My patience is wearing thin....people wanting to buy eggs

[sugarmountainaviary]

Lemme ask you guys something....this has been driving me up the wall for the last few months and I finally have blew my lid

As a breeder, I get a lot of e-mails each day. And, more and more of late, I have been getting mails from clueless people looking to buy fertile parrot eggs so "they can share in the beauty of raising their baby from the egg". I believe this rise in inquiries is stemming from all the african scammers advertising "fresh fertile eggs" for sale. And, these people send their money, never receive eggs (cause there were never any in the first place) and are now convinced that they can hatch their own parrot for pennies on the dollar.

And, I have to bite my tongue and not rip onto these people. Instead, I attempt to educate them. And, several people, once they realize the amount of work involved, have adopted adorable weaned babies from me. First of all, parrot embryos are very delicate. If it suffers too much vibration, the chick dies. Many people don't think about this and the only thought once again is "yay, I can raise my own parrot from the egg". And, with this thought in mind, would the embryos survive shipping....not likely.(has it happened...certainly...but again, not likely) I also explain that the eggs need an incubator...normally a very expensive investment for one egg. They need to be kept at a certain temperature and humidity. And, not to mention the feedings every two hours round the clock if and when the chick hatches.

Bottom line is, many professional breeders lose chicks, what makes the inexperienced believe they can do better then the professionals?? Now, don't get me wrong...I am not criticizing inexperienced people. we have all been there. However, there is a huge difference between inexperienced and just plain ignorant.

Perhaps I am out of line here. I guess the best I can do is to continue to educate people. And to make sure that I am doing what is best for my babies. I guess what finally set me off is a run in I had this evening. I had a person mail me asking for fertile eggs. I did my schpele an was thn informed that she was a breeder and already gets her eggs from all over the world. (which I know is a bunch of crap....unless she is somehow smuggling). I actually had someone email me and ask me if I had any Spix Macaw eggs. (yes, I swear as I am sitting here). When I informed this person of their critical status and the fact that they are absolutely impossible to acquire, I was met with the response...fine, I can get them from a guy in Camaroon, Africa. I tried to intervene and assist (so this person was not scammed) and was told to mind my own business. Ooookkkkaaayyyyy.

Are there any other breeders here that have encountered this? And, I really don't expect any responses to this thread. I just needed to get my frustration off my chest in a place where I will not be attacked for my views.

Jessica

[greyburd]

Jessica,

If you have a web site or brochures that the public can get their hands on, I think you should put a disclaimer stating that you will not sell fertile eggs. Any emails or phone calls regarding such will not be answered.

If they want to send money to "Cameroon", let them.

[sugarmountainaviary]

That is actually a very good idea. I actually had put a disclaimer on my website that we did not sell eggs and for some reason I took it down. Thank you! I am going to put it back up.

[veryorignal]

Originally Posted by greyburd

Jessica,

If you have a web site or brochures that the public can get their hands on, I think you should put a disclaimer stating that you will not sell fertile eggs. Any emails or phone calls regarding such will not be answered.

If they want to send money to "Cameroon", let them.

Good idea, and if you maybe put your "speal" on your website some people might read it and maybe someone will learn just that little more....

[jessica313]

wow. i dont blame you for being mad. id be irritated too!

[Monica]

Well, I think you ought to do a few things... One, find articles on the 'cameroon scams', and post them on your site. Two, explain in detail the costs and amount of time, as well as the possible problems with raising young (such as burned crop, yeast infection, chicks being too cold or warm, etc), and for these very reasons you will not sell eggs...

To start though, here you go!
http://www.runwalkjog.com/carsposted/scam.htm


I think there's a better page out there but I'm not sure where...

[Tiki]

Buy a bag of white marbles, sell them for $50 each and tell them they must be kept at exactly 98.6 F for 3 months or they won't hatch. If they complain, tell them they must have let the temps lapse!

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by Tiki

Buy a bag of white marbles, sell them for $50 each and tell them they must be kept at exactly 98.6 F for 3 months or they won't hatch. If they complain, tell them they must have let the temps lapse!

LOLOL Tiki I was thinking Chicken eggs. WoooooooHoooooo I'm rich I've got two dozen Spix incubating in the fridge right now.

Seriously, Jessica thanks for trying to educate. Every once in a while I'll answer an ad from Camaroon. After a few days of e-mails, and keeping them "occupied" I just tell them to ship the bird COD. For some reason the e-mails stop.

Mike

[sugarmountainaviary]

LOL- you guys are funny. I am going to spend some time today redoing my home page and adding this information. If I can enlighten just one more person, it is one less person the african scum bags take for money.

Jess

[sugarmountainaviary]

Monica-

I actually go into all that with these people. I just basically did a readers digest version to vent in the post. I go into all that and people just do not want to listen. I go into the cost and time involved and the potential disaster with the chicks.

Jess