how much does a parrot breeder make in general

hi, i hope im not being rude because i know some people prefer to keep financial matters to themselves. so i always see pictures of parrot breeders with all the babies, i hear stories about the birds, and read about it and they seem to be so happy. when i think of me surrounded by birds it makes me happy. i understand the hardships, experience, expense, and how its not all fun and games. i also understand how it depends what you breed, the quality and health of the birds, how much you sell, and other factors play into this. dispite this, it sounds very rewarding and enjoyable when things go well. so i was wondering what a parrot breeder that breeds bourkes, linnies, budgies, macaws, cape parrots and lovebirds would make. sorry its so long, any insight is appreciated. im going to be a sophomore in HS when the summers over so i have some time to think about it.

Haha, it depends... I don't think I made anything this year. I breed Lovebirds, and this year I only did one clutch so as you can imagine not much to be made. I think I ended up bottom up. Some breeders who have hundreds of birds or very expensive birds make a fair living.

thank you, btw your conure is adorable!

It's pretty much how I'd love to live too Ann. Considering opening a sanctuary and /somehow/ making my living through rescuinig and rehabing birds. But not much money to be made through this... but I wanna do it...

Hey Ann,I've been breeding Amazons for years, no money,it cost me to have them i'm sure.I started to breed tiels for people who wanted a parrot but needed something other than a amazon for a first pet.I might have made a little money with the tiels. but vet bills could at any time wipeout your profits.If your going to be a breeder forget ever taking a vacation or even a long weekend.Rescues the same deal, what ever i make off my breeders just help support my rescue birds.Maybe if you find some small niche you can make a little money, but if you want to support yourself or send your kids to college,you'll need to get very large with contracts to supply lots of babies to a wholesaler.Go to school and be a vet.

After seeing what our breeder does for ther babies, I bet she makes about $2/hr. Her parrots aren't cheap, they're on the high-average or low-pricy side ($1100 for a CAG) and BTMs and RFMs take the better part of $2K. However, her birds are worth the price. Healthy, socialized, good parents, etc.

I know that I couldn't do it. My hat goes off to breeders like her - it's a 24/7 job, just like any other parront, but more babies.

No money on my part. I always went under due to DNA and buying formula all the time
Maybe I made 10 bucks haha. Maybe I lost 10.
IMO it shouldn be listed as a career due to the Margin of having to make ends meet. If it's a hobby then it really wouldn matter and love is put into the birds more.
For me oviously it is a hobby. I simply love raising baby birds. Other might feel diffrent though

thank you so much! i think i will breed small birds as a hobby, your right more love goes into it and i dont have to depend on it for money but for joy instead.

I think you are making the right choice with that. Breeding ANY animal properly and having the time to properly care for the animals, while it is rewarding, Generally isn't a career choice for most people.

The number of people who actually look into buying birds VS those who buy on a whim at the pet store is HUGE so you would have to spend a multitude of time either finding a pet store to take babies OR advertising in EVERY possible venue you can so people know you are around.

As a hobby breeder you can sit back relax and enjoy all the little feathery fluff balls and fuss over them and put a few ads in the papers on the internet etc.

My grandmother bred and showed dogs as a hobby (and she had some awesome show pups come from her lines go on to do amazing in the ring!) and by the time she fed and vetted and traveled and set up new puppy packs and bought paper for her info packets and the ink to print them, putting in a new dog run(for birds aka cages for them or a flight area) etc etc she made maybe 50$ per pup AT MOST.

Mind you we went really out of our way for spoiling the puppies before and setting up for spoiling after they left her home.

The place she made SOME money was off her champ. show stud (my baby) Duke. His stud fee varied based on how well my grandmother got along with the other breeders (lol) but she generally made between 100-250 as a stud fee there was a couple people who got free stud because they were friends etc.

He was only bred 15 times his whole life and most were done via AI. SOOO you can do that math. not much money made AT ALL.

With animals the place you make money tends to be more towards shows and studs, as we know alllot of parrot species mate for life making stud fee's impossible in most ways (it is possible to AI a bird although that takes ALLOT more effort then most people are willing to take.)

When ever I've gone to breeders, be it bird or dog breeders, they always seem to be retired or one partner working while the other manages the breeder side of things. And most of the time don't have kids or the kids have left home. I think it costs a lot of money, especially to set up and get started, to breed animals, and I think most people do it for love rather then money.

I mean... to breed large birds like cockatoos or macaws for example you'd need to own your own house first of all, most people have either a huge backyard to breed avairy birds, or a special "bird room" dedicated to hand rearing and keeping the pet parrots, and usually another room set up for baby birds... there's no way you could do that in a rented house.

Thanks for the input, a hobby is a much better choice ( and I dont have to sell ALL the babies lol). Pluss I want to work with children, maybe a social worker, I wouldnt have time for a whole breedind career. Thank you all for the help!

I have yet to read most of this thread, I just had to comment though - and I hope not to offend anyone who thinks otherwise ... but ....

Anyone who is breeding parrots responsibly and ethically probably will not make anything at all - certainly nothing that could be considered an 'income'.

It can be done for the love of birds - and there's a fair chance the endeavor would pay for itself ... but that's about it.

If you are even remotely considering breeding parrots to make money ....
Please don't.

After reading this thread now I am quite happy to see that my post was pretty redundant.

yea, career breeding is a full time job on its own... i worked as a groomer and puppy "trainer" (leash and some basic obedience and start on house breaking) for a dog breeder near me for 6 months while i was in college and its a day and night job.

when pups are due she has a special whelping room so she is right there when it happens it has a bed in it and several whelping boxes (its a RV attached to the house thats been gutted and redone inside LOL) and while her breeding brings in some cash she also has a grooming business AND a boarding kennel to bring in the "real" money.

She works 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Her business is her life literally!