Nuggetlet

Marinating the chicken

@tsundancer said to @ask-drferox​: What do you think of exotic pets? Assuming they’re properly cared for, of course. For example my ultimate end goal when I’m financially stable and living in a moderately sized home is a pair of fennec foxes.

You’re not going to like it, but since you asked, I disapprove of them very strongly and feel like the keeping of very exotic pets is done just to boost humans’ egos, especially in the age of Instagram, where they are seen more as status symbols than anything else. Particularly when there are so many domesticated animals that would offer as-good, or better, companionship that we are better equipped to care for.

‘Exotic pets’ can mean two thinks in a veterinary context. It might mean weird, completely non-domesticated animals like Fennec foxes as you said above, or it might mean anything that’s not a farm animal, horse, dog or cat. That includes domestic species like rabbits, chickens and guinea pigs.

But ‘exotic’ meaning any non-domestic species as a pet? Severe disapproval.

Firstly it is extremely difficult to properly care for all but the smallest and least interactive of them. They have special needs and are not adapted to a human environment. Something small like a frog you certainly could keep in a specialized enclosure within your human environment, but a larger, more active creature? We don’t actually know how to best care for most of these species, even zoo husbandry is updating all the time, how is a pet keeper supposed to manage?

Secondly their acquisition is a concern. Where are these animals actually coming from? Where were their parents coming from? How is this going to influence wild stock, because we should be prioritizing the conservation of the wild wherever possible.

Third is that the promotion of these animals as pets, even if done decently, encourages other people to do it, and many of them will not have a clue what they’re doing.

Ultimately I feel like it’s pursing novelty on the human’s part with relatively little consideration of “should we do this” instead of “can we do this?”

We don’t need to keep non-domesticated animals in our homes. We really don’t. Not when there is already such variety in form and function in our domestic species already.

general public are unable to properly care for these animals so they’re not taking care of them actually, that’s the problem

There are more domesticated animals then just cats and dogs

Allergies is one of the worst reason someone’s given me for why we should allow exotic pets

Exotic animals are wildlife, they are non-domesticated animals, that’s it

Rats and guinea pigs are domesticated

Chickens are omnivorous and chicken feed is easy to aquire and you can buy bulk of it. They can eat a variety of foods and wont get ill from most human safe foods.

Pigeons are grainivores who thrive off of seeds and grains so a bulk bag of average bird seed can feed your bird for a long time

Unlike parrots who normally require a varied diet of fresh greens/veg/fruits and expensive pellets

Most Chicken breeds are hardy to different temperatures and you can choose a breed to suit your local climate

Pigeons are desert birds so they are also normally very temperature hardy

Parrots can get really sick and die in more extreme temperatures or when they experience sudden tempature fluctuations

Chickens and Pigeons have evolved along side us in ther domestication they thrive in human care and can handle confinement.

Chickens and pigeons can also bond with humans and suffer no health issues from it.

Most parrots in captivity suffer from poor husbandry and care. Parrots are well known for self mutilating and feather plucking for a myriad of reasons that are only really seen due to the stress of captivity.

Parrots can not bond with a human without consequences, reproductive and hormonal issues are very common in human imprinted birds. Bonded parrots are known to lash out and attack their human caretakers as well Because they are a wild animal who isnt suited to human companionship

Pigeons and chickens come in a variety of shapes and colors. They also intelligent just like parrots are and are inherent problem solvers and pattern mappers.

In an toxic way.

Because treating a wild animal like a human baby isnt healthy for either the human or the bird.

I will use Cockatoos as my example

Cockatoos are given up to rescues SO MUCH because people buy a baby cockatoo because they are told they are clingy velcro birds.

They want an intelligent animal to project their affection on to and for them a cute baby parrot seems like a good idea I mean especially because they live so long yeah?

Thats all well an good intill the cockatoo is a hormonal teen and the tiny sweet baby the bird has turned into a large and powerful bird who can permanently damage you, your property, and your hearing.

The cockatoo is just as upset at this change as the human because now its coming into sexual maturity and wants to choose its mate and it will get increasingly fustrated as it views its human openingly “cheating” on the them by engaging other family members such as talking,hugging,being near, leaning in, sitting next to, ect. This can be problematic if the person they are bonded to has a partner or is a child.

This is fustrating and upsetting for the bird and it will typically lash out at the human or itself.

This is especially tragic when you realize wild Cockatoos will typically spend at least a year raising their young when baby Cockatoos in captivity are ripped away from their parents withing weeks of hatching sometimes even days to live in a tub or incubator intill its time to be weaned way to early and given to their new family as a touched starved and mentally starved chick.

The above is what someone would call an ethical breeder as well. I have heard people praise people who raise baby parrots like that . Its very hard to find parent raised birds in the US.

Now lets go back to that hormonal teenager, its just a phase right? No.

If a cockatoo gets to that point it will take the rest of its life (up to 80 years or more) to reaffirm that it needs to not try to mate bond with humans and be more independent and not scream whenever its alone or needs attention but by then it is to late and the family rehomes the bird that has went from being a cute baby to being a horrible screaming monster in their eyes

Chubby Parrotlet Collection! available on birdhism.redbubble.com 

Science: 'Parrots are intelligent animals'