Just a plea to everyone to please think about getting your budgies from a breeder unless you know the pet store really well, there seem to have been so many sad losses recently and many from pet shops. These stores need to be given a wake up call in my opinion. I don't know if people have the equivalent to the R.S.P.C.A. in Britain but I wonder if they should be notified where we see a problem?

 

Julie

yah its just that i dont think the humane society would do anything - the birds in the sotres near me dont look sick, its later on (after the 14 day return) that the internal stuff shows up. my pastel was sick from the first day we got her, but nothing showed up on the first check on any of the tests (and we did LOTS)

its really strange that i should read this thread Julie. I lost my budgie a week ago and i was hunting high and low for it. I went in every shop and every garden with an aviary. I came across a local pet store in my town and went in to ask if he had seen a budgie flying about or if anyone had handed one in. He said he hadn't. I asked if i could go and view the budgies he had as i was really missing my Rocky. I really wish i hadn't gone in. The budgies were crammed into a small cage and i'm not exagerating when i say that you could not have fit one more budgie on the perch. The food bowls were on the floor of the cage full on bird poo. But worse there were two budgies dead on the floor of the cage and other budgies were eating them. The head of one budgie was gone completly so that shows that they hadn't been looked at for a while. I was nearly sick. I went straight out the shop without a word to the owner (i couldn't even look at him). When i got home i rang the RSPCA and they sent an officer around within half an hour. I'm not sure what happened and i shall never return to that shop again. There were all sorts of birds in there besides budgies and they all looked very ill and the cages were so small. Its disgusting to think that that is just one shop and that there must hbe hundreds around the country.

needless to say i got Rocky (the budgie i lost) from a breeder and my new one who i collect tomorrow is from the same breeder. He will in fact be rockys brother.

Well done you for doing that for the budgies-what a good job you went in. Those poor birds.

 

I'm sorry you've had no success finding Rocky,but how strange that by losing him you have probably saved such a lot of birds any more horror.

 

I wish you MUCH happiness with your new little friend and I can't wait to hear all about him!

 

Julie

thankyou. Only one more sleep and i'll be meeting my new friend. I can't wait. I'll send you piccys as soon as i can. You are all very kind and i got some really lovely messages on my lost thread!

Until you have owned a budgie you cannot even begin to imagine how attached you can become.

OMG, it is not fit to print what I think of that pet store!!! That just makes me sick. I know you wish you hadn't gone in, but it was a good thing you did. I'm sure something had to be done about it after the RSPCA visited. Good for you for calling someone about them, places like that should be shut down and those resposible for allowing that kind of deplorable treatment should be locked up. Hopefully those poor birds and the rest of the animals will now have a better chance.

Hi Rainbow,I'm guessing from the posts that there seems to be a shortage of breeders in U.S. and Australia,that isn't the case so much over here,it's quite easily to access good breeders.

Julie

 

p.s. How's rainbow doing?

Shortage in Austraila?

 

No one seams to want budgies where I live. There seams to be to many and people arent buying!

 

Many breeders I know can't get rid of their birds.

(Laughing out loud) you should move over here near me that way i can get good quality birds that would make me happy.

 

and yes i have noticed a shortage in the us - everyone i talk to cant find one, and if they can, most arent very good. i bet they're still better than petshops though.

I do believe or ive heard that your not alowed to export budgies out of Australia anymore. Not sure if thats correct, but I have heard that.

I can tell you this:

Breeders in Australia give all their problem budgies to petshops.

If you want HQ budgies, breeders the only way to go. (applies for Australia, not sure for other places)

Breeders in Australia give all their problem budgies to petshops.

wow adam that's the first time I've hear (read) it stated so simply.

 

Only the week after I started to try and breed my two did I find my own home town breeder society. And they only meet the second week of each month which had just past. But at least I got a couple of numbers and names so I can visit them the next time I need a new buddy (or a few)

 

oh and what does HQ stand for? If it was TQ I would guess Top Quality.

 

As to budgeover's experience well it's was a blessing to all the serviouring budgies and the other animals there that you had to go through that. I just wonder how many others walked into that place and thought nothing of it, or even the ones that left but then did nothing.

Edited November 14, 200420 yr by nerwen

I do believe or ive heard that your not alowed to export budgies out of Australia anymore. Not sure if thats correct, but I have heard that.

I can tell you this:

Breeders in Australia give all their problem budgies to petshops.

Or their sick ones

 

I'm getting my new one either this week or in three weeks *bounce*

Yes, sick to in some cases.

 

HQ- High Quality

PD- Pedegree

 

Well, you think about it nerwen, the ones you buy from the petshops usually dont breed well (even at all!) and have other problems. Why would breeders give their good show budgies away for cheap prices in petshops?

 

Im in the breeding game, and how we do it is to either get rid of budgies or remove problem ones. The petshops pay a small fee for our birds.

Breeders here do sell their young that aren't suitable for showing but it would be very unusual to find one who knowingly would sell you a sick or very 'poor'bird I'm sure.

I got my two that way(just not show atandard).

Julie

p.s. It seems to me that there is a gap in the market in America.Would you breeders who are there not be interested in setting something up to provide quality birds for people?

