breeder vs shops

[Snowy]

ummm, what is PBFD??

[sweetpeaches]

thanks so much. my lovie has not exhibited any signs at all at this point and appears to be healthy and happy. as i understand it pfbd is a beak and feather virus that some types of parrots can get. there beaks wear away and they lose their feathers opening them up to infections and eventually death. not too many survive. i am not that familiar with this disease and just recently found out about it myself. but i will continue to look into it.

[janejacinto]

Put a label of handfeed on a bird and that makes all the difference, right?

Well how long was the bird handfeed, when was the bird taken from parents, was the egg hatched with parents or by machine, so many questions.

Have seen people pull a bird and only feed a couple of weeks. Well they do handfeed right? Have seen some that pull day ones and handfeed. Know others the handfeed right along with the parents. This does not happen to often, parents are friendly with person and does not care when they feed. Not many breeders can do this one.

Don't take handfeed, ask questions. A lot of stores buy and sell handfeed birds. They do not handfeed, they buy them from someone that says they handfeed. You do not know when the were pulled and handfeeding started. Also, ask what they feed and what they weaned on. Was there "people" food feed also? Do they get showers, bathes or what?

Ask questions, get answers, then you bring home when you are happy with everything.
Jane

[sweetpeaches]

my lovie was a "gift" bought for me. i was/am just a novice bird owner. after i was told i was getting a peachfaced lovebird (the day before pick up) all i was told was that "handfed lovebirds are much easier to handle than non-handfed" i had no idea what this meant or the other questions you mention above. i certainally wasn't going to take her just because of that label. that's why she's with me now and one of my best buds in the whole world! all i know is with love, patience and trust relationships can be built. i only posted on this site about this situation because i felt that this store was being decitful so they could just sell the bird. it wasn't just the handfed question either. they also told my friend my lovie was a she...i now know the only way you can tell is through DNA testing which when i picked her/him up they said they don't do and didn't know the sex. the salespeople at these stores most of the time seem to be people who have no idea what they are talking about. that is why i'd go to a breeder next time. here's me not knowing anything depending on someone in the store to know what they're talking about and they don't. whether she's handfed or not, whether she is a he or not at this point doesn't matter. but customers should be able to trust people who sell them pets! and if someone decides to buy a pet on their own and have the time they definetly should read up on the species and ask those questions before the purchase. one of the most rewarding experiences i've been having is finding forums like these so i can learn more and more about the beauty and fun of owning birds.

[Monica]

Sweetpeaches... I hate to say it but I've learned some nasty things about chain petstores... it seems to me, that they may rather have someone who doesn't know any better to teach them how to care for pets, than someone who DOES know better. The people who work there don't even have to like pets in order to work there... And they have policies that are ridiculous, or they "beat around the bush" following what they are supposed to do, but not doing it as it should be done (i.e. say certain fish need two plants in their aquarium to hide in, even if fake, they should be of a certain "type", however instead of putting that certain "type" in, they will put something cheaper in that may cause the death of the fish instead). I guess you could say that they do the minimum that they are suppose to in order to be a "good" store.... which ends up putting a bad name on all the GOOD stores out there that take that extra effort to ensure that all their pets are healthy and happy.

Generally speaking, they don't have hatch certificates for small species such as finches, canaries, budgies, tiels, lovebirds, etc... however, they MAY have hatch certificates for conures, quakers, ringnecks, and larger species. Even if they have been handraised doesn't make them tame. Of course, there are people out there that have parent raised birds tamer than handraised! Things certainly do vary from place to place.

[sweetpeaches]

you're so right! actually i have found the larger pet stores "cleaner" than some of the smaller privately owned stores. i can't even bring myself to go into some of those anymore. too bad we don't have stricter laws for these places. i went in one in a strip mall a month ago and they had all their birds in a back room with little light and cages piled on top of one another (one dinky toy hanging from the top of the cage)....not to even mention the smell. i wanted so bad to say something to the salesgirl, but she was just a young girl who probably has only worked there a week so i didn't say a word. but went away very sad for the animals in this place.

[Nazir's]

I too wish there were some stricter laws concerning parrots in pet shops.
There's only one bird shop here locally. It's terrible. Yet, they sell only birds (many different species) but it's horrible. I went there once several years ago. At that time I knew nothing about birds and even then I could tell that wasn't a place that anyone would want to purchase a bird from. I've since learned so much about birds and have even obtained one. It's now about 10 years later and you know what... That shop is still there, still doing business under the same conditions. It's ashamed! In my opinion, they should have been closed down a long time ago. Prosecuted and ruled never to own; house, or care for any living creature—ever again.