• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Unweaned lovebirds, perfect to give as gifts?

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
1/8/18
Messages
31,366
Location
Reino de España
So I have listed an old cage to sell on my local buy/sell website.
And while browsing other cages, I came across this post. These types of posts are so common, and many get listed daily all over Spain offering unweaned baby lovebirds from 10 euros - about 30 euros (11-33USD) depending on mutation.


pp.png

Papillero is a chick that is still eating Papillo (baby formula) and will need syringe fed and weaned.

Ideal para regalar means, Ideal to gift to someone......

I mean WTAH. It is one thing to seek an unweaned baby. but to gift it to someone is absurd! It is infuriating to see these ads as someone with little birds knowledge may thing that is a great idea and buy a chick to give to someone, thinking it is a great idea.

I have bought 2 unweaned babies.... but would never even dream of buying a chick like this to gift to someone!

Do ads like this pop un in the UK and USA? Here it is so common, especially with lovebirds! I don´t even want to know how may of those chicks don´t make it to adulthood after falling in the hands of the wrong person :(
 

MahaSarah

Sprinting down the street
Joined
6/23/18
Messages
325
Location
Florida
Real Name
Maha
Unfortunately I see a lot of those ads here in Florida as well :c
 

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
1/8/18
Messages
31,366
Location
Reino de España
Is there anything that can be done to block this kind of advertisement?
Unfortunately not because it is not illegal.

It´s just such a bad combo. The birds costing little, and the ad saying they´re great gifts - I´m think lot´s of people might be convinced.

Worst is at christmas and The 3 kings, the page is flooded with ads like this. ¨Make great christmas gifts¨etc :(

Unfortunately I see a lot of those ads here in Florida as well :c
That sucks :( Are lovebirds expensive there? It wouldn´t be as bad if the birds were sold for at least 100 or something here, it would make people at least think a little, but for 15, people probably don´t even really think about it.
 

Leih

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/1/18
Messages
3,000
Location
Ohio
Real Name
Leih Pearson
Terrible! I can't stand how many people think animals are disposable .
 

hrafn

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/17/16
Messages
3,875
Location
Canada
This is horrifying!! :eek: I see ads from people wanting unweaned chicks all the time, but I have NEVER seen anyone offering them, and the request ads are usually inundated with angry replies from breeders and bird lovers. I'd have a heart attack if I saw this!

What a "great gift" indeed; a tiny hatchling that will undoubtedly be dead within a week because it wound up in inexperienced hands. These innocent little lives will be over so quickly. :(
 

Leih

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/1/18
Messages
3,000
Location
Ohio
Real Name
Leih Pearson
A coworker of mine told me she had a couple birds for awhile but I soon learned that she knows nothing about them! One of them she got as an egg. An egg! And she acted like she took such good care of the bird because she "even took him to the vet!" She rehomed them after some time, hopefully for the best. Who takes the responsibility of caring for an animal and does zero research?? Just awful. Don't even get me started on people "releasing" their animals, too. People suck!
 

Begone

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Shutterbugs' Best
Joined
11/29/12
Messages
15,651
I'm very happy to say that that kind of ads doesn't exist in Sweden because hand feeding is illegal here.
Don't even get me started on people "releasing" their animals,
From the first of April we have a new law in Sweden that forbid us to being outside with our birds without have them in a travel cage or in a harness.
So if someone releasing them they can after that be punished for that. :)
 
Last edited:

CrazyBirdChick

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
12/10/15
Messages
7,162
Location
Chicago , Illinois
Real Name
Diane
Very disheartening, indeed. I've seen a few ads like that before but happily not that often.

Another thing I do see alot though around here are ads for pet gifting for the holidays. Easter time is the prime time for (gifting) bunnies. Then around Christmas and
Valentine's day I see alot of ads trying to sell puppies and kitties and suggesting they are the perfect gift for someone :(
 

BeanieofJustice

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
4/6/13
Messages
4,463
Location
Trenton, Florida
Real Name
Steph
Ads like that are what made me stop looking for bird stuff on CL, I don't think I've seen them advertised as gifts per se... I've seen plenty of other pets listed as "good gifts" but babies that still need to be handfed? Poor things... I've seen a lot of conures, and some macaws from time to time being sold that way. Sickening.
 

Lodah

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
5/4/16
Messages
4,662
Location
Sydney NSW Australia
If you have someone that will buy the babies... then you have created a market for them! Be it birds, unweaned or stolen from the wild! Its education and human nature at its finest! :shifty:
 

Yoshi&Raphi

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
4/12/19
Messages
2,398
Real Name
Raphi
Wow I have never seen a add like that!
The poor birds that’s horrible !
 

Jas

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
11/9/17
Messages
1,612
Location
UK
Real Name
Jasmine
Thats disgusting..... Its like selling a 3 week old puppy....

I don't see ads like these in my area though I do see a lot of young birds, under 5.

Lots of Budgies In small cages and for around £5 around $6 though they are more around £10-£20.

Lots of ringnecks for sale because ppl "don't have time for them" and the occasional amazon.
 

SandraK

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
3/21/11
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Palm Coast, FL. Carioca'55 when RJ was in GB.
Real Name
Sandra
NO! Absolutely NOT!
 

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
1/8/18
Messages
31,366
Location
Reino de España
Lots of Budgies In small cages
If I screen shot a few ads that were posted over the last day or so, it would break your heart.
When I was younger I wasn´t into birds so I don´t know what it is like in the UK buying/selling birds, but here it is just awful.
Swapping old ex breeding birds for a new younger bird (to breed), swapping macaws for car parts, swapping ringnecks for cheap mobile phones, selling budgies living in a cage the size of a shoebox with just one perch, one of those crappy plastic ones, no toys.. It´s extremely sad
 

Sylvester

Hit the Road
Joined
7/12/17
Messages
1,939
You should never buy ANY animal as a gift for somebody.

The most heartbreaking thing that I could remembering watching on the local news as a child, was a story involving the adoption of 230 animals from a shelter. These puppies, dogs, kittens, and cats, were adopted by people, who intended to give them to others, for Christmas.

On December 26, the shelter reported that 220 of those animals were returned.

The looks on those animal's faces said it all. It was like: "What did I do wrong?"
 
Last edited:
Top