Not splinting okay?

[JennyB]

Please, please don't give up on finding a new baby then! Mine is sitting here with me while I'm typing (she's a ysgcc), eating her veggies and saying "Good baby, good baby."

You've gotten your heart broken, but you can not let one rotten breeder spoil getting a bird for you! Like everyone has said, you did nothing wrong. You'll probably always wonder what happened to that little guy, but she has full responsibility for that! Not you!!!

So, now you move on. It's going to take more work and time, but in the end, when you look back on all of this, it will be so worth it! Good luck, and PLEASE don't give up... You can do this!

Sincerely, Jenny

 

[Kisota]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. <3

It's really too bad that this whole situation happened this way. Getting a pet isn't something that should be sad.

But I'll keep at it. If I can get something to work out, I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end. I'm just hoping nothing else disastrously disappointing happens during this search; I want to be able to bring you guys some good news!

It really is too bad for me (and quite possibly for that injured bird) that things didn't work out... but some other little birdy out there just got lucky and will end up coming home with me. xP

 

[Kisota]

Went ahead and sent an email to a bird breeder in PA who calls her aviary Conure Heaven. Very good ratings on birdbreeders.com (though I've heard rumors that aviaries can remove bad ratings... can anyone confirm?)

She DNA sexes all her babies! Pretty cool. She also has a turquoise yellowside at the moment... pretty tempted if it turns out to be male.

But it looks like she may also have some regular yellowside boys at the moment as well!

And failing that, it seems she may also have some male crimson bellies around, and at $400, that's pretty tempting too.

I'll let you all know how it goes!

 

[MangieSun]

She was the breeder I was also speaking with. I was going to get one of her crimsons. She is a very sweet lady and seems to really care about her babies. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Kisota]

Yay, that's great that someone else already knows of her!! It makes me feel more comfortable speaking directly with someone who's dealt with the breeder before rather than just reading reviews.

I'm really tempted by the crimsons. I've heard they're a lot like greencheeks, but a bit larger and less nippy (which sounds pretty nice to me!)

We'll see what happens. It's nice that even with this one breeder, I have some different options. Thanks again for all the help searching and everything! I feel pretty thankful to have found a breeder who already has some DNA sexed babies... it was really stressful waiting to find out the results with the first baby (though that's partially because it took about 3 times as long as it should have).

 

[MangieSun]

Yes. She is super nice. I spoke with her for a long time on the phone a couple weeks ago. She loves sharing all kinds of stories. Lol.

So far my crimson is a doll. I cannot believe how quiet she is with her little vocalizations. I think she is going to be a Velcro bird. I'm going to work hard at getting her a little independent when she settles in. I've met a lot of baby greencheeks and the nippyness with them was always there. This little girl has not offered a nip once, even when she was scared to death on the first day. She does like to nibble ears but it's nothing compared to my Suns constant beaky ness. I'm sure you will be thrilled with whatever you end up with. They are all different but so far my Poppy lives up to everything I've read about Crimsons.

 

[Kisota]

Awesome, thanks for the info, Cari!
I got an email back already (nice!) It's cheered me up considerably to have this happening.
She does have the turquoise YS available and will know the sex by Wednesday or Thursday. (Tempting!)
She also has two regular YS boys available. They are a liiiittle bit old, like 11 weeks ish I think? Do you think that matters at all?

And she has some male crimsonbellies as well, about the same age as the regular yellowsides. Also so tempting. I've heard multiple places that they are noticeably more mellow and less nippy than greencheeks.

BUT, I've also heard it said that they aren't as hands-on cuddly as greencheeks are. Now, I know that every bird is different, but the tendency for greencheeks to be especially hands-on and cuddly, laying on their backs in hands or cuddling in clothing or just nudging hands to be petted, is really something that drew me to them in the first place. It's a tough call!!

Green cheeks:
Prettier (IMO, I LOVE yellowsides and those bright tails)
Super fiesty playfulness
Bossier/more aggressive?
Nippy

Crimsons:
Bigger (definite plus, I actually prefer birds around the size of a big conure or a poi but even a tad more chunk is nice)
More mellow
Possibly less frisky? :/
Less bitey
Less cuddly?

AHH! I have options again, and it's so great, but now I can't decide, haha! Need advice!

 

[MangieSun]

I'm so happy you are talking to a breeder that I has options for you!!

