the posts so sorry if I say something already said.
But I think with the economy the way it is and with all the foreclosures we will see more and more pets on Craigslist and others.
I know in our area the craigslist has been hoppin, but the asking prices are outragious.Its like they dont really care about the pet as long as they get thier investment back..The newest ads Ive seen are buy the cage for 600 or whatever and get the bird for free.WHAT? Its all about the money...

[Icednova625]

The story on the scarlet could be that it was a breeder/or vicious. In both cases that would probably put the price down to what they want.

Its unfortunate to see these kind of things, But we don't know the situation the sellers are going through.

I was once reading through the classifieds in a local newspaper. The ad I noticed was "free african grey 6 months old" I tried for days and days to get ahold of the people and never could.
All I was thinking is its just a baby! For a good week all i was hoping is that the people giving it away was particular in who they gave it to and that it got a good home.

[mommyof8]

I too have done alot of research on different birds and am getting a Parrotlet the end of next week. The breeder emailed and she is finally weaned. I did go and get her items needed to care for her ..cage etc.. and there were about 15-20 parakeets in a glass cage... and one was following me when I'd walk by. I watched him for awhile and almost took him home.
Went home and continued my search on more birds and focused on the parakeet. and I went back the next day and brought him home.. He has been an amazing little boy...
I too have looked at craiglist in my area and have contacted a few via email.. they all want hundred's of $$$$ as already been said for the new cage and a bird with the cage. I mean come on....
The one that bothers me the most. is 2 conures and wanted a couple of hundred and cage would be extra ..as they had only had these babies about 3 months and moved into a smaller home and didn't have the room for them. man that just burns my skin...
I emailed back and wished them good luck in finding them a home ..but if nt'..my heart and home are open to them... I never heard back.
It's obvious that having a bird and all of it's care costs money.. but if research is done ..then it's apparent ......
Ok this subject has set me off. my heart is big and has alot of room and jsut upsets me so ....
thanks for letting me vent that out..

[anbrownucsd]

If I was going to rehome my birds I would definitely ask money for them in the ad. If someone contacted me and said that they could not afford the bird, but had a open home I would doubt that they had the money to care for the bird. Caring for a bird the way that I do is very expensive. If I found a great home for the bird, I would let it go for free with no problem.

I am a college student and you have no idea how many of my friends have seen ads for free pets that sound cool to them, so they get the pet. I have seen puppies rehomed, cats rehomed, not to mention a lot of birds rehomed! When people offer their pets for free or close to free THAT encourages impulse homes! College students gets pets that they are not ready or prepared to care for. I am NOT saying that this is all college students, like I said, I am a college student and take very good care of my pets.

The point is, I am sure there are many good homes out there for a rehomed bird. But if you can't afford the 'adoption fee' then you probably can't afford the bird. Furthermore, if people take the risk of putting their pet up for free then they cannot be sure that the new home is serious. Also, oftentimes shelters will not take unwanted birds! If they are full then they will not take your parrot and you are left with no option but to try to rehome them yourself.

We should spend less time making assumptions or judging those who are rehoming their birds, like previous posts have said.

[loyallyroyal]

theres normally 2 kinds of ads

theres the ones that make me mad ex.
Im having a baby and dont want my pet anymore, Ive had him/her for 8 years and they suddenly outgrew my yard, its no longer a puppy, it got too old

and the ones that make me sad ex.
There was one lady on craigslist a while back that was giving up her 14 year old African Grey since she was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer and had no family to take the bird

so it really depends of the circumstance, some people no longer want the responsibility and others are looking in the interest of their pets

[BigBird]

I agree with loyallyroyal, I get so upset seeing those ads around here especially for dogs and cats where a new baby is about to come into the family and now poor poochy of many years and a loyal friend has to find a new home quickly or is going to be euthanised!! Euthanise the human I say! The ones that make me even madder are the ones that then want hundreds of dollars for the dog as well!! The poor animal has done nothing wrong and there is no reason for them to rehome it. Learn to live together. I guess in most of these cases the dog is probably better off with someone who will take care of it rather than leave it in the yard and never spend time with it. But I dont know, those people make me really angry.

In regards to selling birds. I dont see anything wrong with putting a price tag on it. I sell babies all the time, but I keep them at private market rate, and the proceeds go towards buying food and supplies for the birds I have in the aviaries. Its not cheap to feed 100+ birds of different species. So a baby tiel sold at $80 gets one months worth of seed for the rest of them. However if I ever had to rehome one of my inside birds it would be a different story. I would probably GIVE them to someone I knew and trusted well enough to know that they loved the bird after being at my place many times and knew they would look after it well If I had to rehome Hector, and believe me I have thought about it sometimes, he can be so noisy and annoying!! I would approach my sister first, she and her sons adore him or another friend of mine who has some of my baby tiels. But as annoying as he is he is part of the family and I love him, just wish he would shut up sometimes!!

At the end of the day, if you know longer have the lifestyle that enables you to take proper care of your pet or you just dont want to find the time to do it properly then rehome it. Whether you ask money for it or not is up to the individual. There are a lot of buy and resellers out there looking for a bargain, so maybe dont make it to easy for them. But nothiung wrong for asking for money. I think the reason for the sale is more the problem than the price tag. A lot of people do just see them as an animal. How can you give up you companion of many years just like that. Unless there was a real danger then I would try my hardest to make it work. But unfortunately not everybody out there thinks like us.