Payment on bird

Thinking of buying a baby goffin cockatoo do I have to in full or can I make payments for like a year or so?

sgperth12 said:

Thinking of buying a baby goffin cockatoo do I have to in full or can I make payments for like a year or so?

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Some breeders will allow you to make payments while the baby is still being handfed (about 4 months), but almost all will require the baby to be paid in full prior to handing over the bird.

Keep in mind, the bird isn't half the cost of what you will spend in the first year, between cages, playstands, vet visits, food, carriers, toys, ect.

Thats up to the seller whether or not you can make payments. Don't forget though that it's not just the cost of the bird itself. If you are finding the cost of the bird daunting, you need to carefully consider if you can really afford this birds basic setup and lifetime care. What made you decide on a goffin? Have you spoken to any long time goffin owners yet? Read up on them and done your research? Cockatoos take a special kind of person to love having them around and are on the difficult side of bird keeping care-wise.

In addition to buying the bird, you'll also need a species appropriate cage (for a goffin, that would be a macaw or double macaw size as they are so active), a wellness check with an avian vet to ensure the bird is healthy (some breeders include this), toys and the millions of other things that add up fast. Figure, up front, you'll probably need as much as the bird costs in essentials to get you started plus the continuing monthly expense of fresh foods/toys and the occasional need to see a $peciali$t vet.

I live with 5 Goffins and find them my favorite of parrots! A few caveats, though! They are a family of 2 wild-caught parents and their 3 hand-fed offspring. Four of the five socialize daily, while the parent male is kept separately in a large flight cage. They have learned to have time with each other and do not depend solely on their humans for stimulation.

For a solitary Goffin I would recommend a very large cage stocked with lots of chew toys, and be prepared to give plenty of time for interaction. Goffins tend to be a bit quieter than other cockatoos, and have huge personalities.

As others posted, the price of the bird is just a portion of the yearly and lifetime cost. The only likely way to make payments on a bird is to work with a breeder or retail store that arranges credit for purchases. Sort of like a small car or personal loan, the seller is paid immediately and you owe installment payments to the financer.

Good luck, and please ask any other specific questions you may have!!

As someone who used to breed purebred collies, I would not sell one to someone who asked to make payments. Sorry, but I'd suggest either saving up over a year to pay for it, or reconsider your pet choice to be in line with what you can comfortably afford to care for.

The others are right in that you spend a lot more AFTER the bird is home than in getting the bird home. Nearly all of mine are rescues, but I did have to ransom a couple of them to rescue them, and the cage, the food, the toys, the perches, not to mention vet care, add up to a heckuva lot more. Cages are terribly expensive and even though my birds are out all day, so their cage size isn't as critical, I still got each one the biggest cage I could just in case they have to spend a day locked up sometime. They have, once or twice. Still, I know a couple of breeders of other species (cockatiels and parrotlets) who will take payments as the baby is growing up big enough to go home with its new parronts, but just keep in mind all those other costs as well.

If you cannot afford the bird up front, check into local rescue organizations. They typically have birds for a fraction of the cost if you are willing to put up with an older animal. My Harlequin Macaw for instance for $450 including cage, carrier and stand. I also received a tub of food and toys.

Even if you have decided on a breed specifically, you can generally find what you are looking for at a rescue organization. Their birds change weekly.

CD