GCC - Purchasing Strategies

[kiwiS]

I hear this breeder is good - she has a lot of videos of her babies and seems to socialize them very well, and get them started on a flight suit for you, if you are interested in that.

I've emailed with her a couple of times and she seems really nice and informed, and not pushy or shady. I really liked her, and if I didn't have Kiwi and wanted a conure I would of gotten one from her!

parrots for sale in arizona, Pionus for sale. Eclectus, african grey, Gouldian finch for sale,  African Grey, Eclectus, baby parrot

 

[MangieSun]

If you are considering any other species, you could check out the breeders I got my bare eyed from. They are excellent and so so helpful. I was lucky that they are actually right up the hill from me so I got to pick up my little guy, but they also ship. I know they do caiques, rose breasted and larger toos, eclectus. Google eggsotic parroting to find them. They are in Northern California. Couldn't ask for nicer guys and they adore their "babies" so much.

 

[Kisota]

I hear this breeder is good - she has a lot of videos of her babies and seems to socialize them very well, and get them started on a flight suit for you, if you are interested in that.

I've emailed with her a couple of times and she seems really nice and informed, and not pushy or shady. I really liked her, and if I didn't have Kiwi and wanted a conure I would of gotten one from her!

Haha, I followed your link and immediately recognized the website! I'd actually been kind of looking at that breeder, but hadn't seriously considered her yet because I wasn't yet thinking of buying from a distant breeder.

She really does seem pretty amazing. I was looking through the recommendations/reviews just now. Wow. I might have to shoot her an email and try to see if a YS male might be in the future. I'll bet she has crazy long wait lists for babies.

If you are considering any other species, you could check out the breeders I got my bare eyed from. They are excellent and so so helpful. I was lucky that they are actually right up the hill from me so I got to pick up my little guy, but they also ship. I know they do caiques, rose breasted and larger toos, eclectus. Google eggsotic parroting to find them. They are in Northern California. Couldn't ask for nicer guys and they adore their "babies" so much.

Another great looking breeder! Wow! I was thinking about caiques but am trying to steer way from them (easier said than done... they're so cute)... otherwise, the only birds they breed I might consider at this point are the pionus. Thanks, though. I will definitely keep them in mind.

Got a lot of work to do looking at this stuff! I haven't gotten responses from the local breeders lately. Frustrating! Might be time to start messaging these more distant breeders and seeing what's up.

 

[Peeko]

Another distant breeder that comes very highly recommended is this one :3
Rainbow Parrots! Hand Fed Parrots -- Georgia Pet Parrots

 

[witchbaby]

Honestly, I don't think you need to wait for the "click" to come around in order to have a great relationship with your bird. A lot of it comes down to how you train them and, just as riddick pointed out, how much effort you put into building the relationship. Especially when they're babies and their personalities are still developing. Just make sure the breeder you're considering has spent a lot of time socializing the babies. Check out some of Rita Garris's videos on youtube and you'll see what I'm talking about. I think you should go with the color mutation of your choice. You'll have a fantastic time getting to know your baby when the time comes.

 

[MangieSun]

I think that as long as you know your breeder socialized and spent a lot of time with the baby, you'll click soon after your little one settles in. It's kind of a labor of love that doesn't seem to pay off immediately with a shy baby, but happens so quickly with the young ones. I don't think you'll have a problem falling quickly in love with a baby and he with you even if you haven't met before.

 

[Kisota]

Thank you so much for the support and thoughts, everybody!! I'm feeling more positive about all this already.

I've been absolutely crazy busy for the last week or so, but I'm hoping soon (maybe today??) I'll be able to start listing breeders I'm going to contact as well as getting some more accurate pricing estimates.

I'm still annoyed that the breeder in town has stopped responding to my emails. Not sure what to make of that, since they used to respond pretty quickly.

It's nice to feel like I have some open opportunities to try now, instead of waiting in frustration hoping a bird fair will have what I want or I'll just happen to come across what I'm looking for. It was starting to look like this just wasn't going to work out at all. It's hard finding local breeders that also have what you're looking for and when! I'll keep you all updated.

(And whenever I get my chick, whether it's in the next month or two or not until summer, I am definitely planning on a photo/vid bombardment, so look forward to that!! <3 <3)

 

[Kisota]

(Sorry for double post!!)

I just wanted to thank you guys again for giving me the confidence to expand my bird search a little bit.

I emailed about 8 or 9 different breeders all over the country a while back and got a lot of friendly responses. But it looks like I'm going to put down a deposit with Pampered Peeps! After looking at all these great breeders, I kept coming back to their website and just being blown away with how transparent they are with their methods. Really just impressive. And a small breeder, so much more time to socialize the babies. That's DEFINITELY what I'm looking for.

I emailed her just now saying I would be sending a money order. I'm going to try to pick up a money order tomorrow to send it off ASAP. SO excited, guys. SO VERY EXCITED. She does the DNA sexing in a really generous way, too. You pay $25 and she takes her best guess at which one is the sex you want and gets that one DNA tested. If she's wrong she pays for more to be sexed until she finds one that's what you want. VERY generous.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know. I'll keep you updated!! Crossing my fingers that one of the babies she has now will be male! If not, there are some eggs getting ready-ish to hatch!! :>

 

[MangieSun]

Yay. I'm glad you found a breeder you are comfortable with! I'll be keeping an eye out for an update. I'm excited for you!

