Parrot Protection – Glorious Relationships With Happy & Healthy Parrots

Parrot Harnesses – Delight or Danger?

Ann Castro — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 11:28:10 +0000

The girl on the phone sobbed inconsolably. She had taken her African grey parrot outside in a harness. When she realized she had forgotten her wallet, she passed the bird and its leash to her friend while she ran back inside to get her money. She was gone for just a few minutes. Time enough for her friend to get startled, let go of the leash and the bird to fly high up into a tree with the harness and leash still attached.

Many times I have been asked my opinion about harnesses. Harness marketing suggests that it is easy and safe to use them. This is wrong!

The above story is just one reason why I deem them to be very dangerous. Even worse, many if not most parrot owners are unaware of the risks. However, I also know that if I tell people simply to “Don’t do it!” many of them will likely ignore such advice. Therefore I want to give you a more differentiated answer.

If you plan to use a harness please be absolutely sure to consider and strictly observe the following:

Very gently and gradually get your bird used to the harness. It is not ok to stick a bird brute-force method into a harness just because you are able to do so.
Getting a bird used to the harness goes beyond training it to allow you to put the device on. You also have to gradually get your bird used to wearing it for increasing amounts of time.
You may also have to train your bird to leave the harness alone, to not open the fasteners or chew on it. Many birds are quite easily able to free themselves from the harness or the leash which means that they could escape.
Have the fit and width adjustments checked by an experienced avian vet. Birds breathe with their whole bodies. Owners may unknowingly fit the harness too tight, hampering the bird’s breathing.
Never just hold the leash in your hands. Have it firmly attached to your clothing, for example looped though a belt, before clipping it onto your bird. This way, if you get startled, stumble, get pushed, hit by a car, or whatever, you won’t let go of the leash.
Never give the leash to another person to hold your bird as you just quickly dash to the loo, inside the house, or whatever.
Never leave a bird in a harness unattended. A harness does not protect your bird from predators (sky borne or earthbound) or theft.
Wearing a harness may damage feathers and irritate skin. Therefore you must keep outings short. Check your bird’s skin and feathers thoroughly after each outing for any signs of irritation, such as even the slightest redness or sore spots.
Make sure you do not confuse your own pleasure of walking around with your bird with the bird’s. Many birds are scared when walking around with their owners in crowded places. While your bird may enjoy visiting your back yard with you, parrots often feel uncomfortable being exposed to people (and predators) staring, coming too close, even touching them. However, many owners don’t notice this, seeing only what they want to see. Ego, showing off, projecting your own wishes and believes, etc. are not good advisors when deciding whether to take your parrot for walks or not. Most parrots I have seen do in fact not enjoy such outings, especially not extended ones.

The girl on the phone got her bird back unharmed. But will you and your bird be equally lucky?

I hope this helps you and your birds. Please be safe and keep your birds safe, too. <3

Parrot Rescue | Carlo’s Song | One Macaw’s Story

Ann Castro — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:51:13 +0000

Carlos was a beautiful blue & gold macaw who had been wild caught. His plight inspired me one late night to write a song about all the wild caught parrots and their sad plight.
A friend helped me to put it to music. I am not a singer and I apologize for that. If you are a music expert you will wrinkle your nose. But if you love parrots as I do, you will understand.

Carlo’s Song

I’m a parrot
born to fly
I should always
Be in the sky

Papua Neuguinea
was my home
In the jungles
I loved to roam

Refrain
And I…..I loved so to fly
And I…..I loved so to fly

I had friends
with feathers blue and red
the hollow of palms
was our bed

But bad men came
Late at night
The air was filled
with screams of pain and fright

They caught us all
They held us tight
They broke my wing
I’ll never again take flight

Refrain
And I…..would so love to fly
And I…..would so love to fly

In little boxes
with no air to breath
they crammed us tight
So many of us in agony died

I was sent
To a new home
To sit in a cage
Sad and alone

They said they loved me,
They said they’re my friend
When will
This agony ever end?

Refrain
And I…..would so love to fly
But I…..was caught on the fly

Today my owner died
Her son does not want me
He wants to kill me
I am so afraid

I want to live
Be with some friends
See the sun and sky
Just once more, before I die

Refrain
But I…..was caught on the fly
But I…..was caught on the fly

Today they brought me
To a new home
There’s lots of parrots
And space for us to roam

Am I in heaven?
Am I alive?
Is this the end at last
Of all my strife?

The say they love me
They’re good and kind
A sweet wife for me
They are going to find

I get hugs and kisses
Every day
Sweet words and treats, too many
For me to say

Refrain
But I…..would still love to fly
But I…..would so love to fly

Adopt, Don’t Shop for Parrots!

