at the parrot shop... :)

[Ifrit]

I got to meet a baby Orange Wing Amazon yesterday. JUST fledged, one one feeding per day. I went in to talk about adopting a 'too but the owner (my friend Peter) explained the amount of dust they produce would fill my air ducts and get my other smaller birds sick. He then showed me little Ralphie and told me that he is up for adoption. I'm thinking that in about a months time or so once I can save up about 1100 bucks I may have to take this lovebug and his roomy cage home with me. I got to handle him, and he cries out like any other baby but he loves scritches. and those wings! It was funny holding him as he is still learning how to grasp things by himself cause he kept sliding on my arm when i was holding him up. He's got a bit of an oral fixation, as everything goes in the beak and his little black tongue is on whatever he grabs. Also he's doing the "Pet me love me, okay im done put me down" thing most babies like to do.

His one rule is DONT TOUCH MY WINGS.

 

[MandaExotics]

awwwwwwwwe

 

[Heather F]

How sweet!

That said, I have to wonder about wanting to add a big expensive bird to your flock when you couldn't afford to take your budgie to the vet last week when she injured herself.

 

[Bokkapooh]

You may want to reconsider.

$1100 is over priced for a petstore bird. I suggest going with craigslist or a good breeder.

But you may also want to first save up a vet fund before bringing home another bird. Especially them large guys. Their purchase price may seem big but their cages, toys, playstands, etc, are far more expensice.

 

[ilikebirds]

it sounds like you know you want to add another bird to your flock, but you are unsure what kind exactly. take your time about it, and also take the time now to find a good avian vet. the vet bill for a larger bird can be substantially large as well. it took me some time to find one, but it is a huge relief, and i know when something happens, we already have a plan and a place to take our feathered friends. finding a vet during an emergency for me was an ordeal i am glad i dont have to go through again

 

[Gypsy]

My opinion is that babies are over priced. Once they become older and sexually mature, you may not have that cuddly baby any more. It may even change its view of you. Adult birds are half the price of a baby. Not only that, there are lots of birds looking for homes on the market or at rescues looking for forever homes.

Pet stores have the highest prices as well because they have a lot of overhead.

Avian vet visits are at least $50 just to walk in the door.

 

[roxynoodle]

You don't want to know the vet bills for a sick amazon. Please make sure you have a way to pay them before bringing a pet home. That's only fair to the animal.

 

[tastybeets]

Definitely echoing the comments about 1100$ being overpriced.

Large birds come with large costs. I easily spent well over 1500$ on just the cage, toys, accessories, initial vet visits and food. You should start saving for vet visits, so you'll have that money before you bring home another bird. I also highly recommend a low limit credit card you can use in an emergency. In a previous thread, you seemed to take issue with this, but it's a wise idea especially since, in that thread, you stated you were unable to afford vet care for an injured budgie.

Also take a look at vets in your area and have one well in advance of bringing a new bird home. Here's a site to help you find a good CAV in your area: http://beautyofbirds.com/recommendedvets.htm

 

[Gypsy]

There is a yellow nape amazon at a pet store that I frequent monthly for premium dog food. He has been there for a year and a half. The asking price is $900 which is too high because one can buy hand fed babies for that price. The bird is said to be 9 years old but has a full band of yellow on his nape which tells me he is over 30. My heart breaks whenever I go to the store because he looks terrible. He is on a seed diet and needs a bath so you can imagine his feather condition. I have spoken to the store owners about the price and his condition. If the price was half that, he would be here with me. The bird is on consignment and the owner refuses to drop the price. This situation makes me sick because it is about money and not the welfare of the bird.

 

[MommyBird]

I wanted to let you know that Orange wing Amazons are VERY dusty. I have an OWA and a Goffin Cockatoo in different rooms, and the OWA makes every bit as much dust and dander as the G2. Other Amazons are not as dusty as OWAs.
In the room of the OWA I have both a RabbitAir HEPA filter and a large Venta Airwasher.
I would NOT recommend an OWA if dust is a problem.

 

[melissasparrots]

TThe bird is said to be 9 years old but has a full band of yellow on his nape which tells me he is over 30.

Some yellow napes get a full yellow nape at around 2 years old. Others take decades and never get it. I have Gremlin here who got a bunch of partial yellow feather on his nape at one year old. At 2 years they all came in full yellow and he's had a full band of yellow ever since. I own his parents and Gremlin hatched in my spare bedroom. He has nearly as much yellow as his over 20 parents. And his 20 something mother hasn't gotten very much more yellow than she came to me with at 13 years old. But she does have a lot of yellow. As does his father.

I do agree that $900 is over priced for an adult amazon. An adult rehome should go for around $400-$600. In the case of orange wings, I would think you could get a baby orange wing from a good breeder for less than $800.

To the original poster, I disagree that cockatoo dust will hurt your other birds. Some species are prone to being sensitive to cockatoo dust. Usually macaws and occasionally amazons. I've heard of a few other cases here and there involving small birds. However, most birds can handle having a cockatoo in the room so long as you make an effort to maintain decent air quality. It tends to come down to more an individual allergic reaction to the dust. I personally have never had a bird allergic to cockatoo dust. Doesn't mean it can't happen.

