How much would you pay for a rehome bird?

[shinyuankuo]

Hi guys,
I have encountered a perfectly healthy male Eclectus who is in need of a home. He is 9 years old, just the right age that I’m hoping for. Still young but past teenage days. He is very socialized, diaper trained (like of like a flightsuit), and vet proved healthy. He is even on a good diet. He is staying at a very reputable parrot shop/breeder for now. But the rehoming family is asking for almost 3k.
I am tempted, but I don’t know if I should. Plus, I am scheduled to leave the country during Christmas. If I pull the trigger, I will have to scramble to find a pet sitter.
Advice?

 

[ParrotGenie]

Hi guys,
I have encountered a perfectly healthy male Eclectus who is in need of a home. He is 9 years old, just the right age that I’m hoping for. Still young but past teenage days. He is very socialized, diaper trained (like of like a flightsuit), and vet proved healthy. He is even on a good diet. He is staying at a very reputable parrot shop/breeder for now. But the rehoming family is asking for almost 3k.
I am tempted, but I don’t know if I should. Plus, I am scheduled to leave the country during Christmas. If I pull the trigger, I will have to scramble to find a pet sitter.
Advice?

I won't go higher then $1200 and if you find one at a rescue they go for much less as see them always undercutting each other and usually see $2300 with transport costs. It also depends on what species Eclectus? Breeders online sell for around $2600 max and doubt they get that, they usually take about $1800 for a baby in my area. Asking 3k sounds like bird flippers, or very out of touch with current market prices? I would verify all paperwork and etc and don't take them for word of mouth. Flippers know how to use right keywords to sell parrots and will lie. I would check a reputable bird rescue first, since you are looking for a teenager/adult, which is there best age as they get over the puberty stages. Tons of parrots needing a go to a good home and then you can also get a feel for what involve, loudness and if the bird you pick and you will get along. Birds tend to pick you, not the other way around.

If you going out of town and don't have time, I would just hold off and wait. Parrots need tons of attention a day and sure never be kept in a cage all day.

 

[shinyuankuo]

Thanks for the advice. I have gone through the rescue route and was denied everywhere I asked. My first time owner profile is a automatic reject to many rescues. And these rescues unfortunately do not allow interaction until they deemed you are adoption worthy candidates. So, rescues are not an option anymore.

I called the breeder already and confirmed that this is not a scam. The breeder is not taking any proceeds. It is the rehoming family that’s asking the very high price. I however agree on the waiting part. I’m just very tempted because I have been looking for one for a LONG time.

Maybe the bird would still be available after I come back from Christmas vacation? This is just me trying to convince myself.

 

[Inger]

Maybe the bird would still be available after I come back from Christmas vacation? This is just me trying to convince myself.

At that price, likely. And the longer he sits around, the more likely the family will be to come down on that price.

Ona related note: so frustrating that rescues won’t even consider a first-timer. How do they hope to put breeders out of business if they auto-exclude the majority of the population? I understand their desire to be cautious but UGH. (Please note I am not anti-breeder; I got Bumble from her breeder when she was 7 weeks old and chose that route for very specific reasons. That choice is personal, but I know most rescues ARE anti-breeder).


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[wrench13]

I would wait til after the holidays, if for no other reason that parrots need a few days/weeks or even months to settle in, and bringing him home, only to leave soon after that is prolly not a good idea, and could affect your subsequent relationship. But something sounds not quite right about the whole deal. Wait, and if he is still availableafterNew Years, go into this will a serious and committed position.

GoodLuck!

 

[shinyuankuo]

Ona related note: so frustrating that rescues won’t even consider a first-timer. How do they hope to put breeders out of business if they auto-exclude the majority of the population? I understand their desire to be cautious but UGH. (Please note I am not anti-breeder; I got Bumble from her breeder when she was 7 weeks old and chose that route for very specific reasons. That choice is personal, but I know most rescues ARE anti-breeder).

I’m not anti-rescue nor anti-breeder, but I must admit that my rescue experience was frustrating. I don’t like the feeling of being judged with a negative connotation. I believe rescues should be more open to actually educate, but it was not my experience.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

 

[shinyuankuo]

I would wait til after the holidays, if for no other reason that parrots need a few days/weeks or even months to settle in, and bringing him home, only to leave soon after that is prolly not a good idea, and could affect your subsequent relationship. But something sounds not quite right about the whole deal. Wait, and if he is still availableafterNew Years, go into this will a serious and committed position.

