having to rehome birds, just a moan.

[stealtheatingtunnocks]

Middle kid here is horribly allergic to animal hair and has serious asthma. Allergy clinic found he's not allergic to feathers, yay! Went to a breeder, he spent time in the aviary, no problem, double yay!

Got two baby cockatiels, who are now starting to step up and whistle and we all really enjoy them...but, Middle Kid has been wheezy and clinic said today that they think it's the birds.

Am gutted, we were so careful! They suggest it could be the seed, the poo, who knows.

I haven't told the kids yet, and, I have no idea about where to rehome them to. I don't want to put them on gumtree and amn't sure that the RSPCA is right for them either.

I'm really going to miss them, and the kids are going to be so upset. Bloody asthma.

Won't the breeder take them back?

Shame you have to return them, though. :(

Yeah, he probably will, actually. I hadn't thought of that.

I broached it with the kids this morning, a resounding "no!". Such as shame, the birds are really taming and the kids love them. Dammit.

Can you not send the birds away to stay with a friend or family member for a little while and see if it clears up to be sure it's actually them causing the problem?

Rubbish situation though

Cockatiels are very dusty birds - the feather casings break down. One of my tiels is a rehoming from a family where the youngest child developed asthma from the dust.
If you really have to rehome the birds please consider a rescue such as Problem Parrots problemparrots.co.uk/general-menu/66-rehming-a-parrot
A rescue is more likely to be able to ensure a new home is a good one, better than risking whoever you get on Gumtree.

Could you get them a small aviary so they can be mostly outside?

We had an aviary! A wee one outside, I'd previously kept budgies. Only half a dozen, but, I really loved them.

Got rid of it about two months ago. Though, actually, it doesn't sit right with me to take birds from a busy aviary, house them indoors for 4 months, and then chuck them into an aviary with just two. They need a flock, either us or birds.

Am not going to do gumtree, it's just dodgy.

A friend has offered to house them for a month. No idea how to suggest that to the kids - they have really taken to the birds and spend A Lot Of Time feeding them millet, making them toys, chatting and whistling to them.

I'm surprised at how upset I am. They're only birds!

The subtext is that the middle kid has serious asthma, lots of near fatal episodes when he was younger. Thus the allergy testing and cautious approach to adding birds to the house. And, we had a house budgie who was so very tame, and a bit disabled, for a wee thing he had a big role in our family. Miss them.

Have a look at BIrdline Parrot Rescue (www.birdline.org.uk). They sometimes rehome unwanted birds (but are often "full up" so suspend that service for a while). Cockatiels usually seem to get new homes fairly fast. It is also a good place to go if you are really really serious about wanting a rescue parrot. You need to be serious because the process can be very slow - they won't let you have one unless you understand what you are doing (or they can educate you) and are the right person for that particular bird. I got my parrot from them - they retain ownership of the birds but let you have them on long-term foster. If something happens to you or your circumstances change, the bird must go back to them for safely rehoming elsewhere. Thus, they are good people to hand your birds to (if they have room!!).

I do know birdline - I'd looked at getting a parrot and settled on the cockatiels. Would happily take on a rescue - but, the noise would drive DH mad. Tiels are more quiet than the budgie was!

Back to clinic - numbers were better, but, not good enough. Trying hard to find a way out of this - been wet dusting like a woman possessed and bought some sort of an ioniser. Whatever that is.

Kid's back to clinic in 3 months. We'll see what happens then, I guess.