Price Increase

[Arno]

Wow you guys pay alot for your AG's.
Lets say $2000 in South African Rand is
$2000 x R13.63 = R27 260

I paid R2 500 for my CAG so thats
R2600 ÷ R13.63 = $190

$190 to your +-$2000 is a huge difference

 

[kathyth]

My understanding, is that the wild caught Greys, are the good breeders. They’re dying off, as they’ve been here for many years. The captive bred Greys aren’t the best breeders, hence the price has going up.
I really don’t know.

 

[KatelynDeanne]

I talked to a breeder on the phone about a year ago when I was in search for a grey. I kept running into spammers so I was gonna save up for a baby. I talked to tons of them on the phone. Most of them here where I live are going anywhere from 1900 minimum and one lady even told me 2500!!! I was like omg why so high!? She just began to scold me on how you cant put a price on her babies because they were guaranteed healthy yada yada yada.. then she proceeded to tell me that she has a 'rare' red factor grey that is stunning she is selling for 4000! A couple months went on and anyhow I ended up with Lucy and adopted her. I couldnt believe it! As for the OP you say you breed bulldogs? I also adopted a bulldog from a breeder about 5 years ago. I put an ad on craigslist saying "wanting an english bulldog" .. So this man called me from georgia, yep same place I got Lucy, and he says he has one he will give me for free. So the hubby and I got in the car and drove there in the middle of the night, it was dark. They lived in a very nice house, and when we pulled up a ton of baby bulldogs roaming the front yard. He takes me into his garage where the old english bulldog, probably an 80 pounder was sitting in a TINY crate. We quickly got him in the car from what we coiuld see of him and drove home. Once we got home, we got him out and omg it was HORRIBLE. He had bad sores all over his bum and his feet and legs from being crammed in that cage. He was completely blind from neglect and them not taking care of his eyes, they were wired shut and goopy. We took him to the vet and they told us he had bad heartworms.. We then proceeded to go to the Montgomery Zoo and talk with their vet and he had to have surgery on his eyes to fix them (entropion) surgery. His nose was falling apart too, which required a ton of care. I nurtured him back to health and gave him to my brother as a present because he absolutely loved him and he is PERFECT for my dads family and is SO LOVED now. We named him Booger because of all the boogers in his eyes. He is very happy now. My dad got upset and called that breeder and he asked why he gave him away and told him everything I had to do for him. He responded with "he wouldnt perform anymore and was useless" . Anyway, here is a pic of booger.

 

[Zara]

@KatelynDeanne that´s heartbreaking! Such callous people. Booger is a beauty!I´m so glad you´ve helped him and he lives with your brother! I´m sure he´s so much happier now!!!

Some peoples attitudes towards animals just disgusts me

 

[Chopper]

Gray's went up in price because they aren't breeding right now. Or haven't been for the last several years.
The price I got from several places was $3,500 for a baby. There are waiting lists at almost all places I go to.
Hang in there is you can. They will eventually start breeding again.

 

[KatelynDeanne]

@KatelynDeanne that´s heartbreaking! Such callous people. Booger is a beauty!I´m so glad you´ve helped him and he lives with your brother! I´m sure he´s so much happier now!!!

Some peoples attitudes towards animals just disgusts me

Aww Thanks!! Yes Booger is one of a kind! He is VERY happy now with my brother and dads family. He gets lots of love and attention. I know what you mean. Some people dont seem to have a heart. Disgusting.

 

[CaliEckies]

My understanding, is that the wild caught Greys, are the good breeders. They’re dying off, as they’ve been here for many years. The captive bred Greys aren’t the best breeders, hence the price has going up.
I really don’t know.

-- Ok that makes sense... i was wondering why

Most of them here where I live are going anywhere from 1900 minimum and one lady even told me 2500!!! I "he wouldnt perform anymore and was useless" . View attachment 295971 View attachment 295972

- glad you picked up your english i breed french bulldogs but i have had 1 litter of english. Our dogs are companions inside. spoiled rotten like the parrots hahaha

 

[KatelynDeanne]

@CaliEckies I have always wanted a french bulldog! they are so cute

 

[Kodigirl210]

Hmmm like I said it depends on where you are and where you look. The breeder I used went up to $1900 but the one nearby is still $1600 for a TAG & $1800 for a CAG. The breeder in AZ $1600. They also have 2-CAGs & 1-TAG up for adoption at $600. Timing is everything as they say.

