Are Babies worth more than an older bird?

Hi everyone Happy Holidays!!!
I was wondering if a person should pay more for a baby Macaw from the breeder or more for a preowned older Macaw(2.5 yrs)?

Tammy

I was wondering the same thing. If you buy a baby I would think it'd be more friendly and open towards you- stronger bond etc. For an older bird it may have attached to the previous owner thus making it more of a challenge to get it to like you. But the older bird is grown and such.

With other animals; tortoises, dogs, snakes, lizards, the babies are usually cheaper since they are not developed or trained.

Just thought i'd share, im bored at work.

Word of warning - there are many scammers out there in the exoctic bird trade so be careful, get references, see the bird in the home and ask for vet records. Good luck. I live in Md. and there is a severe Macaw for sale just over $400. on craigs list. The person lowered the price.

I'd say look on craigslist. In my area theres a scarlet going for $700 Oh and here in lansing we have a store called preuss pets quite the store. Any who they have two b and g macaws for $900, i believe they were one or maybe younger not sure. they also have a green wing but its a hefty bit more. just fyi

I suspect the reason babies may be more expensive than adult birds is because adults are probably being rehomed.

And a baby has it's own set of challenges. Babies have to be taught manners and proper behavior. Rehomed adults usually already have these skills. And they will also bond just as stongly with their new family, but it takes more time.

i don't like to think of birds as second hand, and therefore worth less, just because they are older...
breeders can often ask more, as they are in the position of being approached for a bird, whereas a bird that needs to be rehomed ,relies on the owner having to ask around or advertise for a new home, and therefore in a weaker market position...

aside from the economics....my personal experience of owning birds throughout my life, has been from babies...

next time, when i am in the position to get another companion parrot, i think i would prefer to get an older bird.

here are my reasons...
1) i like bigger birds, and i have found that babies are HARD WORK!!!
my bigger baby birds take longer to get to know, and work out their personality, so took me longer to "take" to them. i suppose the smaller birds mature faster and get to that stage quicker? baby birds need to be trained, which can be fun, but also tiresome, if you don't have a large amount of time to devote to it, and at this stage of life ,i have other time distractions, and don't have all day for step up training.

2) i would prefer to give a bird that has had a less than ideal existence in their life so far, a chance to come out of their shell and have a good life, and learn to trust again.
for me, owning a parrot, the best thing is when you get to the point where they push their head towards you and nuzzle in for a scratch....they WANT you to love them!
with babies, its often easier to get there, but its more rewarding when you actually finally win over an older bird that no longer trusted people.

3) buying a baby just fuels demand, when there are already too many with no home,s or bad ones.
that said, people should not feel guilted into rehoming an older bird, if they really want a baby, but i don't want to add to the demand next time.

4) to answer your question, is a baby worth more than an older bird...I would be happy to pay the same if not more for an older bird if it was healthy, well trained and a good family pet already, etc,as that is certainly a benefit, BUT if the bird came from a home where its health etc was dubious, you may be out for lots of vet bills etc in the future, so you have to consider that financially too...

In my opinion, how you feel about the bird itself is more important than any price. Of course, it must be within your means and you must have enough money to house, feed and care for it properly. AV vet bills are more expensive than cat/dog vets. But as much as we'd want to be millionaires, most of us aren't, so of course you must just go with what you can afford with enough left over for vet trips and emergencies - same as any pet!


ALL birds are a challenge. Handreared, rehomes,untamed baby.....the results are all the same. You have to learn from the bird, take it's lead and have an abundance of patience, understanding and a LOT of knowledge under your belt. Any bird, tame or not is going to wonder what the fudge is going on when you bring him/her home.

It depends on you, how much you know, how much you can cope with, how much you can afford.....

Personally, asking me if a baby is worth more than an adult....it's like asking who I'd sell for the higher price....my mother or my baby niece lol.

Von1983 said:

In my opinion, how you feel about the bird itself is more important than any price. Of course, it must be within your means and you must have enough money to house, feed and care for it properly. AV vet bills are more expensive than cat/dog vets. But as much as we'd want to be millionaires, most of us aren't, so of course you must just go with what you can afford with enough left over for vet trips and emergencies - same as any pet!


ALL birds are a challenge. Handreared, rehomes,untamed baby.....the results are all the same. You have to learn from the bird, take it's lead and have an abundance of patience, understanding and a LOT of knowledge under your belt. Any bird, tame or not is going to wonder what the fudge is going on when you bring him/her home.

It depends on you, how much you know, how much you can cope with, how much you can afford.....

Personally, asking me if a baby is worth more than an adult....it's like asking who I'd sell for the higher price....my mother or my baby niece lol.

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Well said.

My point of view is it depends on the bird. For a baby bird, you have to train it and teach it. So if you are experienced, may be that will work for you. Otherwise, you may end up with a bad bird. Not saying that you don't love the bird, but you need to know what you are doing. If you get an adult bird which is well trained, good behavioral developed, potty trained, etc., then I would think the higher price is justified.

