Yahoo Answers is a scary place for birds.

[Birkah]

Wow :omg:. I have been stuck on bedrest for the last week, and started playing around on Yahoo Answers this afternoon out of sheer boredom. I was absolutely SHOCKED to see this answer to "I think my lovebird is sick - how do I treat it at home?"

try this home remedy im sure it will work

mix a t-spoon of brandy in half cup of water and feed the bird. also give it tiny pieces of half a garlic.. it will work perfectly.. works well with chicken when they are sick.. have even tried on little chicks and they heal fast.

That sounds like a surefire way to kill a lovie FAST. I sincerely hope the owner doesn't take this guy's advice, and takes mine to go see an avian vet ASAP. Fingers crossed for this poor sick lovie. I am now officially depressed :(

[linda040899]

OMG!!! That IS depressing!! The "advisor" needs to crawl back under the rock he/she just came out from under......

Seriously, there is copious amounts of misinformation available on the Internet. Shocking that someone actually might believe some of it and do what's suggested. I've dabbled a bit with Yahoo Answers but don't really have the time to do it.

I, too, hope that lovebird found its way to an avian vet!

[One bird for one heart.]

OMG! Is that person mad! That would kill the lovie! I will never use yahoo answers again!

[Birkah]

It's not nearly as depressing as the guy who wants to start breeding parrots (with apparently NO bird experience whatsoever), and wants to know what all he needs in order to produce 50 pairs of babies to sell a month! Holy cow, I hope I talked him out of it.

[One bird for one heart.]

It's not nearly as depressing as the guy who wants to start breeding parrots (with apparently NO bird experience whatsoever), and wants to know what all he needs in order to produce 50 pairs of babies to sell a month! Holy cow, I hope I talked him out of it.

Sometimes I wonder what is wrong some peoples head!

[linda040899]

It's not nearly as depressing as the guy who wants to start breeding parrots (with apparently NO bird experience whatsoever), and wants to know what all he needs in order to produce 50 pairs of babies to sell a month! Holy cow, I hope I talked him out of it.
YIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even with as many birds as I have, I couldn't do that and contine to have healthy birds! That's just mind boggling.... :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg:

[Birkah]

This is his original question:

i am thinking to buy some pairs of parrots for their production then to sell them, can i do this? is it easy? how many pairs should i have for production of 50 pairs per month, and how many months they take for lying eggs and to breed, your help will be appriciated.

:omg:

This is what I told him:

Um. Wow. Do you have any experience with birds? I assume you are interested in breeding lorikeets? The best way to understand the sheer enormity of what you are proposing would be to visit a local breeder.

All parrots have specific dietary requirements, and need daily cage cleaning and interaction. They need the proper sized cages with adequate protection and ventilation. They should also be seen by certified avian vets periodically to ensure proper health. You would need to keep accurate genetic records (and fully understand their genetics) to ensure that you have healthy stock and aren't inbreeding. You would also need to be prepared to handfeed babies in the event that the parent birds are unable to do so (around the clock). You would need to register your breeding operation with local government agencies and be prepared to have them inspect periodically. To sum it up, breeding birds is very difficult and involved, not a good idea on a large scale such as you propose, best handled by experienced bird owners, and not typically a financially rewarding business.


Oh - I assumed lorikeets because he was asking about Australian parrots in the title of the post. Do you think I replied okay?

[Enko_chan]

Yes, I spent about 18 straight grueling hours on Yahoo Answers, trying to talk people out of doing terrible things to their poor birds, or getting birds in the first place...after which I had dangerously high blood pressure and considerably less hair.

Mostly I just came to realize that a lot of people out there really don't understand how to search for the information that they need and end up in places where they are liable to get VERY VERY VERY BAD INFORMATION! Many of the questions were bad enough to cause me to go half nuts, but the answers some folk were giving drove me the nearly the rest of the way. I referred people to forums, books, vets, and other locations appropriate to their personal geography- and explained to many what having one or multiple parrots is like. I really think I made a difference, however...

I can't field every question that comes down the pike and would go nuts trying and decided for my own mental health, I'm better off giving a concise answer and referral to a place to get good ongoing support and information when I occasionally come across Yahoo Answers or other similar places.

I understand what lead you to it, though- when I made my post on here about my long day on Yahoo Answers, I was also completely immobile and home-bound! You probably did those people a world of good!

On another note, there ARE a bunch of dedicated parrot "experts", and "experts" of every sort that answer questions on those boards all the time, but many questions go by without being noticed by such people because of the sheer number of them. There's no moderation or regulation except for the inexperienced asker's rating of the answers and answerer. It just seems that if these people who are asking were aware that there are forums like this one where they can get quality information that is at least filtered and moderated, they would be happy to use it!

[linda040899]

Rebekah,
Your answer reads just fine to me and you are dead on in your comments. If done properly, there is little profit to breeding parrots. I can tell you that from personal experience!!! :)

Misinformation seems to pro-create itself. Someone reads something on the Internet and doesn't question whether it's right or it's wrong. Next step is to share that information elsewhere and so the incorrect ideas get spread even further! ~sigh~

[Pips mom]

Yes, I spent about 18 straight grueling hours on Yahoo Answers, trying to talk people out of doing terrible things to their poor birds, or getting birds in the first place...after which I had dangerously high blood pressure and considerably less hair.

Oh gosh Kristi....I can certainly picture you do doing this! and I remember you posting about it! It's hard banging your head against a wall sometimes, isn't it?

[Mummieeva]

Since I have to get up early to get kids to bus I go to Yahoo Answers alot. I answer anything I can and reference here if bird related. I agree it is scary sometimes to read peoples replies and questions.


Steph

[bookworm0550]

yes, i avoid yahoo answers cuz it's so bad on there! it's sad where people think they can get good information.

[Enko_chan]

people not only think they can get good health information for their birds but also for themselves.

facepalm!

[Eliza]

This is his original question:

i am thinking to buy some pairs of parrots for their production then to sell them, can i do this? is it easy? how many pairs should i have for production of 50 pairs per month, and how many months they take for lying eggs and to breed, your help will be appriciated.

:omg:

This is what I told him:

Um. Wow. Do you have any experience with birds? I assume you are interested in breeding lorikeets? The best way to understand the sheer enormity of what you are proposing would be to visit a local breeder.

All parrots have specific dietary requirements, and need daily cage cleaning and interaction. They need the proper sized cages with adequate protection and ventilation. They should also be seen by certified avian vets periodically to ensure proper health. You would need to keep accurate genetic records (and fully understand their genetics) to ensure that you have healthy stock and aren't inbreeding. You would also need to be prepared to handfeed babies in the event that the parent birds are unable to do so (around the clock). You would need to register your breeding operation with local government agencies and be prepared to have them inspect periodically. To sum it up, breeding birds is very difficult and involved, not a good idea on a large scale such as you propose, best handled by experienced bird owners, and not typically a financially rewarding business.


Oh - I assumed lorikeets because he was asking about Australian parrots in the title of the post. Do you think I replied okay?

I think you would have been better served to leave out the "Um. Wow." in the beginning. The OP might have taken that as an attack and stopped reading.

As far as Australian parrots go, lories and lorikees are just one of MANY parrot genus located in Australia and Asia. There are cockatoos, cockatiels, budgies and all manner of others (Bourke's, red-rumped, Princess, Port Lincoln, rosellas, etc.). I wouldn't have assumed that "Australian parrots" = lorikeets.

Otherwise, I think that it was a good response.