 

[jmfleish]

There are always adults looking for new homes. I was just contacted by one of the vet techs at the UW and they had one surrendered to the Humane Society that is looking for a good home. I'm in Wisconsin but would be willing to help out if someone is interested. Just let me know via PM and I can reach out to them about the bird.

 

[TikiMyn]

Here both species of greys range from 250-1000€. €1000 is very high, babies usually go for around €600-800, Maybe 900. Rehomes usually around €300-600, sometimes 700. Usually I see Amazons for €150-400. Sennies for €100-150. Lovies and other small species(including conures) for €0-100. Baby greencheeks are around €60.

 

[Zara]

Here both species of greys range from 250-1000€. €1000 is very high, babies usually go for around €600-800, Maybe 900. Rehomes usually around €300-600, sometimes 700. Usually I see Amazons for €150-400. Sennies for €100-150. Lovies and other small species(including conures) for €0-100. Baby greencheeks are around €60.

Very similar to Spain. Not sure about Amazons, a you you is usually €120 and Lovebirds around €10 in my area, I have seen go up to 65 on Spanish Islands. I saw a mustache parakeet for €120 recently

 

[Kodigirl210]

@jmfleish - that’s sad to hear. I wish I could take him.

 

[TikiMyn]

Very similar to Spain. Not sure about Amazons, a you you is usually €120 and Lovebirds around €10 in my area, I have seen go up to 65 on Spanish Islands. I saw a mustache parakeet for €120 recently

Yeah lovies range from €0-60 here, sometimes more expensive if it is a rarer species or special mutation. €20 is common. Handfed babies €40-60. I am in the Netherlands btw

 

[Zara]

Yeah lovies range from €0-60 here, sometimes more expensive if it is a rarer species or special mutation. €20 is common. Handfed babies €40-60. I am in the Netherlands btw

Yes, i see on your little square Here the price is the same for 25 days old or adult. Still very similar. Much cheaper than US

 

[rdc]

I’ve seen baby greys still go for about that price range. What surprises me is when someone trying to rehome an older bird also asks for that much.

What surprises me is that someone who rehomes a bird would ask for anything at all.

Seems like that person is trying to make money from an unfortunate situation. Both of our grays were given to us. The owners having to give up the birds were only looking for a good home for their bird.

 

[Kodigirl210]

It goes 3-ways. First people want to ensure the new owners can afford it. Second by charging as much as a baby/juvenile grey it usually helps deter people who want a cheap breeder or people who can’t afford to keep a gray in the first place. Another reason is to just recover some of the cost. That holds true for any of the medium to larger parrots. Greys are especially popular so it’s not an unreasonable expectation. Just the same as one sees higher rehoming costs for macaws, etc. The last reason of course is the worst one. People are greedy. As I said Greys are popular so people ask as much for the bird as they think they can get away with. Those people are usually the scammers though. The ones who say one price but all of a sudden you have transport costs, cage costs, insurance costs etc. Or they simply ask a ridiculous price to begin with. It’s sick and it’s sad because a lot of people have been taken in and lost money on they. Our vet told us someone lost close to $18k on such a scam. You say how is it possible? Some people are desperate and they don’t realize how deep they are until they’ve lost it all. I’m not against a reasonable cost for rehoming. I believe you need to be able to prove you can afford the bird (no matter the species) and it can help deter those looking for a breeder as well as provide a little bit of recovery for those who have invested heavily in their fids. I have now had Sif for around 12-weeks. I paid the initial price for her and the vet bills alone are close to $1000.00. So long story longer, there are valid reasons for rehoming fees just as much as there are scams for rehoming fees.

 

[tka]

Sadly, there are also people who scour sites like gumtree and craigslist for animals to abuse. People involved in dogfighting use free listings to get their hands on bait animals, which are used to hone their fighting dogs' aggression. Other dogs, cats and rabbits are all used and suffer horrific injuries before death. Giving a pet away for free "to a good home" when there's no home inspection or vetting can be a death sentence.

Asking for money at least deters people who are seeking bait animals or have no idea how much it costs to take care of an animal properly.

