Query on Hyacinth Macaw breeder

Hi all

I am back into birds again after several years away from the scene, live in Geelong, Victoria, Australia and am looking for a newly weaned male Hyacinth Macaw.

I have been talking with a breeder in Cameroon and trying to establish whether his credentials are valid.

Has anyone heard of or dealt with Edificio-Famiglia Aviary in Cameroon; they are offering cheap Hyacinths. Are they real deal or scammers.

Thanks

John

Cheap hyacinths + Cameroon = Scammer.
Do not send these people any money!!!!!

Does not sound right. If youre going to get a Hyacinth, spend the money on someone who knows what theyre doing. They have special dietary needa and need specially formulated hand feeding formulas, which to this date are still not 100% known/accurate to what they receive in the wild, so it is super important you get someone experienced who knows what they are doing. I would stay away from buying anything from most of the African countries.

sonja said:

Cheap hyacinths + Cameroon = Scammer.
Do not send these people any money!!!!!

Click to expand...

I tend to agree, but this site? Don't know! Edit: Absolutely a scam, see below!

EDIFICIO-FAMIGLIA AVIARY

The layout is very consistent. Anyone, chime in if you have more information, good or bad! IF they are legit, they don't deserve being dumped in the same bucket!
EDIT:
SCAM ALERT. Look at this!
http://www.petparrot.com/History.htm (Legit site)
And
http://www.edificio-famigliaaviary.com/About_Us.html (scam)

Old name, http://www.mioterrenoaviary.com/ Got caught, same text!

Good luck with your search, John! There are so many baby bird scams that come to grief. Please do your due diligence, hopefully you will find a reputable seller.

The site posted by Flboy certainly appears reasonable and may be worth researching.

Flboy said:

sonja said:

Cheap hyacinths + Cameroon = Scammer.
Do not send these people any money!!!!!

Click to expand...

I tend to agree, but this site? Don't know!

EDIFICIO-FAMIGLIA AVIARY

The layout is very consistent. Anyone, chime in if you have more information, good or bad! IF they are legit, they don't deserve being dumped in the same bucket!

SCAM ALERT. Look at this!
Parrot breeder history - Judy Leach's Parrots - macaws, cockatoos, and african greys (Legit site)
And
EDIFICIO-FAMIGLIA AVIARY (scam)

Old name, http://www.mioterrenoaviary.com/ Got caught, same text!

Click to expand...

I did not want to see this missed! A complete copy of a legit site!

I have to agree... lots of scams.

When I was looking for a rescue macaw I ran into a ton of folks. In fact there's a guy that's still trying to sell me 2 6 month old B&G's, with cage for $900 including shipping. He had multiple adds up and I responded to 2 of them not realizing it was the same guy.

First story is that he's a traveling preacher and is in Phoenix and will ship them.

Second story is that his wife has cancer and is in Victoria Wa and will ship them.

Long and short, no matter how good it looks, if the price is unbelievable don't believe it. If there's a part of your brain that says "Hey, this might be a scam" you should probably listen. That part of your brain is usually pretty smart.

This all applies to everything. You can get deals yes. But crazy deals aren't real. They're just scams.

The biggest hint is that it's never near you. Tell the guy that you happen to be traveling to Cameroon and want to stop by and meet the bird. Betcha he's closed those days or has a strict "no visitors" policy.

First, Australia has very strict import laws on animals. I doubt you'd be allowed to import a bird from Cameroon or anywhere else even if legitimate. Second, this reeks of scam. Third, if I were spending the kind of money a Hy costs (which in the US would be over $10-20K for a newly weaned baby, likely after being on a long waitlist and I hear new world parrots are even more expensive and rare in AU as they stopped allowing imports ages ago), I would want to be able to visit the breeding facility and interact with the baby as it grows.

