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A Trip to the Pet Store

2K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  solo 
#1 ·
I visited a pet store, while I was away. Fred needed new toys, and all the birds needed pellets. I saw an Blue Fronted Amazon for $2500, a Citron Cockatoo for $3700. I held a Black Headed Caique...he sold for $2400. There was a beautiful Lory for $2400....I think it's a good thing my house is already full!
 
#2 ·
Sharon,
The prices seem so much higher there than in the states. Is it that they are really higher or is the currency very different? How was Gillian?
 
#3 ·
Bird prices are ridiculous! You can see why Fred and cage for $1800 seemed a good deal to me! I think the Canadian and US dollar are fairly close right now.
Gillian is wonderful, Nanay...thanks for asking. She's busy but that's the norm for her....I get tired just watching her life...:giggle:
 
#4 ·
yeah I thought that seemed pretty expensive! Over here, a blue front here would be about £600, a CCC would be about £1200 and a black capped caique would be about £595!

what birds do you currently have?
 
#6 ·
Oh yeah, that's me being a bit blind :eek:

how are you finding keeping an amazon hehe?
 
#7 ·
Fred is a joy! :lovehearts: I can't imagine life without him. He's very different from the other birds, and seems almost childlike at times.
 
#8 ·
While I was visiting Aurora yesterday some folks brought in an eleven year old Toucaman amazon. He was one of the sweetest birds I've ever seen. The toucaman baby they sold last year was also sweet. They seem like a calm sort of amazon.
 
#9 ·
Sharon, you are still in need of a Stanley some day. :whistle:
 
#11 ·
That's ok, too, Sharon - or a dog.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Jess,
I'm very prejudiced TOWARD green cheek conures. Shira is a total joy as a companion. She is very mouthy, but once she learned how hard she could bite without causing pain, she has not bitten harder than that. Sometimes, if she is peeved, she squawks and bites slightly harder than she normally bites, but even that doesn't really hurt. She is fearless, so she can be her own worst enemy. You very much have to protect green cheeks from themselves. She enjoys trick training and is quick to learn. Shira herself is not loud at all, but I have heard some do develop into screamers. Shira is also talking, but I'm not able to make most of it out yet. She was only hatched in late May. She will crawl into my hands and snuggle against them when she is ready to be scritched, and then she will often fall asleep in my hands while I pet her. She will also snuggle against my neck and preen me and sleep. Her little feet have quite the grip, and she rides around on me, hanging whereever she likes, and I never worry she will fall. I highly recommend a handfed pyhurrah conure of any species to you. I actually have read repeatedly that the other species are even sweeter. My only caution is that, for maximum pet quality, they seem to need to be separated from their clutchmates very young, prior to weaning, and interacted with a lot at this critical developmental period. 100% of all pyhurra babies I have personally interacted with fit this generalization. ALL babies who were caged alone and played with gently and often from no later than the time they fully feathered have had superb personalities. ALL babies who were caged with other pyhurras during the last few weeks of handfeeding and beyond have been unpredictable pets at best. I am sure this could be overcome, but if you are going to pick something for yourself, why not pick something with the best chance of being a happy companion? My theory on this is that this is their "teething" period. They learn how hard is too hard to bite at this time. I believe they play much rougher with one another than our own human hands want to tolerate. My own Shira was only separated from her clutchmates for the final two or three weeks before she weaned.

Much as I love greencheeks and would recommend them as pets, if you can tolerate the noise, I believe suns, jendays, and gold caps are even more reliably sweeter when handfed and socialized young. They don't seem to need to be separated from their clutchmates right before weaning to stay sweet.

Rosifrons, painted, and crimson bellied pyhurrah conures are also famous for being more reliably sweet than greencheeks. Black caps and maroon bellieds are about the same as green cheeks. These are the only pyhurrah conures I know anything about.

Dusky conures are not very popular, but I had one years ago, and she was even sweeter than Shira is.
 
#14 ·
Jess,
One other thing. Green cheeks are like kids. They get grumpy when they are tired. Shira will play and play, but when she starts to get really grumpy she is tired, and she goes so hard that she tires out quicker than everyone else. At these times, if she is too overstimulated to rest, I put her back in her cage. I put her up on my shoulder and give her a chance to snuggle up and fall asleep, but if she won't nap, I put her up.
 
#16 ·
I agree with EVERYTHING Nanay says about Green Cheeks! My Libby (a Pineapple Green Cheek) is just like that! I love her to bits and wouldn't trade her for anything!
 
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