Is love the most important thing? (Update Post #20)

[Danita]

I learned something today.
I always see people selling pictures of their parrots with tourists when I travel. All I could see is the life they led and how it differed from my guys. It made me feel bad.

Today I finally was able to spend time with a fellow who had two BG macaws.

I was sitting on a bench, he comes along and plops the BG pair down on a garbage can, then takes off to the store to get a "snack" he says. To my horror, I watch they macaws pick at old gum, chew off paint, cuddle with each other and trying to sneak garbage.

One had no tail and both had terrible feather conditions, plucked and ratty.

Of course my initial thought was poor birds.

When he came out, he offered them a nut bar, "healthy" he says (nuts and sugar), some gatorade in ice water.

I watched him, put the. On tourists, the macaws were so well trained, they had so many different poses. They let him know when they felt unsafe in someones hands and he quickly corrected it.

He told me that he has had them for five years, and he changed their diets, so the feathering was much better. The one was born without tail feathers growing in. I asked him tons of questions about them

He said all the bird guys who sell pictures love their birds, except one, he doesnt get them snacks at break time.

They look far from perfect, they are cared for so different then mine, but they are loved.

Now I look at them and I think they are very fortunate to have him.

What do you think?

 

[Saemma]

I think that people do with what they know. Often you don't know what you don't know UNTIL you know.

With that said I think that when you KNOW better you MUST do better. People say that ignorance is bliss. I do not feel that ignorance is bliss at all. Ignorance leads to ALOT of very bad things.

 

[Kathie]

What an interesting story.

I would say they are well socialized for sure. They are very loved, as well. They are constantly with their owner so that's also a plus. Lots and lots of positives here.

However, the diet.... I don't see them living a nice long life. That's the negative. Oh, and the garbage can and gum. Ugh. So what's more important? I don't know the answer to that.

 

[Deejo]

Hmmm, this sort of reminds me of the B&G on the beach in Greece, used as a way to draw customers into the bar. The owner loved him but knew zero of how to care for him and feed him a nutritious diet.

I would say alot more, but no need. I think your birds are not only well loved...but well cared for.
The macaws you met may live for many years with this inferior diet, but they certainly won't be healthy.
So...love on its' own is not nearly enough.

 

[Danita]

I often wonder if a long life is the most important thing, if they are happy and having fun in a shorter life.

 

[Deejo]

I often wonder if a long life is the most important thing, if they are happy and having fun in a shorter life.

Quality versus quantity...but in the meantime, consider all the horrible (and painful) illness' these macaws could wind up with. Personally, I feel sorry for the birds you met. They deserve far more than a nut bar snack and chewing gum.

 

[Danita]

You think so Doris?
They go home to good food, so he says.
I dont know.
My macaw gets toys, good food, love, she looks perfect but I know she is lonely.

 

[itzmered]

Friends just came back from Hawaii and they all had their pics taken with a lot of birds at one of those places. She had to tell me that she thought I would be very happy to know that these birds were eating their broccoli, she knows my birds love broccoli
IMO love beats out a non loving home that provides good nutrition but I highly doubt you would find to many homes that fed them a healthy diet and didnt love them.

 

[Danita]

I am going to go out now and see if I can talk to the other bird guy, the one who has 15 of them out. Maybe he will talk to me tonight.

Friends just came back from Hawaii and they all had their pics taken with a lot of birds at one of those places. She had to tell me that she thought I would be very happy to know that these birds were eating their broccoli, she knows my birds love broccoli
IMO love beats out a non loving home that provides good nutrition but I highly doubt you would find to many homes that fed them a healthy diet and didnt love them.

 

[Saemma]

To answer your question, LOVE is never enough on its own.

 

[Anne & Gang]

I agree, love is never enough on its own

 

[waterfaller1]

I want to see a pic of Danita with 15 macaws spread across her shoulders and arms.
I have to agree you aren't going to see too many people who feed great diets who do not love them. And then there are some that love them very much, but are ignorant of nutrition and they get Walmart seeds.
Love is a wonderful thing, but you have basic needs too.
Imagine, well loved but living in a filthy cage? Loved much but the water bowl is dirty, and never given fresh foods? So..to answer the question, love, research proper care and give enrichment and a healthy environment and diet, that is true love.

