okay so a friend of mine wanted to get her 10 year old a Budgie for a pet. The little girl was great, she spent about 3 months getting ready for the new guy and on Wednesday this week she told me that it was time. She had the cage and everything else she was going to need, she was all set.

 

So today Katie and I took off to see a local breeder that her mother had been told about. We had a vet app set up for a little later today so that we could pick the bird up and take it straight to the vet. I figured that this would be a good experience for her and the vet could fill in any of the blanks.

 

So we arrive at this breeders house and get taken out the back and the only thing I could think was that I was going to be sick! His aviary had "fallen down" so all the birds where in a VERY small cage. Think a standard breeding cage and double the width then put about 25 birds in it! The smell was... I can't go there. Katie almost burst into tears. the "breeder" then tells us that he is going to drown, yes drown, them all in a few days as he has no where to put them anymore and will give us which ever bird we want for $5.

 

Katie looks at me; I look at her and then ask "How much for the lot?" Now $5x25 = $125 which as luck would have it I had in cash on me, Katie also had around $80 on her to cover the cost of the bird and the vet visit. The guy turns to me and say "$50 for the lot, $60 if you want the cage as well."

 

So I leave with 25 birds and one crying 10 year old. We went to the vet with the birds in the existing cage, the whole time I was thinking "What the *** am I going to do with all of these birds."

 

Well it gets worst, we arrive at the vet, the vet is sickened and the vet nurse starts to cry which just makes Katie cry more. Pictures are taken and reports filled out for the RSPCA which have been notified. The end count was this.

 

2 birds did not survive the trip

3 birds literally dropped dead in the vets hands.

5 birds had the worse cases of scaly mites that I have ever seen! One was missing a foot all together and it looked like it had been eaten off!

6 had breathing issues

4 had visible and quite large tumors.

1 was missing the bottom half of his beak

3 so undernourished that they had issues standing

 

and finally 1 that seemed okay, the vet is keeping him in for a few days to see if he makes it or anything else crops up, he does have mites but not that bad and it's hoped that he will pull through, this is the bird that Katie will take home if he does make it. He was very young so fingers are crossed. The vet did tell Katie that she did not have to take him and that she could always get another bird, at which point she looked up at the vet and said “If I don’t care for him who will? If I just leave him then I am no better then that *******.” Yes that is what she said with a very determined look on her face and a stamp of her foot.

 

So the end result was a total of 19 birds being put down by the vet, 5 birds dying and one little one struggling to make it.

 

I rang the breeder and gave him a dressing down about it, his response

 

Breeder - "Well if you want to return the birds then I will give you a 50% refund."

AV - "They are dead!"

Breeder - "Did you feed them?"

 

At this point I just hung up the phone! Poor Katie, so excited today and then this. It would have been better to take her to the local pet store then put her through what she went through today.

 

Is there a list somewhere on this forum of GOOD breeders and the areas that they are in? Katie’s mum got the number of someone who got a bird off the "breeder" a few years back and said how great he was, it just makes me sick.

 

The vet was great however, did not charge us for the birds and told Katie that if the baby did not survive then they would not charge her, even then I don't think that she would be charged that much if he does make it.

 

I was so worried about my guys catching something that I came home, jumped the back fence (something I never want to do again OUCH) to go in the back door. My sister had locked the budgies off in the living room and toweled the doors shut, stripped in the laundry and took the hottest shower that I have ever had! I came out looking like a lobster! My clothes all went straight in the washing machine on HOT going through twice with bleach! I also have not handled my guys today just to be on the safe side.

 

Argh I still feel dirty about the whole thing and a little sick!

Oh, poor Katie. What an absolutely horrific experience for her I really hope that the budgie does make it as at least she will know she has made a difference for at least one of these poor birds.

 

 

Feathers.

Oh my gosh this post brought tears to my eyes for many reasons.