GoodLuck!

I’ve reached the same conclusion. I will just wait to see if the bird is still available after I come back. Skip the drama of pet sitting. I think he will still be around if we are meant to be a family. If he’s gone, that might be better for him.

Thanks for slowing me down.

 

[wrench13]

Lifes big decisions:

1) Get married or not
2) Have children or not
3) Buy a home or not
4) Bring a parrot into your life or not

Debatable about which is the more important.

 

[Alehner529]

Lifes big decisions:

1) Get married or not
2) Have children or not
3) Buy a home or not
4) Bring a parrot into your life or not

Debatable about which is the more important.

Ha! [emoji1787] So far I've got number 1 and 4, and I would argue that the latter has changed my life more than getting married.

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[itzjbean]

Perhaps the price includes his cage? That's the only reason it should be so high. Even hand-fed babies from reputable breeders are around $2500 and buying a weaned baby gives the advantage of being there from early on, so you know it hasn't been neglected or fed the right diet.

I would wait until after the holidays and continue to research -- a weaned baby will likely be a better bet if they aren't willing to lower that price, but if it includes the cage, it could be an okay deal.

 

[Inger]

Lifes big decisions:

1) Get married or not
2) Have children or not
3) Buy a home or not
4) Bring a parrot into your life or not

Debatable about which is the more important.

Having done #1 (2.5 times) and #2 - I'll say that Bumble still lives with me soooooo . . .

 

[Kiwibird]

Lifes big decisions:

1) Get married or not
2) Have children or not
3) Buy a home or not
4) Bring a parrot into your life or not

Debatable about which is the more important.

Have done all 4 now, #2 arriving at the end of the year Will be interesting to see who is messier, louder and needs more of my undivided attention- the husband, bird or baby

To the OP- $3000 sounds excessive for a 9 year old rehome. Mind you we got our rehome/rescue amazon 11 years ago and he, uh, needed “some work”, but at the time he was 10 years old and only cost us $350. I know ekkies cost a bit more in the US than amazons and I’m sure prices have gone up a bit and a well trained bird would fetch a higher price than a bird who behaves like a feral demon, but still... $3K for a 9 year old bird?! I wonder if the high price reflects the prior owners concern that the bird goes to a home that can financially afford a large parrot/is serious about giving the bird a good life. I’d see if maybe you could arrange to speak with the owner and see if they’d come down on the price based on you being a good fit for the bird.

 

[PickleMeDickles]

Lifes big decisions:

1) Get married or not
2) Have children or not
3) Buy a home or not
4) Bring a parrot into your life or not

Debatable about which is the more important.

So simply put! And each is/can be so intertwined with one another. But 4) probably will end up having more long term ramifications than any other! Kids of course, also have a huge impact, but they leave. Birds are forever!

 

[noodles123]

yup--birds are a bigger commitment than marriage or kids because they don't grow up it's always on you if it doesn't work out...plus, they tend to impact your relationships with other humans due to their social/emotional/health needs (and restrictions)

 

[Melody]

Ona related note: so frustrating that rescues won’t even consider a first-timer. How do they hope to put breeders out of business if they auto-exclude the majority of the population? I understand their desire to be cautious but UGH. (Please note I am not anti-breeder; I got Bumble from her breeder when she was 7 weeks old and chose that route for very specific reasons. That choice is personal, but I know most rescues ARE anti-breeder).


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I'm glad I'm not the only one who is frustrated about rescues attitudes these days! After seeing a few people talking about "The Parrot Crisis" on YouTube a couple months ago, I decided THAT was the way I should go, instead of purchasing from a breeder. I'm older, so getting an older bird would be better for the bird, itself, because if it were older, there's a chance that I would outlive a rescue. So I started looking at rescues - and it seems that in SOUTH Florida there are a LOT of rescues - but NOT a LOT close to me. We have the TOP rescue in the world here - right by my son's house. They do not sell birds, you can't visit without an appointment and a fee of, I believe I read $120 to visit - even if you are wanting to volunteer. From what I read, they will OCCASIONALLY allow a volunteer to adopt a bird. Other ones that I have researched are too far from my house for me to be able to drive continually to where they are to meet the requirements to spend the correct number of hours or days to visit with the birds. I understand that they don't want to traumatize the poor birds further by letting them go and then the person returns the bird, but when the cost adds up to 2 1/2 times what I would pay for a baby bird of my choice it becomes cost prohibitive for some people who would love to give an older bird a home, and could afford the care necessary for the bird, but could NOT afford the financial outlay for gas to drive to spend 20 hours a week for a month to see if someone will allow you to take one of the rescues!
I would take on ANY bird that I think I could give a decent life to, but I had decided that I would like either a Caique or a Quaker. Then I narrowed it down to Quaker because I have 4 grandchildren who are still 6 or under (I have one that's 21, so I have all age groups), and Caiques tend to be a bit nippier with little kids. And, yes, I know ALL parrots bite. Actually, in my experience, I would say All Birds bite! But, I had decided Quaker. There is one shop here where I can get a DNA sexed PAIR of Green Quakers for $300. or one blue baby for $400. At another shop I can get an Albino or a Lutino for $399. So having to drive a couple hours one way to spend 20 hours a week, for one month at "a couple hours per visit" adds up! I've seen rescues where they offer the birds for sale for a few hundred more than buying a weaned baby at a bird shop or breeder.

