[xafsmom]

Oh boy. Ok let me start by saying - egg sellers of parrot eggs is a scam.

Rick Jordan - one of the big artifical incubation pioneers has a book on the incubation procedures of parrots which covers the potentiality of shipping exotic eggs. He's tried it several times for specific reasons - not to sell eggs though, but he handles some truly rare birds and deals with zoos. He has had no successful hatches from it. So, I wouldn't suggest it.

Parrots eggs aren't like chicken eggs. You might have a window of 3-5 days from laying of a fertile egg to 'store' the egg for future incubation. Any longer, and there are is no hatching - as per UC Davis, a major Avian research university. It's actually going to be more successful to ship week old babies than it would be eggs - and I don't suggest that either!

So, as far as a breeding pair, that is your best way to go. If you want to get into breeding psittacines, you're going to want to have future clutches to make it worthwhile. But, oh boy, know what you're getting into!

If you just want a single baby - buy from a breeder. You won't have the heartbreak of incubating eggs only to have them dead in shell because your temp was too high, too low, too humid, not humid enough, too much vibration, malpositioned chicks - which are VERY common in artificial incubation (do you know how to hatch assist a malposition?), power outages, ect. You won't have the heartbreak of having chicks that die because of various issues involving incubation. ...Did I mention twice a year bacterial cultures of your incubator and brooder just to be on the safe side? Or, how about repairing eggs?

You won't have the pain on your soul of accidentally puncturing the esophagus or aspirating your chick from mishanding during hand-feeding. You won't have endlessly sleepless nights because you're feeding day 1 chicks every hour. You won't have to keep your incubator, brooder, feeding utensils and anything you touch absolutely clean and disinfected. Need I go on?

Breeding is a joy, but if you're just out for a pet... let someone who breeds them go through all that hassle and trouble and buy a pet from them. You'll be so much happier! Or, consider rescuing a bird! Older birds make awesome pets!