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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 22, 2008 11:14:30 GMT 10
Hi all
Just been wondering if it's just me...or is there a high turnover when it comes to birds. Now considering birds live for a fair while, you'd think the bird trade/market would be fairly slow - how come people keep getting more and more birds eg. swapping, replacing etc.
Visiting the bird sale only made this seem more apparent - it was a frenzy.
This question isn't nesceserally (sp?) relevant to all your birds...just those that left for what ever reason and you are therefore accquiring new birds.
Please feel free to comment or if you have anything else you might like to add...or have different reasons, not mentioned in the poll's choice answers.
Cheers
Kat
(PS. You can make as many choices as you want - if you are refering to more than just one bird and the situation was different for each bird)
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Post by Jane on Jul 22, 2008 12:00:47 GMT 10
I was going to tick died too, but I didn't think to tick them at the same time  Anyway I have replaced a few partners of breeding pairs that have died, but generally I seem to just collect them  Like I have oodles of 'tiels who I won't breed this year but they are good birds and I don't want to part with them  |
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Post by farseeker on Jul 22, 2008 12:27:05 GMT 10
Squee died - I put him as premature due to illness/accident, but the expected length of life for him wasn't actually that much more than how long I had him for, considering his rate of deterioration. Jedi I put as flown away, although she was actually stolen or released. Zillah also died prematurely due to an accident (night fright). Jedi was gotten about a month afer Squee died, and Trouble a few weeks after Jedi was stolen. I don't plan to ever sell my birds on etc - though I do plan to add more in the future.  |
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Post by abby-oldaccount on Jul 22, 2008 12:27:27 GMT 10
There's another category that should be in this too.
People who breed do often sell their pairs so they can go up to the next level of breeding. If they didn't then you would have the "high end" breeders still going with the aviary of cockatiels they started their breeding journey with as well as their large macaws, caiques and RTB 'toos.
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Post by meandem on Jul 22, 2008 13:31:48 GMT 10
:oIt is hard for me to fill out a poll like that when I own 100 birds now................and I have had so many over the last 30 odd years. Just a finding it a little difficult to answer the questions.
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 22, 2008 14:15:12 GMT 10
Yeah...I see there is a few more choice answers I should've put...but it only allowed me 8  ...never mind Thanks for your answers everyone!! |
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Post by avinet on Jul 22, 2008 21:55:22 GMT 10
Hi all Just been wondering if it's just me...or is there a high turnover when it comes to birds. Now considering birds live for a fair while, you'd think the bird trade/market would be fairly slow - how come people keep getting more and more birds eg. swapping, replacing etc. Visiting the bird sale only made this seem more apparent - it was a frenzy. Cheers Kat Some birds live for a fair while but most birds have quite a short lifespan - think finches, canaries, budgies for instance. Birds that live for more than 15 years are in the minority. I did a statistical study of the "pet" bird population in Australia to form part of a submission I made to EBAG back in December 2006 - looking at birds kept in aviculture, but excluding fowl. One of the conclusions of that study was that around 1.3 million birds are bred in aviculture every year throughout Australia. Some of the figures are reproduced below - showing the numbers of each group I calculated were bred each year in Australia. As you can see the vast majority are finches, closely followed by budgies, all of which have quite a short life span. I am afraid the "table" doesn't format properly (does anyone know how to put tabs into messages?) but I'm sure you will work it out OK Parrot - exotic 52,500 Parrot - native 62,500 Lovebird 45,000 Cockatiel 170,000 Budgie 315,000 Finch - native 230,000 Finch - exotic 240,000 Canary 25,000 other (doves, quail etc) 40,000 cheers, Mike |
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 22, 2008 22:08:16 GMT 10
Great info Mike!! Cheers for that!! Intersting statistics.
So what about the birds, that are meant to have an average 30 year life span...do they also only live say the 15 years or less or do they live their full term - is their life span shortened due to being kept in captivity compared to their wild relatives?