There are a lot of older people who would love to give a home to a bird who has been given up for whatever reason - but the rescues make it prohibitive for an older person who could easily take care of a bird in their home, and would love to have one for company because they can't get out much, but they can't get out to meet the visitation requirements. And I can't see paying over $120 to go look around and be told they don't have a bird I think I could handle or I'm not good enough for their birds, or whatever the case may be that I would have just thrown $120 in the trash for no reason! I LOVE that they want to be responsible, and they take good care of the birds.

But if you make it next to impossible for good, willing people to "adopt" a bird that needs a new home, then you're making the crisis worse. And you make it look like there's NOT REALLY a crisis, it's just an excuse to raise the price of these birds by hundreds of dollars. If you REALLY want to HELP the birds, please don't FORCE people who really want birds to go buy them from breeders or bird stores or pet shops by making it so much more expensive to buy/"rescue" a bird. Because if you raise the price $300-$500 above what I'd pay at a shop, that's NOT a rescue, and that's NOT a re-homing fee. That is a PRICE that you SELL them at, and you might CALL yourself a rescue, but you've become a used bird salesman.

I know - I probably got myself in trouble right off the bat here. But I am seriously SO FRUSTRATED. I wanted to do something GOOD - but it's just so much better for me - a disabled 62 year old widow who loves birds - to just go to a store and buy one! And that's NOT what I wanted to do! And I'm NOT the only one.

 

[SailBoat]

Well I qualify as Old, plus a bit. And, we have worked with rescues for a very long time and also Avian Vets.

We are now in that group that is defined as overly qualified. The last qualification document I completed, I provided the base contact information, plus the contact information for our Avian Professional. We had barely completed the document when a very special Amazon was introduced to us.

Yes, it may appear that I'm bragging, but I'm not... The reason circles around 'likeliness' of abandoning the Parrot. With my group the number is Zero. Your group (and I'm not targeting you) that number changes to over 80%.

So, why is that a problem... Hmmm, you have grandchildren, one of your children elects to adopt their child out. What demands would you require for the new Parents...

Well Parrot are not like Children, or are they? Parrots are smart with abilities that we continue to find. They also suffer mentally when abused and/or abandoned. And, like very young children, they are demanding, expensive to care for and support. Plus, they can be very Loud. But unlike children, they do not grow far beyond that point.

So what does any of this have to do with what you believe to be unrealistic and expensive. On the unrealistic side, knowledge /experience is not obtained easily by OJT with the Bird already home, it requires taking the time to research, learning and best of all get that knowledge, Hands-On! On the expensive side. Far too many people get Parrots because they believe that are cheap to obtain and cheap care for. After all, there are no State regulations regarding Vet visits and the accompanying shots. And with birds, the food is cheap to purchase, right. Well, No, Wrong. And, for properly cared there are yearly Vet visit costs. And, if your Parrot becomes ill, the Vet costs can become very expensive. Our 'base' yearly Vet cost for our Amazon is a bit under 2000 USD, and we triple that number for our Vet's yearly budget. Yes, we are chasing an on-going medical issue and a slight down turn can quickly run that cost much higher. Add the cost of Cages, Perches, plus the high cost of toys for said Amazon to turn quickly into tiny bits and the costs just keep climbing.

There are ways of becoming a Parrot family of a rescue bird. And, the membership here commonly provide methods of getting there. But, in all cases, there are expensive and knowledges to be learned. And, then there is the knowledge gained by working with Parrots.

