Just offered a pair of red loreds

[IcyWolf]

Ok, so, I found a cage that I liked on craigslist so after calling the guy, we went to his house to pick it up. He had a U2 and the sweetest sulfur crested that I got to hold and love on. He also had macaws, greys, ekkies, and a pair of RLA's. He is a big macaw guy and told me that the only birds he really wanted for himself were his macaws and greys. The 'toos were his ex wifes and he took the amazons from a woman that broke her hip and begged him to take them. All of his birds were in their own room in the basement except for the 'toos and he said that his macaws and greys were on eggs so we couldn't go down there. Long story short, he is moving to texas in february and plans to sell all of his birds except for one scarlet which will be going with him. He offered me the pair of red loreds with their cage for $300 and even told me he would take a deposit and hold them for me. They are a bonded pair but he has never bred them before. He did say that if he were to trim the males nails that he was sure they would breed, something about the female wouldn't let the male mount her if his nails were long. All in all, the guy exhibited a great dislike for amazons and said that he would never breed them and that he only took them as a favor. So now, here we are talking about calling the guy and asking how much of a deposit he would want :52: I absolutely love zons and have worked with them a good bit and oddly enough, I always seem to be able to interact with those evil blood thirst 'zons, as their owners put it. We've been talking about getting another breeding pair for awhile now as well, we've just been debating over what to breed. The main thing we've been taking into consideration with picking a species is how in demand they are. I want to make sure that we are only breeding birds that there will be good homes for. And there are no red loreds in any of our local rescues and I couldn't seem to find any local breeders of them either. So, what do you guys suggest? I have plenty of time for them, I don't work and all I do is hang out with the birds all day and take care of the house. The only concern I have is that there isn't much info on breeding them and I would really like to try and get them to breed. It's not like we wouldn't keep them if they don't breed for us, but it is definitely our hopes. I haven't seen these birds yet, although I'm thinking about emailing the guy and asking him for some pictures and obviously, I would have to see them before any money is exchanged. I'm not sure how we'd do that though since he said his pairs are on eggs and they don't take well to strangers being around then. I'm sure we can figure something out, or I can always just wait until his eggs hatch.

 

[merlinsmom13]

Can you handle them if they are not tame? If they are not used to being handled can you provide a aviary for them to live in?

A red crowned or mexican red headed amazon is similar to a red lored. I couldnt imagine having a pair of breeders to deal with. You always have to do something, medicate, etc. Amazons bite hard & a toweled amazon is intimidating. Just something to think about. Good luck.

 

[lene1949]

I think I would want to see them in person, before exchanging any money... It's too easy to get photos over the net...

The birds in the basement must be used to some traffic, since they would need cleaning and feeding..

I would just go back there with my 300 bucks, and ask to see them..

 

[IcyWolf]

He said that the woman he got them from handled them and I could be wrong but he said that she raised them so I'm assuming they were meant to be pets but then he got them and for some reason doesn't like amazons so he doesn't hold them. He even said that they don't really yell, they just talk non stop. I guess every determining factor relies on me actually meeting these birds. I just sent him an email and asked for pictures and I also asked when I would be able to see them but I'm assuming I won't be able to do that until all of his other eggs hatch. He also mentioned that the one is 6 and the other is 8 years old and I'm pretty sure the woman they came from raised them from babies.

 

[IcyWolf]

Well, I know he isn't making them up, he showed me his cockatoos, had huge bird tree in his living room and I could hear all of the birds just below us. He just said that with all of the birds on eggs he didn't want to disturb them, and I can see why considering at the time, we weren't really acting all that interested in the pair. It wasn't until we got back in the car and I could tell that my SO was thinking about it just as much as I was, then the more we talked about it, the more we want them lol.

 

[merlinsmom13]

Thats good, I wouldnt even consider a pair of untamed birds. I'm just not setup to handle them. Vet checks if they are w/alot of different birds. You just never know.

 

[IcyWolf]

Just got two pictures of them

 

[lene1949]

If the woman has had them for a number of years, and from babies, they should be easy enough the tame down with a bit of patience...

They're beautiful birds, and I would go for it...

Good luck....

 

[henpecked]

They may be a bonded pair,but that means little. They could also be same sex and IMO are unproven at age 6-8 . However just looking ,in the last picture it appears to be male closest and Hen away. I've never breed RLA but doubt that they're much different from other zons, I'll be glad to help if you want it.

 

[IcyWolf]

He told me that they were a male and female pair and they are bonded to each other but he has never tried to breed them. I'm not sure how long he has had them but I will hopefully find all of that out wednesday when we go to give him a deposit on them I'm going to find out if they have been DNA'd and if he has the paper work, although I'm doubting he does. I was reading that some people say you can tell the sex by their eye color but I'm not sure how reliable that is and I can't see their eyecolor in those pictures anyway lol. The man really has no reason to lie to me, I just showed up at his house to buy a cage and we were actually about to leave when he mentioned his 'toos and I asked if I could see them. We ended up talking for about a half an hour and in that time I found out that he wanted $300 for the pair and then I asked if he would throw in the cage with it, at first he said no, then he was like, yea I guess you could take the cage too lol At this point I told him I would keep his number if we changed our mind but I really didn't think we were going to take them. Then we get home and a friend of ours mentions that he wants to buy this camper we've been trying to get off our property, says he'll be bringing us $100 of it on wednesday lol. I think it was a sign... I know the guy(is it horrible that I never found out his name? Gotta figure that out before it gets awkward lol.) has sold a few of his birds already on craigslist and hoobly and he told me if he doesn't sell them soon that he would just put them on there. He pretty much told me if I didn't want them that it's not a big deal, he knows he can get what he's asking for them in a heartbeat if he puts them on hoobly, and he's right. I was looking online and every pair I've found is going for around $800-850.

