Ok, many of you know that I have two of the largest of the large macaws.They are greenwings and I love them dearly They are spoiled rotten and cared for VERY well..hubby says better then him
Anyway, I had them outside yesterday for awhile...this brought curious attention from a few of my neighbors (we have just bought our home and have only been here a few months) Most of the neighbors were very nice..finally seeing what it was that has been screaming in my house Sebastion was just loving showing off for new people.
Well, an elderly neighbor walked over and proceeded to chew me out over having them. I was a "cruel person who takes everything these birds should be and turns them in to everything they should never be!" She told me I should be losing sleep each and every night over my guilt of keeping these majestic and beautiful creatures in a cage for my own enjoyment.
O tried to expain to her that these guys were captive breed and hand-fed, even if they were to be let go in the wild..they would never survive without humans.She said that was plain nonsense and these birds will NEVER be tamed.She also told me she will be checking local ordinances to see if she could find anything that will stop me from having them.She even said that maybe she will file a noise pollution complaint against me Now while they do have the ability to scream VERY loud..they really don't much.And never at night or to early in the morning.The only time it gets really loud is when they cannot see each other..then they both flock call to one another.
I did enjoy showing my birds off and meeting many of my new neighbors...this one however is going to be trouble

The nerve of some people. I hate it when people are unreasonable and lack the ability to understand a valid reason. Well, hopefully she won't be able to find anything against you. As for the noise ordinance thingy, I'm sure they aren't as loud as lawnmowers, saws, and other things people use throughout the day. Around here the noise ordinance doesn't set in until like 10 at night or something late like that. My birdies are usually in bed by then. Good luck with that neighbor. Good thing you have others that are nicer!

Ugh some ppl really tick me off! I'm sorry you are having to deal with this oh so wonderful neighbor Good luck with her.

There's one in every neighborhood. Let her call who ever she wants...They'll just laugh at her and tell her to find something else to do. The "authorities" might come and check it out just to make sure there isn't animal cruelty or neglect going on etc..but that's about it. If all else fails, just tell her to mind her own business...LOL...
Like I said...there's one in every neighborhood!

Geez, it's old biddies like that that make me understand why Eskimo's send their elderly off on ice floes

Don't worry about her, if necessary just ask her to stay in her own yard and mind her own business.

It sure was a fine "welcome to thje neighbor hood" from her.I was chatting with my neighbor next door and she came stomping across the yard (my back yard is cady corner with hers) Without so muc as a "hello" first but a "who in the hell do you think you are?" "what makes you think you can screw around with mother nature?" "taking one of gods most beautiful animals from the place it was intended to be?" "People just make me sick and I'm sad to be human!" Now during most of this tirade I was darn near speechless Hubby had to tell her to leave.She was having none of what I tried to say to her....

What a nosey know-it-all!!! Was there anyone else who overheard her "might call and complain about noise" so you have back up for calling in false complaints? She could be charged with that if you have any witnesses. Do you live in a small town? Maybe be pro-active and contact Animal Control, let them know you have them, ask if there is anything you should have according to their ordinances and let them know you want to be sure you are in compliance, even ask them to come and inspect their living quarters and make a report on file about the birds and their owner. That might save them just coming in and taking your birds first and investigating later if she should try something. Just a thought.

Good luck, she might just be a blow heart who loves to complain and do nothing else, but better to be prepared!

Thats about what hubby said to do...just to make sure her complaints holds no ground.We live in a fairly small town...but it is growing VERY rapidly.It has been said that the county I live in..lincoln county MO is the fastest growing county in America.
There were a few others here that heard her tirade..my next door neighbor, a friend and the person who lives across the street..hubby also had a few guys in the garage with him working on his ATV....

Don't let one bad egg spoil the dozen.....They certainly won't be on your list to invite to tea if they were that way with you then I can imagine they have been that way with the others "over something else".....JMO

EXCELLENT! So you have witnesses to her little threats! That will help if she really decides to start. If she does you can slap a harrassment injunction against her and that should shut her up until the next new neighbor moves in! But I would still be pro-active and a jump step ahead of her just to be sure. I have heard of so many horror stories of neighbor complaining and birds being confiscated during the "investigation", then because of lack of knowledge on care things happening to the birds. Not trying to terrify you just that "cover your butt" syndrome!

Dang if you were in Oklahoma I would think you moved next door to my Mother in law. I can't tell ya all the rants she had when she was staying here. Facts are facts and you are doing NOTHING wrong. Keep your chin up. Don't let her empty threats bother you.

