ArcticRain
New member
So, today I drove all around my town and surrounding areas gathering up all the supplies for the new Cockatiel I'm planning on bringing home sometime next week. While looking around the Petco, Petsmart, and all the local pet shops we have around here I was appalled by the condition of the birds they sold.
At one pet shop I went to the birds were kept in a glass box with no perches to stand on, no toys, no water source of any kind and all they had to walk on was shredded up newspaper! At least the other places kept them in actual cages! All the birds they had; Tiels in particular were either wheezing, had discharge coming from their eyes or nose, or had lost almost all the feathers on their backs or wings. Safe to say I won't be buying a bird from them!
At the other local pet shop the birds; although in better condition. Seemed as though they had never been handled and had no interest in anything, all they did was sit in their cages. They had no toys in their cages and the only enjoyment they seemed to be having was pulling out all the feather on their backs and beating up their cage mates! Also, the cage it's self looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in weeks! Even though these birds looked a bit healthier, I still will not be buying a bird from them.
The only other place that had Tiels for sale was Petco. I was actually very surprised by the condition of all the birds they sold. They all looked very healthy but, they were all extremely over priced. For me at least; one cockatiel cost over $150!
So, having gone through this eye-opening adventure I have started looking at craigslist and things like that to see if anyone is selling a reasonably priced bird. Thankfully, I found a couple of options! But, seeing the condition of all the birds today I am really worried that I will get a unhealthy and un-socialized bird. Which brings me to my questions!
What are the signs to look for to make sure that the bird is healthy? What should I watch out for when looking at adds and contacting sellers to make sure that the people are legitimate and not trying to scam me into buying a mean or un-socialized bird? Is there anything thing else I should look out for?
Sorry, for such a long post and sorry about throwing that little rant in there. I was just shocked at how uncared for all the animals were. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Thanks for all your help!!
At one pet shop I went to the birds were kept in a glass box with no perches to stand on, no toys, no water source of any kind and all they had to walk on was shredded up newspaper! At least the other places kept them in actual cages! All the birds they had; Tiels in particular were either wheezing, had discharge coming from their eyes or nose, or had lost almost all the feathers on their backs or wings. Safe to say I won't be buying a bird from them!
At the other local pet shop the birds; although in better condition. Seemed as though they had never been handled and had no interest in anything, all they did was sit in their cages. They had no toys in their cages and the only enjoyment they seemed to be having was pulling out all the feather on their backs and beating up their cage mates! Also, the cage it's self looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in weeks! Even though these birds looked a bit healthier, I still will not be buying a bird from them.
The only other place that had Tiels for sale was Petco. I was actually very surprised by the condition of all the birds they sold. They all looked very healthy but, they were all extremely over priced. For me at least; one cockatiel cost over $150!
So, having gone through this eye-opening adventure I have started looking at craigslist and things like that to see if anyone is selling a reasonably priced bird. Thankfully, I found a couple of options! But, seeing the condition of all the birds today I am really worried that I will get a unhealthy and un-socialized bird. Which brings me to my questions!
What are the signs to look for to make sure that the bird is healthy? What should I watch out for when looking at adds and contacting sellers to make sure that the people are legitimate and not trying to scam me into buying a mean or un-socialized bird? Is there anything thing else I should look out for?
Sorry, for such a long post and sorry about throwing that little rant in there. I was just shocked at how uncared for all the animals were. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Thanks for all your help!!
