Wanting to get a bird, abusive store conditions?

[slushii]

Hi there
Recently I've really been wanting a bird in my life.
I had a lovely cockatiel that I unfortunately had to rehome due to unforeseen circumstances, we suddenly had to move into a house with an unfamiliar person, and I was forced to find a new home for them, as I was still a minor when I had owned him. This was 2 years ago, and I miss him a lot.

I still kept the bird cage I had, along with some toys, however I am going to purchase new ones as well as some perches, if I do adopt a bird..

I'm an adult now. I have the finances to care for a bird, and the time to dedicate. I get paid well but work part time. I am attending college, but a lot of my studying is spent at home and in front of a computer, which of course I can entertain a bird while I'm busy. My cockatiel and I did EVERYTHING together- from cooking to showering. I do know the bird basics.. [safe cookware, how to handle parrots, feeding, etc]. As much as I loved my tiel, the dander was a bit much, and caused me some allergies.

I've been looking into conures a lot. Green cheeks really have my interest right now. I went to the pet store today and saw that they had a species of bird I've never even heard of before, a "bee bee conure". The clerk told me they speak? And they hadn't been adopted for awhile, so the price on them was $250. The store kind of concerns me, it's pretty dusty and dirty. The baby cockatiels looked alert but the beebees looked scared. They also had a cockatoo, and a green cheek, but the green cheek was $900. I understand the hefty prices of birds, but I'm a bit nervous spending so much for a bird that may be sick, and honestly I don't have $900 to dish out right now.. Now they did let me hold a beebee, but it kept trying to flutter off and seemed genuinely terrified, and she tried catching it with a net and swore up and down that it was "hand tame" and that it just needed some time, and if I wanted it she would clip its wings. So I lifted it to the top of the cage and decided to not handle it any more. I'm concerned. I want a bird, and I want to bring them home into the best conditions I can. I'm kind of in the mindset now of "this bird needs to be rescued!"

If any one knows anything about beebee conures, please let me know.
I'm also looking for good perch/toy recommendations. I know conures love to shred.
I am not 100% sold on conures, so if you have any bird recommendations in mind, I would love to hear them. I am buying toys and perches according to size and what enriches that particular parrot the most. All in all I am just looking for a cuddly companion who wouldn't mind doing... literally everything with me. I need a friend.

Also - I do not have any bird rescues near. I've seen some posts where everyone encourages adoption from a rescue, but the nearest one is like 6 hours away. =[

 

[Owlet]

I use to work in a bird store, we cleaned daily and it was still dusty. Birds produce a lot of dust so it's just kind of the nature of those kinds of stores. I would look more at the direct condition of the cages, what are the perches like? are there toys? what are they being fed? were the babies hand raised? if so how were they weaned?
In a store front it's hard to socialize the birds because you're busy doing a ton of other things that come with running a store. They could have been hand raised and hand tamed but not fully socialized and thus scared of new things and people and maybe be more comfortable in their cage. In my store it wasnt abnormal that the hand raised babies were sketched out by us suddenly going to pick them up because they weren't trained they dont know step up, while they're use to humans and not entirely scared of us, they're confused and just need direction and patients. Now the store I was at wasnt perfect, it had a lot of flaws and eventually went out of business. But we did clean and we did feed what I considered good food. The biggest downside was the inability to really really work with the birds. I worked with them as much as I could and a lot of them came really far in a short amount of time. The babies usually became accustomed really fast and were happy to sit on my finger and hang out. We took in rescues too and I loved working with them. My favorite was a lovely african grey who was scared to come out of her cage. I worked with her and worked with her and eventually I got her to a point where she would step up and come oit of her cage with me. Now she wouldnt do the same with my coworkers but it was a step in getting her comfortable.

Now, since a storefront isnt good place to socialize a bird, or really raise a bird in general, I dont really advocate for buying from them. I really suggest finding a private breeder around you that has babies, if they're an ethical breeder, their babies are usually getting more 1x1 time than a storefront bird will get in their duration at the store. they're usually more sound and healthy too. It also good that you know the parentage and any potential health concerns.

