ISO older (or younger) Indian Ringneck in Florida!

[ravvlet]

I’m only 37 but we adopted older Amazons, as it’s easier to commit to 20-something years than 50-something! Also, a lot of birds end up out of a home in their mid to late life when their owners pass away.

From personal experience, even if a cheaply rehomed bird has no behavioral issues at all, they will likely have health issues. Sammy came to us a little overweight, in need of a diet change, and a biter (I suspect she always will be; she just is very quick to correct us) and Kirby was very docile, but has had thousands of dollars of medical care.

Kirby was $200 with a cage, Sammy was $150 without one. There is no such thing as a free bird! Establishing care with an avian vet runs about $300 (which includes blood work and a fecal as well as a physical exam).

Breeders may not be allowing people into their homes because we are in the middle of THE WORST outbreak of H5N1 the US has seen, ever; it’s highly transmittable (even from simple things like walking through the feces of an infected bird and tracking it indoors) and once one bird has it the whole flock likely will have it. Additionally, we are seeing increasing cases of it moving to mammals, making it a potential health risk for the breeder as well.

Donna is absolutely correct however that there are still plenty of expos that feature breeders you can connect with! As for the cost of IRN - I actually asked my local shop because we needed TOPS and they’re sold out on Amazon, and they said breeders set the price and breeding season hasn’t started for the local IRN breeders, but that she has one and doesn’t recommend them to new parrot owners - she suggested a tiel or a conure instead. They are lovely birds but very intelligent and particular.

 

[williampatte]

In their defense, parrot rescues have a huge interest in the bird's future stability. They want the bird to go to a forever home. They get a lot of birds from apartment dwellers with landlords who will evict them if they don't get rid of their noisy parrot. Blame the landlord if you want but birds can be very noisy and their other tenants have the right to live in peace and quiet. Rescues also get a lot of parrots when their elderly owners die and no family members will take them. They DON'T want the bird to be homeless again in 10 or 20 years. At 60 years old, I won't adopt a bird that has a potential to live more than 20 more years because my chances of living much past 80 AND being able to take care of a bird are not great. Adopting a young parrot with a 30 year lifespan would be selfish of me. Remember that there are good reasons why nature determined that most women can't have babies past about 50- children need their mothers for at least 15 years and the mortality rate for humans starts to rise quickly past 60. I don't think adoption agencies would place a newborn baby with a couple in their 60s for this very reason.

I have lived in several apts over the years and have never had a complaint from the residents or landlords about my Senecal Parrot who is 26 yrs now.He can be very noisy at times.I do not know of any landlords over the years who would not allow Parrots as long as permission is granted.As far as elderly people,they are being discriminated for no reason whatsoever BY parrot rescues.Regarding the issue of not wanting parrots to be homeless is absolutely ridiculous.I have a health surrogate who would return any future parrot I may own back to the rescue upon my death.An elderly person has every right to adoption of any animal regardless of their age.Parrot Rescues are so ridiculous with discriminating against age and apt people.I will never again try to adopt from any Parrot Rescue. Many apts like mine do not carry noises of parrots.I have invited Rescue reps to come to my apt to see for themselves, but they refuse.I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY NEW PROSPECTIVE PARROT OWNER TO APPLY AT ANY PARROT RESCUE.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I have lived in several apts over the years and have never had a complaint from the residents or landlords about my Senecal Parrot who is 26 yrs now.He can be very noisy at times.I do not know of any landlords over the years who would not allow Parrots as long as permission is granted.As far as elderly people,they are being discriminated for no reason whatsoever BY parrot rescues.Regarding the issue of not wanting parrots to be homeless is absolutely ridiculous.I have a health surrogate who would return any future parrot I may own back to the rescue upon my death.An elderly person has every right to adoption of any animal regardless of their age.Parrot Rescues are so ridiculous with discriminating against age and apt people.I will never again try to adopt from any Parrot Rescue. Many apts like mine do not carry noises of parrots.I have invited Rescue reps to come to my apt to see for themselves, but they refuse.I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY NEW PROSPECTIVE PARROT OWNER TO APPLY AT ANY PARROT RESCUE.

I'm sorry you feel so victimized and angry.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’m only 37 but we adopted older Amazons, as it’s easier to commit to 20-something years than 50-something! Also, a lot of birds end up out of a home in their mid to late life when their owners pass away.

