PetSmart Buy

[MadDog]

I am looking into getting an American Budgie and was wondering if it would be possible to create a healthy relationship with one bought at a store like Pet Smart. I'm looking for a little pall that won't mind being handled and sitting on my shoulder. I know it would take some work getting him/her to trust me, but is it possible to eventually have one feel comfortable around me and with me? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[kerry]

I bought my first large parrot from Petco many years ago & it had Pseudomonas a bacterial infection. I had to give him shots in his chest & rinse out his nasal cavity with antibiotic solution. This was after I had just spent a very large amount of money on my first large parrot & I wasn't even used to handling him at that time. I would recommend not buying from Petsmart & instead looking for a breeder in or near your area. You can Google budgie breeders in your location. I recommend a hand fed budgie so it will already be tame & be used to being handled.

 

[lexilu]

You may or may not ever have a relationship with a chain pet store bird. They are usually born in large aviaries and netted to catch them to go to the store and their experience with human is not good.

Look online or in a larger city for a bird store or a bird breeder of parakeets. I purchased my keet from a bird store where the lady got her birds from a breeder who hand fed and the birds were very friendly and easy to train. Well worth the few extra dollars. Also with a pet store you may have disease and spend quite a bit of money to get them well like Kerry said.

 

[Spiritbird]

Personally I would not purchase a bird from a chain store or any store. Too much of a chance of being sick. You are given examples of members experience. There are breeders of hand raised parakeets or specialty parakeets. Good luck. There are also rescue keets.

 

[god61021]

I have owned pet store budgies in the past and could never get them to tame down. I have just recently bought my first hand raised budgie and while nuggie is still afraid of her new home (were on day 3) she doesnt try to fly away or cower in the corner in fear. you can pick her up and pet her. she would rather you didnt right now since she is still getting to know us but thats alot better then any wild acting petstore budgie. I know how hard it is to find a breeder who hand raises budgies. We had to drive two and a half hours to find one. hand raised also cost two to three times more then petstore budgies. but, it will be worth every bit of the drive and extra money. trust me.

 

[Nakiska]

Well, I have a little bit of a different experience with my bird purchases.

We purchased our birds from Petco, 1st a Lutino Cockatiel, she was sold to me as a male bird, but within days, I knew I had a female. No big deal, she's sweet as pie. She was not hand raised and Petco employee's had been working with her a little bit, so she'd step up on your finger. She's an AWESOME girl! We love her to pieces.

Our 2nd bird, we also purchased at Petco, not planning on buying another, my husband walked around the corner and saw this poor little tiel in the stark white cage that looked like an Insane asylum to us....this guy was TERRIFIED of human contact and wouldn't even sit on our finger for a split second, but hubby couldn't leave him, so we bought him and brought him home. His name is Chicken Little and within 3 weeks he was not only willingly coming out of his cage to be with us and perching on our hands, he was talking up a storm! He's also AMAZING!

Our 3rd bird, was also an unplanned purchase...our Conure, Franklin. He picked US and we're so glad he did! He, however, was hand fed and handled a LOT and was only at the pet store for 7 days.

I have had absolutely NO health issues with any of the birds we purchased from Petco. I've had no problem taming down the 2 tiels we purchased. They willingly eat just about everything I put in front of them. They are happy, healthy, well adjusted birds. You can see picture of all 3 of them in my profile.

In answer to your question, about buying a budgie from a chain store...well, my answer is in short. Yes I would. BUT, as with all 3 of the birds we bought, we were somehow "picked" by them.

So if I was in the market to buy a keet and I happened to be at the pet store and one stood out from the crowd and "picked" me. I'd have a hard time saying NO.

Oh, and when my daughter was about 4, I DID purchase 2 keets from a chain pet store, and we named them Bobo and Joker and somewhere I have a picture of my daughter holding them. They were our first birds and we learned a lot about bird care and taming and loved 'em dearly.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do, but I wouldn't entirely discount chain stores. In my case, I'm glad I didn't. Our birds are AWESOME!

Toni

 

[JensFlock]

I am a dog trainer at PetSmart. Don't do it!!!!!

 

[Nakiska]

I just wanted to clarify, also...that I know you were questioning about buying a keet from Petsmart....I purchased our birds from Petco...and have never purchased anything from Petsmart because in my area, Petco is closer. So I can't account for any experiences with that particular chain store, but I can say that I was not dissapointed with Petco.

Also, we don't have the availability of breeders in my area, birds just don't seem to be a big thing around here as they are in other areas.

Anyway, good luck and be sure to post pictures of any bird you decide to get.

