Opportunity knocks?

I found a breeder in Florida and we spoke on the phone this morning. I really liked her personality and we got on well. She was really great about answering my questions, even the ones that probably seemed really idiotic and obvious.

The thing is, she ships her babies out at 5-6 weeks of age, while they still require two-three hand feedings a day. She says it helps the baby to bond more fully with the new owner and that makes sense but it also makes me really nervous.

She's got detailed instructions she sends out and she told me I can call her anytime for advice. She said if she didn't feel confident that I could care for the bird, she wouldn't ship it to me.

I've fed kittens, puppies and rabbits in the past so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with the concept of mixing formula and using a syringe on a baby animal. I've just never hand fed a bird before.

Her conures are still on the nest so the eggs haven't hatched yet and she's not pressuring me to put down a deposit or anything until I'm comfortable with the idea. I'm just wondering, how difficult is it to really do this?

I work from home so the scheduling isn't an issue. I live right next door to my vet's office. He's not an avian vet so he wouldn't see Hannibal but he said a conure is alright if I run into a minor problem.

I didn't want to even try to bring in another bird for at least a month and since the eggs aren't yet hatched and the baby will be at least 5-6 weeks old before I get it, the timing is alright.

Having never handfed before though, I'm hesitant. I'm googling and reading as much as I can find but I'd still appreciate any live advice from actual conure owners who've hand fed or are hand feeding a baby.

Sabbath is going head first into the deep end with his baby conure. Lucy is 7-ish weeks old and has already decided she'd rather have pellets for breakfast so she'll be weaned by the end of June/early July. If you look at some of Sabbath's posts/threads you'll find some good info and criticisms with it.

What happens if the baby does not survive the shipping?

I asked that as well. About the baby not surviving.

She told me she guarantees the baby will survive. She said she's never lost one yet and that she's shipped all over the country. She said she feeds them just before they get on the plane.

I don't recommend making getting a unweaned bird, but if you feel confident just make sure you know everything. I'll post up a few sites when I get home.

I would go with no on this one. I have owned parrots all my life and would never have an unweaned baby shipped to me. I personally would never have any parrot shipped to me. She can "say" anything she wants, you don't know if she is lying to you or not. I think its very unreasonable of her to be shipping babies so young.

With that said I also think you should be waiting to get another parrot, you just re-homed one. Give yourself time to heal from that. Give yourself some time, and the right parrot will come along.

Please do not take offense to what I have to say........ these are facts..........

She said if she didn't feel confident that I could care for the bird, she wouldn't ship it to me.

You mentioned ...................
Having never handfed before though, I'm hesitant.
I've just never hand fed a bird before
I'm just wondering, how difficult is it to really do this?
it also makes me really nervous.

How can she feel confident, when she has no clue, how you are really feeling pertaining to your above mentioned statements.
You are talking about a bird life here, it is a very serious responsibility, and should be handled by people who have experience hand feeding a baby.

PLEASE READ BETWEEN THE LINES, SOMETHING IS A MISS HERE.....

She told me she guarantees the baby will survive. She said she's never lost one yet and that she's shipped all over the country. She said she feeds them just before they get on the plane.
Firstly she stated the bird would be shipped, THEN said she feeds them before they get on the plane.................


There is NEVER A GUARANTEE that a bird will survive be shipped. She stated she has not lost one yet???????

NEED I SAY MORE..........................

I also have to say no as well! I don't believe in shipping birds period, weaned or not...but that's my opinion....

Handfeeding does not always mean you have a better bond with the bird! It varies from bird to bird. Some of the babies I handfed flew to someone else. They pick you! You don't get to do the picking!!!

Darkling, I know you need your birdie fix, so why don't you track down a parrot rescue near you. I found 1 in AL, don't know if its close to you Parrots-R-4Ever Avian Rescue and Sanctuary, Inc.. This will help w/birdie DT's & maybe help you to decide what kind of bird you want in the future. I would LOVE to be able to regularly visit a rescue, theres not one close to me.

I have to agree with the previous responses. Do not get an unweaned bird if you have never handfed and are nervous about the experience anyway. And it isn't true that the baby will bond to you better, they should be well socialized and friendly no matter who handfeeds them.

In my opinion, any breeder that would sell and ship an unweaned chick to an inexperienced handfeeder has no business being a breeder. Years ago whenever I was breeding, even when people would beg me to allow them to handfeed their chick, I refused to allow an inexperienced person or a person I did not know personally, to purchase an unweaned chick. It is a disaster waiting to happen and it would be very hard for you to deal with the death of a chick.

As for shipping, I know lots of breeders that ship, but none that ship unweaned chicks.

