Issues with my Mother's Finches

[Finches]

Oh my gosh guys.

So not long after this I tried to talk kindly about rehoming some of the birds. She got very upset and would have none of it.

About 2 weeks ago, I found out she had released ALL of them into the wild. She had taken her cages up the road to the woods and freed them all. I went up to look, and saw none of them.

Yesterday, she suddenly had a new pair, male and female, again. She said she would "start over" with just two. They already had 4 eggs in a nest.

[finchmix22]

How sad! Does she realize they can't survive in the wild? I hope she doesn't do that with the new ones. Keep trying.

[Nerien]

Tip off the pet store that she sells to, and have them notify her that they are no longer in the market for finches from local people (health laws, animal regulations, whatever) and since they've gotten finches from her in the past, they were letting her know they could not take any more in the future.

Tip off any other pet store in the area that she might contact, also, just let them know she breeds indiscriminately and in bird-mill conditions.

Sabotage those eggs or that whole nest if you can.

Also, you don't say where you are, or if there's any chance they could survive in your climate, but it must be illegal to release non-native, invasive species, tell her that, that she was lucky she wasn't caught or she could be fined thousands of dollars. Imagine how quickly the population would take over the native birds if the zebras could survive where released? After all, isn't it New Jersey (or is it on Long Island (NY)) where they now have a wild population of quaker parrots, that shouldn't have survived the climate, but did, and are, and are now a problem?)
She just has to stop. She just has to. She is being cruel to these birds.

[lovezebs]

Finches
Hi there.
This is not funny anymore. Mommy dearest just tossed all those poor little birds to their deaths, to be eaten by whatever or starve to death. OR if they do survive, to cause major wildbird problems for years to come. I am assuming you don't live in Australia, where Zebras are 'wildbirds'.
If you have ASPCA, Animal Services, Wildlife Society etc. I would get on the phone with them and explain the situation. They could go and visit her , remove the new birds and threaten LARGE fines without mentioning your name.
Im sure there are other people who are aware of the situation, such as friends, neigbours, pet shop people etc.
Honestly, if you love animals, you need to do something about this. Mom needs help obviously and needs to be set straight that what she's doing is very wrong.

Sorry for sounding judgemental, but this IS wrong.

[wildbird]

Find an animal rescue group or animal welfare organization for advice. The fish and game commission will put a stop to her releasing them into the wild. It's against the law. If she's not taking good care of her birds, she shouldn't have any.

[MiaCarter]

Oh no!
This is terrible.
I'm so sorry you're in the awful position you're in; it's hard when someone we love does things like this.

That breaks my heart that she "set them free". I live in a semi-remote area on the edge of a forest preserve, and it's where people come to set their pets "free."
I'm one of the people who picks up the pieces for these "free" animals. It breaks my heart over and over.
Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, iguanas, chickens, a llama, goats.
It's a fate worse than death for most. It's awful and it causes terrible problems with the local wildlife populations because many non-native species of (reptiles in particular) tend to take over.

I agree with the others. I would report her to the authorities. Contact your local animal control officer and/or the fish and game commission and they can intervene. It's illegal to release non-native species into the wild and it's also illegal in many states to abandon your animal.

I'd also contact the pet shop. Now is the time to get nasty. Inform them that they are supporting an unethical breeder and if they continue to purchase from your mother, you'll contact the ASPCA, Animal Rescue League or another organization.
No pet shop wants to get involved with these organizations.

Do you know of any avian rescue groups in your area? If so, I'd contact one of them to see what they can recommend for helping the birds she's set free. There are ways to lure and trap particular bird species. It can take a while, but I've seen it work. (It usually entails putting out feeders in a particular area, then watching for them to come. Once they make a habit of it, you trap them.)

As I was reading through the thread, I was going to suggest buying a few large cages off ebay or craigslist and setting them up for her as a "surprise." (Heck; I've got a few in the attic that I could have mailed out. Not huge, but definitely 3x+ the size of what she had on-hand.) But obviously, that's no good now.

Can you make the other empty cages "disappear"?? That would make it more difficult for her to expand.

ETA -- Wait a minute. How on earth was she getting them to reproduce by only offering wild finch seed and in such cramped conditions? You'd think their health would be too poor; that they wouldn't be in breeding condition?
(And my guys have 2 very large cages, a better diet than most humans, supplements, lots of exercise/free flight time, etc. and I've only managed 1 chick out of countless eggs? Me thinks the bird gods have things confused! She must have gotten my stork deliveries! LOL)

[Ginene]

Honestly, I have no words of wisdom to share. I just wanted to wish you luck with this really hard situation.

[Sally]

I hate to bring this up, but I'm older than your mother so I'm aware of some of the problems of aging. Some of us start to become very stubborn, even belligerent, when we feel that we are losing control. We don't like to admit that we can no longer do all the things we could when younger, and so we resist any hint that we need to change.

Normally, I would say calling in the authorities would be a last resort. After all, this is your mother. I would suggest going to your Animal Control Officer, explaining the situation, and enlisting his/her help. Sometimes an authority figure can reach out much better than a family member. We 'old folks' often feel that the younger generation is trying to run our lives, to control us, and this just causes resentment and a tendency to make wrong decisions just to show we still can make decisions.

I wish you luck with this, you have been put in a terrible situation.

[delray]

finches wow!!!! This is a crazy situation and you feel like you are in the middle if it. I don't think her letting them out into the wild was the greatest idea.... Good luck !!!!

[finchmix22]

Finches
After reading all the replies to your post, I hope you understand we are trying to help and not criticize you. This is a difficult situation when you're dealing with a family member. Yet, we all know the finches are the ones who suffer first.

I pray you can find a way to remedy the situation to help the finches and keep a decent relationship with your mother.

[MiaCarter]

That's some really wonderful wisdom, Sally. Thank you for sharing that.
I found it helpful myself, as I work with individuals/families who are mistreating their animals but have shown an interest in changing and educating themselves on the proper care.

You're very right on all points.
Plus, I think it's easy to dismiss our family members sometimes because they're emotionally involved and we know they're not objective.
But the words can be more powerful coming from an authority figure who's truly objective and not emotionally involved.

To the daughter: I might try to see if you can gain an understanding of why your mom is compelled to do this. That may help you understand how to get through to her better.
Is she lonely and it gives her something to do and companions?
Is she seeking to create a little world that she can control?
Is it just generational/cultural beliefs that make her believe this treatment is acceptable?

Did she release the little 1-legged finch? Goodness, I hope not.

I just hope everything works out for the best with this difficult situation -- for the people and the animals involved.

[delray]

MiaCarter it seems like she let all if them go and got a new pair. I hope they do ok in the wild and enjoy life in the open while they can!!!! sing away birdies !!!!

[MiaCarter]

delray -- yeah, you're probably right.
I'd initially thought she'd set free all the breeders, but you're right, it sounds like she released the entire lot.
Sadly, life in the wild is usually very short for domesticated pets unless they're A) super quick learners and in an environment with lots of food sources or B) they find an artificial and reliable food source (like a bird feeder.)

Hopefully, some can be recovered? It would be difficult but not impossible.

[Olympic_Aiairies]

Really tough situation. I think you've gotten some great advice.

I agree with trying to buy her some flights or show her that they aren't that expensive on eBay.

I'd also try and get her to read some information on finches. If she won't go online herself then I'd print stuff off for her to read.

I would definitely tip the pet store off.

If nothing else works I'd report her. It sucks but if birds are being born without legs or with deformities something has to be done.