Rehoming due to health

[Babs _Owner]

zebsoc


I wish you well in forever.

but there is no forever in this world anyway. Partings are a part of living.
And life throws us curve balls, things come up, life changes.
It's odd that we accept relationships breaking up as normal, people moving away, families dont stay together forever, but have such a fixed mindset when someone needs to rehome.

Yes it does. And it is sad families are now "trained" to see themselves broken apart as "normal".

This is why I threw away my TV many moons ago...be well.

[wildbird]

Babs, thank you so much for bringing the ionizers to our attention. I wondered what those boxes were next to the cages. Never thought of that! I also questioned why the birds would have an odor. I hope this information will be helpful in this situation. We should never forget about these dangerous machines.

[zebsoc]

lem2bert - Thank you very much for your support and understanding.
I havestried to give them the best home I can, thank you.

Shannylee - Thank you very much for your support and understanding.



Babs - the picture was taken during summer. I didn't have any sick birds during summer fortunately.
Thank you for the warning.
I would add a warning against Ozone purifiers. I used one in a bathroom with door closed because apartment fan not very good and there was a bad smell that nothing else would get rid of. It got the smell out and never came back but I got headaches during evening and night each time I went inside. Lasting about 1/2-1 hr. It something u absolutely don't want to be in the same room with (much less ur birds) and takes like 2 hrs of heavy duty airing out at least Before u enter inside.

The white ones have no ionizer.

Since the weather got cold the birds got chilled with the cool nights and drafty air purifier fans. I lost one parakeet , so I eliminated all the air purifiers you see and switched to mini ones, none have ionizer.
I gave parakeets heat lamp at night, small black 50 wattt and within couple days rest of them were back to being chatty and playing. They seem health now, quite active today.

The purifies seemed to be recycling the bird smell and actually spreading it throughout apartment. But without the ones with the fans it is a bit more stale. I've been afraid to use any fans near them because I don't want them feeling chilled at all.
But now that I'm writing this I think it's that lack of air movement that causes it to be more noticeable especially by late afternoon since the days are still warming well even tho the nights are so chilly.
Also I haven't been opening the doors as much because its been windy and the wind is chilly off and on and I've been afraid of any chill for the parakeets.
Finches haven't shown any signs of problems with cooler weather. They actually seem more lively especially the canary.

As a side note: I noticed that 2 of my parakeets not only beak peck at the others but also go at them with their feet. I know they use their feet when playing but I hadn't realized that they used them for fighting.
Even if I wasn't looking to rehome due to health, only 2 parakeets really get along together. 2 others are really bullies to all and all 4 bully the older one. Not a peaceful friendly combination unfortunately. They're not growing out of their dislike for one another, their just becoming more set and determined.

The 3 society finches get along really well together, 1 male and 2 female.
Usually the canary ignores them. Lately she's been very agitated like she wants to build a nest.
I do have additional lighting next to them both for warmth and better lighting.

I just realized it's the light that is causing the added smell in the afternoon because it's really keeping their area heated since it's a full spectrum light.

I've come across 2 main sourses of smell writing this - the lights close to the birds area and the lack of air circulation by them/no fans and doors not open as much.

How to protect against drafts with falls windyness and fan drafts but still circulate area well?

For those with allergies and health issues which air purifiers do u find best? Especially in a room that gets to 75-79 during afternoon.



Sorry for the long post. My heart is into keeping them. My mind knows it's best to rehome.

If I were to try reducing first before rehoming all:
The canary I like very much and she is very beautiful and the most costly. But she would be happiest in nest building and baby raising, and that is definitely out for me.
The society finches I have had the lngest and I'm most attached to them. Hardest to have to rehome.
The 2 meaner parakeets while beautiful r not peaceful.
The one bulied by all is the friendest which will sometimes stay fairly close even when I open door. He I think would be happiest alone one on one with a human companion.
The other 2 parakeets get along best together and r also the hardest to have to rehome. I wonder if they would still get along well jst the 2 of them.
Supplies I have plenty of food and toys to keep them fed and well entertained throughout the winter.

I appreciate the kindness and support
Rehoming wasnt and isn't an easy decision.

[zebsoc]

I'm not sure why rehome has become something bad.
We buy pets or adopt pets. All these pets are actually going from one home to the other, all are being rehomed whether for profit or for individual reasons. Breeders don't just sell babies only and many people adopt adult pets.

My difficulty and sorrow in having to rehome, can be another beginning journey in the pleasure and enjoyment of one of my birds.
I feel they are best with me, but the next person will feel that it is their home that is now best for them.

Is there any networks for providing pets to elderly people?

I once was given a puppy as a present unexpectedly and unfortunately it wasn't a good time for me to be able to give the time and attention needed.
A friend's elderly mother was grieving and it was coming on the one yr anniversary of her husband's death and becoming very depressed and isolated. I gave her the puppy. My friend said it got her mother through the anniversary day of her father's death and got her back in to life again
I believe the unexpectedly present of the puppy wasn't ever really meant to be for me but for me to pass on to my friend mother.

