Researching and trying to find a breeder

[Lovebird422]

Hello!

I've been researching the best parrot for my family for months and settled on an Alexandrine. However, I'm now having trouble locating a breeder. There is one 5mo I found, but he's for sale at a pet store. I want a young bird that I can bond with and that I know is coming from a good place. It's a small, family owned pet store. I handled him and he's very friendly. I'm torn between going with this bird, or trying to find a breeder to work with. I'm located in the Washington DC area. I'd anyone has any pointers, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[Mallory]

If this bird is friendly and handleable, being 5 months old won't make much of a difference. That's not all that much past weaning and those few weeks shouldn't make a difference if the parrot was handled well. In my opinion, the way the parrot is treated matters a lot more than the age when you acquire it. You could look into breeders that ship, but just because a parrot is a bit younger doesn't mean it will be more friendly than this bird. Some breeders don't spend much time socializing the birds and hand feed in a very quick, assembly-line fashion. It would be more difficult to weed out those breeders when you're shipping the bird in as you would not be able to visit facilities or meet the bird before adopting. There might be some local parrot breeders, but I'm not familiar with your area at all. Often the small non-chain pet shops get their birds from local breeders and some of them breed their own birds as well. Can you find out this bird's origins? Personally unless there is anything negative that stands out about the bird or the pet store I would go for it.

 

[itchyfeet]

Go with it. I ended up with an 8 month old ringneck when looking for a newly weaned baby and I'm so thankful I did. If he's in a pet store, and he's friendly - he's probably a well socialised little parrot!

 

[nsegal]

Do you know of any alex breeder who ships in the US? We are in SoCal. Thanks!