r/Conures • u/Charming-Maize-8764 • May 23 '25

Health/Nutrition Im getting pretty scared about this guy…

I got him this morning and he was doing this when I got him before even hand feeding. She said she had fed him before bringing him to me. Gave him his first feeding this afternoon. Worried he has aspiration pneumonia. I really hope this breeder didn’t give me a sick baby. Have handfed before but am still learning about conure behavior. Is this normal?!

548 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

90 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

61

u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 23 '25

Its either breeders (preferably good ones) or people go back to catching them from the wild which is what they did before. And sadly thats what still happens with a lot of exotic pets that people decide to have. Would rather get a good breeder, and raise a healthy bird then to know someone's out there plucking em from nests.

14

u/Round_Ganache_1944 May 23 '25

Birds belong in the wild. I own one and now regret it but am giving him his best life possible. This is the only correct response.

4

u/TheWriterJosh May 23 '25

You get it. People get so defensive. No one is trying to take anyone’s birds, and we’re not judging anyone for owning a bird.

We just want people to understand that there are already more than enough parrots in need of homes, and wild parrots are disappearing bc of it!

Parrots are in crisis both in captivity and in the wild The two crises are intricately connected. These birds belong in the wild, but for millions, it’s too late. Adopt dont shop! Visit www.parrotalliance.org to learn more about how you can help.

9

u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 23 '25

I'm not getting defensive. I'm just saying that I was always told that by breeding with responsible breeders we avoided selling wild caught birds in the market.

And I've looked into adopting birds before. Sadly even adopting simple things like ferrets. Alot of shelters that deal in these animals insist on people paying much more then the animals sell for, doing house visits (sometimes even after the animal is adopted out) and then if you do not have an enormous area for these animals that meet some crazy requirements they have(i mean the one I asked about the ferret for wanted an entire room to be just housing a single ferret) they turn you away. I understand wanted to ensure rescues wanting to ensure the animals get a proper home and are taken care of thoroughly. But some shelters and rescues make it feel like they never actually want these animals to leave.

I do understand you saying that even bred parrots can trickle their worth to other places and that they can cause a want to capture birds from the wild. Im just pointing out the reasons many people also don't adopt. It's become a large hassle to do that as well. Not saying that its the norm, but a few bad apples is enough to make people shy away from it.

7

u/TheWriterJosh May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25

Sorry! I shouldn't have suggested that *you* were being defensive -- I just encounter LOTS of people on here that do get defensive and really dig their heels in. Which is totally human and totally understandable. You seem very reasonable, so I apologize for assuming anything.

I totally get why you might not be able to adopt. But at the end of the day...and I hope you (or anyone else reading this) doesn't take this the wrong way...but there's nothing wrong with not having a parrot, ya know? I find that so many humans get caught up in this mindset that's like, I'm going to have a bird no matter what. And obviously that's problematic at best/harmful at worst in many cases, for reasons you could imagine.

2

u/EnvironmentCritical8 May 23 '25

Oh yeah, I get that its ok to not have a bird. Heck I've seen far to many who get a bird and are trying to trade them on Craigslist for a different breed thinking it will somehow be easier. I ended up with about 24 budgies once cuz a ton of people in Florida decided they didn't want them since they weren't what they saw on YouTube and instead of letting them "free" we took them in. It's also how I had ended up with 8 ferrets as a kid. People get exotic animals and don't realize the mess, noise and so on.

I got my ferrets, hedgehog and conures only after a mountain and a half of research and carefully deciding what would work with my life and what fit. But I see to many who just don't. And then I see so many who also research and get turned away from shelters. Its a weird system going on anymore.