 

[rdc]

It goes 3-ways. First people want to ensure the new owners can afford it. Second by charging as much as a baby/juvenile grey it usually helps deter people who want a cheap breeder or people who can’t afford to keep a gray in the first place. Another reason is to just recover some of the cost. That holds true for any of the medium to larger parrots. Greys are especially popular so it’s not an unreasonable expectation. Just the same as one sees higher rehoming costs for macaws, etc. The last reason of course is the worst one. People are greedy. As I said Greys are popular so people ask as much for the bird as they think they can get away with. Those people are usually the scammers though. The ones who say one price but all of a sudden you have transport costs, cage costs, insurance costs etc. Or they simply ask a ridiculous price to begin with. It’s sick and it’s sad because a lot of people have been taken in and lost money on they. Our vet told us someone lost close to $18k on such a scam. You say how is it possible? Some people are desperate and they don’t realize how deep they are until they’ve lost it all. I’m not against a reasonable cost for rehoming. I believe you need to be able to prove you can afford the bird (no matter the species) and it can help deter those looking for a breeder as well as provide a little bit of recovery for those who have invested heavily in their fids. I have now had Sif for around 12-weeks. I paid the initial price for her and the vet bills alone are close to $1000.00. So long story longer, there are valid reasons for rehoming fees just as much as there are scams for rehoming fees.

I can see the point you are making, but I know that it is possible to find a good home for a bird without expecting any money in return. Please bear with me as I go into some detail explaining my position and history with rehomes.

We've taken into the flock 10 rehomed birds: 8 birds from people either met at work and 2 birds from complete strangers. Of the people from work, one I did not know all that well, and he gave us Coco, a Hahn's Macaw. This person who gave me Coco fancied himself as a knowledgeable "animal person" and had horses, dogs, cats, geese, ducks and Coco. When I got Coco, I took her to our avian vet, and the vet said the bird had been severely injured. X-rays showed massive injuries to her scapula and most other bones down to the tip of her wings--injuries that had not healed. Coco could not fly. When I told the former owner about these injuries and showed him an image of the X-ray, he seemed surprised and said that occasionally Coco was left on her own with a cat and Coco would fend for herself--a clear case of negligence. I told the owner I thought it only fair that he pay half the vet bill. He did.

The other person from work I got to know well over for a 15 year period, and no need to go into that story, nor for that matter getting birds from friends of ours.

As for the complete strangers we got birds from, I answered an ad in Craig's list and saw that a woman was asking for a small sum of money, $400 I believe, for Sunny, a Blue & Gold Macaw We went to see Sunny and explained our history with keeping birds. We told her we took all of our birds to an avian vet at least once a year. The woman saw we that might be able to give the bird a good, so she gave us the bird. Money was not an issue for her, at the time it was for us. This woman later gave away her gray, Buzzy, to another family, and when that family no longer wanted to keep, Buzzy, the original owner referred that family to us, and the rest is history.

I hear a number of similar stories from people I meet at the vet's office and elsewhere.

There is a non-profit bird rescue/rehome organization in the area that takes birds, rehabs them, and then offers them up for a nominal fee to cover their operating costs, but most importantly, this organization requires that a person attend a multi-session class covering the responsibilities of bird ownership before giving a bird to someone.

If, heaven forbid, we had to give up one or more of ours, and could not find an organization similar to the one above--and I believe there are many--then it would only be if that person were seriously vetted.

Having money or even knowledge does not guarantee someone will be responsible. Having a successful history caring for birds is, in my opinion, is the best guarantee that someone would care for a bird. There are an abundance of organizations as well as parrot forums like AA that have many motivated people who have the desire to care for birds.

It's fine to say that there are many people who abuse animals, I believe a responsible parrot owner can minimize the danger to a bird in a rehome situation. The onus falls on the parrot owner. How do you make people responsible? People are not perfect and make mistakes and birds suffer. There are no easy answers. I know I would feel like I am devaluing a bird who has been in my flock if I were to ask someone to give me money for caring for that bird. Seems to me like it should be the other way around.

We're setting up a trust fund for our birds so that when we're gone, our birds will have some security in their future.

 

[aooratrix]

It's not just greys, although they were the first increase I noticed, due to imported birds reaching the ends of their reproductive lives, as others have said. I routinely see B&Gs for $2K+, which is mind boggling to me. Almost every species has shot up in price, and I'm not sure why.