why so expensive?

[cateyes221981]

Some birds i see breeding like rats, i went to new york thiis summer and monk parakeets were more common than blue jays!!!!! they are like starlings there!

I heard indian ring necks are the same in some areas.

Why are people charging so much for birds that are not worth it? I understand some birds really are worth the money but these are like pigeons in new york when i was there!

They could not possibly be that hard to keep and breed?

Also what species is a good bird to get into these days that live in pairs great and people wont expect you to give them away free?

I had love birds and cockatiels in the past. I put so much work and effort into keeping them healthy and tame. The chicks people expect free?

Even my rosellla chicks. People wanted them free? I end up keeping them myself. But are there birds other than the african congo parrot that i feel is for a specialist, that people wont expect free?

 

[AussieChris]

Hello,

Some things are worth what someone will pay. If you give away a Bird, it has little Cost / Value to the owner. If they pay $1000, they will hopefully look after their investment. People don't take into account the care, special food and conditions to raise chicks. ( or cost like heating a room and being up at odd times to feed ) Look at how some people raise their own Kid's, do you think it would be good to give them a free Bird ?

 

[cnyguy]

The true value of a companion parrot goes far beyond the cost of that parrot in dollars and cents. That's just as true for a more common type like a Quaker (or Monk) parrot as it is for a more exotic and expensive type like a Hyacinth Macaw.

 

[MonicaMc]

A red bellied macaw is an extremely cheap parrot. I found out about a pair that someone was offering for sale for like $600 or $650 for both birds. They are not rare in the wild, but most people wouldn't even know what an RBM is, let alone what it looks like...


Value is dependent upon supply and demand.

 

[sofiaee]

Wow the red bellied macaw is very beautiful! How is it not more in demand??

 

[sofiaee]

Such an interesting face mask shape and skin texture around it's face!

 

[FeathersandDrums]

Some uneducated people in my area assume my budgies and parakeets aren't "as good" as other birds because they say they are "cheaper."

I love budgies! They are $20 here but i'd pay more if they cost more!!

 

[jakrob4]

Wow the red bellied macaw is very beautiful! How is it not more in demand??

It is extremely difficult to keep these birds alive in captivity, because of their high strung personality, and low fat and high carbohydrate diet. Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of Moriche Palm. Export/Import for the pet trade often results in 100% mortality. Captive-bred chicks have a low survival rate.

 

[Birdman666]

Try hand feeding some time... EVERY FOUR HOURS ROUND THE CLOCK! Then you might get it.

And some of the larger macaws, i.e. Hys hand feed for six months or more!

Plus, it is a skill. Baby birds are very delicate. In the wild there is about a 50% mortality rate. It's easy to accidently kill them when handfeeding. Burned crops from formula at the wrong temperature. (too hot!) Regurg pneumonia and/or starvation from formula that is too cold, or from over filling the crop with the syringe...

Not to mention susceptibility to disease and bacteria.

Then you have to fledge them properly, and socialize them around people, which includes bite pressure training, which usually guarantees a bite or two until they get it. (Multiply that by X number of birds - 2-3 times per year!)

SO. YEAH, THAT'S WHY...

THERE IS A LOT TO THIS, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT!

Plus rent, food, gas, toys, cages, electricity, etc. have not gone down any in the past few years.

 

[MonicaMc]

Wow the red bellied macaw is very beautiful! How is it not more in demand??

It is extremely difficult to keep these birds alive in captivity, because of their high strung personality, and low fat and high carbohydrate diet. Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of Moriche Palm. Export/Import for the pet trade often results in 100% mortality. Captive-bred chicks have a low survival rate.

Very sad, but very true. I've come into contact with some people about RBM's because I was curious if anyone in the USA had any. I didn't even know they were available until someone on a bird forum mentioned that she was pet sitting one and said it's the second one she's seen. I was flabbergasted! So I asked around...

Came upon a women who used to own a pair but ended up having to sell them. The person she sold them to killed one of the birds by not following her rules. At the time, she was very young and the person she sold the birds to was older and thought he knew everything.

Another man had bought a pair from a pet store and surprisingly, the pair ended up reproducing! They had three chicks. One chick died which left two. These two chicks were not thriving, and so he took the advice of some more experienced people and killed one chick so he could try to figure out how to save the other. All it was was a diet issue and once it was corrected, the remaining chick survived and he's still alive. Having to read the story though was just horrendous... to think of the pain and guilt he had to go through just to ensure the survival of at least one chick....


Also came across some other owners... one who writes for The World Parrot Trust website... and there was some talk of possibly 3 breeders of this species, but not confirmed.



I don't think this species should probably be kept within captivity but at the same time, I'd hate to see them disappear because we couldn't figure out an appropriate diet for them.


Here's a couple of articles written about bringing them into captivity....

The Mysterious Macaw (The Unique Red-Bellied Macaws) | Voren's Aviaries Inc

Longo's Aviaries

 

[sofiaee]

Wow that's terrible, do they do well in the wild (If we're ignoring issues humans have no doubt created for them like capture/deforestation etc.)?

 

[Mike17]

Some uneducated people in my area assume my budgies and parakeets aren't "as good" as other birds because they say they are "cheaper."

I love budgies! They are $20 here but i'd pay more if they cost more!!

Bird stores here charge more than that for hand-raised. Around $50-60 for budgies and $150-200 for cockatiels. Daylight robbery in one sense, because they're not breeding the birds themselves, nor doing the hand-raising, and I know from a breeder in my last town that he'd get maybe $25-30 for each bird, maybe a bit more for hand raised/tame (quarrion/'tiel) and have to drive 600km round trip to deliver them! He generally saved his birds for shows as he got better prices, but they are only quarterly or so.

 

[sofiaee]

Ah okay I read the article, so nvm about my earlier question

 

[goalerjones]

I have to say that I have never met a full time bird breeder that looked like they ever slept or have eaten more than once a day. It is hard, time consuming work that has to be committed to or else things go fatally wrong.

 

[Mike17]

I have to say that I have never met a full time bird breeder that looked like they ever slept or have eaten more than once a day. It is hard, time consuming work that has to be committed to or else things go fatally wrong.

I've not met a "full time" breeder, the people I've met have been "committed hobbyists" with full time jobs elsewhere. It's probably more likely that you'd find a full-timer in US since the market's so much bigger, although I don't doubt that there are some here in Oz. Our first eccy came from a fairly committed lady, if equipment was anything to go by, her loungeroom had 5 human humidicribs and an egg hatching machine (I know they have a name, it just escapes me).

 

[kc_y0]

I paid $80 for Mini, I knew I could get budgies cheaper elsewhere but I didn't care, I loved her at first sight.

 

[Abigal7]

It is hard work to wean and raise up birds. Anyone can put two birds together but that doesn't mean the babies will be tame or healthy. I do not know the price of Indian Ring necks necks but I know monk parakeets are cheaper when compared to other parrot species.