Birdie Pets

20/20…For the record everybody!

Question:

I didn’t get too concerned about the $600 – owning birds is EXPENSIVE whether it’s 600 or 300!!  I also liked the speeded-up footage of her doing all the feeding/cleaning work, and the shots of their HUGE cages, a silent emphasis on just what one is getting into by getting a parrot. Liz and Tweeter the tiny itty bitty little budgie, who has cost me $200 in just 4 months and she hasn’t even been sick.

Response:

>Liz >and Tweeter the tiny itty bitty little budgie, who has cost me $200 in >just 4 months and she hasn’t even been sick.

LOL Dave

Response:

>One thing that was not mentioned is that I prepare warmed foods daily, I >spot clean cages daily, and I truly do spend about 1 1/2 hours in a >total day taking care of our birds.  That is MY choice folks & I realiz

Connie, For what ever my words mean to you as a breeder of these wonderful creatures. I would be ever so pleased to have owners as yourself and husband.  you and youu routine in my opinion made the show. I dont think you owe anyone any explanation for this takes away from the wonderful pet bird owners that came across the show.  My hopes is that you’ll be a mentor to many new owners of birds or future pet bird owners. I truely enjoyed you and the owner of the bird store information and wealth of experience. Please pay no mind to all the quibble and do know you are very exceptional people with your birds/kids. from my feather kids to yours, Cherane Pefley http://members.tripod.com/~cherane/index.html

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Well – I  thought $600 a month in California for 3 large psittacines was about right. My vet bill alone (18 psittacines) in 1997 was $3500 (that did include  most of the Harrison’s  of about 50 lb. every 6-8 weeks) and routine visits and blood work.   My regular guestimate of my monthly costs was about $1000 for the  birds – excluding the 5 dogs- when we were figuring "retirement" costs.  Yuk yuk.   Since my birds are indoors, I can tell you that I spend at least 3 hours a day in the Am  feeding and cleaning cages, and when I vacuum  add another half hour (that’s at least every other day and usually daily).  Have to collect all those fresh food dishes and wash them  and get ready for the evening "fixing" which is  I fix their food at night and refrigerate it cause I can’t get up early enough in the AM to do that part of the job- and that takes another 45 minutes every night.   And, if I go away for a day or week or whatever, add in the cost of the pet sitter!  You don’t want to know what I pay for that service.  Yup-  birds are expensive.  A lot more than just stuffing some bird seed and water into a cage every day.  But it’s well worth it -IMHO! Jude

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m Connie…the one who was in the 20/20 segment.  While I am very > proud of how this piece came out I feel I HAVE to get this across to > everyone that has been questioning the $600 a month we seem to spend and > the "over 2 hours" of time to care for our birds!!  I’ve been inundated > with emails & calls about this (including my own family who think I > secretly won the lottery)! I felt like people thought we very wealthy > and very slow!  Allow me to clarify: > snipped > So before people begin to make statements about things you’ve read, > heard or seen on TV – remember that it is just that TV!  Editing can be > a very dangerous thing at time, so I’ve found out:)  But overall, the > content of the piece was so very well done considering the time fram > that Gwen had to air it in.  She did a fantastic job & I truly hope that > ABC will consider future shows about the "loves of our lives". > I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) > Connie Pavlinac

Connie, I enjoyed the segment. I thought it gave a balanced picture in a very short time. Your birds are obviously VERY well cared for and it is good for the general public to hear and see that these creatures need lots of time, attention, and money. It was also good to see the balance between a delightfully talking and/or singing bird and the fact that there is no such thing as "obedience trained" parrots. They can bite, they can scream and they can pluck and mutilate themselves when stressed or distressed enough. All in all, I think the segment was a good exposure for psittacines. Winnie & Tom, Herbie, Maggie, Elwood, and Swee’pea

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > SNIP >  Editing can be > a very dangerous thing at time, so I’ve found out:)  But overall, the > content of the piece was so very well done considering the time fram > that Gwen had to air it in.  She did a fantastic job & I truly hope that > ABC will consider future shows about the "loves of our lives". > I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) > Connie Pavlinac > Connie: > Candi (wife person) is on your side about all this.  She said that you > shouldn’t even have tpo explain yourself: "it’s her money and her > birds.  If she wants or feels she needs to spend $600 or $60 it > shouldn’t matter to anyone."   Of course, being a fool and lacking the > sense god gave (fill in your favorite animal), I said something along > the lines of "dont you think it is just a tad excessive?". > She says: " you think you got room to talk, Wilson.  Just exactly how > much do you think you spend on your bass tournaments each month.  Lets > just take a look….(skipping the gory details…) That well over what > she spends and at least her birds talk to her." > "But," says I, "at least I win money at the tournaments. > "Uh Huh, when was the last time you made more than you spend?" > "Weeell, in Feb. I won $XXXX" > "Uh Huh, and since then?" > Jump forward to 3AM Saturday.  Yours truely is getting ready to leave > for a tournament. > Candi (wife person) "Don’t you think this is a triffle excessive?" > Jump forward to 4PM today:  Tell (wife person) I am going to go pre-fish > for an upcomming tournament tomorrow. > (wife person) "don’t you think…… > Connie, this is all your fault.  I’ll probably have to hear that same > line the rest of the year and it is all because of YOU! > TA > FAW (Bass fishing person) getting ready to go fishing with a (VBG)