Geez! Neighbor troubles can really affect your quality of life, so my best advice from my mediation experience is to just NOT participate in this craziness with her. As much as you'd like to respond in kind, drama just escalates things and eggs them on. If you can't bring yourself to be nice as pie to her (like: gee, you must really love birds to be so concerned about them! we do too - that's why we agreed to take these guys from their previous owner...), at least practice keeping your cool in a confrontation, so that if she does start complaining to the authorities, you clearly are the rational, reasonable one. In the meantime, vent to us all you want and get it out of your system!!! There's always someone with the opposite point of view - I'm sorry you had to be confronted by one when you were just enjoying your FIDs and new home!

"Oh I didn't realize that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Well, I'm booking the next flight to South America to let them loose in the jungle. Will you keep an eye on my house until I return?"

LOL...gotta love 'em!!! I have a few of those next door. I really wish they'd move. BUT HEY...let 'em complain...there's not a danged thing anyone can do about it...If she has flowers...tell her that it is cruel and unusual punishment to keep such majestic creatures in a small container of soil. They were meant to enjoy and use the earth to thrive naturally, not be contained for her own enjoyment!

good one Andie

What unpleasant woman! Too bad she doesn't have enough to keep her occuppied.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day and it said "Don't have strongs opinions about things you don't understand."

Applies to her perfectly, don't you think!

ROFLMBO!!!!!

I think its safe to say every neighborhood has a busy body.
I am pretty sure the police already knows who she is by the amount of calls she has probably made on all of the other neighbors.
A friend of mine does dispatch for her police dept and she was telling me about a regular caller they nicknamed 'the turd lady'. When I asked her why they called her that it was because one of her outrageous calls to 911 was that she saw a turd in her toilet that wasnt hers and she wanted the police to come out and investigate. Given all her calls were outrageous and one time she even called the police after an officer left because she was certain he stole a dime off her countertop.

Shaking my head ....lol! Thats a shame for her to spoil the taste of the tea but shes making a spectacle of herself and I cant see how anyone really would pay her any attention! QP dad hit it on the head LOL how Ive plane arrangements to South America! and your husbands doing the right thing telling her to leave! I know you dont want to make waves but she if she got real bad the police could be called on her for harrassment. As others said...ignore her if she comes over and your speaking to your neighbor you can carry on talking like shes not even there!

I would be willing to bet that the police and other officials already know her better than they would like to. I am sure you are not the first target of her "know-it-all" attitude. I had one of those (thankfully she just moved) but it got to the point the police would come over so she could see they were talking to us and we were usually chatting about our kids or pets or something.


She will probably get a new target soon and go away.
Good Luck!

This is why i live in the country and hope to do so for a very long time, yet.

Ugh...some people. I think we've all had the lecture about how the birds belong in the wild, and while I'm torn about it, I also know that there's not a thing in the world I can do about the exotic pet trade, so I will take the best possible care of my fids I can. Sure I'd love to go back in time and keep the large parrots from ever being brought into captivity, but that isn't possible. I see nothing wrong with keeping captive bred birds as pets, and am so glad that importing them has been outlawed. After all, they wouldn't be able to survive in the wild anyhow. Heck...move Jojo's food bowl and you'd think he was going to starve to death...LOL.

Ignore your nosey neighbor, and I would be proactive like another poster stated. I'd contact animal control and the local police to find out the ordinances and to inform them of the neighbors threats. In fact, that's what I did when we had ducks and my neighbor complained. She threatened to file a complaint with animal control because we had ducks in a residential area, until I pointed out to her there was no zoning here. Then she threatened to contact the health department about a possible health hazard, but was informed that as long as no one was preparing food in the area and the large pen was maintained, there was no health hazard. There's always one in every neighborhood...at least you met her early on and now know to avoid her like the plague...LOL.

Yes,

I'd not worry too much about her. I can't understand people like her..there are lots out there who think we shouldn't even have pets. But I figure since they are tame, they can't be let lose..they wouldn't stand a chance in the wild. Also, most people (not all) who have pets, take real good care of them! We really do love them and want only the best life for them that they possibly can have..in a loving home..

Plus, there are other benefits..they give us unconditional love back..which I so much appreciate..it really warms my heart when I hear Gobo chirping happily when I arrive home after work each day..she's so happy to see ME! Yeh, I'm so happy to see her also.

Remember, people like that, are a MINORITY, although it is easy to forget that sometimes in the madness of the world.


