sadbird, sad owner ( kind of long)

[Tatjana, Fairy Princess]

Tuesdays I work at the local Vet`s office. I am usually only there for the difficult surgeries. The vet told me we had an African Grey coming in for a wing trim and nail trim. She told me I would remember them when they arrived. The vet is not board certified avian, but I live in a rural area and the nearest vet who sees lots of birds is 50 miles away. The vet I work for has a Quaker, two cockatiels and some budgies. She likes birds and does go to continuing education on exotic animals when she can. At any rate, when the man came in I remembered him well. He arrived 45 minutes early and since we were in the middle of a surgery we couldn`t see him immediately. The man is an elderly single person who is almost a hermit. He HATES to leave home. He was there for a wing trim because his Grey told him he needed a haircut. The poor bird was as nervous as the owner about being away from home and was plucked. The vet asked about the wing trim and the man insisted it be short because he couldn`t have the bird flying away. The vet told him she would not do a short trim because the bird needed to be able to land safely and comfortably. The discussion went on for a bit and the vet said I will trim the bird like I did the last time. He said fine. The bird was very well behaved and the nail trim and wing trim went very well. I took the bird back and told the man I had a Grey. He asked me if my bird talked and I said yes, all the time. He told me that was bad. I told him I didn`t think so as I had regular conversations with her and she usually spoke in context. He told me maybe my bird was smarter than his then. He also told me his bird was his "right arm" and yet when the vet explained why she would not clip he bird severely, his response was that if the bird jumped off the perch or cage once and hit hard she wouldn`t do it again. The vet tried to explain the dangers, but he would not even listen. I felt sorry for the owner and the bird. Sorry this is so long, but the whole thing has been bothering me since I came home to my wonderful birds.

[Tatjana, Fairy Princess]

work with. We both like birds and have them, but neither of us breeds them. My understanding is that breeder birds bond to each other and do not neccesarily care for human companionship ( although individuals vary). I suspect that if you hand raise your babies, they will be much more comfortable around humans than the breeders. Good luck!

[Guest]

They were born *with* a handicap. They *were* handicapped. It is as daft as saying you were tire instead of tired. birds and ducks.

[Guest]

low clas upbringing is apparent with every post. However bitchy you feel I am, I doubt you will ever see me stoop to bad language. And beter is spelled `better`.