OP
Kisota
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- #81
Ah, yeah, your concerns are understandable. .
I'm not sure what you mean by the breeder not contacting me when he'd improved. She did; I just got an email to her first. She doesn't get to check her email every day.
I also forgot to mention that she DID apologize. It felt like a sort of on-the-spot apology, though, not something she'd planned. I don't think she knew what to apologize for.
We did talk for a long time. I'm still anxious, but that's mostly because things got so unexpectedly crappy there for a while. I was REALLY worried about that baby when I heard he was injured, and the email I sent reflected that I was kind of annoyed about him not seeing a vet. I figured she had some experience treating injuries, since she's been breeding animals (dogs, horses, a variety of parrots) for years, but I really was unhappy that he wasn't seeing a vet.
It would have been good for him to see a vet. A professional opinion is always best. But after talking to the breeder more, I do feel more secure in the decision she made. She really has done this a lot. She had the leg wrapped for a couple days after he hurt it (something she hadn't mentioned before).
Honestly, the phone call we had last night SHOULD have been the one we had in the first place! That would have prevented a lot of grief in my life. That call last night was exactly what I was looking for - reassurance that she knows what she's doing well enough to make a call on an injury, and reassurance that the bird is doing well.
It's maybe unfair for me to say I'm walking on eggshells. But I am a little concerned just with how sensitive she was to my comments. Like I said, the phone call last night was the one I was hoping for all along, and really the one I deserved to have in the first place.
I do trust her as a caretaker, and I think she's a truly good breeder. Honestly, even after all this, I would still recommend her. Everything about how things were going was spectacular until the vet issue came up, but I can kind of understand why she handled it herself now. I don't think most breeders probably could get away without seeing a vet, but I do think she seems to be able to do a lot of the health care of her animals herself. The one hitch is the sensitivity issue, so I would just suggest to people to be especially careful in communication. I can see now and after talking to her where my first email about the vet could have seemed a bit unfriendly, but her reaction WAS extreme. That reflects personality more than her abilities as a caretaker and breeder, though.
My worries now only come from continuing to worry a bit about the health of the baby, and wanting to be careful to maintain a good relationship with this breeder. I think it speaks to her credit that she was able to see past her initial anger at my email and call me and make up.
And she's not promising me this bird, so don't worry about me getting stuck with him somehow. She's going to be giving me updates with videos and everything so I can see how he's doing and decide for myself whether I want this one. If not, she's still got another new clutch and has said one of those would still be available for me.
I DO need to make a smart choice, though, when I see how he's doing. Do I want to take on a bird that might have long term problems that require more vet care? Or do I want to wait for the back-up birdie? Or do I want to talk again to this breeder in Pennsylvania? I still have options, and I'm keeping all of them open for the time being. But I chose this breeder in the first place because I thought she was great. It sucked what happened, but I'm willing to kind of give her a mulligan and see how things go. She does want to sell me a 100% healthy bird, I believe, and I'm not locked into any decision right now.
As always, further thoughts, comments, advice, or questions are supremely appreciated.
I'm not sure what you mean by the breeder not contacting me when he'd improved. She did; I just got an email to her first. She doesn't get to check her email every day.
I also forgot to mention that she DID apologize. It felt like a sort of on-the-spot apology, though, not something she'd planned. I don't think she knew what to apologize for.
We did talk for a long time. I'm still anxious, but that's mostly because things got so unexpectedly crappy there for a while. I was REALLY worried about that baby when I heard he was injured, and the email I sent reflected that I was kind of annoyed about him not seeing a vet. I figured she had some experience treating injuries, since she's been breeding animals (dogs, horses, a variety of parrots) for years, but I really was unhappy that he wasn't seeing a vet.
It would have been good for him to see a vet. A professional opinion is always best. But after talking to the breeder more, I do feel more secure in the decision she made. She really has done this a lot. She had the leg wrapped for a couple days after he hurt it (something she hadn't mentioned before).
Honestly, the phone call we had last night SHOULD have been the one we had in the first place! That would have prevented a lot of grief in my life. That call last night was exactly what I was looking for - reassurance that she knows what she's doing well enough to make a call on an injury, and reassurance that the bird is doing well.
It's maybe unfair for me to say I'm walking on eggshells. But I am a little concerned just with how sensitive she was to my comments. Like I said, the phone call last night was the one I was hoping for all along, and really the one I deserved to have in the first place.
I do trust her as a caretaker, and I think she's a truly good breeder. Honestly, even after all this, I would still recommend her. Everything about how things were going was spectacular until the vet issue came up, but I can kind of understand why she handled it herself now. I don't think most breeders probably could get away without seeing a vet, but I do think she seems to be able to do a lot of the health care of her animals herself. The one hitch is the sensitivity issue, so I would just suggest to people to be especially careful in communication. I can see now and after talking to her where my first email about the vet could have seemed a bit unfriendly, but her reaction WAS extreme. That reflects personality more than her abilities as a caretaker and breeder, though.
My worries now only come from continuing to worry a bit about the health of the baby, and wanting to be careful to maintain a good relationship with this breeder. I think it speaks to her credit that she was able to see past her initial anger at my email and call me and make up.
And she's not promising me this bird, so don't worry about me getting stuck with him somehow. She's going to be giving me updates with videos and everything so I can see how he's doing and decide for myself whether I want this one. If not, she's still got another new clutch and has said one of those would still be available for me.
I DO need to make a smart choice, though, when I see how he's doing. Do I want to take on a bird that might have long term problems that require more vet care? Or do I want to wait for the back-up birdie? Or do I want to talk again to this breeder in Pennsylvania? I still have options, and I'm keeping all of them open for the time being. But I chose this breeder in the first place because I thought she was great. It sucked what happened, but I'm willing to kind of give her a mulligan and see how things go. She does want to sell me a 100% healthy bird, I believe, and I'm not locked into any decision right now.
As always, further thoughts, comments, advice, or questions are supremely appreciated.
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Oh well! Like I said, no harm done. I mostly feel bad that in trying to clear up my concerns I upset her and hurt the my relationship with the breeder. I hope everything will be smooth from here on out.