 

[lotus15]

Interesting story and situation... I think some people think it is cold or react negatively when I say it, but my priorities have always been 1. safety, 2. health, and 3. love. That is not to say that I don't love my birds infinitely -- I absolutely do -- but it is even MORE important to me that they are safe and healthy than they are or feel loved. It was a real challenge medicating Charles for me and he absolutely hated (and still kind of does hate) me for it, but I would rather he be healthy than for him to know that I love him.

 

[suncoast]

Well, call me a cynic but I wonder if that fellow told you the truth. I think love IS caring for them as well as you can and not exploiting them. I don't know how expensive it is to purchase a B&G there, but I would think that you would want to make sure your livelyhood was in tiptop condition.

Ginger

 

[Birdiemarie]

There's a saying, 'Love is blind.' Sometimes it's a good thing like when you have a handicapped bird and see it's beauty. Sometimes it's not so good like when you could (and in many cases would) take batter care of your bird if you were taught the better way of doing things.

 

[rikkitikki]

Hmm... If I absolutely had to pick between health and happiness? Let's say I'm talking about myself. If I had the option for only one and not the other, I'd want to be happy. I always tell my husband that happiness is the most important thing to me, and why I want to move to Oregon, to be with family, even though I'll personally have to take... probably a 75% pay cut because they don't offer the kind of job that I'm qualified to do out there. (eventually he'll make up the difference, but it will take a little while)...
Anyway, using those same principles on my pets, I'd rather have them be happy, however, that is only to a certain extent. Like Coco said, if they need to be medicated and they hate it, I'll still do it.
So, overall, quantity vs quality here, there certainly is a balance, and I tend to sway toward quality, though i strongly feel that health (and safety) are very important and cannot be ignored, it is a little bit difficult to say that one is *more important* than another). I think personal experiences certainly shape our opinions here.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Erika, you make a good point. It's been proven that many humans and other living things will regress if not happy even under the best of care while many in deplorable conditions will survive because they have love. Personal fortitude plays a big part.

 

[Onyxena]

No way is love ever enough! Love doesn't fill food bowls with healthy food or clean water. LOve doesn't heal ailments on its own. Of ourse it is important, but should not be relied upon as sustenance alone. I also have seen macaws and other parrots in vacation areas like that. When we go to Hawaii, one of our fave things is to get our pics taken with all the birds. Most of them seem pretty content for the most part.

Maybe different than how most of us keep them, but look how many in our country as pets have behavior problems despite all our best efforts with nutrition and socializing. I think wild parrots likely often experience hunger, thirst, lack of diverse foods at times. Not saying that is best but I am really not so sure many of us really know what is best for them either!

 

[Holiday]

This is interesting, Danita. It reminds me of Elvis's situation when I got her. She was fed a lot of junk food and Walmart seed, lived in a household with smokers (I don't know how much they smoked around her, but her feathers were dingy when I got her), didn't have wood toys to chew up, but she was loved, very much. They were good to her in many ways, provided a swing and playstand, never abused her, and the man of the house called her his "baby" and kissed her and loved on her all the time.

When she came to me, her heart was broken. I've never seen such emotional devastation except in a human. She clearly loved them back. She still calls me by the name of the woman of that household (that's partly my fault for not correcting her--I thought she needed continuity).

If you look at her now, she has better feathering, a healthier diet, doesn't scream, and is happy. But, is the happiness because of the better diet, etc, or is it because I love her just as much as they did, if not more? I say the latter. And, I've often wondered whether, if anything happened to me, she should go back to them (with instructions about air quality, diet, and toys!). They have asked me about her a couple of times. I don't know anyone who would love her more, and I know how much she needs that... It's probably not a real question. By the time anything happens to me, they may be long gone, and she's not going anywhere until I can no longer care for her, but your question raised the issue for me again...

 

[Danita]

Well, I went to talk to the guy with 15 birds. He was calling the guy with two macaws down. He said that he is trying to make it illegal to do what he does, which is, leaving them unattended, hitting them and plopping them on tourists to get pics taken . The 15 bird guy says the other man is a drug addict