Toni

 

[JensFlock]

The only thing with judging whether or not to get something from a chain store is that each store has different employees, and not everybody who works with them knows anything about them. The ones in my store just sit in groups in glass cages until somebody wants to buy one, and then all the employees run away like roaches at the thought of (GASP) having to catch one!!!!! Because OMG they bite!!!!!!
So, there I am, catching the little guy and I clip the wings for the customer and after I clip they just sit there calmly until I stick them in the box. I don't even work in that department, but everybody comes running to me when it involves a bird or a snake.
That gives you an idea how much interaction they have with people. The only person who touches them is the dog trainer. I feel so bad for them, but they don't have the best start, and depending on how long they've been there, they get set in their ways and aren't used to humans.

 

[kerry]

I apologize, the parrot, a 1 year old male Yellow Naped Amazon that I purchased many years ago was from Petco not Petsmart. I am very sorry for the error that I made in my initial post. I have now made a correction. Thank you.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I got Auggie from Petsmart - but that was when I worked there and I knew exactly how he had been raised and handled.

Our bird people (I was not one of them) were great. That said, I would agree with most of JensFlock's points: these chain stores just vary too much. At some you may find wonderful experienced people who handle, care for, and raise their birds well - at others you'll have people who don't know the first thing about them.

In the case of larger parrots I think a bit of observation and 'interviewing' of the staff can get you a good idea of how they socialize and care for the birds - but generally even in the best of cases the small birds - like budgies - tend to be treated as hand's-off birds like finches. If you want a well socialized budgie, get it from someone who raises them either for a living, or at least as a major hobby they are devoted to.

 

[Abzeez]

I use to work at Petsmart, don't do it. If it was a larger parrot then maybe, but those little guys aren't tame.

 

[MadDog]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful posts!! I found another store close to me that sells just birds and bird products. From what I've read on there site and from hearing customers talking about them, I think I will use them instead. I will have the chance to get a hand raised parakeet that is already accustomed to people. It will be a little while before I get one though. I still have to get a lot of stuff. I already have the cage, food bowls, and perches. I have to get the food, cuttle bone, and some toys. I still want to read up on there care too. I've already read everything I need to, but I just want to take another study course. lol

 

[MadDog]

One more thing; the cage I have is three feet tall, two feet wide, and one foot deep. What would be some more options for this cage? I want to make sure I get a bird that is comfortable in it, even though it will be out of the cage more than it will be in the cage.

 

[MadDog]

I don't know if y'all accept "bumps" or not. If not, I apologize and just let me know. I'm just curious what all of my options are.

 

[Rio Mom]

I don't think anything larger than a parakeet for that size cage personally. Maybe a canary as another option? I don't know much about canaries (except they sing beautiful ) not sure how "tame" they can be.

 

[Printer bird]

My first bird was a budgie purchased from a local pet store (not chain). It wasn't hand tame and it took many months to get her to go on my finger at all although she would eventually with some coaxing. She was a pretty happy girl, though, and would chatter away and chew on the picture frames. You could go close to her even if she didn't like human contact and was a great bird. She sadly died at the vet a few years after I purchased her because being handled stressed her out too much and she had a heart attack

I would say it depends on the budgie, how old it is (especially if its been in the store awhile - and likely they will not be able to give you any age information) and just its personality. Budgies can be GREAT birds and are sweet and smart but the ones that aren't hand-raised may never be a shoulder sitting companion. If that's what you want, find a breeder. If you just want to share your life with a budgie no matter their personality, maybe give the store a try so long as all the birds look OK and the cage looks clean. Just based on above, though, there is a good chance of disease regardless.

Ultimately, though, I would either buy from a breeder or rescue one either way. My GCC is a rescue and despite a continuing feather chewing habit, he is a great bird, very smart and fun and I wouldn't trade him for a "perfect" parrot no matter what.

 

[Customcasket]

You're better off getting your budgie from a bird store or a breeder. I bought 2 of my budgies from petsmart and they are skittish and not hand friendly at all! I love them the same as I love my hand fed birds but if I known then what I know now I would've never purchased them from there. My one budgie, Spooky Burd, is extremely friendly and loving. He was a hand fed budgie from a bird store that actually had the time to handle their birds and take good care of them. Petsmart just doesn't have the time to handle their budgies. They handle the bigger birds but they only have one or two of them at a time. They always have a dozen or more budgies and I can understand why they wouldn't have time to care for all of them.

You're just better off adopting a little budgie from a rescue or buying one from a bird store.

 

[MadDog]

Thanks everyone for the help!! I think I've found a bird store near me that sells hand raised budgies. I'm going to check it out as soon as I'm ready to buy a bird. I can't wait... but I have to have everything just right first.

 

[lexilu]

Good choice!