Rio Educational Event - want opinions/suggestions

[mrstweet]

So, tomorrow I am going to the opening of Rio at one of the local theaters to have an educational Mickaboo event about bird ownership, etc. Monty and Cupcake are going with me. Cuppy in her harness and Monty in his travel cage.

I want to touch on some points in the movie, like where Blu drinks hot chocolate and is kept in a round cage. This is probably going to be mostly kids I'm talking to, and I don't have kids. If you were taking/are taking your kids to see the movie, what would you want to know? How expensive they are? Their lifespans? I think I'll print up a short bullet list to hand out as well for parents thinking about getting a bird.

 

[rikkitikki]

Pictures! things that are tangible that they can get hands on... Maybe a picture of a round cage with an "X" over it, and then a nice squared off cage with a very happy cartoony bird in it.
also, to keep it educational, a picture of a very good birdy eating his/her veggies and letting them know how good vegetables are for birds too, and how yucky the chocolate is for them, even worse than for humans Most kids aren't going to see dollar amounts, but I think a reasonable adult can add figures in their head if you talk about the biggest things they need and where to look for the right stuff. I guess that's where I'd start~

 

[TextsFromParrots]

It'll sound really..harsh perhaps. But truthfully I'd point out all the ways a bird's health can be affected by things you use every day, expense of buying them and what happens if a bird is neglected such as bad habits, screaming, plucking. At least when talking with the parents. They probably have no idea in many cases about the ins and outs of parrot ownership or have outdated ideas on it. Parents are going to be less turned off by life span with their begging kids then they will be if they realize just HOW much their life will change having a bird they might rethink it.

Perhaps print out a check list of what you'll have to do if you want to own a parrot. It's a big check list and it may make people realize what they're getting into. Possibly put down tentative prices on what things cost so they have a rough idea as well. Those that look at it and think it's alright, well they could make good bird parents. Many will look at it and blanch. You might also touch on the cockatiel, parakeet and lovebird 'kits' that a lot of places sell aren't really suitable for the birds they might want. Seeing a $60 set up, and $20 keets might make parents cave QUICK since it's only $80. Then you've got a keet or tiel shoved in too small a cage, with corn cob bedding and eating an all seed diet.

I went through this when Ratatuee (sp) came out and a friend ran a rat rescue.huge amounts of kids wanted to adopt rats. They didn't realize that you didn't just toss a rat in a hamster cage and it'd be happy. They sold these crappy 'kits' for rats that were just horrible. Barely any move to room, an unsafe wheel that a rats toes could get caught in, and glorified hamster diet as the food. But it was only $50 and the rats were $10. Three months later she was overrun with surrenders and unplanned litters because people couldn't sex their rat babies.

With kids pictures are good. Perhaps get a picture of a bird in it's actual habitat and a cartoon picture of one in too small a cage? Point out that the bird is meant for ALL of that space, not that tiny space. The importance of different toys. You could relate to the kids as birds are a lot like kids. They love toys, they love new ones, they love to play and want room to play in.

 

[rikkitikki]

I think getting the right information out is important, I see your point Kristen, but you also want to be approachable so people will come to you to get the right information *and ask lots of questions*, instead of turning them off from you because you're bombarding them with all the bad stuff. People are naive enough to walk away from that, then go to the pet store and pick up a couple of budgies and a tiny cage and listen to what the (*potentially uninformed*) employee has to say as the best thing (and with the Rio sales that I've heard about, sales likes these are indeed bound to go up here real soon.

 

[TextsFromParrots]

It can be spiced up. Personally I'd talk more towards the kids then the parents, but I'd also be sure to come prepared with something for them as well. Take some of cuppycakes favorite toys, talk about how much fun she has tearing them apart, that parrots love things they can chew and hang on . You don't have to hit right on the negatives, but a sheet aimed specifically for the parents could do a lot of good when it comes time to leave the theater and the "Mom can I have a.." starts. The kids will want entertained, it's the adults who will be more apt to look at the numbers and see a check list and go "Oh, well, this is a bit much for my 4 year old to handle." or may pick out what they really do need.

Kids I hate to say it sometimes just see the big shiny or pretty. You can reinforce how much fun and how friendly birds can be, explain how no one wants to be in the same room all the time and how much a bird would enjoy being out. Personally if it were me I'd put it in terms kids will grasp with comparisons. Comparisons to the kids themselves, to pets they might have had in the past, how intelligent birds are, that not all birds can talk, but they can all make some interesting sounds. I'd try to make it a point to let kids know not all parrots talk, that might be one of the big things kids are going to walk out of the theater with is they can have a talking bird right out of the gate.

