Quote:
Originally Posted by Jorge ChemE
I don't own any bird but I find them somewhat interesting and I like to watch and hear them. The thing is that my mom's neighbors travelled to the beach and they have two birds not much bigger than sparrows, although I don't know anything about bird species, so I can't say about them.
They gave the cage and the two birds to my mom so my mom is taking care of them in the meantime. But I feel sorry for them, they are living in a small cage, only have two sticks and nowhere to go. They sometimes shake and I don't know what's wrong but after a quick search in google, I realized is not a good thing.
Sorry if I offend someone, but what's the point of having such amazing animal locked in a cage? So they can't fly, they can't almost move. I have never been a member of an animal protection association or similar, but just realized how stupid and cruel human being we are... I only "had" birds when I was a kid. I was in a small village, during holidays and two sparrow puppies landed in the courtyard. They didn't know how to fly so I took care of them providing them the food I could afford having 9 years old or so. I remember exercising them to fly and when I could I took the birds and I released them in the field. I never knew of them and I felt bad but I rather want to see a bird flying in the field than imprisoned in a boring and small cage hopelessly.
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A couple of things:
These birds are being cared for away from their home. They are stressed out by the change and strange surroundings. They may be in a travel cage that is smaller than their cage at home. That could be (and hopefully is) much larger and provides them opportunities to fly and move around more naturally. Most "pet supply" houses have no clue about the space a cage bird needs. They make cages that are convenient for the humans. I keep birds too, but I usually build my own aviaries for that reason.
They are probably canaries or finches that were bred, raised, and have lived in cages for generations. They may have little to no memory of free flying. Most cage birds are not super intelligent and don't really think about what they don't have. Do some less knowledgeable people keep their birds in cramped "convenient" quarters? Yes. Does every bird keeper do this? Definitely not. People who understand and care more about their birds know how important exercise and mental stimulation is for health and longevity. Even something as simple as being able to choose between this or that perch, how close or far from each other they can choose to be at different times of day is important.
Keeping birds can be a dilemma. I know it is for me because I know what they don't have. When I select my aviary birds, it is normally one male/female pair at a time so they can develop a peaceful social bond. When I say aviary I mean a flight cage measuring 8'x8'x'8' that is adapted to the needs of the species. It would be bigger if I could fit it in my living room. Big as it is, it is still confinement. Being able to observe their lives, share my home life with, and cherish them means a lot but I do not delude myself. In exchange for a longer life safe from the hazards of the wild, they are confined. Depending on their temperament and the house, I also try to give them daily periods of free flight in the room. Who cares about the mess. You clean it up. As for stimulation, all my birds have to forage for their food. It is offered in various containers they have to work to get at. They have constant fresh water to bathe in, networks of natural barked branches to navigate around in, fake foliage or cavities to roost in (depending on the species), small bright colored toys to wrestle with, full spectrum lighting on a cycle that mimics their habitat of origin, a window view of the outdoors so they can choose to defend their turf from wild "intruders", and a radiant heat panel for "basking". I give then the closest equivalent to their natural foods in the wild. The point is, it takes a lot of research to select a species that can be catered to responsibly (non-aggressive, non-migratory, lower activity species that doesn't require masses of tiny insect foods), to create an environment that suits them, and to recognize any signs of stress or frustration. No one-size-fits-all approach.
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