11 years ago I brought home a full grown cockatiel. I didn't know any better at the time and thought I would teach it to sing and sit in my hand. Well, he learned how to sing and talk, but I could never hand feed it or train it ( it almost bit off my dad's finger, my mom and I would feed him) so he would just sit in his cage and whistle and talk. This was in Puerto Rico, where after I moved out, he still is. Now I know better, did my cockatiel research, and have a loving relationship with another cockatiel here in Seattle. Now I'm faced with the decision of trying to bring him home with me to a loving home, or asking my mother to set him free (she recently gave him away to a cousin who was going to try to train him, yeah right!) What should I do. I've been told that in Puerto Rico he'll be happier free in the lush green mountain side surrounded by thousands of fruit trees, but I've been scared he'll get eaten by a snake, of which there are more than plenty! What does anyone recomend?
2007-12-12 06:53:01 · 13 answers · asked by hawt2trawt 3 in Pets ➔ Birds
he has been caged up way too long to survive on his own..You set him free your signing his death cert.
2007-12-12 06:57:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately animals are treated in an inhuman way by some in all countries! Here in the U. S. it is illegal to set pet birds free and if caught the person gets in trouble. Please don't be a person that does this. Let your cousin keep the bird if he is being treated well. Just because there is warm temps and fruit doesn't mean an 11 year old tiel will survive. What happens during the hurricane season? Yes he will die if you do this. It isn't his fault the breeder didn't hand tame him before finding him a home. Please don't make him suffer a slow death of starvation.
2007-12-12 07:06:07 · answer #2 · answered by Denise L 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a difficult situation you're in. Domesticated animals don't usually fare well when set free. They are used to having their food and water brought to them. I had the same problem with an adult male cockatiel and wound up giving him and his mate away after they reproduced. I kept one of their babies and he can be a sweetie, but he can be mean at times. However, I would NEVER set one free.
If your cousin is happy with the bird, I'd just leave him where he is. I don't think he's got too many more years to live and moving him from PR to Seattle may kill him anyway.
2007-12-12 07:00:53 · answer #3 · answered by Mrs. WC 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You can't "set him free"! It would be more like an execution than a great retirement. Birds that have spent their whole lives in a cage:
A) Do not have the wing muscles to fly for even short periods of time
B) Have no idea how to get their own food
C) Do not know how to interact with other birds of their species, which would be vital to their survival.
Why not give him to a friend that you trust would take good care of him? Or if all else fails, give him to a local ASPCA. But no matter what you do, DO NOT LET HIM "FREE" I'm telling you it would defiantly be a death sentence.
2007-12-12 07:03:17 · answer #4 · answered by liz_z_rules 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it would be wise to free an animal that has been kept in captivity for 11 years. Perhaps he could go to a bird sanctuary or a zoo of some sort. He has been reliant on you for everything, shelter, food and affection albeit difficult.
Phone around and see if there is someone that has some expertise, the local animal shelters generally have the numbers of people in the know.
2007-12-12 06:59:45 · answer #5 · answered by feelin' blue 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I would not set him free. If he was raised in a cage, he's just going to be scared out in the open, and he probably won't be good at surviving. Give him to your cousin.
2007-12-12 06:58:21 · answer #6 · answered by Marlena 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
captive birds cannot live in the wild. Well they can, but it is very rare for them to survive. Setting him free is kinda like shipping YOU to Alaska and setting you "free" there. If your parents were eskimos that taught you how to live there you'd survive just fine, but not if you were just set "free" there!
since you did your bird research you should know that a captive abused bird like yours can be re-habiliated. if you are not capable of doing it yourself, give it to a bird rescue agency.
here is a list of bird rescue places i found by going to google and typeing "bird rescue"
http://www.cockatielrescue.org/rescue.phtml
some of the links may not work.
2007-12-12 07:00:30 · answer #7 · answered by mockingbird 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Domesticated pets should NEVER be released into the wild.
Period.
End of discussion.
When the pet is too sick, old, or feeble,
it is best for pet and owner alike
to take it to a veterinarian to "put it down".
2007-12-12 07:52:41 · answer #8 · answered by skaizun 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't recommend setting him free. he doesn't know how to take care of himself in the wild! Just give him a good home until he dies or give him to someone willing to put up with him.
2007-12-12 06:58:05 · answer #9 · answered by The Cat 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Please be kind, and give him to someone who will care for him. This is the 4th home for mine, he has been with me for 7 years now. He wasn't very tame when I got him. Now he is so attached to me, he won't eat or drink, when I have to leave for a few hours.
2007-12-12 11:43:33 · answer #10 · answered by Joan H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