We have been successfully breeding and breeding parrots for over 20 years. We have seen and experienced quite a few changes and improvements during this time. With technology and welfare but in the understanding of keeping birds as pets. This includes all the species of parrots, including macaws, cockatoos, African and timneh grey parrots, amazon birds, Pionus parrots, and conures.
These beautiful creatures can undoubtedly be the joy ever, but in some cases, if the drastically wrong decision is made, the jernbane of your life.
If we were to order a parrot today, these are several things that we would want to know and many of the questions we would possibly be asking before we determine ourselves to a purchase.
In the beginning, we would look for a parrot stock breeder. These can be found through advice from friends or your regional avian vet. You can also find commercials in parrot and pet publications, and many breeders have their websites.
As with all things, you can find excellent and lousy parrot breeders close by. So how do you try to ensure you have realized a good one?
Here are a few of the concerns that we would ask the particular parrot breeder if we have been thinking of purchasing a parrot from their store.
Do you own the parents?
This will explain if they buy the chicks with or hand rear parrots for someone else. Either way, this can be a hazardous thing to do. Birds reared together from multiple methods can risk infections from disease, bacteria, and viruses.
How long have you been propagation?
Preferably choose someone who has practical experience.
How do you raise your toddlers
Individually or together
You’ll want to have a baby reared with others as it will probably think of itself as a rooster and have less potential for behavioral problems than a bird reared alone.
How do you take care of them?
Tube, gavage, syringe, spoon. It is a matter of decision, which you consider most suitable, but for put, a tube, as well as gavage directly into the toddler’s crop, is in our view not one of choice.
What do you wean them on
Berries, vegetables, soaked seeds, and pulses are the answer we might be looking for. However, many individuals nowadays use complete foods; we prefer a more normal diet.
Do you let them move before they are weaned?
The response to this should always be no. Specifically to someone with no connection with parrots. People often say it will connect better if you hand nourish it. This is simply not the truth and to wean one infant on its own is no straightforward activity.
What backup service can you offer?
They should always be there to help you should you have a query or trouble. Avoid anyone who just simply wants to wash their hands and fingers of the baby when it leaves them.
Are the baby birds rung or micro-cracked?
All baby parrots ought to have some form of identification. We have acquired problems with ringing in the past, and we no longer use this method. Most of us use microchipping as a technique to identification for all of our babies. We feel that this approach is much safer and more appropriate. If you purchase a rung bird, pay very close to the ring. If it is also tight, it can become embedded inside the skin, and if it is also loose, it can get caught in toys. Sometimes if you have two or more parrots together, they can take each other’s rungs and squash them onto their legs, cutting off blood circulation.
Can I contact any prior customers?
Again this should end up being offered by any breeder to some potential customer.
Do you have a bird vet?
This is a must for all bird breeders; they are invaluable.
Do you give a written health warranty
If the answer to this one isn’t, walk away
Do you have a longing list for your babies
All over again, the sign of an excellent, reputable breeder.
Can we browse the baby
If the answer isn’t, again, walk away.
Can we look at parents?
This is sometimes complicated as they may be in a propagation situation, or the breeder could be concerned about theft. The real motive you are asking this concern is to determine if they get bred the babies themselves. Many people buy in offspring or babies from other options and rear them to offer. These are not breeders. This practice can be fraught together with problems, like disease, illness, viruses, and bacteria, that may occur when birds are usually purchased from various sources. It only takes one to be infected, possibly, and this will taint all other birds inside the nursery.
What information do these cards supply you with when you purchase the baby bird?
The least you should have is a qualification of the hatch. Ideally, you will have a sample of the food the parrot is used to feeding on and some notes on how to nurture your new baby parrot. Any recommendation about the size of competition the bird’s needs and another suitable for the bird to get transported in. A list of customer questions and answers for you to check out, especially if this is your first bird, and most importantly, any written health guarantee and complete after-sales services.
This may seem like a lot of concerns but remember, this bird is made for life, and life to get a parrot should be a very long time. You should try and ensure that you get it properly and make the correct decision the 1st time. The answer to these issues will vary from breeder to help breeder, but any pup breeder should be able to answer the presents without hesitation confidently. The highly regarded breeder should also be asking questions, things like…
How much exploration have you done into the variety you are interested in buying?
What are your requirements for selecting the species of bird you are interested in buying?
What are your conditions? For example, do you reside in a flat or a house?
Have you got near neighbors where the sounds may be a potential problem?
Is there an area large enough to house in a situation of a suitable size?
How long15411 can you spend with your pet bird?
Do you intend your pet bird to live with you as part of the household?
How much time will he expend in the cage on his own?
Precisely what are you expecting from the bird?
Have you considered all the potential troubles you may have with the species of bird you have enquired about?
Maybe you have located your nearest bird vet.
A good breeder would be wise to give you help and advice on your number of species and not just sell anyone what they have available. They should inform you on what species is best for your situation. If they never breed that species, they can often recommend a dog breeder.
We can not stress enough how important it is to do plenty of research before you decide to purchase a parrot.
Obtain the correct species for your scenario.
Know how wonderful they may be as pets and the actual behavioral problems that can occur.
Understand where you can get good advice through people who already have experience of which species as a pet.
Read also: 6 Most Standard Pets In New Zealand (2022 Overview)