Getting a but Frustrated

This may just be a small post of me venting about how HARD it is to find reliable birds for sale. All I have local are big box pet stores and craigslisg which all theee options knly offer budgies, teils, finches, green cheek conures or sun conures and that is basically IT. There was suppised to be two massive exotocs expos in my areas with a highlight on exotoc birds and I was ready, cash in hand to find my forever bird. But thanks to Covid that's been canceled as well. (Not to mention all the other horrible things it's done). I have been looking online for roughly 2-3 years now to find a breeder or some other way to get 1 of 2 birds. First and most expensive is a Galah cockatoo while the other is the more financially attainable blue crown conure. So far the only reliable source seems to be TheFinchFarm.com which seems a bit over priced and with all the variety of birds they have, probably just a bird mill. They claim theirs are all handfed and raised but with iver 100 dofferent kinds of birds Ibam sceptical. Everything else I come across for those types of birds seem to just be scams, don't ship, or something else generally "off" about them. It's about to make me just give up in a fit of tears!

So, if anyone in here know reliable reputable, reasonable breeders of bkue crown conures or galah cockatoos, PLEASE point me in their direction.

It would be helpful to know where you live.


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Have you tried EAST, Exotic Avian Sanctuary of Tennessee? They are in Hermitage, TN.

https://tnavianrescue.org/about/

I am in TN and also not looking to rescue. I am not a seasoned bird owner and already have a rescued cockatiel (I'm her 4th home in 1.5 years). Looking for a breeder so I can get a hand fed baby. I apologize if that seems selfish. If push comes to shove I may just have to go with TheFinchFarm.com since they are at least legit. I would prefer a more mok and pop breeder over that site since they just seem to over charge for everything and also they may be a bird mill which I would rather not support.

MAKE SURE your baby is fully weaned. Do not let anyone try to sell you than line about how it will bond better with you if you are the one to hand-feed it. That is false and a lot can go wrong.

Have you tried "Strictly Feathers" in Knoxville?
What about "Adventure Birds of Bon Aqua"?
Here's an Aviary (dk much about it) https://www.facebook.com/myaviary615/ (they get 5 stars out of 17 google reviews--but again, dk personally)
A lot of times you put a reservation down on a batch of babies that is coming up, so just because a bird place doesn't have a certain type of bird, doesn't mean they won't. The issue then is that you are committing before meeting, but if you are wanting someone to ship then you would be doing that anyone. Shipping can be really hard on them btw (not saying it can never be done, but I was unhappy with my experience flying with Noodles in cargo)..It's a lot of stress for them and the temperatures etc can get super sketchy during transport.

I also just saw this place in Kentucky-- "The Parrots Nest and Pet Supplies" https://www.facebook.com/TheParrotNest/ <--even if you don't want to drive there yet, it is clear they have babies from time to time, so if you know what you want, they would probably let you reserve over the phone and then come get the bird when it's ready.

I also found this "Mystic Moon Aviary" https://www.facebook.com/MysticMoonAviary/-- You always kind of have to use your judgement, but they SEEM legit at a glance anyway...

Frankly, if a person has limited supply of parrots and doesn't talk a ton about shipping etc etc, I tend to trust them a bit more, just because it seems like they are breeding on a smaller scale and probably less for major profit, but maybe that's just me...I am very weary of sites that act like they have tons of options all the time, ship wherever, etc etc (seems too good to be true, or like a bird farm in some respects).


Have you had cockatoos before? I would strongly advise against getting one without a lot of experience around larger birds, but specifically, experience with cockatoos . Also, with babies, it's easy to make mistakes that last (and it's also a bigger shock to your system when they go from a baby to an adult years later--because of personality changes etc) AND because rescues are so full of cockatoos ...

PERSONAL OPINION: I know you don't want to rescue, and this isn't a guilt trip for you, but I have a hard time trusting any breeder who is actively breeding lots of cockatoos in the US...That's my personal bias, but when they are re-homed more than any other bird, and there are not enough homes for the unwanted ones, I cannot imagine creating more of them and perpetuating that cycle as a breeder (knowing statistically that 9/10 of my babies would be bounced around for the next 60+ years) ... I know that there is a market for it, but..seems odd..I mean, if it's once in a blue-moon, I can possibly see breeding them with pre-screened adoptions set-up in advance, but if they are breeding lots of "toos" and selling them at pet stores etc, that freaks me out.

