Should petco be reported?

[Deja Q]

I obviously didn't get the cute parrotlet. It was scared of everything and, when it got outside the cage, it was stone cold petrified. :( (the wings needed to be reclipped as well.) I doubt I could make the fella feel at home in 2 weeks, and I should have offered a counteroffer of 50% off just to rescue it. The clerk was shocked when I mentioned the parrotlet's aggressive cagemate, and I doubt the two will ever be separated - further compounding the issue; the aggressive one really takes a bite out of people to; despite looking genuinely interested in them. (at least when in the cage... these birds are grossly cage-bound too.)

The local one has no time for their staff to attend to the handfed birds; so they revert to a more wild stage. As a result, the 'handfed parrot' is scared or bitey towards people. Nobody would ever buy them... not at those prices.

Worse, the one at a neighboring city also neglects these birds to such a level that they are dying. TWO canaries (one albino, one yellow) were LYING DOWN IN THEIR FOOD DISHES with the healthy one eating around the sick ones, who didn't bother to shake the seed husks off their wings. God, it was vile to see these creatures in misery. Petco mgmt are doubtlessly whining about the loss of $250 worth of stock... were the birds' food dishes changed regularly? Or is it a disease, in which case $250 is going to turn into $2000 fairly quickly, and the cockatiels didn't look too chirpy either...? or are they insured for "property damage"?! Never mind all their "handfed" parrots and cockatiels are also well over ideal weaning time (3~6 months is the best time to move them to a new home) and are all timid of people or will bite them.

The parrotlets at this same location, also ~8 months old, are of a more expensive variety and just as noncommitted to people. And apart from those parrotlets, EVERY bird in this store looked like it was sick. And when a bird looks visibly sick, it's often too late to save them.

[Jamastiene]

1. I'd say yes, report them to your local Humane Society if nothing

else. That sounds like animal neglect.

[skygazer]

2. Oh, that's so sad

I think I'd have to report them just to feel like I was doing something for those poor birds. I used to have several cockatiels - I bought one from a pet store who was supposedly hand-raised but like the ones you saw, he'd been so neglected, he never really became completely comfortable with me even with a lot of handling.

The others I bought from a private breeder who charged less and had beautiful, well-cared-for birds. You might check to see if there's anyone like that in your area.

I love birds and though in some ways, they're hardy, in others, they're very delicate. Poor things. :cry:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Check out this organization:

http://www.maars.org/services/adoption.php

A guy I work with is very active in this group -- they do a lot of work rescuing and rehabilitating sick, abused and neglected pet birds.

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. I support reporting.

A report is just a request for an investigation and it seems like these birds need some attention.

[idgiehkt]

5. yes, for God's sake, report them to animal control, the health dept, whatever

and report them to PETA as well. PETA has taken on Petco in the past. That is sickening to me, that those birds were lying in their food dishes, you need to call animal control and they could write them up for violations and possibly shut them down. People always need to report it when they see things amiss in a pet store.

Here is the contact for PETA specific to Petco:
If you have concerns about a PETCO store, please—in addition to letting us know by e-mailing [e-mail]—call PETCO's customer hotline at 1-888-824-PALS and/or e-mail PETCO at [e-mail]. For after-hours complaints, please call PETCO at 858-453-7845, extension 5858. When calling PETCO's hotline, please be sure to obtain an incident number and ask for the name of the person you speak with.

PETA has done campaigns against them before
http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2005/000231.html





I'm sad about the parrotlet. Maybe if you gave it time it would warm up to you once it got away from it's agressive cage mate. That breaks my heart to think of it trapped in a cage with an aggressive bird like that. That is why pet stores suck, among other reasons.

[Deja Q]

6. Thank you for the info...

If I was better equipped to handle and re-integrate such birds, I would be tempted.

I'd be as inclined to ask for a 50% price cut given they just can't find the time to keep the bird in the condition that they claim to sell it for. The shy one did manage to do a step-up for the associate clerk, but it was freaked out the entire time; and even I could tell from both birds there was a part of them that wanted companionship...

I dunno. Outside the cage, it was just petrified solid. Apart from an occasion where it shrieked out to its cagemate, who shrieked the same in return. I can only fathom it was a calls saying "Danger, stay away". Bird flocks tend to shriek the same noises in certain situations.

[Deja Q]

9. Addendum - petco is why all chain stores should stick to accessories,

rather than selling services and main products (aka birds, other forms of living pets, computer support services, you name it). They don't care about quality. Only profit. But they can't seem to fathom that a higher quality product is going to sell, whereas a cheap product will not.

[Kat45]

7. Yes, definitely report the store with the canaries.

And FYI, a "hand fed parrot" is not the same as a hand raised parrot. Especially in pet stores. They go around feeding the birds then putting them back in their cage/brooder. They don't play with them, talk to them, socialize them. So someone who gets a hand fed bird still needs to work with him a lot to have a companion, more so if the bird has been in the store for a long time. Parrotlets wean in about six weeks, IIRC, and that's the best time to get one.

Are you good with birds? If you are, and you have a lot of patience, you might be able to work with the parrotlet, get him to trust you. I'm curious--how much are they selling a parrotlet for?

[Deja Q]

10. The green parrotlets were $180, the blue ones at the other store were $500...

The blue ones were kept in big cages, each having one small toy. The cages were in a corner and given their preference to play with that one toy all day, there's no way they will sell as happy, adjusted birds. They were around 7 months old.

The green ones are 8 months old. Again, $180. I'd offer $80 for the shy one and try to coax him to feel safe and secure.

I have one Senegal parrot. Got him 9 years ago and he had a very nasty biting problem. It took a LONG time (years) but the biting problem is mostly abated and he is utterly adorable. More of a cat than a bird in personality, but we click...

I bought a quaker once from the same store. It was very shy as well. I couldn't get him to trust me and patience isn't my strongest virtue, so I returned him. They ARE very good with returns, however... but 8 months old and having lived in a cage with a cellmate (sibling of the opposite gender) that kept harassing and torturing him until an external threat convinces them both to team up together...

Plus exercising and other things I've got going; it's for the better I don't get the shy guy. I'd like to, but I don't think I've got that much time and patience to turn him around.

[Kat45]

11. That's too bad, but I know you need to have enough time to devote to the bird

What about the bitey one? Would you be interested in getting him? It might be easier to cure him of his biting habit than to turn the quiet one around--and he'd also be out of that bird's life, maybe making his life better. :shrug:

[stuntcat]

8. yes :(

please tell a few people. They might all ignore it anyway (I haven't got much faith in people lately) but I think it will help you feel like you've done what you can for the birds' souls. They're getting no respect, they're being treated like junk not living things.

[AtomicKitten]

12. I got my Rosella as a mercy purchase from a crappy pet store

under similar circumstances and I have had him for 19 years now. I don't think some pet stores know how to care for some of the birds and animals they get, often pawned off on them from breeders.

Ignorance combined with apathy are lethal combinations. Perhaps the local SPCA or Animal Control can be of assistance in citing them so they will be forced to improve conditions.