Ann Castro — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:33:07 +0000

Dear Parronts,

Talking about species appropriate keeping and not supporting the mass production of parrots is one thing. Helping owners of parrots finding appropriate mates for their birds is another. To facilitate this I have created a facebook page called Adopt, Don’t Shop for Parrots! The purpose of this page is to help birds needing homes and potential adopters to find each other.

In order to avoid misunderstandings, I feel it is necessary to provide you with guidelines for using this page. Please read and abide by them. Posts not complying with these guidelines may be deleted.

1. This is not a birds for sale page. All sales ads will be deleted.

Adoptions must be free of charge. Adoption fees, mandatory donations, etc. are considered to be sales prices and are not permitted. You may ask for veterinary cost reimbursement against presentation of your vet’s invoice.

2. Species Appropriate Keeping

We support species appropriate keeping. Our aim is to find good forever homes that follow the guidelines of species appropriate keeping which orientates itself on the way parrots live naturally. Cornerstones are:

pairing parrots up with a same species, opposite gender partner, or even better a mini flock
keeping the birds flighted
providing large enclosures with ample space rather than keeping them locked in a cage

For more details such as minimum cage sizes please see The Minimum Requirements for the Keeping of Parrots. If you take umbrage with these guidelines please also read Ethical Parrot Keeping – the Civil Rights Movement for Parrots.

3. Looking to Adopt: Please Read

You may post here, if you are:

seeking a mate for a parrot you own
willing to adopt a pair

You may not post here if you want to adopt for the purposes of single keeping or if you are planning to breed the birds. We do not support breeding while there are so many birds out there desperately looking for a good home. Such posts will be deleted.
If you are seeking to adopt, please provide the following information regarding the bird you are seeking a mate for including a header that says “Looking to Adopt”. Photos are great attention grabbers. Thus it is recommended that you post a photo of your bird as well:

Looking to Adopt

Species
Age
Gender
Location
Behavior Issues
Health Issues
How is your bird kept? How does he participate in your home life
Details about your home life: how many humans, any other pets, anything pertinent to making a decision. Think about what you would like to know about a future home if you ever had to rehome your bird(s). That is likely the same information that someone looking to place a bird would like to know about you.

We strongly advise you to have any bird you are adopting vet checked and quarantined before you introduce it to your bird(s). Often it is best to do the vetting while the bird is still at its previous home. If you adopt, you are responsible for reimbursing the costs of the vet check and also of any treatments that may be required before the bird can move in with you.

3. Looking to Rehome: Please Read

You may post here, if

you are a private individual looking for a good home for your bird
if you are a rescue facility
if you are placing your bird free or charge. Any sales, adoption, mandatory donation fees are not permitted and will lead to deletion of your post.
you may ask for veterinary cost reimbursement against presentation of vets invoice)

Please provide the following information, including a header that specifies you are looking for a home for your bird. Please also provide a photo:

Looking to Rehome

Species
Age
Gender
Location
Behavior Issues
Health Issues
Vet costs to be reimbursed (if any)

4. Disclaimer

Please be advised that we are providing a platform, not an adoption service. You are responsible for checking out the new home and securing your bird’s well being with an appropriate adoption contract. Adopt, Don’t Shop for Parrots!, The Bird School and Ann Castro are in no way responsible or liable for any problems arising from the use of this page.

Ethical Parrot Keeping – the Civil Rights Movement for Parrots

Ann Castro — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:08:40 +0000

Those of you who have been following my writing for a while, know that I am a staunch supporter of species appropriate keeping of parrots.

I know that some people are terribly offended when I tell them that it is not ok to keep a parrot without a mate, with clipped wings, and in a small cage. I know that speaking-up can get some parrot owners terribly upset. Some even turn into enemies. Thus, this kind of public education can be frustrating and unpleasant at times. Luckily though there are also parrot owners who, once introduced to the concept, embrace it whole-heartedly. These are, of course, the highlights that keep me going. However, more people could be reached, if the message could be brought across more “smoothly”.

As I was contemplating about non-offending ways to spread the concept of species appropriate keeping this morning, it occurred to me that there are quite a few parallels to the civil rights movement:

Did people get upset at the civil rights proponents? They sure did.
Did civil rights proponents make enemies? They sure did – even deadly enemies.
Did civil rights ideas go totally against the generally accepted ways of doing things at that time? They sure did.

When I speak about species appropriate keeping of parrots, I often get the same reaction as those civil rights people did: unbelieving, blockage, arguments and even downright hostility.

Imagine, if the civil rights people had stopped to speak up. If nothing had changed. The world we live in would be far worse for it.

I think that most of us believe that the civil rights people had good cause to speak up. I hope that at some point in our future civil rights for parrots and in fact all non-human living beings will feel as naturally right to us as civil rights for humans.

For more information regarding the species appropriate keeping of parrots please see here.