Unscrupulous Breeder

[bird_brain]

I recently purchased a baby B&G Macaw and a baby Eclectus from a breeder. Within a few weeks of purchase, both began showing signs of illness. I took them into the vet. Vet did complete exams, sent tissue samples off to a lab, the whole nine years. They were both diagnosed with PDD and died very soon after. The breeder refuses to accept any responsibilty and has no interest in attempting to right the wrong.

Any thoughts on what I should do?

 

[henpecked]

Do they live in the US ? How did you find them? Where do they advertise ?

 

[bird_brain]

They live in FL. I found them on ebayclassifieds.

 

[MikeyTN]

You should post who the breeder is for ALL here to see, you should also take her to small claims court.

 

[henpecked]

I agree. Have you been to the folks at ebay? Something needs to be done to stop them from selling any more sick babies. What if you had a longtime pet bird at home and lost it because of this? You need to get this info out and let them know. I wouldn't give up on getting my money back.Welcome to the forum, please hang around long enough to let us know how all this works out.

 

[suebee]

please leave appropriate feedback if you can, or an after note, on original feedback

ppl need to know, not to go to this person

this person needs to be stopped in breeding birds for nothing but financial gain, another reason why i think breeding needs to be regulated

 

[Spiritbird]

E bay will ldo something about this if you pursue.

 

[mtdoramike]

Ebay classifieds will do nothing about this. It's kind of like buyer beware or buying as is. If you paid by Paypal, you MIGHT and I mean MIGHT have a claim here.

Yes, you can file a court action against them. But in Florida, if not mistaken, there is a 72 hour window for you to take your bird or animal to a qualified vet for a checkup upon receipt of the animal. But I believe this is only for licensed breeders, backyard breeders may not be recognized under the law and may have no obligations.

So to save yourself some time and additional money, you may want to do a little research on the subject.

But I would ask, how long have you had the birds before you took them to the vet? Did you do an initial vet visit upon receiving the birds and if so how longer after receiving them? Were there any implied warranties by the breeder against illness, if so, what wer they and are they in writing? Also, did you receive any paperwork from the breeder at the time of purchase?

Lastly, who was the breeder in question? I would inform them that you will be posting negative comments about them and their business on all of the bird forums and well as shouting it from the roof tops if there isn't a satisfactory resolution to this pronto and attach a link to this site and this thread.

 

[oled]

PDD is a disease that can spread and affect other birds that are exposed to it. That meens that the whole flock kan havet it. So it is important that the breeder stop selling perrots at get treatment for them

 

[bird_brain]

This dirt bag's name is Billy Lollar ([email protected]). He may also be known as Bill Mitchell. His wife/girlfriend's name is Kimberly Mitchell - that's who his phone # is registered to. He lives in the Lutz/Wesley Chapel area outside Tampa. I have an address and phone # in case any one is interested. I'm thinking there's a strong possibilty that he will re-surface under a different name.

He breeds Macaws, Cockatoos, Eclectus, Ringnecks, Alexandrians, Cockatiels and Senegals. I've given Billy numerous opportunities to correct this situation and he has refused any responsibility. In fact, not long after I informed him of the PDD, he placed new ads up selling more birds!

Billy told me, after the fact, that he "guarantees" his birds for 24 hours after purchase. So even if I had them examined right after purchase, this phantom guarantee wouldn't have applied b/c the tissue testing requires samples being sent away to a lab. This process takes 10-14 days. Billy swears up and down that his birds have all been checked and are totally disease free. I've asked him to produce documentation stating this and he has not.

EbayClassifieds has offered to do nothing more than delete his account. Even though he can simply list more ads under a different email address.

I wish I had gotten an agreement in writing. That's an unfortunate lesson learned for me. I'm considering a small claims action. Just not sure I have the time to pursue all the stuff that goes along with it.

Here's Billy last communication to me on 5/14:

"I certainly can appreciate your concern and it is never a good thing when one loses a baby bird, for any reason. But with that said here is where I stand on this situation.
One, there never was any written guarantee. It is solely your responsibility to take any bird you get to the vet right away for exam. We can not possibly guarantee them because we have NO control over what happens as soon as they leave our hands. Someone could switch them with someone elses birds and say that they were sick. Someone could drop them and say they died. Someone could aspirate them. Someone could use infected syringes or equipment that gave the birds PDD, ect....
We KNOW with out a shadow of a doubt that our breeding pairs are healthy and NOT carriers!!! We have had clutch after clutch over 11 years that we still are in touch with the birds even though they are grown, from the same pairs. I offer wing and nail trims to the folks that have my babies. I personally kept an Eclectus from the clutch before and this bird is very healthy and has recently been vet checked.
I again am sorry for your loss but I dont feel that I am responsible for it.
I also do not feel we can do any further business together in light of the situation.
Best Regards,"

I know now that decent, reputable breeders provide unconditional guarantees on genetic issues. This is a genetic issue because his birds were never exposed to any other birds. The only way they could have carried PDD is from their parents.

 

[oled]

A really sad story. I am happy that I have the breeder only 3 km away and that he has a garanty period of at least 3 month. I have the avianvet 5 km away so I am lucky. I know thats is it not always easy but from this story I am convinced that ebay is not the right way to deal with animals

 

[henpecked]

I'd contact the FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) If he's sell those birds he needs one of their permits. I'm sure they'd like to stop the spread of PDD. I'd give them a call and see what they think. I'd ask to talk to someone about exotic birds.

 

[Tammy]

I don't know anything about bird diseases. Could they have caught it some other way? I'm just curious. How long exactly between purchase & onset of symptoms? I've only ever had Mr. Precious so I'm completely in the dark about such matters. From just reading the breeder's response, I can see a point (Not saying valid in this situation). There are a lot of dishonest people who could do any & all of what the breeder says he's concerned about. How long does it take for PDD to show symptoms?

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Don't buy from breeders!!! Rescue!!!

 

[MikeyTN]

Don't buy from breeders!!! Rescue!!!

Not all breeders are bad, not all rescues are good! I used to breed a lot but I was a responsible breeder along with several other members on here.

I would do some calling like henpeck suggested!!!!

 

[mtdoramike]

There isn't a bunch of work that you will have to do to file a court case. All you have to do is go to the local court house in his area and fill out the paperwork. It will only cost about $25.00 and an hour of your time. Then you will be given a court date to appear. Another hour of your time testifying.

But in order to prevail in this case, you will have to have proof that the illness came from his business and wasn't contracted someplace else.SAo, again I ask you how long have you had these birds?

 

[bird_brain]

I had the birds for 3-4 weeks before they started to display symptoms.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

My 2 cents to offer:

Anyone purchasing a bird should always get it examined by an Avian Licensed Vet ASAP following the purchase! Most reputable breeders and/or bird shops offer contracts that if the bird is found to be sick or with a disease, you can return/exchange or treat the bird after first consulting with business from whom the bird was purchased.

 

[MikeyTN]

I had the birds for 3-4 weeks before they started to display symptoms.

PDD is not something they can detect easily even if you brought him to the vet early. But you should of brought them to the vet the very day you brought them home or the day afterwards.

You don't have any other birds in the household do you?

 

[bird_brain]

No other birds.