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Post by avinet on Jul 22, 2008 22:31:09 GMT 10
Great info Mike!! Cheers for that!! Intersting statistics. So what about the birds, that are meant to have an average 30 year life span...do they also only live say the 15 years or less or do they live their full term - is their life span shortened due to being kept in captivity compared to their wild relatives? Birds in the wild usually have a much shorter life expectancy than birds in captivity. A major study of Galahs in the wild in WA found that only around 10% of galahs that hatched made it to breeding age of 2 years. 90% died before getting to 2. And (from memory) only 1 in 1000 would make it to 12 years old. Life in the wild is hard - very hard. Some Galahs in captivity do make it to a ripe old age, but from the feedback I get in the shop most don't get past 20, and almost all I have seen over 30 have been obviously old birds, arthritic etc. That is a lot older than a Galah could expect in the wild, but these 50 or 60 year old birds people talk about are very much the exception. I've talked to thousands of bird owners over the years about their birds - customers love to talk about their birds and a significant part of my days are taken up with talking about their birds - and have a pretty good idea of the usual, as opposed to the exceptional, life span of commonly kept birds. What is also important is to look at the median and not the average lifespan of a bird. The average is distorted by those exceptional individual birds that do live a long time, while the median (the age at which 50% will die younger and 50% older) is a much better measure of life expectancies. For instance the median age for budgies is around 5 years, since so many die from tumours at an early age, but the average age is probably 7 or 8 since if they avoid tumours then they could well live to 10 or 12. cheers, Mike |
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 22, 2008 22:46:33 GMT 10
Wow..I didn't know that...... I thought it was the other way around with the life expectancy and captivity!! Also, I'm very surprised about the galahs average life expectancy that you mentioned...I had purposely ruled out ever getting any big birds like toos (with Galah being the exception) etc coz I didn't want to get a bird (say one that lives to 80 or so years eg. palm cockatoo  ) that would still be considered a young bird whilst I was a 90 year old granny on her death bed....parting with a bird I got when I was still "fairly" young I did read about Galahs living to a very old age too - that did put me off a little, about getting one....but now you have resparked my frenzy  ;D ;D .....thanks Mike ....(now whats wrong with that statemnet - I'm joyous that a galah will die sooner than originally thought?? hmmm...I'm going loco ) |
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Post by abby-oldaccount on Jul 23, 2008 7:24:00 GMT 10
I've got to go with Mike (again ) on this. I look at my own birds that I've had over a lifespan. My first budgie (a little albino ) that I got when I was 6 died at the ripe old age of 13/14 years old. (BTW she was on a seed only diet with the odd bit of apple chucked in ). Milly (another female budgie I currently have) who is only about 3 years old has been through 2 partners who have both died before hitting 2. I have no idea why. I have a theory with Sulphers (not backed by any scientific evidence just my own observation) that if you can get them through the first 2 years of life they generally go on and on and on. That first 2 years seems to be the time that they are most susceptible to health problems until they reach "geriatric" status. I've spoken to a few bird dealers about this and they've noticed the same thing. |
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Karen
Addicted Member
Posts: 97
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Post by Karen on Jul 24, 2008 13:21:17 GMT 10
I swore off getting expensive birds. The most expensive parrot I had I'd traded 12 kakariki for, escaped the very day I sold her - as I was putting her into the carry cage. I watched $450 flying off into the distance . . .  |
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 24, 2008 16:13:36 GMT 10
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 24, 2008 16:43:59 GMT 10
well that was a big shame Karen.
I wanted to say that I keep my birds. The ones I have bought. I was given 2 and did find good homes for them a few months later. I have lost quite a few tiels due to "flying off" and one cockatoo "flew off" also. I was made to sell my other cockatoo by the "ex" husband. My galah died suddently at the tender age of approx 15 years.
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Post by avinet on Jul 25, 2008 15:08:32 GMT 10
Birds in the wild usually have a much shorter life expectancy than birds in captivity. A major study of Galahs in the wild in WA found that only around 10% of galahs that hatched made it to breeding age of 2 years. 90% died before getting to 2. And (from memory) only 1 in 1000 would make it to 12 years old. Life in the wild is hard - very hard. I sorted out the link to a bit I wrote a few years ago on galah mortality in the wild, which has just been put into a web site. For anyone interested in the problems wild galahs face it will be of interest, and has the accurate figures on mortality. www.nosyntax.net/fbwiki/index.php/Mike_Owen_on_galah_mortalitycheers, Mike |
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 25, 2008 15:44:19 GMT 10
wow that makes you wonder how on earth they can become plague proportions then if only 90 out of 1000 survive to 3 years of age.
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Post by Jane on Jul 25, 2008 21:10:00 GMT 10
Thanks againfor the info Mike Crikey it's a tough world out there |
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 25, 2008 22:23:45 GMT 10
Thanks for that info Mike!!! Really, thanks! I'm wondering now, why don't the babies survive, the ones that got cared for by their parents until they were out of the nest? Accidents, car accidents, diseases?? Gee. I wish one of those babies (needing of a goood home, rest and food ;D ) would land in my yard!  |
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Post by rainbowfeathers77 on Jul 25, 2008 22:27:56 GMT 10
wow that makes you wonder how on earth they can become plague proportions then if only 90 out of 1000 survive to 3 years of age. Actually...yeah, how true....there are millions of galahs around where we live. Don't know if they are the WA type but still, I guess that would make them all young birds. Gee I wish one would pick me as his/her keeper |
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 26, 2008 18:03:41 GMT 10
yeah I would love a young red tailed black 'too to just "land" in my yard as it is flying over head lol
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Like I have oodles of 'tiels who I won't breed this year but they are good birds and I don't want to part with them 
...never mind
) that would still be considered a young bird whilst I was a 90 year old granny 
;D ;D .....thanks Mike 
