Buying a bird out of state & then shipping?

[Dusty73085]

In my continuing quest to find a baby GCC, I have found that most breeders around me either cannot answer emails or don’t answer their phones. OR, they can answer a few emails…and then no more after that and don’t answer their phones!

Also, I am having a hard time finding GCC breeders in general, so if anyone knows of breeders in Southern California with available GCC babies, please PM me their information. I have been looking nonstop for breeders in my area for about a month and its been hard finding any. Im getting pretty discouraged and I need a little help.

The one breeder I did get a hold of…and she is super nice, but only has 6-8 month olds that live in an outdoor aviary (they are socialized and tame…well, if you want to read about why Im iffy getting one of her birds read here ->LINK )

SO, now I am looking at the possibility of getting a bird shipped from a breeder that is outside of my drivable range.

Im a little nervous about this idea, as I kinda wanted to see the bird in person and interact with it first to make sure we are a good match.

Has anyone ever gotten a bird shipped from a breeder before?

Im sure if I find a reputable breeder, it should be no problem.

But, how do I go about doing so? How does it usually work in this situation? What do you ask of a breeder who is shipping a bird for you?

For sure I would ask for pictures, but what else?

It feels like this is currently my only option, seeing as out of the 5ish breeders I have tried to contact only one emailed me a few times, and then I never heard from her again (I have sent 2 unanswered emails and left a voice mail with 2 phone numbers and made many unanswered calls with-in the span of 2 weeks) and the other has older birds. There were a few others that emailed me back letting me know they did not have any available GCCs, but to contact them again at the beginning of the year.

So, what do I do? Find a breeder that will ship? Or wait to hear from those I have already tried to contact…or just wait until next years babies are hatched (4-5 months)?

:(

Dusty

[FoxersArtist]

My biggest concern here is whether or not the bird will like you once he or she arrives. Even babies have preferances and it is best to find one that you know will get along well in your family. When you buy out of state from a breeder, you get the luck of the draw. We adopt some of our birds outof state but usually they have to be really good natured birds who have a high chance of liking nearly anyone or have special needs that we know will be met in a new home. CA is a big breeding state for parrots and green cheeks are really common...I would think there has to be a breeder there somewhere. Do you get bird talk magazine or another pet bird magainze that might advertise breeders in your area?
-Anna

[Greycloud]

Did you ever go to see the aviary birds. They are still quite young. I have had birds shipped before. The breeder makes the arrangements. You are responsible for the cost of the crate and the shipping. If the bird is coming from another state and they have cold winters, besure to have shipping done before it is to cold.

[debbielabella]

I wouldn't worry about the age of the aviary birds, they're still young and in an aviary so are living the good life. It's so much nicer to meet your bird in person if at all possible. I've shipped before, Tiki, my zon, who really loves my son. I always have better luck when I pick them out in person, or well.. they pick me in person.

[Dusty73085]

Thank you so much everyone for the comments. :)

Guess who called me not even an hour after I posted this? The lady with the babies that I havent heard from in 2 weeks. She has 3 Pineapples that are currently being weaned. One, she is willing to give to me for free because it was born missing an eye. She said she just wants it to go to a good home and if I was interested, I could have him/her.

She also has a partner breeder who is pretty close to me that just had a clutch of regular GCCs hatch. So, once they are a little older, I can go and see them. (if I dont find one before then)

I made an appointment to go and see the younger birds on Saturday, and I am planning on going to see the aviary birds on Sunday.

Crazy how it all hits at once! Wish me luck!

Dusty

[Beardiedawg]

I'd make a visit to see the one eyed one. I'm a sucker for the needy ones.

[Dusty73085]

Originally Posted by Beardiedawg

I'd make a visit to see the one eyed one. I'm a sucker for the needy ones.

Ill be seeing him/her on Saturday. :)
I figure if he/she chooses me I just HAVE to name it Jack. How could I not?!

[Maggie F.]

I know someone with a one-eyed tiel. He doesn't know he's handicapped, but they keep his wings clipped because to fly, he holds his head funny and ends up flying in circles. Good luck to you.

[Greycloud]

I see a tiny eye patch in your future!

[perchingbird]

Oh, good. :)

I'm in So Cal as well, and I had the SAME problem as you. I only found 2 breeders in the area. One was EMR Exotics, whom my vet had never heard of, and even though she got great ratings and seemed nice, I had a "weird" feeling about the whole thing. She was a little slow to respond, but was honest and up front which I liked. She didn't have any socialized babies when I was looking. I was more concerned that an outside aviary bird might not adjust as quickly to a wing-clipped house bird as I'd like, and having just lost my sun I needed an adorable squishy lovey baby. :) The other breeder never called back or responded. His website also seemed more focused on making cool color mutations than giving any info on socializing.

I ended up buying Kit from a small in-the-home breeder from Missouri (kountryconures.com). Kit was very stand-offish the first week, but now she's quite a lovely little thing. She won't roll on her back or climb into things, but she plays, loves scritches, is largely fearless of household things, and is (maybe) responding to clicker training. After you pay the airline fees, shipping a baby will cost close to what you'd pay in a local pet store, but the baby's history is more known.

Beth at pamperedpeeps.com ships a lot of her babies, and there's quite a collection of Peep GCC owners on this board. :D

I don't have my "list of questions for the breeder" handy at the moment, but if you end up not getting one of those pineapples, post back in here and I'll put up some links. pamperedpeeps.com has a list of good questions, as do some other sites.