# Bad household management = dead parakeet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937 "2015-09-29T11:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/21 "2015-09-29T18:57:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Careless and irresponsible, so for certain values of “bad” yes they are, but they aren’t roasting puppies and kittens alive or torturing fellow human beings, which is a different level of bad. This took days. It wasn’t an accident or a moment’s inattention or a bit of bad luck. Days, maybe even weeks, depending on when the water ran out. How many times do you suppose they told the bird to shut up over those days while it tried to attract their attention? How many days of suffering does it take to move someone into the Bad Human Beings category, on your chart? Because if your chart is marked in weeks, you need to recalibrate. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/22 "2015-09-29T19:13:19Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > This took days. It wasn’t an accident or a moment’s inattention or a bit of bad luck. Days, maybe even weeks, depending on when the water ran out. > > How many times do you suppose they told the bird to shut up over those days while it tried to attract their attention? > > How many days of suffering does it take to move someone into the Bad Human Beings category, on your chart? Because if your chart is marked in weeks, you need to recalibrate. I just think **Broomstick** is just marking the difference between premeditated and unintentional, so to speak. Which is a very valid difference in some cases, but in this case doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/23 "2015-09-29T19:32:36Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I just think **Broomstick** is just marking the difference between premeditated and unintentional, so to speak. Which is a very valid difference in some cases, but in this case doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. Pretty much. > [@Merneith](#): > > This took days. It wasn’t an accident or a moment’s inattention or a bit of bad luck. Days, maybe even weeks, depending on when the water ran out. Here’s the thing that many people don’t realize: a small bird like a parakeet can starve to death in as little as 2 days. We’re mammals, most of our pets are mammals, we aren’t used to thinking in terms of birds and their incredibly high metabolism. If you neglect a cat or dog for 2-3 days it’s not going to result in death. A cat or dog will also be more proactive in getting your attention. > [@](#): > > How many times do you suppose they told the bird to shut up over those days while it tried to attract their attention? Perhaps never. Perhaps the bird shut up and that’s why no one noticed. Birds are a prey species, the worse they feel they less noise they make. That’s one of the hardest things to grasp as a bird owner - it’s when they go _quiet_ that you have to worry the most. My birds - highly socialized parrots that interact multiple times per day with multiple people - will fuss when they’re hungry, one of them even knows how to ask for food and water, but they are _highly trained, highly socialized to people animals_. A parakeet that isn’t well socialized won’t necessarily draw attention to itself. It won’t know that getting attention from people is its only chance of survival. As it gets weaker, it will be less and less inclined to attract attention from those large, featherless bipeds around it. Also, a bird with inadequate socialization will become withdrawn, lethargic, and quiet, making it easier to forget about it. > [@](#): > > How many days of suffering does it take to move someone into the Bad Human Beings category, on your chart? Because if your chart is marked in weeks, you need to recalibrate. Without food and water a parakeet won’t even last half a week. It doesn’t take long at all for a small bird to die. Frankly, a lifetime alone in a cage without social interaction, years of that, would probably be worse torture to the bird than dying of hunger. Socializing is _that important_ to the parrots, to which group parakeets belong. Parrots can go insane and start self-harming without adequate social interactions. Even if the parakeet was getting enough food and water to live on, being in solitary confinement with no interaction would have been torture to the bird as well. Either way, this is not a household compatible with pets, much less pet birds. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/24 "2015-09-29T19:44:50Z")
You should feel crappy. Very crappy. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/25 "2015-09-29T19:54:02Z")
> [@ASanders](#): > > She (we think) was very pretty. Her name was Kitty Perry. Rest in peace, Kitty. I hope that in the middle of a Katy Perry concert you’re at, she stops the show, points you out, tells the crowd that you starved your pet To Death and that’s why the shows over. …and then walks out. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/26 "2015-09-29T19:57:36Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I thought parakeets could talk. Why didn’t she say something? They do. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WYcWA_RNl1s/maxresdefault.jpg "One Phrase Leads to Another") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYcWA_RNl1s) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/27 "2015-09-29T20:07:47Z")
We had the coolest parakeet ever. He was very nice and would play with us all the time. My ass-hat brother-in-law was over and had to go out to smoke and left the sliding door open and our little friend made his break. I wasn’t home, or I would have caught him. Never saw him again. Lots of horrible beasties around here and I’m sure he met with a grisly end. ☹ Sorry about your Kitty. Don’t let it get you down too much and ignore all the shamers online. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/28 "2015-09-29T20:17:56Z")