From personal experience, even if a cheaply rehomed bird has no behavioral issues at all, they will likely have health issues. Sammy came to us a little overweight, in need of a diet change, and a biter (I suspect she always will be; she just is very quick to correct us) and Kirby was very docile, but has had thousands of dollars of medical care.

Kirby was $200 with a cage, Sammy was $150 without one. There is no such thing as a free bird! Establishing care with an avian vet runs about $300 (which includes blood work and a fecal as well as a physical exam).

Breeders may not be allowing people into their homes because we are in the middle of THE WORST outbreak of H5N1 the US has seen, ever; it’s highly transmittable (even from simple things like walking through the feces of an infected bird and tracking it indoors) and once one bird has it the whole flock likely will have it. Additionally, we are seeing increasing cases of it moving to mammals, making it a potential health risk for the breeder as well.

Donna is absolutely correct however that there are still plenty of expos that feature breeders you can connect with! As for the cost of IRN - I actually asked my local shop because we needed TOPS and they’re sold out on Amazon, and they said breeders set the price and breeding season hasn’t started for the local IRN breeders, but that she has one and doesn’t recommend them to new parrot owners - she suggested a tiel or a conure instead. They are lovely birds but very intelligent and particular.

Any of us could die any time leaving our birbs homeless. I think the rescues go by statistics and experience.

 

[williampatte]

I

Breeders not allowing visitors seems pretty reasonable to me. Bio security is an important thing, people can track in all kinds of nasties on their clothes, hair, and shoes.
And buying sight unseen is a personal thing I think. If you know how to watch out for scams, you can do it. I am currently buying a baby sight unseen, I am fully confident in it because the breeder was recommended to me by someone I trust (they got their bird from them). Nothing about this process has raised alarms for me, I haven't even been asked to pay for my baby till transport has been booked and pay for (through the transport company, not the breeder).

It is highly unreasonable not to have some opportunity to see a parrot under consideration to adopt. Even meeting half way from where the breeder is should not be an issue.You are taking a big risk buying a baby unseen.All the breeders I have contacted want money upfront before delivery or pickup.You have an advantage because of a recommendation.Some people like me do not have that advantage.As far as going into a home of a breeder,anybody can see the parrot outside or somewhere without going inside,or as I said in a mutual agreed location half way from the breeder.Between the scams and unreasonable options from the breeder, and the Parrot rescues,I have no ideas on how to adopt parrots anymore.So discouraging,as I really would like to adopt another bird as I have described in my other posts.williampatte.

 

[williampatte]

I'm sorry you feel so victimized and angry.

After several months contacting breeders,stores,private owners,and Parrot Rescues,how would you think I should feel???

 

[𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖒𝖞𝕻𝖎𝖈𝖆]

I have a health surrogate who would return any future parrot I may own back to the rescue upon my death.

Sorry for butting in here, but I think that's the issue. It's not mentally healthy for a bird to get strongly attached to someone, then have that person die long before the birds does. Many birds get extremely depressed after the death of an owner or flock member, and I'm pretty certain the rescue has seen a lot of these cases. It is for the bird's wellbeing. I'm sorry you're angry, but it makes sense to have that rule in place. It's simply not fair to the bird, who could develop severe depression and start self-mutilating after their owner's death.

To summarize that potentially confusing paragraph, rescues want birds to have stable forever-homes so they don't develop mental health issues. An older person probably won't be able to give a younger bird (or any bird, depending on how old the person is) a forever home or a stable future long-term.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I second this 100%! I currently have too many pets, or too much of a pet to handle. That would be my Red Eared Slider. My dad got her, neglected her, and then gave her to me. Now she needs a 120 gallon tank. Those things are huge, and the only place we can fit one is in my room, plus I have to buy it! And tank + filter = very expensive. And she can't be rehomed responsibly because no one wants a foot-long turtle. So I am spending my life savings to get her the upgrade she needs and deserves.

The point I'm trying to make is: it's extremely stressful to have more animal than you can handle, especially if you're also a student. I worry about July every day. Please don't put yourself in a situation where you don't have enough money for "further care" (meaning toys, upgrades, vet bills, nutritious foods, etc.) for your birds. It is a horrible feeling, knowing they need something but being unable to give it to them due to lack of money.

