Cars? No, silly, birds! Buying a new baby bird or adopting a previously owned or rescued bird...
that's a dilemma for many people.
It used to be for me, too.
If you've read my earlier articles, you know that I've both, new and "used".
There are always pros and cons in these situations.
New baby birds are so sweet and cuddly.
You can raise and train them the way you want.
However, lots of older birds are sweet and cuddly, too.
My Solomon Islands eclectus, Finnegan, is.
Then again, many are not, although that doesn't mean that they can't be in the future.
Often rescued birds have been abused or traumatized in one way or another, and need lots of patience and TLC.
The interesting thing is that I started with a rescued bird, our first little Bobbie, a budgie.
My next two, Daisy, a cockatiel, and Lucy, a quaker, I bought as babies from individual owners.
From then on my husband and I agreed that we were going to adopt birds that needed to be re-homed.
Although I bought our fourth parrot, Finnegan, from our local bird store, he is actually a re-homed bird.
He was two years old at the time, and we're his second family.
The last two parrots that we adopted this year are both re-homed from people, who for one reason or another, needed to find new parents for their birds.
I call us "parronts".
I know that adopting a rescued bird is not for everyone because often it takes a super human amount of patience.
However, for those of you who have such patience, compassion and love of the abused and neglected, the rewards are out of this world.
It took a good friend of mine eight years to win the trust of Christine, a citron crested cockatoo that he rescued.
That's years, folks, not days or even months.
That's a very long time to be bitten bloody and rejected, but he never gave up on this lovely creature.
He finally won her love and trust.
What patience! What love! What an inspiration! The bond they now share is phenomenal, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
There are so many beautiful birds out there who need love and who need forever homes.
The birds that I have adopted were easy compared to Christine.
They took from a few days to a few months to adjust, to trust and love me, but many are not like that.
Those are the ones who need love the most, who need to be reassured that you aren't like their former, cruel owner.
They need to learn to trust again.
They need to feel safe.
They need someone to love them with no unconditionally.
I know that some of you have incredible stories of your own rescued birds.
They are inspiring.
They are heart warming.
They give us hope.
I want to encourage all of you who may be thinking of adding another bird to your flock, to consider adoption.
Consider giving one of these less fortunate feathered ones the gift of your love in a forever home.
It may take lots of time and patience.
You may suffer nasty bites.
You may have to listen to shrieking or screaming for awhile.
But when all is said and done, and you've won the heart of a parrot, you will be forever blessed! Think about it.
that's a dilemma for many people.
It used to be for me, too.
If you've read my earlier articles, you know that I've both, new and "used".
There are always pros and cons in these situations.
New baby birds are so sweet and cuddly.
You can raise and train them the way you want.
However, lots of older birds are sweet and cuddly, too.
My Solomon Islands eclectus, Finnegan, is.
Then again, many are not, although that doesn't mean that they can't be in the future.
Often rescued birds have been abused or traumatized in one way or another, and need lots of patience and TLC.
The interesting thing is that I started with a rescued bird, our first little Bobbie, a budgie.
My next two, Daisy, a cockatiel, and Lucy, a quaker, I bought as babies from individual owners.
From then on my husband and I agreed that we were going to adopt birds that needed to be re-homed.
Although I bought our fourth parrot, Finnegan, from our local bird store, he is actually a re-homed bird.
He was two years old at the time, and we're his second family.
The last two parrots that we adopted this year are both re-homed from people, who for one reason or another, needed to find new parents for their birds.
I call us "parronts".
I know that adopting a rescued bird is not for everyone because often it takes a super human amount of patience.
However, for those of you who have such patience, compassion and love of the abused and neglected, the rewards are out of this world.
It took a good friend of mine eight years to win the trust of Christine, a citron crested cockatoo that he rescued.
That's years, folks, not days or even months.
That's a very long time to be bitten bloody and rejected, but he never gave up on this lovely creature.
He finally won her love and trust.
What patience! What love! What an inspiration! The bond they now share is phenomenal, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
There are so many beautiful birds out there who need love and who need forever homes.
The birds that I have adopted were easy compared to Christine.
They took from a few days to a few months to adjust, to trust and love me, but many are not like that.
Those are the ones who need love the most, who need to be reassured that you aren't like their former, cruel owner.
They need to learn to trust again.
They need to feel safe.
They need someone to love them with no unconditionally.
I know that some of you have incredible stories of your own rescued birds.
They are inspiring.
They are heart warming.
They give us hope.
I want to encourage all of you who may be thinking of adding another bird to your flock, to consider adoption.
Consider giving one of these less fortunate feathered ones the gift of your love in a forever home.
It may take lots of time and patience.
You may suffer nasty bites.
You may have to listen to shrieking or screaming for awhile.
But when all is said and done, and you've won the heart of a parrot, you will be forever blessed! Think about it.
Source...