bird hoarding

[PyscoFalcon]

Sorry but that's a load of bull.
I used to have over 300 animals (mostly rodents) at one point. They were ALL well looked after and I was looking after them on my own. I even had the RSPCA come round and look and give me a guinea pig on death row (sugar who I still have)

You make up a rota of what cages need doing on Monday, what on Tuesday etc, bird cages are MUCH easier to clean out that rodent tanks and cages too.

Normally I would clean a few tanks out in morning, a few in afternoon and 1 at night. Every morning when I got up and every night before I went to bed I would feed and water.

Birds had there own room and were out of there cages all day unless I had to go out so that room needed mopping up once a week too ontop of vacing.

Between cage cleanings normal house chores were done and yes had time to "play" with the animals too. Some even ran all over my desk whilst I was using PC. Piggers had the hallway to run around in for exercise too.

My pets

That link shows just a handful I had at the time. Now tell me there not all happy and healthy and it's impossible.

Sorry for the rant but I'm fed up of people saying it's impossible to look after that many on there own and them still been healthy and happy just cos they themselves can't look after that many.

[Cece4]

You may have been able to keep them clean but could you have one on one time with each one..How can you adopt out an animal if you havent had time to retrain it or make it used to people? Then you have an animal that is unsocialized/untrained and not a good pet(free roaming is not training or socializing even though it is better then a cage).You may have been a breeder that kept your facility clean and thats great but birds take alot more training and socialization then a rodent especially if they have been neglected or abused(which is what a rescue is all about).

Im sorry but I used to have reptiles and I saw "several" rescues that called themselves rescues just to attain free animals so they could hoard them in tiny bins and call it a good life for the animal..It was very depressing and made me very cynical.

[angelicarboreals]

In some ways I have to agree with CeCe. Even if he was well meaning and did clean cage thoroughly before his injury there were over 100 birds in the house and he was apparently taking care of them on his own.

I have nine parrots (four of them larger) and it is a job and a half to clean those cages by myself. I spend upwards of three hours a day in the bird room (I am OCD about my bird room) cleaning- changing papers, dusting, cleaning out the air purifier system, sweeping, mopping and then feeding and giving baths. That is just basic maintenance and does not include interaction time. I could not imagine having that times ten and not having any help. With 100 birds, even if he spent four hours feeding and cleaning and another four interacting (did this guy work- because eight hours dedicated towards birds a day is ALOT) that is only 4 hours x 60 minutes / 100 birds = 2.4 minutes of interaction time apiece!!! If he spent all of the eight hours interacting that would only double the time, giving 4 minutes on average per bird of interaction time.

And what about vet care for the birds? A basic avian wellness exam (minus bloodwork) runs about $60-75 where I live per bird. More if the vet wants to run tests because something looks funny or needs addressing. Can you honestly tell me this guy had $6,000 (that is a low estimate) to spend to make sure his birds were healthy? To take in so many birds without the funds and man power to keep your animals well cared for and healthy is asking for trouble. You should always plan ahead for trouble, because at some point or another ALL of us will be in a position (even temporarily) to not be able to care for our birds. To not plan ahead is inexcusable. That borders on animal cruelty if you asked me.

The bottom line is that you must know your limit as a bird owner. Sure, I would love to have the other six birds on craigslist near me that need rescuing but I understand that I cannot help them all and neither could he. I do not know this man personally, but I can understand that however well meaning he was he got WAY in over his head. If he wanted to rescue all the birds, that is fine- but at some point he should realize that holding on to all these birds was not doing him any favors at all and that an adoption process should have been put into place. Keeping the birds there in such a communal living situation is doing them an injustice and keeping them from finding a potential owner that would be able to give them LOTS of one on one attention.

I will get off my soapbox now.

[amanda143]

He actually did have an adoption system in place. I remember a while back he even held a raffle that raised quite a bit of money. Just because you don't have $10000 to spend on medical care for your birds does not mean he doesn't!

