Petco...

[MicahEspudo]

I am considering rescuing a jenday conure from petco...
He was soooo sad he had literally one toy... and he was sooo sweet... he even rolled on his back for me to pet his stomach! I was really sad when I left (I usually don't go there but I was with a friend!)
I want to get him since I have been looking for the perfect conure... BUT I don't want to support the cruelty... I already complained to the manager!

[Courtzrocks]

If you have a strong connection then go for it but if you think you could find another you would click with then I would stick with the breeders. Plus you don't know what it could catch at a petstore with all different people patting it.

Me personally, no. But everyone is different.

[jenseits]

When you "rescue" a bird from a store, they make a profit and then turn right around and replace it with another sad-looking bird. I think they deliberately tug at your heart strings to get you to buy them -- if they looked too happy at the store, people probably wouldn't make pity purchases. If you have a connection with the bird and you want it, go for it. But don't make a pity purchase because that's exactly what the pet store wants... you buy the bird and they replace it with another one. If you really want to *rescue* a bird, go to a parrot rescue organization.

[sparkysmom]

I watched two linnies sit in our petco for 8 months. Their nails got so long their feet were twisted in the backs. It was sad. They didn't even have toys. They wanted $429 each for them. Somehow, and I have no idea how....the manager gave them to me for $130 each on my BF's Petco card.

Now my BF tells me they have two p-lets down there in a mirror situation. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. For me it always a heart thing. If it is tugging hard...I follow.

This linnie pair is bonded. They could care less if I suck air.

But they are well taken care of with lots of toys.

[Maggie F.]

If he's rolling on his back and playing and is sweet, someone is giving him attention and socializing him -- that's not cruel. They do purposely keep cages sparse. I'd never call it a "rescue" when you purchase from a store. It's still a purchase, and a profit for the store. That bird will be replaced by another as soon as possible, so they can profit again.

[Amie]

I'll be on your side.

Regardless of whether or not you buy the bird, someone will. PetCo usually keeps their birds banded. We're considering buying a Pionus from a PetCo, and I wrote the band number down and tracked the breeder. He actually comes from a pretty good breeder, and she was inundated with birds and the poor guy was sold for cheap without checking out the buyers. And then they sold him to PetCo. She couldn't do anything about it.

That makes me sadder, still. And he's quite attached to my fiance. (We go to the PetCo quite often to get food for our dog, cat, and fish).

Now, mine is a very different situation, though. We have no bird rescues after Katrina and very few breeders down here. If we qualified for a rescue, I wouldn't even consider PetCo.

[MicahEspudo]

Yeah... I got my first P'let from petco... partly because I didn't know any better and partly because I was impatient and all the good breeders were out of them! Now I don't know if I am willing to buy from them again! On the plus side Tiko is a great bird!!!
THERE is a bird fair coming up soon (that I will be attending) so we'll see what happens... last time I went and the had amazing deals like you could get a green cheeked conure for $50... and a Jenday for $200 from really GREAT breeders (but I got BElla :]) she was a GREAT deal also (a blue pacific parrotlet for $40)!!!!!
So thats probably where my next fid will come from... anyone else going to the fair in san diego?

[Lotis9]

I would rescue in the case of it being a rescue. I posted elsewhere about this because I was a bit perplexed. I wanted to buy...okay now it has been more than once...birds I have seen in Petco because I worry about them. ANYBODY can walk into a petstore and buy whatever they want no matter what. So I think, wow someone might buy this bird who's perfect for them...both of my boys are from pet stores...but then again someone who thinks they would look cool in their office or living room could buy them.

Plus since I have my own small flock at home I have to always have their safety in mind: could the Petco bird be sick as I have heard they often are? How would I quarantine it if I decided to "rescue" it? (yes I have been thinking these things when I go to Petco.) Would they all get along? Would I stress the new guy out more or my guys at home (especially since I have a CAG and Umbrella at home and the guys at Petco are small)?

But if it was a serious serious case of rescue me please!!!!! NOW! I would do it and find a way to quarantine it and take all the necessary precautions. So again in short, I would "rescue" a Petco bird, but there are many things to consider.

Given that, this is why I am confronting Petco as a whole about the issue of their bird care.

[StillSearching]

I haven't had a bad experience with Petco. My sun conure came from there. All the birds looked healthy and alert and social. The room was clean and temp controled. They had at least 3-5 toys in each cage. The person I worked with said they're given fresh food and played with every morning. One guy was holding Eli on his back and rubbing his belly......

[I would rather adopt (all 4 of my cats are rescues), but I'm not too thrilled with the bird rescue places here. One never got back to me, one won't let me adopt because I have cats. The next closest wants me to spend 6 months with bird at the shelter first....and that's a 6-hour round-trip every time.]

[Bela]

This is how I got Romeo the Budgie. He was in the big flight cage with everyone else and I brought it to the attention of the manager that he may not be well. He was huddled on the floor by himself all fluffed up shaking. She shrugged it off and said thank you, they'll watch him - but that was all.

I couldn't let this beautiful bird die because the woman was an idiot. Some meds and he was fine.