So I've never been a green cheek owner but have been around them. And you know Poppy is a very new addition. But honestly if this little one was any more cuddly, it may be an issue. Lol. I keep calling her Poppy pocket because I seriously think she would be so happy to live in my pocket. She snuggles right up to my neck and makes soft little noises. She also adores her head and neck scratched. She also lifts her wings for pets. I'm afraid when I'm able to have Jasper and her out there may not be enough scratches to go around. She rivals the cockatoo cuddlyness. Her personality is different than the GCC I've been around. She is not quite as brave (yet). She certainly seeks me out already and wants to be with me constantly. I don't think I could call her anything but snuggly and cuddly. I'm actually hoping she learns to play on her own a bit since I do have two other attention demanding feathered creatures who are looking for me when I'm with her. Lol.

I saw your question on age. Maybe I'm weird but I prefer a little bit older baby. Poppy is 13 weeks. I don't like having to worry about regression with weaning. I've read that Crimsons wean a bit later than other conures. 10-12 weeks is what I heard. I got Jasper at 7 months and Mangie at 5 months. Everyone bonded to me very quickly.

Hope that helps a little. Can't wait to see what you decide on!

 

[Kisota]

Ooh, wow, you make the crimsons sound REALLY nice. This is going to be a tough call!! Your baby sounds super awesome!

I posted a thread about GCCs and crimson bellies in the conure section, so I'm hoping to get some more feedback. I don't want to lose my good opportunity here by dawdling too much! (I guess the good thing is that if some of the babies get bought, I really like the sound of lots of them, but still... I don't want to decide what I want and then be unable to get it!)

 

[jenphilly]

11 weeks is not even a tiny bit old for a baby bird!

I think this has come up before, but you need to be prepared that the super sweet baby bird you get will go thru puberty and be more of a handful then you bargained for.... Monster was a super sweet snuggly, playful baby and he came home at about 8 weeks old. After maturity, he is still a nice bird, but not much of a cuddler, he likes being around people, but is perfectly happy to just hang out on a perch versus snuggling up to you. Adopting a baby does not guarantee you a lifetime of bird cuddles... If you absolutely must have a cuddler, you need to really really think about adopting an adult, at least past maturity. The sweetest most loveable snuggle bug of a bird we have in our home came home at about 3-1/2 years of age. The most standoffish, least snuggly of the birds we have (outside of cockatiels) came home at 8 weeks of age.

I hope you do find the perfect bird for you!!!

 

[Kisota]

WAIT. HOLD UP. Stop the press!

The original bird breeder finally emailed me back after 4 days. I was seriously not expecting a response at all...

...let alone a ... positive one?!?! O_O

I'm so perplexed. I keep wondering if this email was even meant for me.

It says my response was very sweet, the baby is healing well, and she is going to call me this evening.

Whaaaaaat!

Needless to say, I'm confused, perplexed, and a bit excited, though SUPER anxious to be talking on the phone again. It's past 7 here, so just past 5 her time, and I am not sure when she gets done with her homeschooling stuff. But I'm so confused. I hope this is good? The email doesn't seem to acknowledge that prior phone call at all... o__o; what does it meeeeaaan...

I'll keep you guys updated. Holy moly am I ever nervous now. But the email seemed positive? I don't think she would be updating me on the baby if she was serious about not selling him to me... right? I don't know what to expect of this phone call... eeee...

 

[Sterling1113]

I agree- that is some VERY mixed news!!! But I'm very hopeful for you!!! I really *really* hope she realizes how rude she's been, and will try to make it right. Let us know how the phone call goes, I'm hoping she has some nicer words to say this time!! Fingers crossed for you!! <3

 

[MangieSun]

Ack!!! I'm so excited for you. Sounds like one way or another you will be getting a baby very soon and possibly even the one you had your heart set on. If that happens it was meant to be! Let us know as soon as you can. I'm thrilled she responded. Hopefully the conversation includes an apology on her end!

 

[crimson]

I've been reading this just tonight....sorry I missed all of this.
I feel so badly for you, no one should go thru all this turmoil over a baby bird, let alone be treated like the way you were!

she sounds emotional and takes things personally.

my question is, why didn't the breeder contact you when the baby was improving.... regardless of what was said previously.
Especially knowing how you felt about THAT baby.

what if you hadn't contacted her, do you think she would have contacted you?

idk, I know you are really torn about this whole crazy situation, but truly the breeder is complicating matters, by being defensive & non-communicative.....I have a feeling she read your e-mail, and took the wait and see approach on the outcome of the baby.

should you decide to take this baby, I would ask for a discount. Since she did not take it to the vets for a physical/x-rays, there may be possible damage to the foot/leg, and may require some help in the future should you own the bird....she doesn't sound like the type to accept a discount and may further infuriate her, but IMO, that is what I would offer since I breed.

sometimes things happen for reasons beyond our control, maybe you weren't suppose to get your bird, and there is one meant for you, just waiting for you to bring it home.

