China Parrot Market

I've mentioned in some other threads that I'm an American working for a financial company in Guangzhou, China.

Had a fun day today visiting the Guangzhou Bird Market.

Check out the pics!

What's that green parrot with the grey head? He was pretty cool but I didn't recognize the type.

Love those macaws! How old do you think they are?

Nice little Alex's, from the same breeder that I bought mine from. For reference my Alex cost 600 RMB, or $95

How old do you think that grey is?

Enjoy!

Forgive me because some of the questions are from pictures in the 2nd post. Please treat both as one long post. Thanks!

Rest of the pictures

Yes, I know a myna bird is not a parrot. But they're great birds anyway. One surprised the heck out of my friend when we got close said "Ni hao!" great voices!

I got to play with the cockatiel on the woman's shoulder. He was a sweet little bird. If I didn't get an alex the cockatiel would've been my other choice. Lil' whistlers.

BTW, african grey was 6000 RMB ($950), tried to ask about the macaws but the shop owner was out to lunch.

Are those little blue guys parrotlets?

Forgive me because some of the pictures are from questions in the above post. Please treat these posts as 1 long one!

Enjoy!

Are you talking about the third bird from the left in your second post as the one with the grey head? If so, that looks like a Moustached Parakeet or Derbyan Parakeet to me.

Yes, the little birds are parrotlets. Am I the only one bothered by the fact the birds are chained by their legs to their stands? If they would fall or try and jump off they would be stuck hanging by one leg from a chain

and fed all sunflower seeds, dirty cages, corncob or similar bedding...and those macaws' feathers looked pretty rough, the one on the right I thought maybe was just wet? but the other one looks sorta bedraggled too..poor birdies...

i have to admit, the pictures were not as bad as i expected, thought they are kinda grim, thank you for sharing

whats with the cockatiel, on bottom of cage, sleeping?? looks like a bald spot on his head under crest, or do they all have that?? an are his tail feathers missing?

the birds in the cages all have that longing look about them, that my nut has when she is caged, but she gets to come out an play

all that matters to these sellers (and some alot nearer to home, then we like to admit) is the $

if they fall ill, no doubt the sellers will try a home cure or simply neck them, inless its the big money birds

i am sorry to be so negative

suebee said:

i have to admit, the pictures were not as bad as i expected, thought they are kinda grim, thank you for sharing

whats with the cockatiel, on bottom of cage, sleeping?? looks like a bald spot on his head under crest, or do they all have that?? an are his tail feathers missing?

the birds in the cages all have that longing look about them, that my nut has when she is caged, but she gets to come out an play

all that matters to these sellers (and some alot nearer to home, then we like to admit) is the $

if they fall ill, no doubt the sellers will try a home cure or simply neck them, inless its the big money birds

i am sorry to be so negative

Click to expand...

All Cockatiels/Cocaktoos have a bald spot under their crests


But I do agree, after looking at all of the pictures... Doesn't look like they are being treated very fairly

Give it time...

The blue parrotlets have a nice set up. The teils not bad either. Its sad that the bigger birds are chained but that used to be the norm here with large macaws, we no longer consider that safe so its not done anymore. The grey, looks in good feather. The macaws look a bit ragged and scared. Of course I would rather everything be kept in better conditions, looking a lot healthier and happy but this was a member sharing their experience, not really fair to tear them apart. I'm not happy with the way they are being kept but its not like MrSquak is the one running the market. Unfortunately I have seen worse pics of bird markets. At least the larger birds are out on stands and not over crowded in little cages standing on top of dead ones.

Different culture so I was prepared to see something different than what you would see here. They didn't look that bad, we've all seen worst on craigslist. Anyway, I would love to see a Chinese bird market. I've also wanted to go to China to see their big, beautiful goldfish!!!

It is possible the Macaws had just been sprayed down, or it rained. The GW looks very wet, like he got a bath. By the look of them they don't look very old either, I'd say less than two years on both.

nice pictures I was expecting something horrific when I opened it, glad I was wrong.

Molcan2 said:

Give it time...

The blue parrotlets have a nice set up. The teils not bad either. Its sad that the bigger birds are chained but that used to be the norm here with large macaws, we no longer consider that safe so its not done anymore. The grey, looks in good feather. The macaws look a bit ragged and scared. Of course I would rather everything be kept in better conditions, looking a lot healthier and happy but this was a member sharing their experience, not really fair to tear them apart. I'm not happy with the way they are being kept but its not like MrSquak is the one running the market. Unfortunately I have seen worse pics of bird markets. At least the larger birds are out on stands and not over crowded in little cages standing on top of dead ones.

Click to expand...

My apologies, I didn't mean to run down a thread on a happy experience.

Wulfgeist that wasn't aimed at you, there was a post that I responded to that isn't there anymore? Didn't know you could make them disappear once posted. Interesting :20:

Actually that sleepy cockatiel wasn't at the bottom of the cage, he's from the same breeder that had one sitting on her shoulder, she was showing her wares and he wandered off for a little nap.

I agree I wasn't really sure what to expect but it wasn't too bad. Definitely seen worse in pet shops here. I don't like the idea of keeping birds chained up on posts either but at the same time those guys were outside with plenty of room to stretch out. I do however think a macaw isn't a suitable pet for here though because nobody really lives in a house. Guangzhou is a pretty rich city (in my apartment garage there are at least 8 ferraris bentleys etc) but there just isn't enough room, even in luxury apartments, for a macaw.

Probably the worst thing they do in terms of pets is they buy dogs that are too big for their apartments and don't suit the climate. South china is tropical and humid, not husky territory. Those guys must be going crazy!

There is a ton of animal cruelty here, dont get me wrong. But fortunately in a modern city like guangzhou there is at least a little compassion. Once you leave the VERY few rich modern places in china it turns 3rd world very quickly and yes you see animals treated in ways you'll wish you could forget.

But yesterday was a fun day. great to see nice little cockatiels and happy alex's playing in their cages. Even a big ol' silly macaw

Here's another round of pictures from the market for your enjoyment.

Is that red one a lorakeet?

I think the green and red side by side are eclectus parrots but I wasn't sure.

Not one conure though. I was hoping to see some green cheeks maybe a sun or two and I'd love to see a golden conure up close! Those guys are awesome!

great pictures, thank you for sharing. i have seen worse in pet shops in the poorer parts of cape town

The second photo looks like a Rosella.

A rosella? wow I'd never heard of those. Pretty nice looking birds.

The place wasn't really a pet store so much as a pet district. A big semi-open air market with tons of pets. They had everything, dogs, cats, huge fish section, reptiles, tortoises, giant alligator snapping turtles which are completely inappropriate as pets haha, crocodiles, birds. You could spend days there it's more like a zoo where everything is for sale.

Everyone may not like this, but, I have been around birds for almost 50 years, and chaining birds by their legs is not as bad as you think. Years ago, all larger birds were "ringed", as it was called. The leg has a closed "S" hook around the ankle, with room for growth, like a legband. It was a way to secure a bird like a tether. It was not cruel or harmful when properly done. My Mynah, a Quaker, and 2 Macaws I cared for, came to me that way. They didn't fall, or never got tangled in the chain. It had no ill effect on their leg, and we didn't keep the chain connected when they were in a safe place where tethering wasn't necessary. Accidents did happen, as they will in any situation. But, it was really not as bad as you all think. I am not advising anyone to do it, but, when properly done, many, many birds lived safe, happy lives.

Then of course my favorite parrot in all the land of china... Tango!

Seen here having a blast with his new toy.

I got my own alexandri in Huadi Bay( where you got yours) in March. 550rmb