Carolyn:-)

O...K... Wow... not even sure of where to start on that one.

Hrm. Let's start with the fact that a majority of Macaw species are considered endangered in the wild... at least 2 are considered extinct in the wild (approx. 68-75 Spix Macaws currently remain in captivity, the Glaucous Macaw is right now considered extinct) both of which have gone extinct within the 20th century. The last wild Spix was seen in, I believe, 2004 and the last wild confirmed reliable sighting of the Glaucous was in... 1932? The Spix fell victim to poaching because it's a beautiful bird (seriously, check out some pictures... they're stunning) and the same poaching fate is now facing the Lear's Macaw in the wild for the same reason. The Glaucous Macaw is believed to have gone extinct because we chopped down a bunch of special palm trees (yatay palm) and the nuts on these trees were their primary foodsource.

Unfortunately for the Macaws of the wild, they often fall victim to their own beauty. As long as there are beautiful animals in the wild, people will profit from shooting and stuffing them.

Not to mention the ever-shrinking natural habitat of these birds... What's the sense in releasing hundreds of captive macaws into the wild if there is nothing for them to eat there?

So if your neighbour thinks that Shelby and Sebastian would have a better life in the wild... I'd have to disagree. They'd have a far shorter, harder life that could likely end with them hanging over someone's fireplace.

Heck - Even Quakers are considered an agricultural pest and exterminated in some areas.

So while I will always say we should leave wild birds in the wild... I'd venture to guess that our average captive perch potato prefers their 3 squares, gazillion toys and a human of their own to drive completely mental.

Thanks for the words of encouragement
I did call the city to let them know I had my fids...there is nothing I am doing wrong in keeping them.I also told them that I had a neighbor who apparently disagrees with my views on keeping my pets..the said that if she files a complaint, the only thing they would do is check out their living situation and talk with other neighbors reqarding the noise level.And since there is very little noise level to worry about...I will just let her rant and rave all she wants.
Maybe I will tell her what Andie posted How dare she take beautiful flowers out of their natural habitat

Next time she comes over i would just let her get started ranting then politely say.. just a minute ,,pretend to call the cops..and say ,,that lady is on my property harrassing me again. Now i reported her once before so this is the second time and you now have two episodes on file. Now i was told that the third time all i have to do is come down to the office and file a complaint and she will be arrested immmediately..Is that right?.. Ok, then ill be down if she shows up again. Hang up ,smile right at her and say..Now what were you saying?. I bet you wont hear from hear again.

Oh my goodness! So much for Mr. Rogers' neighborhood! You've gotten some pretty good advice. I haven't lived in a neigh borhood for years now but I remember them vaguely...you sneeze and your neighbor hands you a kleenex thru the window. Sorry you had to go thru that right off the bat. The woman needs to look up the word "DOMESTICATION". Good grief. What documentary did she get her hands on anyway?

I agree with everyone else.. it seems some people are just unequiped to accept reason.. I'd also do what Kate said.. lol.. that would be so funny..I'd love to see that.. I have been thru Troy many many times..just on interstate tho.. my husband is a truck driver out of St. Louis and I live in central Illinois so we go thru there going back and forth..

Well..this ladies daughter came by and apologized for her mother's attitude and told me to ignore her rants LOL Said she is just a crabby old women..which I already figured that one out LOL

This is making me re-think something though.

We have about an acre all together..when we bought or house we bought the empty lots next to it asd well.
I was considering building an outdoor enclousure(nothing big..just something to hold a stand or a few perches for them.) for the birds to enjoy the outside.Of course it would be close to the house and not at the end of the yard or anything..and I would not leave them there while we are gone or anything.But hunny is now afraid this women will decide to turn them loose or something
Right now I just use on of the screen tents and place their playstand inside it..but its not secure and I MUST stay right there with them because I am afraid they will climbv out.And Sebastion SURE puts up a fight when I try to take him inside

What do you think? Should I worry about her opening an enclosure for them to be "free" ?

At least the daughter came to apologize... I guess the old lady has been talking about you!

Sounds like a neat idea! Is there any way you could have a lock on it, just to be sure she can't get them?

Good Luck!

Just put a locking door on it. Like a security door. That's nice that the daughter came over.

I would go ahead and build it.. also besides a locking door I would make it so that it has a gap in between 2 sets of screening that you gonna use... just a second security or make the outside part steel this way she cant get to it and cut the screen too.. some people will go threw anything.

but I think with her daughter comming over means someone is there and knows how she is. was nice of her