I'm not sure where you are gaining your information regarding volunteer not being allowed to rescue Parrots from the organization. But for the most part it is just not true. Oh, yes an individual that shows up for a couple of visits and really very little beyond that, Heck No! Those how want to learn, put in the effort, time and displays the knowledge that they have gained, Heck Yes, near every time.

Short and quick: Reconsider your statement and change your vantage point to that of the Rescue and their want for a Forever Home. The changing of your vantage point is just as important if your should get a Parrot. There you will need to change your vantage point to: It is never the fault of the Parrot! It is always the fault of the Human!

Become committed, you will be shock at the difference it will make.

 

[Terry57]

I have paid different prices for rehomes, the most being $1800 for my ekkie who came with a cage, the least was $100 for our OWA who came in a budgie cage from a yard sale.

I believe there are good and bad rescues, just as there are good and bad in every category of non-profits. There is no oversight here, and anyone can apply to be a rescue and there would be no checks before it being granted. We have one wonderful rescue here, who vets the people wanting to adopt. They don't have rules on any level of experience as long as the person is committed. There has to be a home visit, and the person does need to come meet the bird at least once prior to that.They also don't charge enormous fees, and their fees include the cage, toys that they provided to the birds and the vet check. We adopted our WCP from them, and they came to our house after we visited her at theirs, filled out the paperwork and were approved. The cost was $750.00, which was quite reasonable.
I do know that they have had great luck with first timers who have made wonderful parronts.
On the other hand, we did have a rescue here who would not adopt to anyone over 40, no matter what. There was another who insisted you must volunteer for 6 months before even being considered. Their adoption fees were double what a baby would be and did not even include a cage or vet check. Another had so many rules that it was impossible for anyone to adopt from, and they reaped the benefits of being a non-profit as they collected birds they had no intention of finding homes for.

This was a particularly horrible case of someone who refused to adopt out birds with the exception of a small few:
https://greyhavenbirds.com/update

The wonderful rescue here that I mentioned (Meika's Safehouse) took in dozens of the birds from here to help find homes for them.

I think that differing viewpoints are important when talking about rescues, as they are not all created equal, and research is key when selecting one.

 

[bill_e]

That does seem like too much. I'd wait until after the holidays and offer $1500 and just walk away if they don't take it.

Rehome situations can be very different. In some cases you're dealing with an abused bird and in others, like when I got my Nike, the family's life was starting to get in the way and they wisely opted to find a new home for her. Nike was not abused and was still being loved and taken care of.

I knew the normal price was about $3500 for a baby hawkhead and I also new that the owner got her 9 years prior from a rescue. I offered 700 for Nike, the cage and toys and they accepted it.

I personally would never buy a bird from a breeder, I don't think we should be breeding them at all....but that's just me.

 

[ParrotGenie]

I have paid different prices for rehomes, the most being $1800 for my ekkie who came with a cage, the least was $100 for our OWA who came in a budgie cage from a yard sale.

I believe there are good and bad rescues, just as there are good and bad in every category of non-profits. There is no oversight here, and anyone can apply to be a rescue and there would be no checks before it being granted. We have one wonderful rescue here, who vets the people wanting to adopt. They don't have rules on any level of experience as long as the person is committed. There has to be a home visit, and the person does need to come meet the bird at least once prior to that.They also don't charge enormous fees, and their fees include the cage, toys that they provided to the birds and the vet check. We adopted our WCP from them, and they came to our house after we visited her at theirs, filled out the paperwork and were approved. The cost was $750.00, which was quite reasonable.
I do know that they have had great luck with first timers who have made wonderful parronts.
On the other hand, we did have a rescue here who would not adopt to anyone over 40, no matter what. There was another who insisted you must volunteer for 6 months before even being considered. Their adoption fees were double what a baby would be and did not even include a cage or vet check. Another had so many rules that it was impossible for anyone to adopt from, and they reaped the benefits of being a non-profit as they collected birds they had no intention of finding homes for.

This was a particularly horrible case of someone who refused to adopt out birds with the exception of a small few:
https://greyhavenbirds.com/update

The wonderful rescue here that I mentioned (Meika's Safehouse) took in dozens of the birds from here to help find homes for them.

I think that differing viewpoints are important when talking about rescues, as they are not all created equal, and research is key when selecting one.

100% Agreed you took the words out of my mouth.


I dealt with both good and bad rescues. The bad rescues I refer to as bird flippers, or hoarders, they do it to reaped the benefits of being a non-profit. Research is absolutely key to finding a reputable rescue.