 

1. What a brave little girl and so mature..GOOD for her saying what she said. Merlin gives her kisses

2. WOW to you and you are amazing..your heart lead the way but you thought and got them right to the vet - I applause you.

3. &^&%& at that breeder and shame ON HIM!!!

 

Very sad story, wonderful learning experience for everyone and thank you for sharing.

 

Katie...good for you for being so smart, caring and loving.

Oh, poor Katie. What an absolutely horrific experience for her I really hope that the budgie does make it as at least she will know she has made a difference for at least one of these poor birds.

 

I hope he makes it to, it would mean that at least one good thing came out of this.

 

 

Oh my gosh this post brought tears to my eyes for many reasons.

 

1. What a brave little girl and so mature..GOOD for her saying what she said. Merlin gives her kisses

2. WOW to you and you are amazing..your heart lead the way but you thought and got them right to the vet - I applause you.

3. &^&%& at that breeder and shame ON HIM!!!

 

Very sad story, wonderful learning experience for everyone and thank you for sharing.

 

Katie...good for you for being so smart, caring and loving.

 

Katie really suprised me today, I know that she is very grown up for her age but today took the cake. Even at the vets she was asking questions seeing if there way anyway that we could save them, towards the end she was looking at which ever bird the vet pulled out of the cage and discussing with the vet what was wrong, possible soultions and making the decision to put them down. She also gave each one a final cuddle and held them for the vet as he injected them, she helped the vet nurse wrap each budgie and selected the flowers for them before placing them in the box to send to get cremated (vet thought this was best to stop anything being spread to wild birds)

 

Once we got over the initial crying she sort of sucked it up and had this little determined brave face on for the rest of the visit. I was so proud of her, she now wants to be an RSPCA inspector or a vet.

Good for her it is wonderful to see such a compassion in children. My daughter is very compassionate about animals as I am. I remember when we went to the avian vet and took Merlin in after Pretty passed away she wanted to know everything and she is only 6. She still talks about Pretty and sheds tears for him. Her heart is going to be broke as mine is with abuse, throw away animals and such stories but it only makes you more aware and stronger!!

 

Kiddos to Katie!!!

That makes me feel ill too. Reading your post made me cry, for you, Katie, and all those birds. How very, very sad this world is sometimes. It is a shame that children are learning what cruelty and neglect some people are capable of earlier and earlier. Whether you know it or not, I think you were a perfect role model for Katie today, by doing what you did. You cannot go wrong teaching a child compassion, and by your actions that is exactly what you showed her.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience today. Bless you for taking all the birds, at least they are not suffering anymore. And I am sure they WERE suffering. I hope that lone budgie still struggling will make it, and that s/he brings more joy to Katie than she ever imagined having a budgie would do. I am so proud of Katie too.

 

((hugs)) and tears to you both.

Edited August 12, 200717 yr by Rainbow

Wow...... What a heart breaking and heart warming story! The conditions of the birds sickened me, but you did the right thing and they are for sure in a better place now. But the overwhelming reaction to this is the way Katie handled it all. Such an amazing girl!! Holding the birds while they were put down even. As an adult that is a really hard thing to do! I hope that the little one makes it and I'm sure that it will bring Katie much joy and love and it will be one of the happiest birdies around.

what an awful experience to go thru, you did a very good job of taking them all to the vet right away. l can not believe how some people can be so cruel to their pets.

Katie is a really loving, brave girl, and you are such a compassionate person.

That person could not call himself a breeder, that is so disgusting. :fear I am a great believer that if you have a pet or pets you treat them respect and love, as you would yourself or children, look after them the best you can possibly do. That poor little girl, she is stronger than me. I hope the RSPCA give him *** :

I am completely stunned, reading this bought tears to my eyes. Oh those poor poor budgies what a horrible way to live and finally die, at least their pain and suffering is over for them now.

 

I can only hope the RSPCA throw the book at him and can prosecute him to the full extent possible.

 

Good on you and Katie for taking them, I don't think I could have been so strong.