Even if they don't breed, they will have a good home and they're not too hard on the eyes if I do say so myself Honestly, I don't know if I've ever even seen a red lored in person but they have got to be one of the prettiest amazons, even though I have always been partial to blue fronts myself The thing that is worrying me a bit, is that from the pictures he sent me, their cage looks like the same one we just bought off him for our conure...if that's the case, it's definitely not big enough for a pair of zons. And I may have told my SO just today that we were finally good on cages....:54:

 

[lene1949]

I'm just wondering if you're still living with other people, and just have one room for you and your animals?

 

[IcyWolf]

I have room mates, yes but I don't just have one room for our animals. My boyfriend and I actually lived here before anyone else did so the house actually has most of our stuff in it. We have our bedroom, an attached laundry room, our own bathroom and another room attached to our bedroom that is our tattoo and piercing studio. Then, of course we have the rest of the house, which has two living rooms. It's a big place and we are on over 5 acres of land. I just keep our birds in our room and the laundry room because that's where I am most of the time and I like to be able to watch them. We also have a few snakes that we breed and they are in a different part of the house, I try to keep them as far away from the birds as possible It's also nice because we didn't just "rent rooms out" on craigslist or anything, we live with people we have been good friends with for years so it works out well, we just consider each other an awkward little family And, our one housemate has rats and a few snakes, and generally likes animals, and our other room mate is deaf so he isn't bothered by the fids

 

[lene1949]

Sorry... I was just curious...

 

[IcyWolf]

It's understandable. I always talk with everyone in the house before bringing in any new house members, but they never seem to mind. I'm sure these guys will make the house a bit louder but I'm sure it will be fine. Living with other people was kind of my main concern when talking about getting these guys, even though they tell me that the birds don't bother them, I still feel a bit guilty when they get to carrying on, having the noisiest creatures in the house. I think it just gives everyone else in the house an excuse to be a little louder if they want I'll be interested to see what kind of volume this pair exudes. I asked him if they were screamers and he said that they don't really scream, they just talk a lot. I don't think he was lying about it because he was telling me about a YH zon that he had and referred to it as "the first bird he ever wanted to shoot", because it yelled all the time, non stop. And, the whole time we were there I could hear his macaws carrying on but I didn't hear the zon's at all.

 

[Amber]

Wolf, if I managed a jenday conure in a very crowded house (four people, two bedrooms!) and then in university/res housing (where, really we weren't supposed to have pets, but the accommodation officers were very lenient thankfully considering our situation, aka having to leave the previously mentioned crowded house due to room-mate/personal safety issues, nothing bird related I assure you!), I'm sure you can manage these two with your awkward family! Nothing like two new fids, I hope they come home with you soon!

 

[roxynoodle]

If you want them whether they breed or not, then you should get them. $300 is a very good price for 2 relatively young amazons. And they obviously aren't loved or appreciated where they are.

I would say my YC is very quiet. The only time he is loud is when I'm making dinner for some reason. Any other time of the day that I'm in the kitchen he is quiet. But, when I make dinner he starts with this loud alarm sound and then that changes to a barking dog. He isn't the most active thing either. I am used to my conure who is always doing something. But, Pete often just sits there watching the rest of us. He has a few times of the day that he plays and can be quite the clown when he does.

 

[mtdoramike]

I love Amazons and that deal would be hard to pass up.

 

[YNAMomma]

They are really cute and for as much as you like zons and if you have the time i hope it works out for you. I bought a bonded breeding pair that were completly untamed (Mostly cause i couldnt bare to leave them in the situation they were in) Well i've only had them for 4 months and they have come leaps and bounds, they still wont let me touch them much mostly on the feet and some on the beak but they eat outta my hand and let me mess around in thier cage as much as I need. So i wish you the best of luck cause with just the right amount of love and patience they can defiantl be your best friends!

 

[IcyWolf]

Thanks for all the advice everyone My boyfriend and I actually fell in love with his sulfur crested 'too but I'm really not ready for another 'too. We have a pretty good balance in our flock right now and I don't see it staying that way if we'd bring a cockatoo into the mix, even though she was the sweetest thing, stepped up for both of us and even laid her head in the palm of my hand so I could rub her cheek. I think the zons have potential for some interaction from what he's told me be I'm completely fine with it if they just want to hang out with each other. Our little icarus should be weaning here in the next few weeks and he is the clingiest little thing right now and Billie is quite jealous everytime I feed the little guy. He has even started bobbing his head at me like a baby, as if to say, "Look! I'm cute too!" lol.

We are planning to go to his house tomorrow to make a deposit on them. He told me he could bring them upstairs so we would be able to see them too What kind of proof of purchase should I be asking from him? I just want to make sure that this works out for everyone, but I don't want to come off too strong and make it seem like I think he's going to rip us off or something, but you can never be too careful. Should I just ask for some sort of receipt or should I expect some sort of contract? I assume we will not be bringing them home until they are completely paid for but we really haven't discussed that yet.

 

[mtdoramike]

I would ask for a bill of sale. Cash should never leave one hand without a receipt going in the other. If he has an issue with that then walk away because then there seems to be a problem.

You must look at pet adoption or purchase like any other purchase of goods. The law treats animal like property so therefore, you should get a receipt for the purchase. I know people like to refer to it as adoptions, but it's really not. It's purchasing the animal.