Edited November 14, 200420 yr by Julie

Petshops over here, or the one i went to, would buy birds off anyone and everyone who would come in and want to sell them... years ago my parents even sold them some birds and they werent proper breeders. This was a loooong time ago though, but the amount of stock they have and the number of ill birds we see, i wouldnt be surprised if similar things happen now.

augh yes i think thats what the petsmart near me does. either that or somewhere there is an aviary where the budgies just breed with whoever... like self polination in plants - anyone in that group can mate with anyone in that group, and no one interferes.

Yes Adam it makes perfect sence and I'm sure I knew that somewere in this brain of mind just never put two and two together.

 

Is the show breeders only want to to keep the ones they will use and need to empty the pens for furture breeding. I never tought anyone could make a living out of breeding budgies just for pet shops.

 

I know now that the next bird I'm getting will be from a breeder, one becuase I see knew it will be the heathest one I can get and two I want to know the hidden genes in the bird to match well with the baby I keep. (Yes I plan to continue wthis breeding thing, having been bitten and all)

(Laughing out loud) nerwen. way to persevere! im getting my next one from a breeder... im thinking a pied...

Before all my eggs hatched and I realized I was keeping all the babies, I went around and asked at a few pet stores and only found one that said they would take the babies. They would rather get their birds from whatever source they currently use. It is sad that so many pet shop budgies have so many problems, but not all of it unfortunately can be contributed to their care or lack of it. Much of the problems I am finding out are due to inbreeding to get the color mutations.

In Rhode Island - USA - The pet stores can only sell you birds they obtain from registered breeders. The original intent of the law was to prevent budgies escaping and assimilating into the wild (ha! - try that with our two feet of snow).

 

In fact there is some basis for the fear - further south in Central Park NY there is a feral flock of 20-30 that has survived for the last 10 years +

 

I'm sure some stores take birds through the back door and fake the rings - enforcement and penalties are not exactly strict.

 

But I digress.

 

I think that many pet stores are borderline about how they care for birds. Many feel they have to treat stock as a commodity that quickly makes money and turns over. Care costs money - and is minimal. In a typical deal the bird is $16 and "free' with any cage valued at $29 or more (you can guess how "big" the cage is at that price!). Not much room for margin there. Different with a $1000 parrot - but a $16 budgie?

 

More enlightened stores (and we have one in town) are more of the Mom and Pop shop type. Selling a healthy bird is a priority because if you are happy with the bird - you will be happy with the store and come back for the items they really make the money on - toys, mirrors, perches, bells and food. Our local store keeps the birds in a flock of 30+ in a large open pen, the pen is immaculate, cleaned daily, with clean water, fresh food and a happy healthy looking flock. Interestingly their biggest fear is the new intake from the breeder. They always lose a couple just after they arrive - be it stress of travel (and it was not far) or perhaps they some were too young to leave the breeder or perhaps they were sick. And if they were sick - it might pass to the remaining stock in the pen. As to taking bird through the back door......PRofit Margin wipe out......

 

And that begs an interesting question. Who says the breeder is necessarily the holy of holies? Locally here they are out to make money. Fast breeding and out to the pet store as fast as is reasonable. Obviously avoid too much in-breeding but who is to say the record keeping is immaculate?

 

When you have no choice - you may have to go with a pet store. At that point - if you can - it pays to visit as many as you can manage and strike up a rapport with the owners. Find out their philosophy (which obviously has to include making money) and get comfortable with them. Then decide where to buy.

 

YES - it is sad when a bird dies just after acquisition but remember if the store is losing 1 in 10 - how many did the breeder lose? And in the wild? - I bet 50% plus die before 10 weeks.

Here were I live I know of 1 breeder(that doest suply petshops)

 

His birds are keept in bad conditions, the aviary could be cleaned out a bit more, and he has too many budgies. Most of his birds are sick, and VERY bad tempred! I was going to get a bird from him but as soon as I saw how they were kept there was no way i was goin to! I happened to go to the vet a few days later and I met a guy who had got 4 budgies for his avairy as a present--from the breeder! They ALL had.. scaly foot i think it's called-and some other things too. 3 died, and the other one was put down.

 

The petshops how ever are great!

One has about 20 large cages with about 5 budgies in each. I got Alfie from there and have never had any problmes. I also got my old budgies Spyro and cloud from there and they were healthy too.

 

The second one has a massive glass tank with a bar roof, and it has gum tree brances and stuff in it...they do have sawdust on the floor though(bad for rats I know, but not sure about budgies) They only ever have about 10 maybe 15 budgies?

 

They both get thier birds from private breeders

 

So it depends really.

Im scared now! I brought Bailey from a pet shop:(

He is a very happy, healthy bird though.. I hope he stays like that!

Mostly pet shops are bad and breeders good, but there are always exceptions to every rule. Sounds like you got a good pet shop, make sure you let them know how much you appreciate seeing their animals looked after like that. Some breeders are appalling, so you can't always say you will get a healthy bird from a breeder.

I am pretty unsuccessful at finding breeders around here, but there are a couple of really nice bird stores in the area where I get food and supplies, and I've looked at their birds, and they seem to have happy, healthy budgies. I've seen a lot of pet stores in my travels that do not have healthy budgies. It seems bird- exclusive or specialized stores have the best birds, although I've seen some pet stores that are better then some bird stores. I guess there are exceptions.