I love turtles so much! I wish I could adopt your slider but if you so how small (but beautiful) my house is you would see why I can't. I found a hatchling snapping turtle in my storage tent several years ago and it was love at first sight (for me at least)! I named him Snappy (pretty creative, huh?) and planned to take care of him until he was big enough to be released into our lake, in retrospect, a stupid idea). I did everything I could to give Snappy a good start in life. I kept his habitat very clean andvfed him onlyvfresh foods but all he would eat is fresh meat and fish. I didn't want to give him"turtle food" because he would never be able to find that in the wild when it was time to let him go. I didn't handle him more than necessary either. He grew very well, and 15 months layer he was up to 60 grams from about 5. Then he stopped eating and got weak so I took him to a reptile vet (hard to find in Maine) who told me Snappy was very sick and recommended euthanasia. I reluctantly agreed and $250 later Snappy was dead. I cried for DAYS! I'm still choking up just thinking about it because I was crazy about that little turtle!

 

[Terry57]

Any breeders will not allow visitation as they operate from their home.All of them want people to adopt from them without seeing a bird in person.They only send pictures and expect prospective people to put down money without actually seeing a parrot in person.Non-refundable if a bad fit.I have no idea how anybody adopts a parrot the way breeders are and also pet stores with parrots.Buying from a private individual to rehome a bird,is taking a risk of a scam.As I said many times PARROT RESCUES ARE ALSO IMPOSSIBLE ONLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PEOPLE LIVING IN APTS AND AGE DISCRINATION.If anybody here knows or has a suggestion on how to adopt parrots, I would love to hear from you.

It is impossible anymore to adopt any Parrot.The Parrot Breeders do not allow visitations as they operate from their home and do not allow visitation.They all want money down with no possible way to see the bird that one is adopting.Buying from a private owner,you do not know if it is a scam or not that they actually have a bird with some copying pictures from other sites of birds.This is true with some classifieds and Craigslist.DONT TRY RESCUES EITHER AS THEY DO NOT ADOPT OUT TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN APTS.ALSO I ACCUSE MOST WITH AGE DISCRIMINATION.My latest issue is with a breeder from a flea market.I have asked her how soon she will have baby Indian Ringnecks and she says soon all the time,this has been going on for several weeks.I asked her how one sees the parrot to adopt and she says she would send out pictures.She has too small a booth to bring the babies.AGAIN,HOW DO I KNOW IF I WILL HAVE A GOOD FIT WITHOUT SEEING WHAT I AM ADOPTING?????All have a non-refundable deposit and no refunds after a parrot has been purchased.So if the parrot you adopt is not a good fit,you lose the deposit and all the money you put into the bird.I do not know how to adopt any parrot anymore because of the reasons I have given.My local pet store is ridiculous with their pricing.$700-900 just for a cage suitable for Ringnecks.Pricing for Ringnecks when they have them is around $2000.That is the lowest price.Other pet stores I have seen are too far away for me to travel. Out of state of Florida shipping by air.Again not knowing what you are getting.Craigslist I have tried,and most are either too far away or will not accept paypal.Paypal will not charge fees if you mark purchase from a friend or relative which I have tried to explain to everyone.All that is needed to open an account is just an email and password.Paypal links up to any bank account.IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PURCHASE OR ADOPT A PARROT FROM ANYWHERE ANYMORE UNLESS YOU PUT MONEY DOWN SIGHT UNSEEN. williampatte.

Okay, let's tone down the attacks on rescues a bit.

It's fine to share your experiences with rescues, but please don't tell everyone not to adopt from a rescue. Not all rescues are good, but I believe that most are and I don't think that they should all be painted with the same brush.

One of my close friends runs a rescue, and she will only adopt smaller birds to someone who lives in an apartment, and it requires the landlord's permission and a home visit. The home visit is done on people who live in a house as well. She wants to see where they're going.

She also won't adopt out a bird to someone that the bird is likely to outlive. This isn't ageism, this is caring for the birds whose lives she is responsible for. Our Cockatoo came from her rescue, and will more than likely live longer than me or my husband. My younger Amazon probably will as well. I already have a plan in place that if something happened to both my husband and myself, she will come and get all of my birds and find homes for them through her rescue. I feel relief from that because I know the level of care she puts into finding good homes.

People do get evicted if their bird is too loud, or just because the landlord changes his mind about the bird with the next lease. That happened to my husband and I. Fortunately we were able to buy a house and keep all the birds, but it just as easily could have gone the other way.

