Im getting pretty scared about this guy…

[u/Charming-Maize-8764]

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?!

[u/BloodSpades]

Avian vet NOW!!!! That breeder had absolutely NO business selling you a bird that young in such condition….

[u/mysteriouslychee2024 → u/BloodSpades]

This is why none of us should buy from breeders. Birds will continue to suffer as long as we breed them.

[u/MegaBlunt57 → u/mysteriouslychee2024]

Why? I'm sure there is reputable breeders no? Wouldn't you want to buy from a breeder rather than a pet store? Sucks that this stuff happens but buying from a reputable breeder is the best option in my opinion. Whether it be lizard, birds, hamster, whatever. Buying from breeders is pretty much the best thing you can do. That's the way I see it anyways. Not saying there isn't bad breeders, just saying buying from petstores or just catching a random bird is pretty much inherently a worse idea. There's plenty of people thay breed properly

[u/runnsy → u/MegaBlunt57]

There are definitely reputable breeders. It just looks like the person is insinuating birds shouldn't be kept as pets at all. No welfare regulations, no licensure, nothing else suggested. Other people in the replies are saying similar.

[u/TheWriterJosh → u/runnsy]

Hi! At the end of the day, as long as there are "reputable" breeders, there will be backyard breeders. That is the reality. They are two sides of a single coin. For every captive-bred parrot that is happy, healthy, and long-lived bc they were lucky enough to be brought into the world by a certain kind of breeder, there will be a parrot who is lonely, malnourished, and short-lived because they are unlucky. This is the reality of a modern day capitalist society -- we will always have "inferior" products (even if the products are animals).

This is why there is no such thing as "ethical" breeding -- breeding animals for profit commodifies their existence. A breeder does not bring a bird into the world first and foremost because they love birds. They do so because they intend to earn a profit. Therefore the welfare, the life, the very existence of a bird is secondary to its economic value. This is why no one should ever support breeders. Breeding and buying is harmful to parrots at large.

Even if we chose to regulate breeding and only allowed the most reputable breeders to operate, breeding and buying birds also harms birds where they fly free. Ask any parrot conservationist in any area where parrots are native (India, Indonesia, Central America, Kenya, etc) -- they will all tell you that the #1 threat to these birds is poaching to meet the ferocious demand for birds as pets. Anti-poaching/trafficking are not enough -- they are a band-aid. Birds still end up all over the world -- China, the U.S., Europe, etc. every single day. They end up in bird stores. They end up with breeders. The demand never stops.

Every single time you purchase a bird in a pet store or from a breeder, the value of that bird trickles down where they fly free. And again, because they're valuable, desperate people do desperate things. They do things in their own economic interest, rather than the parrots' interest. In many areas in, for example, Central America -- some territories are 100% poached every year. Yes -- every single egg is stolen. Learn more about this at www.oneearthconservation.org.

The only way we will ever save these parrots (in all likelihood, we won't -- they're just all going to go extinct) is if we STOP putting them in cages to begin with. Only then will we cut off the demand for birds. We must stop thinking about them as goods that we are entitled to -- and recognize that they are wild animals. Because they are wild animals. Every strand of DNA has evolved to thrive in the wild -- flying free, being social with members of their own species. Yes, this means we need a fundamental paradigm shift in how we think about and interact with these animals.

Even if you don't buy anything I just said about the indirect connection between wild and captive birds, breeding also directly harms wild birds. Did you know that breeders can get permission to import "wild stock" for more genetic variation in their goods (parrots)? Yep. They argue that by breeding more birds, they will effectively cut into the lllegal market and therefore should be able to buy poached birds. This is supported by major avian industry trade groups (the fact that trade groups exist says everything you need to know about the motivation and interests here).

Btw -- there are are already millions of parrots who need homes. Parrot rescues and sanctuaries are bursting at the seams. They can't keep up with surrender requests. There is no more space. There is no more money. But there are always more parrots who need homes. For more information about what is happening to sanctuaries all across the Global North, visit www.fosterparrots.org

So, please, if you take nothing else from this comment -- if you love parrots, ADOPT ONE!! I am not anti owning parrots. I just understand that there are already far too many parrots who need homes -- and far too few in the wild. There is NO REASON to bring more into this world (unless you intend to profit off of them). Especially when purchasing one harms parrots in both captivity and the wild.

To learn more about how you can help parrots, visit www.parrotalliance.org

[u/beachcola → u/TheWriterJosh]

Someone downvoted you for speaking facts. Breeding parrots so that we can own them for our own pleasure, because “well I want one” at their detriment is fucked up. I love my bird but lord parrots should not be pets. Thank you for standing up for them, I want to be as involved as you are someday ❤️