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A sincerely unique question that I think deserves attention

Goldenconure1

Meeting neighbors
Joined
8/21/18
Messages
24
Hello all.

Just wondering. Have any of you ever ended up buying a bird, a young one (a year or less) that ended up being sick at time of purchase? (For example, you buy a young Senegal, perhaps they were fluffed up all the times you saw them, a sign of potential illness, but you overlooked it, and a day or so after taking it home, you do a new bird check up and find out the bird is indeed sick.

How did it end for you? Many seem to say if the bird is young, especially around the time they have recently weaned in their own, and indeed are sick, that this means that they are much more likely to die young or be sick on and off over their lifetime.... have you all found this to be true in anyway?

Either way I am in a similar pickle with a bird I have a deposit on. Other birds from the same clutch as him show no symptoms, but "mine" does. I am 95 percent certain I will be switching to another bird, even if the cbc tests, gram stains, chem panels, cultures, etc, end up being clean or even if the symptoms completely clear up following some type of treatment from the vet..... mainly because if it IS true that young birds who were sick at a super young age are more likely to be sick at a higher rate than other birds over their whole life, I will steer to another bird.

Let me know your stories friends! Love this supportive community.

So is this assertion a myth or quite true?
 

Roxhum

Walking the driveway
Joined
6/2/18
Messages
214
Along long time ago in a different life with a husband and small children we purchased a hand fed Amazon. We believed it to be sick. We did not take it to an Avian vet. We did return it and they did not hesitate to give us our money back. We ended up getting an amazon hybrid from people who were not comercial breeders and just had this one baby for sale.

If one baby is sick I would be very reluctant to purchase any of the babies.
 

puffthemagicweirdo

Meeting neighbors
Avenue Veteran
Joined
12/1/12
Messages
49
Location
Western Australia
Real Name
Oscar
I think the above post pretty much sums it up, I would say that if a bird is sick when it’s very young that it could have lifelong health problems, or it could just be sick that one time. It really depends. Seeming sick compared to the others is a red flag but I just wanted to say that when I first took puff home (hand reared), he just sat there in one spot all puffed up and wouldn’t move for a few weeks pretty much, that’s how he got his name. After a while he settled in and was never like that again, he wasn’t sick, just adjusting.
 

Mockinbirdiva

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/20/09
Messages
11,338
Location
South Carolina
Real Name
Andrea
I can't help but wonder what kind of reputation the seller has. Is it a store ... the owner is the breeder? How clean is it, are they well cared for? Why did he separate the babies. Do you like this person and have any confidence in his ethics of bird keeping? Does he think this baby is sick? If it is he should not be selling it and take it to have it examined and tests run. Before you make any decision this baby needs to be looked at by an Avian vet to determine how healthy it is and whether it has any condition that may affect any or all of the birds in his building. I don't think you are in a pickle at all .... you've just had your heart set on this baby. You can't let that emotional feeling cloud your decision to not purchase this one. I would want to know up front of any illness before going through the heart ache of having to return a sick fid or even God forbid having it die on me. You've already said there is a health guarantee ... I'm assuming that if you had to return a bird you would receive a full refund... what about vet expenses for the wellness exam ... or would he offer you a replacement baby, then there would be another vet visit and another vet bill. How is this baby behaving now.. still losing weight? Who is weighing it, the store owner?

I think you should call the vet you planned on taking the baby to and explain the symptoms and that you don't fully own it yet and inquire about the cost of the exam along with the necessary tests. They may give you sage advice on the matter. In the meantime... google the store for customer reviews to see if anyone has had a bad experience or has had to deal with a sick bird that came from this store. I know it's time consuming but you are trying to make the best decision you can. Are you still visiting the baby? Were you able to watch it being fed? If you haven't brought up your concerns with the seller it's time you did and just be honest how worried you are. Some avian diseases are highly contagious. For peace of mind, you need to know the health before bringing it home.
 
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