Feather plucked baby in pet shop

[Mands]

Heya.

I was in my local pet shop the other day and i seen this poor little black zebra baby very badly feather plucked just sitting there.

I want to go and ask the lady if she will allow me to have it, whether it be for free or she charges me full price for it.

What is the best way of getting it back to full feathered health? and if it improves how long will it take to feather back up?

I really want to help the little fella but only if i can do the right thing for it.

[Mands]

Well get this !!!

I just rang the shop and asked about the little bird. The shop owner told me that she wont let me have him in case i turn around and go back against the shop for the state of the bird. I said "I am not going to do that i Just want to give him a good home and get him back to good health" she said "No i wont allow you to do that" me "then what are you going to do with him?" her "I will see how he goes and if he looks bad enough then i will take him out the back of the shop"

I AM FURIOUS !!!! That poor little bird is suffering and they wont allow him a good home yet at the same time allow him to live in an over crowded cage all plucked and sickly. Not to mention how rude she was.

This is a shop I am at all of the time, i spend a lot of money there. Not any more i wont be i can tell you that.

Now all i can think about is the poor little black zebra sitting there with his head down.

[Zebrafincher]

Hi Mandy,

do you have someone else you know who just casually go in and get the bird? I adopted a star finch which had been picked on, and was completely bald. You can get the finch back up to health with lots of good food, heat, and perhaps keeping it separate from other birds until the feathers grow back. Be aware that you may be taking on a sicker bird, and you may have to take he/she to the vet more than usual.

Good luck with this. Bless you for doing so.

Zebrafincher

[chirpy]

yes i was going to say the same thing?
could your husband go in and rescue the bird??? and say he has a friend who lost a "baby" zebra and it looks like him or some story like that? i know it sounds kind of ... silly... but knowing how the owner reacts im sure shes "silly" anyway.

i hate hate hate those people who own a pet store and just dont think of the animals.. take it out back for what reason? so it could just huddle behind closed doors alone?

[Mands]

chirpy

That's my plan. I am going to get a friend over on the weekend to see if it is still there. I can't send hubby because they know him.

That was my thought as well. Why are they taking him out the back? to do what? If they have him in the 'For Sale' cage then why isn't he already out being cared for in that state?

Greedy money hungry lady she was. I burst into tears after I got of the phone, I have been thinking about that little bird for a few days now and now he has lost a chance at being happy because she wanted to 'protect' herself.

[chirpy]

What bull crap!
This is so sad... I hope that she lets someone buy the bird for you.
I hate seeing sad cases.. Another reason why I try not to look at birds because space wise I can't afford to save I just pray thy go to a good home. I feel so helpless

Obviously doesn't care for animals you should report her anyway.. After the rescue

[Mands]

Zebrafincher chirpy

I am going to do whatever i can to save this little one. I just hope it is not too late and he hasn't already "Gone out the back". I just wish I had have been smarter and quicker. I have learnt my lesson now and she will not be getting one more cent from me, I don't care how far I have to travel, I will not go back there. (only to save the little one with a friend while i hide in the car)

[Finnie]

Three things:

1.) If you (or your spy) go back and buy that bird to save it, that tells the shop owner that sick birds sell well, and will encourage her to continue whatever bad practices she does. Harsh as it may sound for the poor bird already in that store, "saving" it just dooms future birds. Forcing the shop owner to keep it and deal with the problem her own self teaches her that it is not profitable to let them get sick. Do you really want to save one bird at the expense of many more?

2.) You have an opportunity here. Quote: " she wont let me have him in case i turn around and go back against the shop for the state of the bird."

This was dumb of her, because now you can still report her anyway, and the bird is still there, so IF any authorities investigate, it is worse for her than if she had let you have it. At the very least, you can get a complaint in, stating what she has told you. (Especially the part about taking it "out the back of the shop" We all know that means a one way trip, not the nice little hospital cage you may be imagining.) So by not cooperating with you, she gave you even more ammunition against herself.

You should definitely tell her that she has lost a good customer, and that you will be telling everyone you know to stop patronizing her store.

and 3.) If you knowingly bring a sick bird into your home, you jeopardize the health of all your other birds. I guess only you know whether your set up will allow you to isolate and cure a bird (from who knows what) without transferring any germs or parasites to your bird room(s).

Sorry my three cents worth is so long. I can sympathize with the feeling of wanting to do a kindness for the poor sick bird. I just think it does more harm than good to make it profitable for a store to sell sick animals.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

[fhgwgads]

Mands I would definitely make a complaint to the management. Explain to them you are a loyal customer, an avid bird lover, and tell them exactly what happened and how appalled you are. The bird should not have been left in that situation to begin with! If you don't get anywhere with that I would definitely look into reporting them. I wish you could get the poor little baby!! I would first try to bring it up to management and see if you could settle it that way. It's so unfortunate the way some shops treat the animals they have. Keep us posted on what happens! And if you do have someone else go get the bird I would definitely bring it up to management afterwards so they know you were intent on saving it and that you are appalled!!!

[Mands]

Thanks everyone.

I have a lot to think about. Some very valid points made.

Mands.

[Zebrafincher]

Hi Mands,

Let us know what happens. I've adopted two runts over the years - both star finches. Fruit lived until he was seven, and Merl, who was bald at the time I got him, is two years old and going strong.

Good luck.


Zebrafincher
Proud owner of:
“Kevin the King”, groutchy canary – 12 years
Beaky the Zebbie – 6 months
Merlin “Merl” the Starfinch – 2 years

[Colt]

I have to say I find the woman's attitude absolutely appalling. I worked in a pet store as a manager for several years. I took the store's mission statement to heart:

"Our pet counselors are dedicated to matching the right pet to the right person and meeting the needs of both. And to our customers who already have pets we are dedicated to enhancing the knowledge of the human-animal bond."

I always tried to do what was right for the animals and the people in the store. I can say that you would never have seen the finch in that condition because it would have been in the kennel in the "ISO" area reserved for critters that weren't feeling well or pregnant or nursing individuals. And if for some reason you became aware of the bird back there and wanted to purchase it I don't honestly know what I would do. Either let you have the bird with the understanding of what it would take to help him out or keep the bird until it was healthy and then allow you to purchase him.

I simply can not understand some people's attitudes towards some topics.

And as far as purchasing the bird, I would do it. If it doesn't get better it sounds like she's going to kill it. And she obviously knows birds like that won't sell which is why she doesn't want to let you have it. Because its condition could get her in trouble. Personally I don't think not buying it will teach her anything.

[Harley2013]

What happened to this little bird? Was it saved? This is so sad and such a terrible way to do business let alone treat these poor animals. They didn't ask to be brought into this world. Ugh!!!

[Angela&Shalamar]

The owner probably took the bird out as soon as she hung up. Getting rid of evidence as it were. Most people that sell animals have no business HAVING animals let alone selling them. The stores by me seem good. It's were my guys came from. Although sometimes the finches look rough though I think they may just be getting them in during a first molt.

[lovezebs]

Hi all. Did you ever go back to that store with a friend or whatever? I find stories like that very disturbing. I dont know whether to cry or start growling and showing teeth. I think I would have been tempted to call animal services and gone into the store with them. People like that... Urgh!