cneuhauser
New member
- Jul 9, 2020
- 91
- 19
- Parrots
- Dusky Conure, Male Ekkie
So... the first Aviary that I was planning on purchasing from, the bird ingested some bedding which got compacted in the crop and he passed away.
This second breeder experience (Mystic Moon Aviary) was almost as disconcerting. I'd put a downpayment on a brand new baby a few weeks ago and was waiting for him to be weened. Over the last few weeks I've been doing my research on cages, toys, gyms, food processors (for me and the bird), and other misc items.
I sent an email to a Mystic Moon last week regarding my baby Eclectus. I'm the type of individual that ALWAYS asks questions. If there's one thing I've learned in all of the research that I've done.. its that you should never be discouraged from asking questions.
I emailed this Aviary (Tonya) and asked her about the Eclectus temperament; yes I've read a lot of books on them, copyright dates ranging from the 90's all the way to 2018. I wanted to verify the temperament, the conditions in which the bird was being raised, and ask some questions about the parents. I was even questioning my own desire to have a parrot.... that's my personality, I realize the gravitas of owning a parrot; because I've owned multiple in my life, and still do. Yet I was questioning my choice between the Ekkie and the Grey. Don't we all do that? Or maybe I'm just a unique human being in that I don't make impulse purchases...
Her comment back to me instead of verifying my research on Ekkie personalities was..."You already gave me your downpayment, are you saying you want to switch to a Grey?" No that's not what I said, nor is it what I meant. I was asking for professional advice, from someone who breeds the birds, and I did apologize for waivering as I was 100% committed to the Ekkie...I just wanted reassurance. I'm confident in my husbandry abilities, and my parrot experience, however I've never owned an Ekkie before (duh!), and wanted multiple data points.
Regardless I called up the aviary and started out by joking with Tonya, just saying "Hey there, I like phone calls much more than emails...they're more personable, and this is a very personal life decision" She agreed and we moved on... so I started asking her for references and about the parents etc." Her response back was that she's uncomfortable and I have expectations that are way too high.
I'd asked her for a health guarantee for the bird from congenital defects; she was hesitant and the response was "we never walk away from our birds"... maybe, but you didn't answer the question. I then discussed their disease testing process, and confirmed that I had to take the bird to my vet for a checkup as well. However, the problem/conundrum is that she told me I needed to get him blood tested for disease, but as soon as I walked into a vet I voided their health guarantee because the bird could catch a disease while at the vet. **So get him check for diseases, but don't go to an animal hospital or vet"" "Do vets make house calls?"
The discussion spiralled out of control from there as she told me that she wasn't getting a "Good Vibe" from me...really unprofessional. She then gave me the option to think about the downpayment/bird and give her a decision later that evening. After I got off the phone with her I received a text message from my PayPal account, stating that she'd already refunded the money... this was after she'd given me the option... which I was probably going to take anyways, but wow.
Maybe I'm all wet here, or a complete jerk because I started asking all sorts of questions about the parents and the living conditions, when the babies were pulled etc... I just do my research...if I were an aviary, that truly cared about my birds, I'd ENCOURAGE the questions and the differential opinions, but instead of taking it personally or getting bent out of shape, I'd understand that the potential buyer is just looking out for the health of the bird that they're receiving.
Again, maybe I asked some faux-pa questions, I could be completely in the wrong here, but this is a large purchase, and a big life change. Now I'm left with a Kings Cages SLT Superior line double macaw cage, a T training stand, and a Prevue Pet large Java play tree (gym), several frozen bags of spelt mullit, 8 books on the eclectus, a couple hundred dollars of toys... all that I've been slowly purchasing over the last four months... and no Ekkie.
I'm certain I'll find my bird... God will see to it...I'm just a little disturbed at the moment by how people behave.
This second breeder experience (Mystic Moon Aviary) was almost as disconcerting. I'd put a downpayment on a brand new baby a few weeks ago and was waiting for him to be weened. Over the last few weeks I've been doing my research on cages, toys, gyms, food processors (for me and the bird), and other misc items.
I sent an email to a Mystic Moon last week regarding my baby Eclectus. I'm the type of individual that ALWAYS asks questions. If there's one thing I've learned in all of the research that I've done.. its that you should never be discouraged from asking questions.
I emailed this Aviary (Tonya) and asked her about the Eclectus temperament; yes I've read a lot of books on them, copyright dates ranging from the 90's all the way to 2018. I wanted to verify the temperament, the conditions in which the bird was being raised, and ask some questions about the parents. I was even questioning my own desire to have a parrot.... that's my personality, I realize the gravitas of owning a parrot; because I've owned multiple in my life, and still do. Yet I was questioning my choice between the Ekkie and the Grey. Don't we all do that? Or maybe I'm just a unique human being in that I don't make impulse purchases...
Her comment back to me instead of verifying my research on Ekkie personalities was..."You already gave me your downpayment, are you saying you want to switch to a Grey?" No that's not what I said, nor is it what I meant. I was asking for professional advice, from someone who breeds the birds, and I did apologize for waivering as I was 100% committed to the Ekkie...I just wanted reassurance. I'm confident in my husbandry abilities, and my parrot experience, however I've never owned an Ekkie before (duh!), and wanted multiple data points.
Regardless I called up the aviary and started out by joking with Tonya, just saying "Hey there, I like phone calls much more than emails...they're more personable, and this is a very personal life decision" She agreed and we moved on... so I started asking her for references and about the parents etc." Her response back was that she's uncomfortable and I have expectations that are way too high.
I'd asked her for a health guarantee for the bird from congenital defects; she was hesitant and the response was "we never walk away from our birds"... maybe, but you didn't answer the question. I then discussed their disease testing process, and confirmed that I had to take the bird to my vet for a checkup as well. However, the problem/conundrum is that she told me I needed to get him blood tested for disease, but as soon as I walked into a vet I voided their health guarantee because the bird could catch a disease while at the vet. **So get him check for diseases, but don't go to an animal hospital or vet"" "Do vets make house calls?"
The discussion spiralled out of control from there as she told me that she wasn't getting a "Good Vibe" from me...really unprofessional. She then gave me the option to think about the downpayment/bird and give her a decision later that evening. After I got off the phone with her I received a text message from my PayPal account, stating that she'd already refunded the money... this was after she'd given me the option... which I was probably going to take anyways, but wow.
Maybe I'm all wet here, or a complete jerk because I started asking all sorts of questions about the parents and the living conditions, when the babies were pulled etc... I just do my research...if I were an aviary, that truly cared about my birds, I'd ENCOURAGE the questions and the differential opinions, but instead of taking it personally or getting bent out of shape, I'd understand that the potential buyer is just looking out for the health of the bird that they're receiving.
Again, maybe I asked some faux-pa questions, I could be completely in the wrong here, but this is a large purchase, and a big life change. Now I'm left with a Kings Cages SLT Superior line double macaw cage, a T training stand, and a Prevue Pet large Java play tree (gym), several frozen bags of spelt mullit, 8 books on the eclectus, a couple hundred dollars of toys... all that I've been slowly purchasing over the last four months... and no Ekkie.
I'm certain I'll find my bird... God will see to it...I'm just a little disturbed at the moment by how people behave.