Yes this seems like a scam to me as well. In all the time I've had parrots I have never seen a hyacinth for sale and have heard that they can sell for up to $30 thousand+ here in Australia. Even Green wing and blue and gold macaws are difficult to get here in Australia (from a reputable breeder). I guess this is why your looking to import. Anyway good luck finding your new bird and be sure to post pictures of your new fid.

With almost anything online, I say if it seems too good to be true, it is! Especially with birds who can have soooo many behavior and health problems, even if it turns out there's a bird for sale at all, if its price is below market value, there is a reason that it's low. I am also a big believer on always meeting rescue birds and spending time with them to make sure you can handle any issues they come with.

I got my RB2 from a breeder, but I asked for recommendations of multiple people I knew (from this site, actually) when it came to breeders to make sure I would be buying from someone who was not only ethical, but who produced happy and healthy birds with well-developed social skills. These things, in the end, are worth paying for and since people WILL pay for it, it is unlikely someone will actually be charging below market value. (The breeder I got my RB2 from had three different people who all wanted this bird (the two siblings had already sold), but the breeder didn't take credit cards so I ended up getting her simply because I could pay with a debit card.)

Flboy said:

sonja said:

Cheap hyacinths + Cameroon = Scammer.
Do not send these people any money!!!!!

Click to expand...

I tend to agree, but this site? Don't know! Edit: Absolutely a scam, see below!

EDIFICIO-FAMIGLIA AVIARY

The layout is very consistent. Anyone, chime in if you have more information, good or bad! IF they are legit, they don't deserve being dumped in the same bucket!
EDIT:
SCAM ALERT. Look at this!
Parrot breeder history - Judy Leach's Parrots - macaws, cockatoos, and african greys (Legit site)
And
EDIFICIO-FAMIGLIA AVIARY (scam)

Old name, http://www.mioterrenoaviary.com/ Got caught, same text!

Click to expand...

Nice catch, David!!! Appreciate the detective work and posting!!

I replied to your other post on the subject in the new member forum. Short answer, the Camaroon breeder doesn't exist. I picked a photo of a guy holding a hyacinth that they claimed was one of their birds, did a reverse image search on Google (available when you right-click the image) and found that exact photo on at least two other sites, one that looks good but says they have the bird and one that says they sold the bird in 2004.

It makes me so ANGRY that people create scams based on birds! It also makes me angry (and sad) that apparently so many people think they want large parrots that these scams bring in good money and yet so many of the large parrots end up in shelters eventually because people don't know what they're getting into. I see scams all the time on Craigslist for various types of macaws, and it drives me nuts! (Okay, rant over--this is what happens when I read threads like this so late at night!)

Hi all

I want to thank you all for your comments and advice; I tend to agree with the consensus of your views that this is a scam - if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

David - great tip on the reverse imaging on Google search - I found two other instances of the website photos on the Internet, and of course from different locations. A very handy tool to keep in mind.

I will put up a warning on Gumtree, the site he used to advertise in Australia.

Once again, thanks all.

John

johno53 said:

Hi all

I want to thank you all for your comments and advice; I tend to agree with the consensus of your views that this is a scam - if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

David - great tip on the reverse imaging on Google search - I found two other instances of the website photos on the Internet, and of course from different locations. A very handy tool to keep in mind.

I will put up a warning on Gumtree, the site he used to advertise in Australia.

Once again, thanks all.

John

Click to expand...

Don't forget, we have many Australian members on the forum here, and I'm sure they'd be happy to help you find a legitimate macaw breeder in AU

I sent a note off to Judy Leach, who owns the legitimate site. She said this was a new one to her, but it has been an ongoing battle over many years! As she said, almost nothing can be done to stop them, 5 minutes and they have a new name, same site. For a newbi, this is a trap!
The good news, our postings are manipulating google searches to help expose this site! Even after he changes his name, it will catch him! I back engineered from the last time he was caught, in 2014.

Johno53, seems like your gut has already given you the answer. Trust your gut. Things that are too good to be true usually are just that