Sick Bird in a Pet Shop-I hope I did the right thing

[Tiki]

I was out buying rat traps and went to a produce shop that also sells birds. Of course I always check out the birds when I see some for sale even though I am not looking to purchase any. I happened to notice a sick cockatiel in a large aviary with about 20-25 others. He appears to be severely plucked, but otherwise didn't look sick-like lethargic or droopy-he was alert and bright eyed. The clerk said that the other cockatiels had been picking on him. This sounded strange to me becuase I have never heard of cockatiels being mean to each other-they might squabble a bit and chase rival males away from their mates but not ganging up on one bird.

I know pet shops are in it for the money and probably won't spend money on vet care. I was really torn between keeping my mouth shut but also not wanting the other birds in with him to get sick if it turns out he has something. I can't just buy him and put my own birds at risk-besides if people buy birds because they feel sorry for them it only encourages pet shop owners to keep sick birds on display. What should I have done?

I ended up telling them for the sake of the other birds and begged them to just keep him isolated in his own cage until he gets better and by no means should they kill him. They said they wouldn't kill him-they probably think I am a nutcase. But maybe they lied to get rid of me and they will kill him-I am worreid and feeling guilty that I opened my mouth. No-win situation. Stay quiet, maybe other birds get sick, talk and maybe one bird will die. What should a person do when they see a sick bird in a pet shop?

[Three Feathers Aviaries]

It's shocking and it works - playing on the sympathy factor to make a sale - I wokred for a pet shop that kept the birds in small, dimly light cages with no enrichment. I talked to the owner (also, then, my boss) about perhaps opening up the cages and changing their enviroment - not only would it make for healthier birds, but also encourage them to be active and look fantastic - to me, it seemed like an excellent idea. However, it was the owners experience that people don't buy birds in displays like that as readily as they do from the 'poor' cages. You see the sweet little birdie, looking sad and forlorn, and it plays on the heart strings.

It is, of course, a different matter when you belive that the bird is unhealthy - Tiki, the RSPCA was created especially for these sorts of situations. I have been to pet stores were I have had to inform them that there is (warning to squimish readers: skip to next paragraph) a dead budgie in the cage and the other budgies were picking at it and, well, seemed to be eating it.

All I can say is, tell the staff that you are unimpressed. Talk to the manager. Really, whinge - if it wasn't for us, the customer, these places would not exisit. It's not right, it's not fair, and, it's illegal. Like I said before, the RSPCA. And, of course, take your business elsewhere.

(As for the cockatiels picking on the other cockatiel, if they were overcrowded and competeing for food and space, the lowest 'ranking' member of the group would probably recieve 'bashings' from everyone.)

[Tiki]

TFA, these birds were kept in a nice large aviary so they seem to be treated OK. Whoever feeds them should have noticed and taken the sick one out-if for no other reason that it would be bad for their business. I'm going to go back and check on him tomorrow to see if they are at least keeping him alone in the small cage and feeding him if they don't take him to a vet. And I will also pay closer attention to how much food is in the cage and if they seem to be overcrowded, maybe sneak a piccie or 2. I hope they didn't kill that one. It's at the produce shop just past Bunnings on the way to Strathpine if you know the area. I guess I am just a softie, especially when it comes to tiels.

[Joel]

Tiki..........I myself try my best to stay out of places where they sell birds because of the very reasons you mentioned cause ya just can't save them all. However I have done the following and would do it again if I found myself looking at a sad, beaten up, possibly sick bird like ya mentioned.

I would ask the shop to give him to me FREE so I could hopefully save him. I would take him home and medicate him and force feed him if necessary. I would of course quarantine him in a far corner of the yard in a Bird-Safe flight where he is protected from critters and the weather but can get the full benefit of natural daily direct sunshine and the outdoor humidity and a natual rain shower when desired. I would allow him full flight in that very long flight I mentioned, if not clipped and provide the best diet possible. If my meds did not work quickly, I would take to an Avian Vet.

I am not saying that is what you should do as ya probably don't have the stuff I have on hand to probably help him out. However if ya want to be able to do such a service for birds like that in the future then ya might want to start acquiring and learning about differnet meds & procedures to help them out. I'm not saying everyone should be trying to play Vet-for-A-Day etc. but once ya get the hang of it, it really isn't hard to administer a general antibiotic and provide a bird with a proper environment to help him onto the road to recovery. IMO & IME, they just do so much better in a proper environment rather than in a pet shop with owners who aren't doing what they should be doing for their birds. JMHO now......

In summation, if ya don't want to or can't do what I suggested then I too suggest that you call the RSPCA or similar organization to intervene if possible.

Good luck to you & that little guy too.........I always dreamed, for the last few years anyway, that if I can ever find great forever type homes for most of my flock then I would probably find myself going from pet shop to pet shop trying to save as many as I could. Winning that darn Lotto would help too!!!!! :)

[Tiki]

Good news! :D I did go back to check up on him, couldn't get any piccies because the place was crowded and I didn't want anyone to think I was casing the joint or something. But the tiel is alive and being looked after. He is in a separate cage and has food and water and is away from other birds. I made an excuse that I was in the area for the nearby Bunnings Hardware and made a fuss over the bird-just a subtle hint that "you'd better keep looking after him-I got my eye on you". I'm not a regular customer there, I buy my seed and millet sprays at another shop nearer my home. I had a quick look around the facilties-all birds were in large aviaries and not overcrowded-all had plenty of food and water. No toys but they did have natural branches to perch on. There are about 20 tiels in a 2 square metre aviary with plenty of food and water so while they would have to take turns, there is enough for all. They also have various rosellas, galahs, cockies, budgies, ringnecks, king parrots all seemed healthy to my untrained eye.

I would have taken the tiel in (separate cage on opposite side of the house)if that was the only way to save his life but I wouldn't know what I was doing to treat him. My birds don't get sick often but when they do, I have a good qualified avian vet about a 20 min drive from here. Ultimately, I think I will have to avoid going to places that sell birds because it would upset me to see birds being mistreated and like Joel, I don't have the $$$ to take care of them all. I am glad that it won't be necessary in this case. If I EVER saw something like TFA described (budgies) I would totally freak out! :x :shock:

[Three Feathers Aviaries]

Hey, Tiki, I do know that place quite well, it's owned by a fella named John. He has heaps of nice birds, and he does keep them in big aviaries.

Have you seen/been around the back of that place? He has this really healthy, huge rosella that is missing the upper maxilla (top part of beak) and you can see it's tounge!! (it's very strange!!) but he has been there for ages, there have been others that have had similar injuries, and he takes them home with him (I don't know what happens then, obviously) but he seems to genuinely care and dote over his birds.

I have noticed that there are HEAPS of cockatiels for sale in Brissie atm. everypet store is justabout bursting at the seams with them!!

If you want a REALLY dodgy pet store, you should check out Pine Rivers Pet and Aquarium. (Another squimish bit here folks) there was this poor little zebra finch there that had what we thought was big, pus filled growths all over it (there were hardly any feathers on it). Well, we thought that they were growths until they seemed to be moving independtly of the bird. Maggots, or some other parasite, it looked like.

There are ALWAYS sulfur crested cockatoo pairs in 50x50x50cm cages sitting on the floor. Not one or two pairs, like 4 and 5 pairs.

I've spoken to these people until I've been blue in the face and I sincerely belive that they just must be a needle short of a haystack or something.

Actually, I should probably go back there soonish to see if anything's changed.

You must be in the area that we are going to be moving to, Tiki?!?! :shock:

[Crebain]

What Joel said; stay outta pet shops!