Aussie Finch Forum

I have often wondered how our hobby is received/regarded by members' families and friends....are parents, partners, children and friends supportive, apathetic, discouraging, critical or just plain mystified by our devotion to the birds and their welfare

good question without my wifes and sons help i would not be able to keep up with the work load that is required to breed finches i.e. cleaning, feeding, our hobby has lead us to meet some lovely people all over australia and taken us to places that we would not have seen if not for the birds. as i deal with chronic pain and and other issues the breeding of finches makes each day worth getting up in the morning. cheers mick

Nice to hear Mick, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Both of my parents are/were birdos too. So lots of support there. Hubby built my avairys, but isn't really into the finches. The offspring listen to me rattling on, and can tell one type of finch from another, but don;t look like joining the hobby.
LML

Thanks for your reply Fb.

I feel comfortable with apathy/indifference from family or friends as we can’t expect everybody to understand or match our (sometimes over-the-top) enthusiasm for our hobby….however, one thing that I too often hear from otherwise intelligent, reasonable people goes something like this: “I only like birds free-flying in their natural environment, keeping them caged is cruel”. Now I realise that this as a finite statement is hard to refute, but it always throws me into defensive mode and launches me verbally into the long list of positives that aviculture provides…..but in the long run I can see that critics can’t be easily converted and most walk away with their ears ringing, still unconvinced.

“I only like birds free-flying in their natural environment, keeping them caged is cruel”

What is cruel IMO, is keeping birds in those stupid "supermarket" cages & the cages that are small & tall - birds don't fly up & down

Being a birdo from birdos, I am also defensive when people object to caging birds. But I am sneaky/smart too. My comment is usually, Yes caging birds in small cages is bad. But placing them in spaciacious (spelling) avairys where they are well fed and protected, means they are not worse off than in anture where they have the constraints of fighting for the best teritories. Yep, I'd make a good bush lawyer.
LML

Nicko, Thanks for your comment. The only argument in support of small wire cages that I have been remotely convinced by is the case of companion birds that are returned to the cage for night roosting after having the run of the house or yard all day. Some authors write that domesticated species tolerate confined enclosures fairly well without showing outward signs of stress, but it still makes me fairly uncomfortable to see any bird without room to exercise adequately, but still some keepers have little remorse or guilt in keeping just about any species permanently in confined/cramped conditions. It has been this way for centuries.
Australians' love of the 'great outdoors' is (thankfully) commonly reflected in their choice of enclosures....but should we deny people who reside in small apartments and flats the pleasures of keeping birds?...its a moral issue that has no clear boundaries, rules, or end.
I agree that those wire skyscrapers are appropriate for nothing except,perhaps, a toy giraffe...

finchbreeder wrote: 05 May 2017, 10:14 My comment is usually, Yes caging birds in small cages is bad. But placing them in spaciacious (spelling) avairys where they are well fed and protected, means they are not worse off than in anture where they have the constraints of fighting for the best teritories. LML

Fb, That is one of the points included in my "long list of avicultural positives".