Wow, poor little birdies and poor little Katie, but boy has she proved how responsible and mature she is to look after this little dude if s/he survives. Kudos to all three of you.

That was no BREEDER

 

that was the leftovers from a BIRD MILL

 

words fail me ....... :rip:

Edited August 13, 200717 yr by **KAZ**

Thanks for the feedback, called Katie and told her what you all said she says thanks as well but does not think she did anything special. That kids suprises me!

 

She got her mum to drive down to the vets today so she could see her Budgie!

And what are the results so far?

Good question....how is the birdie and are they going to pursue this man for animal cruelity?

sorry I so forgot to post that bit

 

She has called the little boy "eduro" which is Latin for "to last , endure". The vet called me today and still said that he was pretty sick and had not picked up as much as they would have liked over night. They are going to do some more tests tomorrow and see what's what. However he was drinking but nor that intrested in food which was a good sign sort of.

 

As for the "breeder" and Kaz I use that term with air quotes and a look of disgust on my face! The RSPCA went to talk to him today, he claimed that the birds had only been in the smaller cage for about 24 hours tops. However the vet had kept the cage and says there is almost 2 months worth of waste on the bottom of the cage so that has been taken for evidence.

 

If I get off work early enough tomorrow I am going to take Katie down there if not her mum is going to go with her tomorrow, I really hope the little guys pulls through. Will see about taking a photo of them both to post.

I really hope, for Katie's sake, that there will be a happy ending to all this. Maybe Eduro has taken too much abuse for his little system to get on top of. There has to a just ONE bright spot in this saga of cruelty

There is one way for this child, to have no more upsets.change it with a fit budgie.

Surely some one has a budgie of the same colour,they can take to the vets & replace it.

I know of budgie that have died on Monday & good as gold on Tuesday.

hears to hoping the little one pulls through there certainly would be wonderful to have a miracle happen.

thank you for the update.

I really hope, for Katie's sake, that there will be a happy ending to all this. Maybe Eduro has taken too much abuse for his little system to get on top of. There has to a just ONE bright spot in this saga of cruelty

 

Yeah I hope so to!

 

There is one way for this child, to have no more upsets.change it with a fit budgie.

Surely some one has a budgie of the same colour,they can take to the vets & replace it.

I know of budgie that have died on Monday & good as gold on Tuesday.

 

(Laughing out loud) If I thought I could I might just but I think she is to bright for this. I am just crosing my fingers and hoping like there is no tomorrow!

I would be changeing the bird over,I dought she will know the difference,What colour is the bird.I could put 4 green or blue birds i front of you,give you a look at them for 5 minites & then chance the cages around & say line them back in the same order & you would have trouble doing it.Be different if you had it for aweek,

Don't get me wrong she may not pick it, but at the same time if she does then that opens a whole other can of worms. She knows that the bird may not make it, both myself and her mother has talked to her about this. I think if it does not make it she will accept that and get another bird down the track.

How disgusting!!! I'm glad paperwork has been done and hopefully chargres pressed!!! a*hole!!!

I thank you for giving them a better ending that what he planned

l'm curious, if they do find him guilty what would happen to him? would they just ban him from breeding? or would they give him a big fine?

lf it was me, l would throw him in jail or l would do something far more worse then that to him :hap:

 

l'm hoping that Eduro will pull thru.

I can't help but wonder whether there is more to the story of the "breeder". What has happened is horrendous to be sure, but if he WAS once a decent breeder, then something must have happened to bring him and his birds to this state of decay.

 

It's easy to say set the RSPCA onto him and punish him, but what if he is in just as much need of help as his birds were? What is his state of mental health? Is he suffering from depression as so many people are (so BeyondBlue keeps telling us in their ads). Perhaps he needs more a visit from a competent social worker, doctor or psychologist instead.

 

But as a society, we tend to punish first, and not bother to ask the "why" at all :hap: And so it keeps on happening ...

 

KathyW.