Another thing, although they are tremendously different in many ways, technically cockatiels and cockatoos can reproduce...so keep that in mind as well.

You aren't wanting to get both a conure and cockatoo at once, are you?

Thanks for all that info!!! And I fully understand your thoughts and opinions. The only experience I have is with my teil, so no 'big bird' experience. However I also don't want to collect a flock to start with beginner birds. I have wanted a galah for 5 years now and a blue crown conure for about 3 as a 'back up' to getting a galah. I do not plan on getting both though. One or the other only to ensure proper space and time is spent with them. I may not have experience but I have a friend who has had 2 galahs and have watched lots of different videos and read every article I could about both types of birds. I have worked in an aviary when I was 17-19 and they had larger birds like cockatoos and breeding hyacinth macaws. So while no owning experience I get the picture. Also, Galahs are in the smaller side. I have space out doors for a cage out there and a room to keep them in over bight and othwewise when I'm home it would be out and with me and I wiuld like to be able to harness train to take it out and about (to appropriate places like parks, home depot, pet stores, ect). I am really looking for a life time type companion and fully know 'on paper' expectations of care. Promise I am not just jumping in. I originally wanted a sun conure but research and stories from owners taught me they are NOT the bird for me lol.

I have contacted the Adventure Birds place and they haven't had either type of bird in a long time. They said they would call me if they come across anyway but didn't seem to have high hopes. I will look into the others you listened as well. And yeah, I wiuld rather find a small time breeder than deal with a bird farm which is why I am getting frustrated because all I am finding are scams or farms.

I will NIT accept an unweaned baby either. I have read the issues and dangers with that and do NOT want that for myself. I do want a hand fed baby though. Just not one I have to raise myself.

I didn't know that toos and tiels could mate though, so that's new info and I will make sure to be mindful of that since I would like a male.

That all being said, I am leaning more towards the BCC than a Cockatoo due to prices. 800-1000 is easier on me than 3k-4k.

Thank you again for your thoughtful response. If I didn't answer something let me know, and if youvjave any more information or experience to offer I am open to hearing everything.

Hoobly and Craigslist can have small breeders list birds, o found my Neptune that way as was a really nice breeder that did all the things I wanted in a breeder , very social and abundance weaned

I found my breeder on Facebook. I just typed “parrotlet” into the search bar and had several local options. I’m sure this would work for any species. Be aware that “hand fed” and “tame”’aren’t the same thing and make sure you get a tame bird. Hand feeding vs parent feeding is less important. I lucked out in that regard even though I didn’t know that tidbit.

Also, and I’m sure you’ve done this, but google “galah breeder Tennessee” (put the name of your town in to get more specific) and see if that gives you any hits.

Finally, I understand why you want a baby. Same reasons I did, based on what you said, and I absolutely don’t regret that decision for a second (Bumble is my littlest bestie). That said, I have learned since then that not all rescues are birds with problems, and if you find a really reputable rescue and share your concerns about rescue vs baby, they might be able to match you with an appropriate bird. Just something to think over.


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I have searched CL extensively. All the bird breeders only breed GCC or cockatiels. Also...I don't have FB =/ I miss the days when people had their own websites.

I kay have found a breeder of a blue crown conure. Still in the 'lots of questions' phase and figure out shipping.

Welp, looks like I finally found a breeder thanks to this thread. Thank you so much!!!

The breeder will have new babies in a few weeks and from there he maintains them till 3-5 weeks old then sells them to pet stores with hand feeders on staff. He no longer keeps till weaned unfortunately. However he did reach out to a store local to me and they agreed to buy several of his babies to hand feed. Only draw back is they name the lrice and they are known to over price a bit. However I reached out to that store as well and they have me as prioroty wait listed so I will get a notice as soon as they receive the babies and I can plave a deposit and have first pick and visitation until fully weaned. So I will be looking at around December to get my baby by the looks of the current time line and while I am not thrilled with their price (1500), I at least get the experience of seeing them grow and interacting with them before they come instead of taking the chance on a sight unseen bird. =)

Also, this is for a blue crown conure, NOT a galah.