One of the women in the bird club had lived for years in the same apartment with no issues. She got a new neighbour, and because of all the complaints from the new neighbour she was evicted and had to rehome all but one of her birds.

It has also happened to members here in the past who live in the states.

I also wanted to mention that I had both a Senegal and an IRN, and I can tell you that the IRN was much louder than the Senegal. I could hear him through 3 floors in our last house, as well as hearing him when standing outside the house. While all birds of the same species aren't alike, I know that we couldn't have kept our IRN in an apartment because of the noise, while the Sennie would have been fine.

All breeders are not alike, as I mentioned in one of my PMs to you. Most here do not allow people in the aviary because the risk of illness being spread is too high. Some will Facetime so you can see the babies, others will send pictures. Some may agree to meet you with their babies. Some will allow you into the aviary, but these are ones that I personally wouldn't ever get a baby from because of the risk of illness. You just may have to look harder than usual until you find the right breeder for you.

We also have bird shows here where people sell their babies, not as big as the expos mentioned, I'm sure, but there are still many birds there.

I also wanted to mention that because of the method of payments you want to use, that may cut down your chances of buying a bird unless it's from a pet shop.

I don't know any breeder or person rehoming their bird who takes credit cards or Paypal as payment. I'm in Canada and things could be different where you are, but up here, it is cash or E-transfer, neither of which is reversible.
Paypal tends to usually side with the buyer, and I can't imagine that there are many breeders who would want to take the chance of that with a live animal when anything could happen to the bird once it's out of their care.
I'm not saying that you would let something happen to the bird, but accidents do happen to us all.

Many of my birds have come from Kijiji, which is like Craig's List there. We went out to the person's house and brought them home with us. Most did not choose us - they were too scared to choose anyone. But with love, time and patience they have now chosen us. They needed a home and we had a home to give them, and no matter what condition they were in or if they bit us we still brought them home. Many of my birds would bite a stranger coming into their room, but they are still fantastic birds. Birds also have off days, and shouldn't be judged on that. I know many people want the bird to choose them, but I have found that it can also work even if we are the ones who choose them.

There are also many members here who have adopted birds from other members, most of the time only seeing them in pictures.

There are birds out there to adopt, but it may require loosening up some of the requirements that you're putting on adopting them. Totally your choice, of course, but I thought I'd mention it.

William, I truly hope you can find a bird, and I think that checking Craig's List every day in the cities around you may bring you the best results. There will be scammers, but their answers back to you about their bird (that probably doesn't exist) are usually written so that it's pretty obvious that it's a scam. You can feel free to post their messages here because we have seen so many over the years that we may be able to tell whether they are a scammer or not.

Now, I think it's time to get Blueberry's thread back on track.

Blueberry, when people put a higher cost to adopt out their bird, the bird more than likely comes with a cage, toys and food. Sometimes they want to keep them out of the hands of flippers by listing a higher price. Other times, they want to ask enough so that not just anyone takes in their bird. A lot of times, people may drop the price if they feel you are a good fit for their bird.
I just want you to be able to see it from their position when it comes how much they ask for their bird.

 

[williampatte]

Sorry for butting in here, but I think that's the issue. It's not mentally healthy for a bird to get strongly attached to someone, then have that person die long before the birds does. Many birds get extremely depressed after the death of an owner or flock member, and I'm pretty certain the rescue has seen a lot of these cases. It is for the bird's wellbeing. I'm sorry you're angry, but it makes sense to have that rule in place. It's simply not fair to the bird, who could develop severe depression and start self-mutilating after their owner's death.

To summarize that potentially confusing paragraph, rescues want birds to have stable forever-homes so they don't develop mental health issues. An older person probably won't be able to give a younger bird (or any bird, depending on how old the person is) a forever home or a stable future long-term.