Ha Haaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! A word to Fred’s wife person: YOU GO GIRL!!!! — "MAMABIRD"

Response:

> Hi All > To anyone who has problems with Connie’s figures might I suggest that they > have a camera crew invade their home, re-arrange their furniture, set up > lights, shove a camera in their face and start firing questions at them. > Ever wonder why quiz shows seem so easy from the comfort of the old > recliner? > I visit many, many bird homes every month and if I could have one wish it > would be that more clients all took care of their birds like Connie and > Gary do theirs. My work (what little of it there would be left) would be > 100 times easier. > My hat goes off to anyone with this level of committment.

Geez, a little defensive???? No one criticized them … we all just wondered how she spent $600 on 3 pet birds per month, that’s all!!! I mean, yes, it *is* her business–of course! But for many of us who have an equal level of commitment to our feathered critters, and who take excellent care of them all, we don’t spend nearly $200 per bird per month. I just wanted to know how she did that! Last time my birdie per-month bill was nearing that, I found I had to take away their credit cards! Hated to do it, but my "naked hyacinthine" was just spending too much time in Wilson’s House of Suede and Leather!! –Shirley

Response:

Hi All To anyone who has problems with Connie’s figures might I suggest that they have a camera crew invade their home, re-arrange their furniture, set up lights, shove a camera in their face and start firing questions at them. Ever wonder why quiz shows seem so easy from the comfort of the old recliner? I visit many, many bird homes every month and if I could have one wish it would be that more clients all took care of their birds like Connie and Gary do theirs. My work (what little of it there would be left) would be 100 times easier. My hat goes off to anyone with this level of committment. Layne — Layne Dicker Staff Avian Behaviorist Wilshire Animal Hospital, Santa Monica, CA

Response:

SNIP >  Editing can be > a very dangerous thing at time, so I’ve found out:)  But overall, the > content of the piece was so very well done considering the time fram > that Gwen had to air it in.  She did a fantastic job & I truly hope that > ABC will consider future shows about the "loves of our lives". > I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) > Connie Pavlinac

Connie: Candi (wife person) is on your side about all this.  She said that you shouldn’t even have tpo explain yourself: "it’s her money and her birds.  If she wants or feels she needs to spend $600 or $60 it shouldn’t matter to anyone."   Of course, being a fool and lacking the sense god gave (fill in your favorite animal), I said something along the lines of "dont you think it is just a tad excessive?". She says: " you think you got room to talk, Wilson.  Just exactly how much do you think you spend on your bass tournaments each month.  Lets just take a look….(skipping the gory details…) That well over what she spends and at least her birds talk to her." "But," says I, "at least I win money at the tournaments.   "Uh Huh, when was the last time you made more than you spend?" "Weeell, in Feb. I won $XXXX" "Uh Huh, and since then?" Jump forward to 3AM Saturday.  Yours truely is getting ready to leave for a tournament. Candi (wife person) "Don’t you think this is a triffle excessive?" Jump forward to 4PM today:  Tell (wife person) I am going to go pre-fish for an upcomming tournament tomorrow. (wife person) "don’t you think…… Connie, this is all your fault.  I’ll probably have to hear that same line the rest of the year and it is all because of YOU! TA FAW (Bass fishing person) getting ready to go fishing with a (VBG)

Response:

