what happens to birds....?

Question

if you buy a bird and you have a 15 days warranty, so if they're sick or anything you can bring them back for money back or to get a new one...For people who works in pet stores or even people who has bird stores or anything...what do you do with the birds? Do you send them to an avian vet or you just let them die? Cause i heard that some places won't do nothing with the really sick bird! i have one and i wonder if i bring him back, will they take care of him? he was with lots of other cockatiels, maybe they are sick too, i don't want another bird, i just lost my other one (had to put him to sleep :'(.... and i bought this one and he is sick and was when i got home, which i did not know and they did not tell me! i told them he looks lil bit sick, and they told me he was fine! People who works in pet stores, do they even know something about animals or they just want to sell the birds? aren't they suppose to know about the birds they sell? (sorry for the ones who cares)

Do you people that works in pet stores treat the sick birds to make them feel better or you let them die? and don't say you take care of them or send them to an avian vet just so you won't look cruel, i need the truth! what does the pet shop owners do?

well thanks to everybody, cause as i am writing this, my birs is almost dead! :'(
i give him no more than 10 mins...he's in the bottom of the cage, lying like a dead bird and he just tries to breath and i am sitting here knowing that i can't do nothing for him, and it hurts! i can't hold it, i don't even know what he has caught, i just bought it 6 days ago, and i've been through this not that long ago, i had to put my lil baby to sleep and there it goes again! they sold me a bird that was ill, and i have to pay for that!

Answer 1

You just hit the nail on the head on a subject that I am very sensitive about. I am a parrot owner and have SEEN what happens to the birds who are sold in chain pet stores. That is, a pet store that does not specilize in birds ONLY. (Petco... Where Pets Go (to die). I know personally that Petco receives baby birds that are still being hand fed... this should be a crime as the employees at these stores have NO CLUE what the hell they are doing.

Yeah... it's very scary when I walk into one of these stores with one of my parrots on my shoulder and their employees are asking ME questions about the care of birds.

These are the same people who recommend grit for parrots, which will kill them. I know of several birds at my local Petco alone that have died, needlessly. The employees that hand feed these babies, let alone, feed them regular food, don't know the first thing about bird care or husbandry. I have seen birds obviously sick, on display, with horrible lighting and ventilation for sale... and for a ridiculous price at that.

The breeders where these birds come from are no better. The pet stores buy from these breeders because they are cheap and unweaned babies are cheaper. Most of the time, breeders who sell their stock to pet stores are more like bird mills than breeders. Most of the time they are the ones more concerned with quanitity than quality. A lot of the birds that come from these types of breeders were exposed to very unsanitary conditions, unhealthy adult birds or other sick youngsters, if they themselves are not ill. It truly does break my heart.

I always recommend that people look into adoption rather than buying. I understant that sometimes buying from a breeder is often the best choice for a person, but I urge everyone to make sure your choice in breeder is reputable. In NO case, should a baby bird ever be shipped or sent to an owner unweaned... unless it's to another breeder or experienced person who will be taking over the proper handfeeding and care that these babies demand. Pet stores (except bird ONLY stores) are not equipt to handle these things.

As far as your baby is concerned... I would return to the store and point out that it was obvious this baby was sick upon purchase. Having said that, you'd appreciate it if they would cover the costs of an avian vet visit, including any treatment necessary... I would insist that you be the one to take him to the vet yourself. They are likely going to insist that you take it to the vet of their choice, which is fine, provided that person is an avian vet. If they insist taking the bird themselves because of some BS policy, get details... get the doctors name, address and phone number and the time of the appointment. Also ask them to provide you with paperwork of the visit for your records. If they will do neither of these (which is not likely) explain to them that you do not wish to "exchange" him for another bird (one that since exposed to the rest of the flock, will also be sick) because you're already bonded with him but that since they were not able to provide you with a healthy bird (per their 15 day health guarentee) that they either need to have him examined and treated, or provide you with a full refund.

I'm sorry this has happened to you. This is one of the things about humanity that make me sick in today's world. Birds (or any other live animals) do NOT belong in pet stores unless that store specilizes in one type of animal. These stores are keeping the bird mills in business and that's a whole other ball of wax that needs to melt. Fast.

I wish you the best of luck with your little guy. I admire you being conscious of this whole subject and wanting to do the right thing. No matter what the pet store does or doesn't do for you... I hope you will not give him back to them and go ahead and take him to the vet. If he is showing signs of illness, you can assume that he might be pretty ill as they hide these symptoms as long as they can. The sooner you get him to an avian vet, the better. If the pet store offers to take care of it for you, insist that they get the bird seen ASAP, within the next 24 hours... if not, take him somewhere yourself.

Best wishes!!

If you need further help now or in the future... I urge you to visit http://www.theperch.net/discussion/index.php?referrerid=2601 (my very favorite bird board community). It's a bird only website with TONS of information about birds from very experienced knowledgeable bird owners. You can get any questions you ever have answered there or simply exchange stories with other members. There is a place you can store photos and videos to as well as a store you can buy supplies from. You can even get your own free website.

Answer 2

It depends on who owns the store. If they opened a pet store for the love of animals they take them to the vet. If they inherited the store or thought they'd make money, then no they usually toss them in a back room or in a freezer if they don't even want ot waste the time to see if the bird will get better on it's own. If the store you got your bird from seems clean, the animals are healthy, and the people there are knowledgeable and are actually caring, then there's a good chance they will actually take care of the bird.

Answer 3

It really depends on the Policy of the store...
Some will take them back, most won't...
I never bought one from a store, so I don't really know...and I am very sure the people that sell the birds know almost nothing about them...they are their to sell the bird, and that is it...if it is still within the 15 days,
ask to see the Manager...If not you need to take the bird to the vet...9 times out of 10
the bird NEVER shows any signs of being sick, until it is almost to late...
Good luck..

Answer 4

My local Petco gave my _cat_ rescue group two finches who had been in the back of the store sick for more than two months, because one of our volunteers heard about them and was sickened to hear of that happening. My husband and I were the only volunteers who knew anything about birds, so we wound up nursing them back to health and adopting them out.

As far as I know, none of the large chain petstores really give a good gosh-darn about what happens to their birds if they get sick. The employees often have good intentions, but lack knowledge, and there are no funds to vet these animals. I would imagine that if a sick bird there is lucky, it gets a humane euthanization. It may be different for birds who are worth more money, but one of the finches we took was selling for about eighty-five dollars, so I don't know.