 

[slushii]

I use to work in a bird store, we cleaned daily and it was still dusty. Birds produce a lot of dust so it's just kind of the nature of those kinds of stores. I would look more at the direct condition of the cages, what are the perches like? are there toys? what are they being fed? were the babies hand raised? if so how were they weaned?
In a store front it's hard to socialize the birds because you're busy doing a ton of other things that come with running a store. They could have been hand raised and hand tamed but not fully socialized and thus scared of new things and people and maybe be more comfortable in their cage. In my store it wasnt abnormal that the hand raised babies were sketched out by us suddenly going to pick them up because they weren't trained they dont know step up, while they're use to humans and not entirely scared of us, they're confused and just need direction and patients. Now the store I was at wasnt perfect, it had a lot of flaws and eventually went out of business. But we did clean and we did feed what I considered good food. The biggest downside was the inability to really really work with the birds. I worked with them as much as I could and a lot of them came really far in a short amount of time. The babies usually became accustomed really fast and were happy to sit on my finger and hang out. We took in rescues too and I loved working with them. My favorite was a lovely african grey who was scared to come out of her cage. I worked with her and worked with her and eventually I got her to a point where she would step up and come oit of her cage with me. Now she wouldnt do the same with my coworkers but it was a step in getting her comfortable.

Now, since a storefront isnt good place to socialize a bird, or really raise a bird in general, I dont really advocate for buying from them. I really suggest finding a private breeder around you that has babies, if they're an ethical breeder, their babies are usually getting more 1x1 time than a storefront bird will get in their duration at the store. they're usually more sound and healthy too. It also good that you know the parentage and any potential health concerns.

The cage conditions were really just 1 to 2 dowel perches, pretty dirty poo wise and they were fed a seed mix.

I looked for local breeders, but I am having a hard time finding one in Arkansas.

 

[Owlet]

yeah I would refrain from supporting the store.

 

[Owlet]

you can also look on places like craigslist to see if anyone is trying to rehome... just ask lots of questions and never put money down without seeing the bird in person

 

[HeatherG]

They are called bee bee parakeets or brotogeris and are supposed to be very fun little birds.

The problem is that by buying from a dirty store you allow the store to continue.

 

[wrench13]

I would pass on doing business with this store. FYI, BeeBee Parrots are not conures, and the fact they tried to pass this one off as a type of conure only reenforces the bad.

 

[slushii]

Thank you for the advice!
I will not be purchasing from here.

Do you have any suggestions for good perches/chews/toys for when I do bring a conure home?
I hear they love to shred.

 

[HeatherG]

I still feel bad for those beebee parakeets. I think they’re such cute little birds that I would be tempted to get them out of the store, regardless.

I have felt that way about a few birds that looked like they were resold to the pet store and had issues.

 

[Owlet]

Elle’s Avian Essentials Kit for Medium Parrots — Elle and the Birds

Elle's Avian Essentials medium bird kit offers everything you need to outfit your parrot's cage, including bird toys, bird perches, bird ladders and bird food dishes. Ideal for medium parrots like cockatiels, conures, quakers, caiques, ringneck parakeets, and senegal parrots.

www.elleandthebirds.com

I got this set up kit when I brought home my conure. the only think i didnt like were the bowls

 

[onamom]

Elle’s Avian Essentials Kit for Medium Parrots — Elle and the Birds

Elle's Avian Essentials medium bird kit offers everything you need to outfit your parrot's cage, including bird toys, bird perches, bird ladders and bird food dishes. Ideal for medium parrots like cockatiels, conures, quakers, caiques, ringneck parakeets, and senegal parrots.

www.elleandthebirds.com

I got this set up kit when I brought home my conure. the only think i didnt like were the bowls

I got this too! Great set and Elle and the Birds on YouTube is a fantastic channel with lots of great info for new bird owners

 

[slushii]

I am bringing home a lovely turquoise conure on wednesday!!!

 

[Terry57]

I am bringing home a lovely turquoise conure on wednesday!!!

What a beauty! Please share pictures when you get him or her home