Mary Allen
Keeping birds means taking responsibility. What if you get older and have poor health? Suddenly the work becomes difficult. Some ideas for a successful handover.
Anyone who acquires the small black-headed parrots as young birds usually enters into a commitment that can last 40 years. Anyone who keeps budgerigars or lovebirds can expect these small parrot birds to live for up to 15 years. Finches and canaries live less. Of course, there are always exceptions.
If you want to buy birds, you should think about their age beforehand. Although nobody knows when he will have health problems or even when he will embark on his last journey, it does not make sense to get two young gray parrots at the age of 80 that can live to be 50 years old. Nevertheless, one does not have to give up the dream of large parrots even in old age. There are always birds that can no longer be kept and have already lived for many years. Why not take in two such parrots if you would like to keep busy with large parrots even when you are old? The sanctuary for parrots and parakeets APS in Matzingen, Thurgau, operates a placement station. There, parrots can always be taken over that were handed in by people who could no longer keep them.
However, youthfulness alone is no guarantee that you can do justice to birds in the long term. Stays abroad, professional and family changes can thwart plans for keeping birds. So today it is hardly possible that two large parrots, which a 14-year-old once wanted, accompany him through his life.
Transfer Ancient Knowledge
As a 60-year-old you already have clearer perspectives. But even at this age, you like to travel. Everyone has to ask themselves: what is more important: extensive travel or the daily joy of bird care? Both are not possible. Basically, it is easier to pass on birds that are not imprinted on humans. If the accommodation and care are good, they will settle down in a different place. Caution is therefore required if you want to imprint large parrots on yourself.
Budgerigar breeder Johannes Mathys from Oftringen AG has found a good solution. “For health reasons, I was no longer able to take care of my budgies.” He and his wife also moved into an apartment. Mathys was a well-known breeder of show and colored budgerigars, which he kept and bred in aviaries in a separate house in his garden.
Since Mathys kept selling offspring, he came into contact with 16-year-old Jonas Peter. The experienced budgie breeder quickly realized that there was someone in front of him who had a deep interest. “I gave Jonas many of my budgies,” says Mathys. “He should be able to start with good animals.” The high school student is enthusiastic: “They are beautiful birds.” He likes observing them in the group and he is also happy about the trust. Peter once started out with eight budgies in a cage in his room. He could well imagine studying zoology one day, he says. Jonas Peter now has his own aviaries at his disposal.
If you don’t like it anymore, you can also leave your bird breeding facility in the garden to another enthusiast who can use it, or maybe just individual compartments. It is a pity when once-thriving breeds and the knowledge about them simply disappear. If the opportunity arises, other interested parties should be introduced, who will then continue the breeding. This worked out well for Johannes Mathys’ budgerigar breeder.