 

[Love_Fern]

"I am getting tired of second-guessing myself, looking at poicephalus and everything, so I need to hear even more about the awesomeness of these little conures... need to convince myself even further that YES, these are the ultimate choice. )"

^When you say "second guessing", maybe it is the commitment of a bird and over thinking your fear of making sure its the right one. Or simply you just have not found your one. I don't know, I am just throwing out ideas. I know when I bought Fern I felt nervous about the commitment but I KNEW she was the one.I held every baby bird of two different species even though I went to look at one particular species-cockatiel. I wasnt even thinking of GCC. When I held Fern, she melted into me, she wanted to stay with me and all the others didnt. She won me over and I came home with a totally different bird than I set out to buy that day. I feel like you will "know" when it is right..but really pay close attention to those subtle clues. Good Luck!

 

[Love_Fern]

Another distant breeder that comes very highly recommended is this one :3
Rainbow Parrots! Hand Fed Parrots -- Georgia Pet Parrots

If her name is Rita, she has videos on youtube. She handles her babies all the time and they get used to human touch from day one. She is an awesome breeder.

updated: I just checked and it is Rita, I would highly recommend her -watch her videos and how she interacts with her baby birds.

 

[Kisota]

"I am getting tired of second-guessing myself, looking at poicephalus and everything, so I need to hear even more about the awesomeness of these little conures... need to convince myself even further that YES, these are the ultimate choice. )"

^When you say "second guessing", maybe it is the commitment of a bird and over thinking your fear of making sure its the right one. Or simply you just have not found your one. I don't know, I am just throwing out ideas. I know when I bought Fern I felt nervous about the commitment but I KNEW she was the one.I held every baby bird of two different species even though I went to look at one particular species-cockatiel. I wasnt even thinking of GCC. When I held Fern, she melted into me, she wanted to stay with me and all the others didnt. She won me over and I came home with a totally different bird than I set out to buy that day. I feel like you will "know" when it is right..but really pay close attention to those subtle clues. Good Luck!

Yup, for me it's less about the commitment of getting a bird. I've had one before (although, she was a cockatiel which is kind of like a parrot on Easy Mode, so there's that). But I've been eager for the challenge and reward of parrot keeping. I really have missed it. I have been a wee bit worried about how my boyfriend felt about it, but he's definitely on board now. In fact, he is having a way better time coming up with names than I am.

It was mostly just that once I knew I was going to do this I was overwhelmed with the options. It IS a big commitment, so you want to choose the RIGHT one. Green cheeks were my first go-to, but then I started wondering, are they too nippy and erratic? What about a calmer bird? What about something a little bigger and hardier (I really like birds in the poi/caique/larger conure size range). I even looked at Hahn's macaws. Talk about cute!!

I'm still kind of in love with caiques, larger conures, and red-bellied parrots. But noise and energy level mean the first two aren't a good option right now. And red-bellies are just plain hard to find! I think a green cheek is going to be a good fit. I was just oggling the cutest little yellow-sided in a new pet store in town the other day. GORGEOUS colors, just perfect. And such a perky little guy. It's going to be great. And hey, if it turns out really well, maybe there could be room for another bird someday. I could even consider rescue once I feel practiced enough with birds. Or maybe I won't ever feel like I need another bird as long as I have this one.

I'm pretty happy with the decision. I think really maybe there wasn't a "best" choice. It will depend on the individual bird, but I think a green cheek from Pampered Peeps is a really great choice, at least!

And actually, I had contacted Rita Garris. I have watched the heck out of her videos during my search! SO cute. And I love that she's licensed and D.A. inspected. Her availability wasn't as good, though. But she would definitely be a good choice as well.

I'm so stoked, though. Beth at Pampered Peeps weans babies on such a great variety of food, works on socialization, and even starts flight suit training! Just a wonderful choice for me. My deposit has been sent in, but it looks like I'll have to wait until the next clutch hatches!

 

[Misty15]

Ha! its funny that you finally went for pampered peeps. I am too. I will be sending a deposit in within days. I love how she raises her birds!!

 

[ZephyrFly]

From reading these tales I think I may have missed out.
There's only 1 breeder near me, and by near I mean within 2 hours. Not many options for me by they are are a lovely small breeder.
The first time I visited them they brought out their young birds (they've since been sold and I wasn't at the time ready/in a situation to jump in), and one of these little guys as soon as they were brought over jumped on my head and that is where he stayed until they were put away. Even when his friend came over to kick him off, they squabbled on my head (so cute and funny for something I couldn't see) and the first little guy still won.

 

[weco]

From reading these tales I think I may have missed out.
There's only 1 breeder near me, and by near I mean within 2 hours. Not many options for me by they are are a lovely small breeder.
The first time I visited them they brought out their young birds (they've since been sold and I wasn't at the time ready/in a situation to jump in), and one of these little guys as soon as they were brought over jumped on my head and that is where he stayed until they were put away. Even when his friend came over to kick him off, they squabbled on my head (so cute and funny for something I couldn't see) and the first little guy still won.

Be careful, that's how a lot of us caught the MBC affliction, thinking we missed out; made a mistake; and/or felt "I've got room for one more..."

The problem is we've not found a cure yet.....

 

[ZephyrFly]

Weco, what does MCB mean?

Is there a page somewhere with abbreviations and meanings? I see a lot of them on parrotforums.com but I have no clue what most mean.

 

[weco]

Weco, what does MCB mean?

Is there a page somewhere with abbreviations and meanings? I see a lot of them on parrotforums.com but I have no clue what most mean.

Hmm, guess I need a new pair of glasses or should start proofing my writings.....sorry, MBC is the acronym for Maroon Bellied Conure, however what I intended to write was MBS (multiple bird syndrome) and affliction that has affected those of us who thought "I need just one more."

Sorry.....

 

[ZephyrFly]

OK I found abbreviations, affliction? You mean how MBC are sometime mistaken for GCC?

Edit: saw the reply right after I posted this the first time, I see what you mean though. But I have no birds yet so I'm not worried about MBS yet anyway. I'd just like to have a nice little GCC for my boyfriend and I. Doesn't have to be cuddly but that would be nice.