[Lisa B]

another thing to add, he has had birds LONGER then there has been avian vets, so in another post, I noted how the vets would also go to him to learn.
If caring for a bird is any other labor than an labor of love, then one shouldnt own birds. like stated because one person cant imagine taking care of so many, they cant judge what one person can due, because they couldnt.


just imagine what chapters in a book we choose to remember should something happen to any of us. And remember the people who dont even know you, will rip you apart and judge you because they can.

Actions speak louder then words. This man made a difference in the 50 or so years he spent in aviculture. Bottom line, when he needed help, he got none, and now the monday night quaterbacking begins.

[odhinn]

Hoarding is a mental disorder and most hoarders that collect animals also hoard anything else they can get there hands on. We use to call these people pack rats. Here is an article from a psychological study of animal hoarders. Read and see who actual hoarders are and what they do. My opinion still stands that John was not a hoarder just a guy that liked to help birds in need. He had more birds then I would ever have but I/we are not a professional rescue either.Warning!!! make sure you have the time to read. It is extremely long.

People Who Hoard Animals - Psychiatric Times

[mundyzoo]

Does he have a job or is he home all day? I would think taking care of 100 birds would be more than fulltime work.

[angelicarboreals]

Originally Posted by amanda143

He actually did have an adoption system in place. I remember a while back he even held a raffle that raised quite a bit of money. Just because you don't have $10000 to spend on medical care for your birds does not mean he doesn't!

Who ever said I did not have $10,000 to spend on my birds?? At any rate, I highly doubt he had that kind of money. If he did, he would have been able to hire help that could have saved him from being in the situation he finds himself in now and not have had to post his comment on the website provided about not having any volunteers to take care of them when he had his injury. In this economy someone would have came out and helped him take care of the birds if he would have offered to pay them.

My opinion still stands. Even if he spent 12 hours a day socializing these birds he still would only be giving them 7 minutes a piece per bird. Is that really a conducive environment for parrots?

[amanda143]

Originally Posted by angelicarboreals

Who ever said I did not have $10,000 to spend on my birds?? At any rate, I highly doubt he had that kind of money. If he did, he would have been able to hire help that could have saved him from being in the situation he finds himself in now and not have had to post his comment on the website provided about not having any volunteers to take care of them when he had his injury. In this economy someone would have came out and helped him take care of the birds if he would have offered to pay them.

My opinion still stands. Even if he spent 12 hours a day socializing these birds he still would only be giving them 7 minutes a piece per bird. Is that really a conducive environment for parrots?

I wasn't referring to you specifically. Personally, I don't have $10000 to spend on medical care for my birds, and many people don't. But I do know that he has spent thousands of dollars over the years providing care for his own birds, and birds that he didn't even OWN after katrina. I read about him in a book recently. He was one of only a handful of people who went to New Orleans to help feed and provide medical care for the parrots that were left behind. I suppose my point is, judging someone based on what you think is the only way to do something is a bit unfair. I personally would not have 100+ birds in my home, but that doesn't make me better than someone who does.

All the evidence hasn't been heard and Lisa is right. Many people jump to conclusions before they even know all the facts. It's also a bit disrespectful to condemn a person that isn't even here to defend themselves.

[odhinn]

Originally Posted by amanda143

It's also a bit disrespectful to condemn a person that isn't even here to defend themselves.

That's what happens when people get behind a keyboard. Opinions fly on both sides and things are said that usually wouldn't be said face to face. The guy helped many birds. IMO He had to many but they were taken care of UNTIL....he broke his back. At which point he asked for help but the help never showed or didn't care. Then animal control got involved and now we have the mess that is on the news. This is what I see but nobody truly knows what went on except for John, and the others involved. We can speculate, accuse, or support the events but it is all based on information that is biased because until factual information is released after his day in court or he decides to tell his side the facts will be distorted by one sided opinions.