Yeah a lot of perfect people here who never fucked up. I’m sorry this happened. I do agree with the poster who said the kids should have been the ones to be responsible but then again who should have enforced that? Ignore the over-the-top shamers but continue to be sorry for what you didn’t do. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/29 "2015-09-29T20:41:32Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > This took days. It wasn’t an accident or a moment’s inattention or a bit of bad luck. Days, maybe even weeks, depending on when the water ran out. This is one of the real issues. How long do you have to ignore your pet to reach the point where you don’t notice it isn’t being fed? ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/30 "2015-09-29T20:53:13Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Yeah a lot of perfect people here who never fucked up. I’m sorry this happened. I do agree with the poster who said the kids should have been the ones to be responsible but then again who should have enforced that? Ignore the over-the-top shamers but continue to be sorry for what you didn’t do. I’ve never fucked up and killed an animal through inattention or ignorance. If we’re gonna compare value judgements on that, yeah, I am better than them. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/31 "2015-09-30T00:19:27Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I’ve never fucked up and killed an animal through inattention or ignorance. If we’re gonna compare value judgements on that, yeah, I am better than them. How wonderful for you. In case you had not noticed the OP started with an apology and a statement of how bad they felt. And they admitted their inattention, publicly. So, I guess they did cop to their failure. Do you normally cop to your mistakes, or do you just make none? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/32 "2015-09-30T00:26:37Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > In case you had not noticed the OP started with an apology and a statement of how bad they felt. And they admitted their inattention, publicly. So, I guess they did cop to their failure. It’s the best they could have done, after the fact. Perhaps it will save some other critters. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/33 "2015-09-30T00:37:23Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > How wonderful for you. In case you had not noticed the OP started with an apology and a statement of how bad they felt. And they admitted their inattention, publicly. So, I guess they did cop to their failure. Do you normally cop to your mistakes, or do you just make none? What do you expect?? They came to a message board and told everyone how they killed their pet. Do you think people should pat her hand and say “there, there, dear”? And yeah, I’ve also never stuffed an animal into a cage and then starved it to death. And if I had, I would be so utterly ashamed of myself that I would never tell another living soul. Judging someone who blabs about killing their pet doesn’t mean you’ve never made a mistake. And she didn’t “cop to their failure” she called it “Bad Household Managment”. Forgetting to do the laundry or buy groceries or put out the trash is “bad household management” not forgetting you have a pet for so long that it starves to death. ---
**Author:** ![brovolone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/34 "2015-09-30T00:56:21Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Yeah a lot of perfect people here who never fucked up. I’m sorry this happened. I do agree with the poster who said the kids should have been the ones to be responsible but then again who should have enforced that? Ignore the over-the-top shamers but continue to be sorry for what you didn’t do. Glad to see what warrants over-the-top for you. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/35 "2015-09-30T01:01:19Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > How wonderful for you. In case you had not noticed the OP started with an apology and a statement of how bad they felt. And they admitted their inattention, publicly. So, I guess they did cop to their failure. Do you normally cop to your mistakes, or do you just make none? You know, I Do cop to my mistakes… and the MOMENT I can bring pets that were starved and dehydrated to death back to life by saying “Gee, I’m sorry. Guess it should have been on the household To-Do list. Oh well. More fudge…?” maybe I will. Personally, I will say, “Sure, I’m not perfect…” and I’ll say it here and in public\*. \ ***No Animals Were Killed In That Admission Of Imperfection** Wait, maybe thats not exactly right. I’m not Og, and perhaps every person who abuses a pet better be glad I’m not. You see, I’m a LOT less “Jesus-ey” and a Whole Lot more Roald Dahl. Starve your pets? You better Hope I never get “[The Magic Finger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDzQGqp966Y)”… ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/36 "2015-09-30T01:21:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Without food and water a parakeet won’t even last half a week. It doesn’t take long at all for a small bird to die. I will bow to your superior knowledge of birds and accept that it probably “only” took a couple of days, not as long as I’d imagined. I don’t feel any obligation to revisit my assessment of the humans, however. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/37 "2015-09-30T01:27:31Z")
> [@ASanders](#): > > Believe me, I feel terrible and have no intention of ever getting another pet. It was never in my game plan but we stupidly allowed our kids to have their way. The first parakeet was long-lived and happy, because it came to us trained and friendly and the kids had less busy lives when they were younger and took care of it. When it passed they were eager to repeat that experience. > > I’m not blaming the bird, I completely blame myself, my family, and our tunnel vision. The girls too have learned a major lesson and it’s brought them up short. > > I’m certainly not bragging. Good lord. ☹ I’m coming to your defense here. I’ve had two parakeets, and while they were well taken care of and were allowed to fly freely inside our house, they succumbed to an avian flu virus. Sad day both times. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/38 "2015-09-30T01:51:07Z")
This is why I have a cat. It’s not possible for me to forget to feed or water her; she’s in my face long before her dishes run out, let alone before she’s in any danger. I think there are a few good lessons here: - Don’t get a pet reluctantly. Or excitedly, if the excitement is from attention-limited children. - Always have one designated responsible person. Have clear handoffs of responsibility if that person can’t do the task. - Favor pets that are more tolerant of lapses in attention, or demand attention on their own. I know that I couldn’t handle birds/fish/mice/etc.; they’re too forgettable. Non-caged mammals don’t have that problem. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/39 "2015-09-30T01:56:35Z")
How do we know that it didnt have a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937/40 "2015-09-30T02:07:55Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > I will bow to your superior knowledge of birds and accept that it probably “only” took a couple of days, not as long as I’d imagined. > > I don’t feel any obligation to revisit my assessment of the humans, however. I am not here to argue with anyone’s opinion. I’m just saying, it can happen a _lot_ faster with birds than most other typical pets. That’s one of the downsides to birds-as-pets - they aren’t mammals, their needs are different than ours. A mistake that wouldn’t kill a dog or cat can easily kill a bird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-household-management-dead-parakeet/732937.md?page=3)