Nobody lives forever and Birds do not develop mental health issues.Where did you get such outrageous comments?It is not for a birds well-being to not get adopted because of a ridiculous discrimination issue of not allowing people to adopt because they live in apartments.Discrimination against elderly people because they may die sooner is so outrageous.I have never ever heard of a bird having mental health issues or depression.You must be from a Parrot rescue.Many elderly people,such as myself allow in their will for the parrot to be taken care of properly when they pass away.A parrot will never be without a home when an elderly person passes away as they will have a family member take the bird or taken back from where the bird came from.williampatte.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Nobody lives forever and Birds do not develop mental health issues.Where did you get such outrageous comments?It is not for a birds well-being to not get adopted because of a ridiculous discrimination issue of not allowing people to adopt because they live in apartments.Discrimination against elderly people because they may die sooner is so outrageous.I have never ever heard of a bird having mental health issues or depression.You must be from a Parrot rescue.Many elderly people,such as myself allow in their will for the parrot to be taken care of properly when they pass away.A parrot will never be without a home when an elderly person passes away as they will have a family member take the bird or taken back from where the bird came from.williampatte.

Don't you think this thread is getting to be "too much for color TV"?

 

[Terry57]

Nobody lives forever and Birds do not develop mental health issues.Where did you get such outrageous comments?It is not for a birds well-being to not get adopted because of a ridiculous discrimination issue of not allowing people to adopt because they live in apartments.Discrimination against elderly people because they may die sooner is so outrageous.I have never ever heard of a bird having mental health issues or depression.You must be from a Parrot rescue.Many elderly people,such as myself allow in their will for the parrot to be taken care of properly when they pass away.A parrot will never be without a home when an elderly person passes away as they will have a family member take the bird or taken back from where the bird came from.williampatte.

Birds absolutely develop issues with their mental health, I have several that suffered because of their past homes.
I'm only going to ask once - please treat the other members here with respect. Stormy was giving their opinion (which I completely agree with) and did not deserve to be attacked for that.

If you want to continue this, please take it back to the thread you started. Any posts that are not speaking to the OP will be deleted from here on out.

 

[Bluberrytheparakeet]

Im thinking about buying from here > https://www.rhondasaviary.com/animals-for-sale

anything ethically wrong? the parakeets are being sold for $150.. why.. are they special?

 

[Keet_Krazy]

the parakeets are being sold for $150.. why.. are they special?

They're English, generally more expensive, but I'd only expect to pay that for a bird coming from successful show lines.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Im thinking about buying from here > https://www.rhondasaviary.com/animals-for-sale

anything ethically wrong? the parakeets are being sold for $150.. why.. are they special?

Hand fed English Budgies are very desirable. Hand feeding is a lot of intensive work but you get a tame friendly bird.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

They're English, generally more expensive, but I'd only expect to pay that for a bird coming from successful show lines.

Successful show lines bring more than $150- especially males which can bring hundreds more.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Successful show lines bring more than $150- especially males which can bring hundreds more.

Yes, I know that. That's still a pretty steep price for a pet quality English IMO. But it is up to the breeder to price as they see fit, it sure stops impulse buying.

 

[Terry57]

Im thinking about buying from here > https://www.rhondasaviary.com/animals-for-sale

anything ethically wrong? the parakeets are being sold for $150.. why.. are they special?

I was actually impressed by a few things on their site. I like how they stress that birds will go to their new homes by when they wean rather than by the calendar. That sounds like abundance weaning to me. They also say that they don't ship birds and that the person interested must come into their store.

I'm in Alberta, and the last bird show I went to here pre-Covid, English budgies were priced by how well they did at shows, or as mentioned by their bloodlines. The cheapest I've ever seen is $125, and some go up to $200 or better depending on their pedigree. We got 2 boys several years ago in an auction (I just wanted to make sure they came to a good home out of the breeding world). We got them for $180. Sadly, they were in and out of the vets and both passed before their 6th birthday. The vet felt like inbreeding could have been a factor

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I was actually impressed by a few things on their site. I like how they stress that birds will go to their new homes by when they wean rather than by the calendar. That sounds like abundance weaning to me. They also say that they don't ship birds and that the person interested must come into their store.

I'm in Alberta, and the last bird show I went to here pre-Covid, English budgies were priced by how well they did at shows, or as mentioned by their bloodlines. The cheapest I've ever seen is $125, and some go up to $200 or better depending on their pedigree. We got 2 boys several years ago in an auction (I just wanted to make sure they came to a good home out of the breeding world). We got them for $180. Sadly, they were in and out of the vets and both passed before their 6th birthday. The vet felt like inbreeding could have been a factor

My female English Lilibelle is from champion lines and she was bred five times before I got her a year ago. What is special about her is that she has a "cock head" which most hens don't have like she does. Huge throat spots and large body size all made her valuable as a breeder. She's long past her prime at over six.