Today is for all you bird fanciers out there. Especially those of you who keep birds in cages and neglect to spend as much time as you should with little Polly or Tweetie. Taking him on seemed like a good idea at the time, but sadly your pet bird has become a liability rather than a pleasure. Now the poor little fellow is spending more and more time on his own because you have less and less time to spare. And on the few occasions you’ve tried to make amends for your neglect by taking him out of his cage, the ungrateful little ‘devil’ has turned nasty and tried to bite you.

So back he went into his cage, to spend more lonely days with nothing to do but get depressed and pull out his feathers or screech in frustration because it eased the pain in his heart and gave him temporary respite from the nothingness of his existence. Sound familiar?

You see, the tragedy is that birds are emotional, highly intelligent creatures like us humans, and by neglecting your caged bird you are slowly killing him from the inside out. Birds are not solitary beings and need company too. They also need mental and physical stimulation, and most importantly, a reason to live.

Probably the most famous bird today is Alex, an African Grey who has been trained by Dr.Irene Pepperberg at the University of Massachusetts. She has been studying his behaviour  for the past 30 years, and in the many papers she has written over the years, there is unequivocal, scientific evidence that Alex  not only has a superior vocabulary, but he also  understands the context of  words and is able to communicate using  language.

And it seems Budgies are no different, “Experiments statistically prove that Nkisi’s use of speech, not random, also gives evidence of his sentience and intentional use of language.”  Thought provoking stuff!

Don’t release your caged bird

Now the answer is NOT to release your caged or pet bird into the wild or your garden, because you will be signing its immediate death warrant! You see, all captive birds lose their basic instincts and their ability to fend for themselves, and will certainly be killed by predators or starve to death.

But there is an answer. There are dedicated people who will take these unwanted or problem pets off your hands with no questions asked. They will lovingly and patiently rehabilitate them, and offer them a quality life which they rightfully deserve.  For your birds sake, please contact Cheralynne on 082 454 0789.