Also, many amazons will change as they mature. Most stop wanting full body hugs and by the time they are two don't want their wings touched in most cases. There are exceptions. An orange wing is a little more prone to retaining some of its baby sweetness than a yellow headed amazon. But you will still notice various independence stages happening as it matures. Most amazons are good with a head scratch. Might want to sit with you for the length of time it takes to finish a cup of coffee and then they want to do other things. Cockatoos will also change with maturity. Most retain their cuddliness but become unpredictable. The amazon will tell you before it bites in most cases. The cockatoo will probably also tell you, but depending on the species the signs might more easily missed making the bite seem out of the blue and more likely to catch you in the face if you haven't taken precautions against that. Both are excellent birds. But I would encourage you to keep about $500 or more in available money at all times to pay for vet bills. A credit card that you use for nothing other than vet bills is a good idea.

 

[Ifrit]

How sweet!

That said, I have to wonder about wanting to add a big expensive bird to your flock when you couldn't afford to take your budgie to the vet last week when she injured herself.

This is old news, I have a vet, im not going to ask this again from people but stop bringing this up. its rude. :/

 

[Ifrit]

Guys. I'm serious. I have a vet. Enough. I talked to @Birdiemarie a while back, and she agrees that sometimes people are a bit too harsh here, sure its freedom of speech but I feel a little bit unwelcome. If it happens again I might leave. So that's why I'm asking you all to take a step back and stop posting "you refused to take your budgie to a vet" on all of my topics. because its not true. I never REFUSED. I simply did not have enough money THAT DAY. Plus, did I mention that it was late at night and there weren't any available 24/7 vets?! Did I also mention that she is fine and perfectly healthy? That SHE HAS BEEN TO A VET? I'm beyond irritated and fed up with this, I've tried to be nice, but you all don't seem to know the whole story. I'm asking you all to STOP BRINGING UP OLD NEWS! Thank you. I know I probably sound a bit out of line here but please understand my frustrations. I mean no ill-will but please this needs to stop. (harumph.)

Anyway, thank you to those of you who were actually helpful. Ralphie himself is only 800, and it is not a pet store, its a parrot shop run by a friend who works for breeders. The cage and toys are what bump his price up to 1100, and I'm well aware of the costs of raising a larger bird. I spent a lot of time talking with him.

I also have to check with the owner of the condo I might be renting from to even see if a larger bird is allowed. My smaller birds are allowed to come. And i'll be making 3x more money at this new job if i get it. So vet costs won't be a problem. (snrk) But again, the air filters would be a good idea. Peter told me that G2's and Galahs make twice as much dust as OWAs so when you say that they create A LOT of dust, I'd be shocked to see what the toos create.

 

[Gypsy]

The post you consider being rude makes sense to me. Calling somebody rude based on something you said in the past, is rude in itself. If you have found a vet, then that is all you had to say. My advice to you is if you are going to post something online, be careful what you say because it may come back to haunt you.

Edit: My post came after yours. Are harumphs and snrks polite? What you put in, is what you will receive.

 

[Ifrit]

The post you consider being rude makes sense to me. Calling somebody rude based on something you said in the past, is rude in itself. If you have found a vet, then that is all you had to say. My advice to you is if you are going to post something online, be careful what you say because it may come back to haunt you.

My problem is that i have said this before, and yet people keep bringing it up. The past is in the past. I'm just frustrated that this keeps happening on practically ALL of my posts now.

 

[Gypsy]

I am sorry you are frustrated. The best thing to do when you are is to let it go by ignoring the post. It's possible the poster did not know all the facts. To continue on the subject makes you defensive and make it look worse than it is and others will chime in like me. lol.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Maybe its how you're wording things?

If you have a vet Fund now, thats great. Thats all you need to say.

And I'm gonna be honest with you. $1100 for a baby OWA amazon even with cage and toys, is a rip off.

You may want to do some bit of research on your own. This parrot shop guy sounds like he doesnt know what hes talkng about and he is misleading you.

 

[Gypsy]

Any retail store that specializes in anything is going to be over priced. They have to be in order to survive due to the costs of being in business. The best place, IMO, to find a bird or cages is on parrot forums, Craigslist or EBay Classifieds. Usually private parties are motivated and may come down in price. In my area, mature amazons run around $500, but that is from a private party.

In order to keep costs down, shop hard online for a cage, either used or new. Ebay or parrot fairs are good places for new cages. CL for used. Keep in mind that with used cages, there may be rust or hitchhikers. lol.

 

[Clueless]

You will enjoy life with an Amazon (no matter where he or she comes from).

I have always been super frugal.....then I got parrots (old dudes, wild caught, rescued Amazons,)....don't regret a dime I've spent on all their stuff and I'm actually eating better. Have to, my parrots can't eat cheetos.

 

[Heather F]

Ifrit,

I am sorry if I seemed to be attacking you. But I don’t know how you can really call it old news. It was only six days between you saying you could not afford a vet and saying you were looking at buying another bird. That's less than a week which is a very short time for someone's finances to change from "I have no money and can't borrow money or anything" to "I can afford a much larger and more expensive bird now and everything that entails."

Yes it turned out that your budgie was fine and it was just a scare. And of course it was late at night and few 24 hr vets are good with birds anyway. But I don't think what I said was rude. Just concerned and kind of confused since six days previous it was not just I am short till thursday or whatever it was I have no money and no credit.

I hope you get the new job and everything works out for you.