[zebsoc]

Babs
You left out a very important piece of what I had written in your quote which was the main point:
It's not easy but it is best for the pets to get a new home where they can be better cared for then in a situation that isn't working and humans count too, we try but know best when it's necessary for us and for our pets.

Life isn't perfect but staying stuck within a bad situation won't make it better either, hard decisions done with loving intentions trying for what is best.

I'm not offering them for free unless it is to help someone like an elderly person because I don't want to risk them to an bad situation. But they r priced low because the goal is a good home. If it were a truly good home like an elderly lonely person, I will give for free and even provide some supplies to help them.
Or a retirement home. Anyone familiar with anything like that in California - pets for elderly, etc?

[Shannylee]

zebsoc, rehoming is definitely not a bad thing in my eyes. I just took on a few zebras and a society from a young girl who is in poor health and doesn't have the strength to do her own thing...much less take on the task of cleaning, feeding, etc. of her birds. You take care of yourself!

[zebsoc]

Shannylee - Thank you very much for your support and understanding.

[robbin]

Oh my! Good to know!

[Stony]

I wish you well.

[Shannylee]

Regarding odor...I have pin tailed whydahs and they have a very distinct odor. It's not a bad odor but it is definitely an odor. When I was at the Bird Mart a few weeks ago, I walked past the pin tailed whydah cage and caught a whiff of them. They have a distinct smell regardless of how clean the cage is and I'm obsessive about clean cages.

[lovezebs]

zebsoc

Good luck with finding new homes for your bird babies.

Sending good wishes your way, with hopes of a speedy recovery.

[zebsoc]

Stony
Shannylee
Lovzebs
-- Thank you

I realized that part of the smell is my new neighbors marijuana smoking in the apartment next to me, last week it got so bad it now has that old musky skunk smell in my apartment day and night. During weekend they were smoking with door and window open and it stank up the whole front area.
With being sick already that is part of what makes me too nauseous to even eat. At least I'm losing weight.
But I hate putting drugs into my body including prescription drugs and I hate breathing in that psychotic poison that makes me so sick.

When I'm feeling better my birds don't smell as strong to me.
When I'm nauseous everything stinks to me.

I did rehome the one parakeet that was consistently being bullied by the others.
He's very happy in his new home. I got a nice photo of him. And the other parakeets r much happier now that he's not with them

Bt I haven't had the heart yet for an all out effort to rehome the rest. Tho I know that with my deteriorating health it would be best.would miss them terribly.

[Lucille]

But I hate putting drugs into my body including prescription drugs

I understand, but if something is prescribed, you may need it. My son injects insulin several times a day, without it he would die. I'm sure he hates it, but sometimes to be well, you need these things.


Many ionizers are coupled with HEPA filters, and you can turn off the ionizer and still use the HEPA filters to filter your air.

[zebsoc]

Lucille - hi
I noticed that anything with a filter around strong odors will quickly pick up those odors and begin to spread them instead of stop them.takes lots of cleaning and/or replacing filters.
A precarbon filter helps and is cheaper to replace than the main filter.

Given the detriment to my health and therefore my life I am looking into ionizer and ozone.
Ionizers have never given me trouble as long as I don't use them in a small enclosed space while I'm there.
In larger areas they have actually been helpful for allergies. Tho just ionizer doesn't seem to be too good on really strong odors unless combined with something else like filter and/or uv light.
Ozone does make me very sick and headaches but I'm not sure what strength I was using. So I'm going to try again (wish I hadn't thrown it in the garbage) since it did get rid of a bad odor in the bathroom that nothing else could.

I have taken prescriptions and gone that route. That is the only choice given by doctors. Some tho made me very sick. Others were helpful but ended up getting banned. 1 because it had caused too many deaths, the other because too many people had gotten a very bad skin condition caused by it, fortunately I didn't take it very long before it got banned. Tho it had help some.
So after going that route I decided to try natural. Just a personal and at the time necessary thing for me.
I am happy with my decision and just don't want to be forced into something by someone else.
Each person can make that decision themselves but this is forcing me to be part of it when it's making me very sick.
There r ways that the smoke can be contained and therefore the skunk funk caused by it.
Plus prescriptions drugs aren't supposed to be shared with others in the first place, much less given no choice in sharing its affects/stench.

[Lucille]

Ozone does make me very sick and headaches but I'm not sure what strength I was using. So I'm going to try again (wish I hadn't thrown it in the garbage) since it did get rid of a bad odor in the bathroom that nothing else could.

There are sites that describe how to safely use ozonators. They describe timers, to turn the ozonator on and off when no one pet or person is present, and a buffer period afterwards before it is safe for living creatures to return.

There is, of course, a moral component here that you will have to address. If the neighbor's use of prescription cannabis is making you ill, your use of an ozonator may make them ill.