Connie, I can see where you could easily spend 2 hours a day preparing / cleaning, etc. We have 14 birds, (7 big, 7 small) and on average, we spend 3/4 hours each day preparing food, changing cages, general cleanup. Also if you include the $100 per bird checkup per year, that’s over $100 a month, if they remain healthy all year. I think we spend around $300 a month on food alone (veggies, fruit, pellets, nuts, seed, extras). The toy cost varys, but on average, I bet it’s around $100 per month. I don’t usually itemize the costs, it’s expensive and thats all I need to know! The bigger the bird, the more they cost. jennifer – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m Connie…the one who was in the 20/20 segment.  While I am very > proud of how this piece came out I feel I HAVE to get this across to > everyone that has been questioning the $600 a month we seem to spend > and > the "over 2 hours" of time to care for our birds!!  I’ve been > inundated > with emails & calls about this (including my own family who think I > secretly won the lottery)! I felt like people thought we very wealthy > and very slow!  Allow me to clarify: > During the interview when we were asked this question which I was NOT > prepared for, I quickly started running numbers in my head to throw a > number out that didn’t seem "too low".  Well, the only reason I > estimated first at $600 was because of the Harrison’s pellets, monster > chew toys I buy weekly, fresh fruit/vegies weekly & I include 8-12 > varieties, other accessories that I provide, etc – this seemed to be > fairly close "at that moment".  However, I quickly recanted during the > interview to say that it would realistically be closer to $300-$400 > for > us & our birds on a regular basis.  And ovbviosly this statement was > edited out of the piece!!  While Gwen Gowen, the producer, was trying > to > make the most accurate representation of our lifestyle with our birds, > she was also trying to make a greater statement to "non-bird" people > about the "potential" long term care & maintenance expenses for having > birds.  We all agree I think that this wasn’t such a bad thing as it > may > deter those impulse purchases out there. > While I do spend up to 2 hours a day preparing meals & cleaning – they > did state this in incorrect context, making me seem like I must move > very slowly!  At the time this segment was filmed, our Hyacinth was > still on one handfeeding which added extra time to my daily routine. > One thing that was not mentioned is that I prepare warmed foods daily, > I > spot clean cages daily, and I truly do spend about 1 1/2 hours in a > total day taking care of our birds.  That is MY choice folks & I > realize > that most of you do not.  I am also very fortunate that I work from my > home & I can afford that time which most people can’t. > So before people begin to make statements about things you’ve read, > heard or seen on TV – remember that it is just that TV!  Editing can > be > a very dangerous thing at time, so I’ve found out:)  But overall, the > content of the piece was so very well done considering the time fram > that Gwen had to air it in.  She did a fantastic job & I truly hope > that > ABC will consider future shows about the "loves of our lives". > I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) > Connie Pavlinac

Response:

>I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) >Connie Pavlinac

Yes, and very well too!  I’ve been regretting my earlier "minor comment" ever since I wrote it.  Your birds are very fortunate to share their lives with you…            Regards, Tad

Response:

I’m Connie…the one who was in the 20/20 segment.  While I am very proud of how this piece came out I feel I HAVE to get this across to everyone that has been questioning the $600 a month we seem to spend and the "over 2 hours" of time to care for our birds!!  I’ve been inundated with emails & calls about this (including my own family who think I secretly won the lottery)! I felt like people thought we very wealthy and very slow!  Allow me to clarify: During the interview when we were asked this question which I was NOT prepared for, I quickly started running numbers in my head to throw a number out that didn’t seem "too low".  Well, the only reason I estimated first at $600 was because of the Harrison’s pellets, monster chew toys I buy weekly, fresh fruit/vegies weekly & I include 8-12 varieties, other accessories that I provide, etc – this seemed to be fairly close "at that moment".  However, I quickly recanted during the interview to say that it would realistically be closer to $300-$400 for us & our birds on a regular basis.  And ovbviosly this statement was edited out of the piece!!  While Gwen Gowen, the producer, was trying to make the most accurate representation of our lifestyle with our birds, she was also trying to make a greater statement to "non-bird" people about the "potential" long term care & maintenance expenses for having birds.  We all agree I think that this wasn’t such a bad thing as it may deter those impulse purchases out there. While I do spend up to 2 hours a day preparing meals & cleaning – they did state this in incorrect context, making me seem like I must move very slowly!  At the time this segment was filmed, our Hyacinth was still on one handfeeding which added extra time to my daily routine.   One thing that was not mentioned is that I prepare warmed foods daily, I spot clean cages daily, and I truly do spend about 1 1/2 hours in a total day taking care of our birds.  That is MY choice folks & I realize that most of you do not.  I am also very fortunate that I work from my home & I can afford that time which most people can’t. So before people begin to make statements about things you’ve read, heard or seen on TV – remember that it is just that TV!  Editing can be a very dangerous thing at time, so I’ve found out:)  But overall, the content of the piece was so very well done considering the time fram that Gwen had to air it in.  She did a fantastic job & I truly hope that ABC will consider future shows about the "loves of our lives". I hope this answers all those questions I’ve seen popping up here:) Connie Pavlinac

Response:

Filed under: Pet Bird Cage