 

[mrstweet]

Okay, I like Erika's suggestions, so I'm going to start with those and build with Kristen's.

I'm taking screencaps from the movie of the cage and the hot chocolate and putting them below "what's wrong with this picture?" and then doing another one with "what a good parront has" with a picture of a REAL macaw in a real cage/setup; then I'm doing another photo that says "even the little guys deserve a nice home" with a budgie flight cage that's decorated nicely.

I'm going to take a display (or a pic of...saroooojjj?!) of what they eat - fruits, veggies, couscous, pellets, etc. and have that laid on the table. I'll also make a take away sheet with what you need to have when getting a bird. I'm going to have a sign hung on Cupcake's stand/carrier with big words that say "ALL BIRDS BITE" so people will a) ask before touching and b) start a convo about how kids need to understand that parrots need time and love and space and sometimes they want to be left alone when the kid wants to play.

How's that for starters?

 

[TextsFromParrots]

Hmm I don't know what your budget is. But making cardstock prints of two empty cages, a healthy diet and an unhealthy one, and on and on with velcro on the back could prove interactive for the kids. And a picture of a hyacinth macaw or Blu and have velcro across the bottom and tell the kids to put up on the bird what he would need to be a happy bird. Then have good things and bad mixed in. You could also have a picture of an unhappy bird, but I'd avoid it. It helps to make things click in their minds and if they DO go for a bird you'd be amazed how many kids might remember what Blue would want in his happy life.

You can probably get prints at kinko's of all of that for around $10-20 bucks with the velcro. If you need stuff multi uped on a page to save money I have all the Adobe suite if you went that route. Games are fun for kids.

...

I deny ever playing in the kids sections of stores!

 

[gritsinct]

That sounds fantastic! Informative, fun for the kids, but a dose of reality for the parents (hopefully).

 

[patdbunny]

Letting them know birds BITE is really good. Some of them will look and say well, they'd get their kid a little parakeet and not a parrot. Parakeets BITE. I pose it to parents as - "Would you set your kid loose with a pair of scissors and tell them to repeatedly cut themselves? That's what you're doing when you get a parakeet and tell your kid to play with it. Parakeets usually don't come pre-tamed. Then parents get upset when their kids don't play with the bird, then the bird gets neglected or disposed of."

 

[mrstweet]

Okay, here is one of the documents:

What you need to have a happy bird
ZohoViewer - happybird.pdf

 

[mrstweet]

What is wrong with this picture/examples of good "parrot" setups
ZohoViewer - rio.pdf

 

[April]

Im loving your slides!,your doing a great thing by doing this talk with the kids.

 

[TypingParrot]

Let them ask questions. Ask them to ask questions, what they want to know and build off of what they give you. "Do they eat seeds?" Yes, but it better if you feed them veggies and fruits and try to grow their seeds a little bit. It's called sprouting." If they see the movie then you ask if they liked that Blu was drinking the hot chocolate and tell them it's really bad for them.

 

[jasminlana]

good job maybe pictures of healthy foods they like to eat. kids are going to ask what they eat.

I took a couple of our small birds to my daughters school as pet for a day. I left the teacher with index cards on what they like to eat, their favorite things.

And also talk about noise or play a recording of a bird squawking. I think a lot of people are not prepared for the noise. they think the bird just talks all the time. No, they scream when they are not happy.

 

[gritsinct]

LOVE the flyers! I think we should make millions of copies and distribute outside every pet store in the world!

One minor thought: This may be insulting the intelligence of the general population, but do you think most people (in the USA) with little knowledge of birds will know that a Budgie is a Parakeet?

Long ago, I didn't know that until I started doing my research before getting my first bird. There are a lot of people that don't bother to research and therefore won't come across that information. I don't think I've ever seen a sign in a pet store calling them that (but I could be mistaken). They are always listed as a "Fancy Parakeet" around here.

If someone doesn't know that, they may then think that a budgie is some random bird the same size or bigger than a cockatiel "and since I'm only getting a little parakeet I don't need a cage that big".

I could be over-analyzing because I'm good at that! But I don't want there to be any chance of misunderstanding.