I sure hope this turns out for you, I certainly don't mean to be harsh or insensitive, but I think you should look elsewhere, I hope you get your deposit back shortly.

 

[Kisota]

WELP.

That was interesting.
It was a long conversation this time, and it went really well.

She did send my deposit back. But that last email, I sent? The last-ditch effort one that I almost didn't send at all and figured was useless anyway?

It changed her mind. She was expecting me to be really angry, and the apologetic, sad email made her realize that I really only cared about the bird.

So, she gave me a long explanation for why he didn't see a vet, and it's kind of what I had expected. She has SO many animals, and so much experience with them that she really does do a lot of their health care herself and is really good at it. I do trust that she made a good call on the baby. He's doing well and climbing around.

She talked to me about her horses, dogs, and even her daughters. It wasn't a bitter or offended phone call at all.

It's almost miraculous.

So she told me she was still willing to work with me, and I could send the deposit straight back to her if I wanted to. She even said she's going to take videos of my little guy so I can see how his injury progresses and what his abilities with his leg are. If he heals up poorly and I don't feel I can give him a good home, she has backup homes for him - people who have offered to give homes to any disabled birds of hers that need one.

But he's already climbing around again and stuff, so I think it sounds like he'll be okay enough to live here.

Soooo.... looks like this little guy is likely still coming home with me!! We do have to wait a while, because he's not really well enough to be jostled around in a carrier on a plane yet.

I'm tentatively thrilled, if that's possible. I really don't want to let my excitement get ahead of me, since it only caused me to be completely crushed last time, but.... this is looking good, you guys...

I do want to add that I don't think most breeders have the know-how to look after an injured bird, but she really does have a LOT of experience raising and treating animals.

 

[Kiwibird]

Glad to hear the phone call went well. Everything happens for a reason, and even if it's a difficult process, it sounds like this little guy was meant to be Hope everything works out well for you.

 

[Kisota]

Thanks. Yeah, I am daring to hope for a good outcome, too.
It LOOKS like things are back on track. The baby is healing well (she says now she doesn't think it was actually broken, but was severely hurt/bruised). And the breeder and I seem to be on good terms again.

The only ways I can see this going wrong now are if the baby still somehow doesn't do well or gets hurt again, or if the breeder gets upset with me (and if I thought I was walking on eggshells before, I will now be tiptoeing on hummingbird eggshells). So, hopefully that won't happen. She really is a very nice lady and clearly knows her animals and how to do health care with them really well. I still am not sure how she got as upset with the one email as she did. But she's under a lot of stress at the moment and everyone deserves a pass every once in a while, especially when they do come around and make it right. I'm not angry. I'm happy to be on good terms again, even if something doesn't work out with this bird.

But... of course I do hope it works out. I'm eager to see video of him moving around!! I hope he's looking good!

And hey, worst case scenario, I have some good back-ups now, since I had started talking to other breeders.

 

[JennyB]

So glad that things have so quickly turned around for you! Best of luck, and can't wait to hear how it goes and see pictures!!!

 

[thekarens]

There's no reason for you to walk on eggshells. She's not doing you any favors. If anything she should be the one walking on eggshells.

You have to do what's best for you, but if it were me I'd run, not walk away from this breeder. When you do business with a breeder who doesn't do the right thing you are just encouraging them to continue doing things the same way.

Good luck, I hope it all works out to your satisfaction.

 

[crimson]

I understand how difficult this has been, you have your heart set on this little baby that you laid eyes on, and the anticipation of bringing it home is indescribable, however, we just don't want to see you get this baby bird, if it is not 100% as she may claim.

There is no need for you to be intimidated with this breeder....seems to me she owes YOU an apology, but you know her better than we do.

She may have had an 'off' day, we all do, but it still concerns me why she did NOT contact you when the baby had improved.....please think about that.

do you really want to deal with someone who makes you feel like you have to walk on egg shells with them??...or do you want this to be a positive experience which you are entitled to?

what will happen should the baby start showing signs of injury again, or at the very least re-injure this leg/foot?....would you feel comfortable calling her?....

you are paying for a healthy bird, if she is leading you to believe that the bird is 100% fine, then that is great, and I am happy for you, but should this bird be less than 100% healthy.....I honestly think you will be looking at vet bills in the future.