Buying a Love Bird
 

Just been to Lu Lu's Hypermarket in Dubai (near MOE)

Saw some lovely love birds which i was considering buying but wasnt too sure on whether they make good pets or not for the kids.

Did a little research and they seem to be quite friendly and easy to clean blah blah blah

Anyone have any?

Advice?

Does any one know of a good pet shops in Dubai the ones i saw looked like they had done a few rounds with Rocky Balboa....

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

My sister had two of them apparently they stay true to one another through life and when one dies the other cannot live without the other,not sure how true this is.What I do remember is they are very very noisy.

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

sorry, thought this was another 'dark side' thread..

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

I wouldn't buy a bird from a petshop like the one at Lulu :eek: If you want to buy a healthy bird, I would go to Petland - they're the only ones who really know what they're doing and their birds have all the necessary papers for you to take it out with you when you leave.

No papers for birds? Not allowed to take them out of the country - same as with tortoises and lots of other species!

And never, ever purchase from a Souk either - I speak from experience - horrible experience :curse:

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Why not get yourself a mynah bird and teach it to talk. There are dozens in the parks of Karama and environs, available free of charge.

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Keeping a bird in a cage/house?? That's just plain wrong......:(

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Not if you have my beloved beautiful parrot - she's as happy as any animal I've ever seen; but then she is definitely NOT caged, goes everywhere with me and adores going on ALL visitors' shoulders to preen their hair :) She was also captive bred and hand-reared though :wub:

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Me too...I was getting ready to recommend certain bars in Bur Dubai and everything but alas am sorely dissappointed! :p

N.

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Fair enough. I really wouldn't want to encourage buying a caged bird from a supermarket pet shop though, especially over here where I'd bet my pension the animals are treated like crap. They're BIRDS - they're meant to fly around with their own kind not live in a lounge/kitchen looking pretty.....:confused:

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Smoochy Girls parrot is fab!! we all love her to bits :wub:

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Ahh that's lovely!! What a shame that thousands of them are killed every year to make a few women say ahhhhhhhhhhhh :wub::wub::wub:

http://www.ameinfo.com/66602.html

Death during capture and transit

While much wildlife trade is legal and follows CITES regulations, there is a persistent illegal trade, particularly in wildlife such as rare parrots and other exotic birds. Each year, hundreds and thousands of parrots are imported and exported to supply the demand for pets. Often plucked from their nests and smuggled across borders, many do not make it to their destination because of inhumane conditions, dying of starvation or cruel treatment en route.

Some smugglers techniques are particularly cruel! Birds are taped to hubcaps, drugged, stuffed under clothing with beaks taped shut, and hidden in wooden crates in the midst of other cargo with improper ventilation; and certainly no cooling.

High mortality during trapping, shipping and quarantine means that trade impacts far more wild birds than the numbers that actually end up for sale.


Not such happy pets

Parrots have very intense social bonds in the wild. They are flock animals and survive by staying with their flock. These social needs remain even in captivity and they, therefore, require a lot of attention and stimulation. Many wild caught parrots retain their wild traits and may have been sold and resold to a number of owners.

Several that are now kept as pets, have not been domesticated through years of selective breeding but, instead, are only a generation or two removed from their wild ancestors.
Because parrots are thought to be sensitive, with a need for stability, they can have behavioural problems when not in an optimal environment (the wild). This may result in fear biting, screaming or even self mutilation such as picking out all their feathers.

Responsible consumers shouldn't buy wild-caught parrots and parakeets for private ownership. Buying these only encourages an illegal trade that is decimating parrot populations.

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

you don't Smoochy Girl, I do, trust me on this, her entire life has been devoted to the welcare of animals, there isn't much she doesn't know about practically every breed of bird out there. Their welfare is always first on the list, she is well known in this area for campaigning for animal welfare.

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Ronnie I agree with everything you wrote and quoted and it's true that parrots, more than any other bird, bond with (usually their mate for life). Having said this, if a responsible owner finds out where the bird is coming from, they can have a pet that is happy, well-adjusted and a true part of the family............ the parrot will usually bond with one special person and tolerate the others in the family - ours feels the same about both of us because she was 3 months old when we got her!

Mine is 4th generation captive-bred and hand-reared, started speaking at age 8 months and is so bonded with humans (and dogs!!) that she will actually speak and sing to anyone and everyone.......... as you would agree - unusual for a parrot.

We had to leave her behind for 30 months because of the bird-flu ban which was put in place in 2006 the exact week we were coming out with her (and our dogs and giant tortoise). She never plucked, stopped speaking, pined or anything - just carried on as normal because she actually thinks she's human! She joined us, against all odds, last August and the first thing she said to me at the kennels who brought her in for me was "Hi, where have you been??"

As Blue Cat said, everybody who knows me, knows my girl - she's like a 2-year old little menace and we all adore her :wub::wub::wub:

Editing to add now I've read Ronnie's article properly that YES, parrots need a lot of attention - even more than a dog would, and a lot of them do pluck their own feathers so that they end up looking like a plucked chicken if they are bored, upset, left alone etc - it's a bit like lions/tigers in zoos when all they do is go round and round in circles till they become quite mad. I have seen this happen here with parrots I fostered for almost 3 years when I was pining for our girl. One of the parrots I had fostered and kept for 18 months was an African grey who had belonged to a bachelor who left him in a budgie's cage (the one the shop owner gave him to transport the parrot) in an empty spare bedroom all day long while he was at work. No TV, no music, no sitting on a perch - just locked in a cage which we had to cut apart to bring him out of....... Pepper was immediately transferred into a huge cage, with the top permanently left open, and moved cage and all (he wouldn't let us touch him) from studio to bedroom with me every morning/evening.

Sadly he was totally mad, petrified of humans and we subsequently had to put him in a home where they had their own pet parrots, but the lady of the house had built an enormous aviary for the poor wild parrots who nobody wanted. At least he didn't have to keep throwing himself against the floor anytime we even passed by the cage :-( He settled very happily with his own kind.

So to end this - one more important thing everyone who wants a bird must remember is that if you purchase a bird from here, and the bird has NO CITES Certificate and NO closed ring round its leg, you will NEVER be allowed to take it out - no matter how much you cry, beg, pay or tear your hair out. So please think carefully before you purchase a bird of any kind from this country. Sorry this is so long, but Ronnie pointed out some interesting things and I had to agree with him ;-)

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

thank you smoochy, i can definately say the bird that was being sold definately ditn NOT have any certificate nor ring ound its legs.

Where's PETLAND? That in the new Oasis centre?

Re: Buying a Love Bird
 

Basically as far as I know, nobody here sells CITES birds except for Petland. I have no idea where they are now - last I shopped there was when they were behind the bowling centre on the Nad Al Sheba Road; however, the Manageress' contact number is 050 658 6133 - her name is Jackie. She will be able to tell you where they are now - actually if you could let me know once you've spoken to her, I'd be grateful.

Be prepared to pay about 15,000 dhs for an African Gray which is captive-bred and CITES papered.

Good luck ;)