Wow! up in Canada they are getting $3,000 for a Scarlet? Granted they are a bit rarer than say a B&G but that is a lot. I got my Scarlet Clifford January 6th 2004 when he did not sell for Christmas. They originally said they wanted $2,700 for him, but that was the Mall Price. They knew I had two other macaws and told me they were prepared to make me a special offer on Clifford for $1,800 which I accepted. I had been watching him in the store every week since September and I guess it really showed that I wanted him. One thing that convinced me is the store manager was out on maternity leave and raised two macaw chicks side-by-side with her human baby. This attached picture of her trusting her baby that close to a macaw helped convince me (don't try this at home with a macaw) Click on picture to enlarge.... Al P.S this is my first picture I have of Clifford and have had him now for nearly 7 years. Some Scarlets I have seen never talk, especially a hen so I would maybe think they would want more for one that was well used to human handling or maybe has a vocabulary. Clifford says Hello, There you go, Ca'mon let's go, It's worth it, Here Doog, Stop, Mop, ER-ER, Papa, Pop, Hi Boo, & Here

My fiancée works for an exotic bird store. All the babies are more expensive because they hand feed them and socialize them. The older birds are less expensive since they are being rehomed and sometimes they were simply surrendered. Most of the older birds have some behavioral issues which the new parents have to work through to get a good bird whereas the babies bond to the new parents quickly.

Hello, I really thought about going with a cag or tag;thinking that it would be easy to handle a baby rather than a rehomed bird; the cost is alot,for a baby I think ; in my area rehomed birds are less money and the babies are outragious 1100-1500. So I guess I would have to say it depends where you live. I did go with the rehomed African Grey,.

3000 is a ridiculous price for any scarlet baby or older go to birdbreeders.com many respectable breeders and baby birds for under 1600

Make sure that the add is legitimate.
On Craigslist, Oddles market place, BirdBreeders.com, Birds Now etc are places where getting a bird may be cheaper. Lots of small and big breeders use sites like those, but beware of scammers or people in the illegal exotic bird trade. You might get a sick bird.

Most of the time on those sites the grown ones are more expensive unless they are trying to be rehomed.
But again the babies are equally as expensive.
Normally the young ones in the __months are cheaper.

Babies can bond with you stronger and are easier to start training earlier, because they have been handled so you don't need to tame them like an adult bird, but then you mold this bird's personality. And they go through puberty.

Older birds what you see is what you get and if it has passed puberty it will be easier, you will still have hormonal outbreaks but no puberty.

cece15 said:

Make sure that the add is legitimate.
On Craigslist, Oddles market place, BirdBreeders.com, Birds Now etc are places where getting a bird may be cheaper. Lots of small and big breeders use sites like those, but beware of scammers or people in the illegal exotic bird trade. You might get a sick bird.

Most of the time on those sites the grown ones are more expensive unless they are trying to be rehomed.
But again the babies are equally as expensive.
Normally the young ones in the __months are cheaper.

Babies can bond with you stronger and are easier to start training earlier, because they have been handled so you don't need to tame them like an adult bird, but then you mold this bird's personality. And they go through puberty.

Older birds what you see is what you get and if it has passed puberty it will be easier, you will still have hormonal outbreaks but no puberty.

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Lol you brought a thread back from the dead. This thread is 5 years old

Old threads may still be posted on, lots of people reread old threads and the more advice on them the better, in my opinion

Just my thought on the matter. If you buy a baby you have it for longer. An older bird you get less time with. This is assuming you keep it for its entire life.

I would have to consider that if I were to buy a more expensive bird. These numbers probably arent accurate its just an example. Bird lives 50 yrars. 1000 for a baby versus 1000 for a 48 year old bird.

I understand the desire to provide a good home for a bird but I personally couldn't buy the bird with only a few years left for that price.

I would feel bad for the bird and if i were rich then ok.

I hope i made sense without offending anyone.

gracebowen said:

Just my thought on the matter. If you buy a baby you have it for longer. An older bird you get less time with. This is assuming you keep it for its entire life.

I would have to consider that if I were to buy a more expensive bird. These numbers probably arent accurate its just an example. Bird lives 50 yrars. 1000 for a baby versus 1000 for a 48 year old bird.

I understand the desire to provide a good home for a bird but I personally couldn't buy the bird with only a few years left for that price.

I would feel bad for the bird and if i were rich then ok.

I hope i made sense without offending anyone.

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Actually, life span is one of the best reasons to adopt an older bird. Many parrots wind up being re-homed because their owners had to move into assisted living, for example. Most large parrots and many smaller ones can live as long as people - 80 years or even longer. So some parrots outlive several owners, and they are at risk of falling into a terrible situation every time they become homeless. Adopting an older bird - old enough that you have a good chance to outlive him - might save you both a painful parting one day.