I'm not going through birdie DTs but thats a great visual. lol

I'm also not in some kind of a rush. I haven't committed to anything. That's why I never called about the sun conure that was listed in my local Craig's List. I'm starting to feel like maybe I shouldn't even mention having a future bird though. After what happened with Hannibal, its like I've got a scarlet letter or something.

I do appreciate the advice though. That's what I came here for. Thanks guys.

There are more than enough birds of good age to be found. No one can guarantee a bird will survive a shipping. $$$$$$$$ is what is wanted here, not the birds welfare.

It felt fishy, so I came here to ask around before I committed to anything.

She's selling them for $175 which is A LOT less than the $300-$350 I was seeing everywhere else. But she also told me she sells "wholesale" and that she has 100s of babies at a time which is why she doesn't fully wean them.

Knowing next to nothing about bird breeding, I don't know how common this is and I've seen a couple other people talk about hand feeding their birds so I wasn't sure if this was a common practice and just a matter of personal preference or not.

She *can* say anything and I'm probably stupid to tell people how little I actually know, especially when they stand a chance of making a buck off of my inexperience. But I don't want to lie to anyone either and get in over my head again.

Home Page
This is the breeder's site, by the way.

lol that is my breeder :S

*twilight zone music*

(yes, I'm lurking lol)

I'll be honest, I don't get this whole "you need to let yourself heal" thing and it really bothers me that it was even said and that people thought it was a helpful post.

I'm not wounded. A greenwing was a poor choice for me so I did what was right and found him a home with someone who can handle him. I didn't try to keep Hannibal because he was a beautiful addition to my home. I tried to train him, realized I couldn't do it properly and set out to find him a good home.

I've not gotten a single email of complaint from his new owner so I can only assume that everything is working out just fine for them. I'll probably give her a call in a week or so just to make sure but I feel pretty much at peace over the whole Hannibal thing.

He was in a negative situation when I got him and now he's not. Mission accomplished.

It was offensive enough when I was accused of "changing my story" but being treated like I'm some sort of bird addict is even worse. From April 27-May 18 my life was in an uproar. I was working my butt off to make sure I could stay in my own place and I am so grateful to the person who kindly donated toys and treats to Hannibal when I couldn't get them myself. I'm also grateful to the person who worked so hard to help me find Hannibal a good home.

I'd like another bird I'm not twitching or salivating over the idea. There's a sun conure in my local area right now. $140 for the bird, his cage, his food and toys. He's 3 years old and he's quite lovely from the pics I saw. He only has two toys in that big old cage but they've got photos of him crawling all over their kid so its safe to assume he's not vicious either. I could have him today if I were that desperate for a bird.

I wanted a lory but I can't afford $900 for a bird right now. Sun conures have the same temperament and are slightly smaller than lories. I've made up my mind that if I'm going to do this again, I'm going to do it right. I'm going to find a good breeder, get myself a baby bird and raise it myself. I'm not going to take on someone else's mistake at this point. I'll leave that for the more experienced bird owners out there.

I appreciate solid advice and I've gotten a lot of it through this forum but I do not appreciate being spoken down to or treated as if I'm incapable of making good decisions, especially on a public forum. You can always send me a private message if you feel I need to be told what to do.

Is this a bird mill business?? 100's of babies going to an owner anyway they can get there,, and unweined at that. I much perfer a small time breeder who puts lots of love and attention into her babies. That is the kind of breeder I found here on the forum for my baby GCC.

I would stay away from this breeder for sure. I see this person is a supplier to pet stores. Ummmmmmmm.......................

Sabbath said:

lol that is my breeder :S

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Is she really?

Are you driving to pick up your baby? She offered to let me do that but it would be a 7 hour drive for me and she said flying would be easier on the baby. When do you get your little bird? Maybe I'll wait and see how things work out for you and make a decision from there.

Like I said, I've bottle fed kittens, puppies and rabbits in the past. I volunteered at a vet's office when I was in high school. ran an animal rescue in Texas for four years and used to work as a vet tech. I've never hand raised a baby bird before unless you count the blue jay I found when I was a kid but we just fed him bread soaked in milk. Not quite the same thing.

I'm not going to just jump into anything head first. I'm doing my homework here. ^^

darkling said:

She's selling them for $175 which is A LOT less than the $300-$350 I was seeing everywhere else. But she also told me she sells "wholesale" and that she has 100s of babies at a time which is why she doesn't fully wean them.

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The price is cheaper... but it might not be worth having the stress and risk of weaning a baby bird. You could lose the $175 if the baby dies in a few days. I've heard such tragic stories of handfeeding by inexperienced owners. My breeder was very against selling unweaned babies, and I respect that.

I imagine that if she has hundreds of birds, each individual hasn't received much human attention. It just doesn't sound like a very loving environment for the baby bird. Personally, I'd vote that you don't choose this breeder. Good luck in your search!