Somewhat Judgemental about Breeding

[aooratrix]

What have you ran into? My rescue was incredibly gracious.

One of my birds was clipped, not free-flighted, my home was too small, and I had male and female macaws, so they suspected I was going to try and breed macaws in 40x30 cages.

They also wanted me to pay to take their classes. I've worked with parrots since I was 15; at the time that was decades of experience. I offered to donate the class fee; attending would've been a waste of my time. It was for those new to parrots.

 

[Dorcas George]

Interesting thread. And then again, there is my experience. I had a pet store budgie (Packer, who was a present). When I decided Packer needed a friend, I assumed it would not be hard to find one. I mean, not looking for an exotic, large bird, just a common, ordinary, inexpensive little budgie. I didn’t want a pet store parakeet. I wanted to rescue a bird who needed a home. I called animal shelters, humane societies, visited two rescue places, both not close by. And on it went for weeks. Finally located a breeder (again, not very close) who had parrots and other big birds, but no budgies! She said, “Well, I do know someone who had a pair that had provided chicks for me a few times. We don’t get much call for budgies...” I was astonished. There are more details, but the point is, I would have loved a good breeder. Ended up buying budgie 2, Frost, from a pet store. Came, most likely, from a budgie breeding mill. Who’d believe there were none to rescue? Not me.

 

[BreezyTiel]

I find it's the same with Dog and Cat Shelters. Their requirements are absolutely ridiculous. The one I looked into before getting my Toy Poodle (from a breeder) had a requirement that all other pets in the home be spayed or neutered (my mom owned 2 female spaniels that were intact and going to stay that way) The application approval process was 2 weeks long, usually. Plus, whenever a purebred dog came in to the shelter (which wasn't often) applications would start pouring in, and your likelihood of getting the dog got slimmer and slimmer with each new applicant.

As soon as my father and I left that shelter, we said 'screw it' and went to a breeder. Today, Jewel is a happy and healthy 4 year old pup.
My mother had acquired the 2 spaniels before her from a breeder as well. No complaints.

Moral of the story is rescue is not for everyone. Can be a very good thing for some, but not all.

 

[Mizzely]

There are good and bad rescues/shelters, just a there are good and bad breeders.

 

[Greylady1966]

Here's another moral of a story. Many (rescue) dogs end up in shelters because some people won't/dont (spay/neuter) their dogs. Most of the shelter's I work with have the requirement that the shelter dog go to a home where other dogs are fixed. So good for you that you found a wonderful dog with a (breeder) but here's to all the wonderful people that help rescue dogs/cats or anything that is waiting for a good home!!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

No animal from any rescue or shelter should be adopted without being spade or neutered prior to going to a new home. The hundreds of thousands of animals, purebred and mixed are euthanized yearly at shelters around the world. The numbers are astounding and beyond sad here in the US when it's so preventable. I only know of one veterinarian, Dr. Jeff in Colorado, also known as Rocky mountain vet on Animal Planet who works hard to promote spaying and neutering ( I'm sure there may be more - hopefully), often going outside of the US with his team in poor areas to round up and spay and neuter all pets that are either feral or owned by the people who simply have no money to do so.

The problems that can evolve in these animals without spaying and neutering includes uterine cancer, testicular cancer, and in a beautiful German Shorthaired pointer I had ( incidentally belonged to my father but lived with me because he didn't believe in containing a dog properly) developed a perianal hernia at age nine. He was in such intense pain because of it and emergency surgery had to be performed and not by just any vet, it had to be a specialist which was located three hours away. Because he wasn't neutered. Here's some information on this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Perineal+hernias+in+dogs&client=firefox-b-1-ab&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=lGASBPVSZyEVFM%253A%252C9ukbLBC_bSyRVM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTZxDG0a57-LKaXR1s-jpIa1Im_Yg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiV6J2b6I7oAhXmRd8KHYjzCRMQ9QEwAHoECAUQAw#imgrc=lGASBPVSZyEVFM:


A perineal hernia is a condition seen in dogs and cats in which the pelvic diaphragm becomes weakened. This results in displacement of pelvic and abdominal organs (rectum, prostate, bladder, or fat) into the region surrounding the anus. ... The vast majority of cases occur in intact male dogs that are middle-aged or older.

Since then, all of my dogs have been spayed or neutered before they reached six months of age. I've done my part to prevent adding to the growing population of dogs and to prevent my dogs from having any cancer related to their reproductive organs.

Birds, if not cared for properly prior to breeding can have a host of issues.... many which can cause death if untreated. Anyone remotely interested in breeding and raising birds should gather all the information they can about proper housing ( spacious enclosure/cage and quality nestbox/ including substrate appropriate for the species, quality husbandry practices, diet prior to, during and after, tests for wellness prior to, do you have a reliable avian vet, could your birds be related, purchase all equipment needed for weighing, all utensils and reliable thermometers for feeding chicks should need be, a quality brooder including a heating source and thermometer/hygrometer should it be needed for chicks that may have problems ( likely), should a chick need supportive care because it's rejected by the parents or any other reason there should already be knowledge on how to hand feed instructed by someone knowledgeable. What will you do if your pair continues to mate and lay... even if you removed the nest box. Some hens can be chronic egg layers which is very detrimental their health. Would you be prepared to separate the pair. Know what source you may need to purchase formula from, which brand you will use. Be prepared when chicks mature to house them separately if you are keeping them, if not, have planned homes for them, start them on a varied diet in preparation for new owners if you are selling them. You must be prepared to spend money for any incurring costs and be prepared for those people who want a cheap bird... because, in some instances, in their minds those babies were free to you since your birds had babies so they shouldn't have to spend a fortune for a bird coming direct from a breeder and not a pet store. More often than not, we see people here who stuck a nest box in the cage to see what would happen and are at a complete loss as to what to do when a problem rises as they weren't prepared. Knowledge, is power... read all you can about every potential problem and just try to prepare for anything...with a savings account for possible vet bills. You may also want to know within a 200 mile radius how many breeders of your species there are, and if there are rescues or fosters that have an abundance of your species waiting on a new home. Chances of rescues and fosters being adopted when there are available babies lessens the opportunity for them to have a forever home. I've covered a few things to consider should anyone still have an interest in breeding.