[EverLove]

I’m seriously considering getting a friend for Cutie, and am hoping that my parents will cave in by the time I find her perfect playmate. My only condition is that I want a male, so I’m looking for pink ceres or blue ceres, right?

I saw a few beautiful budgies at PetsMart, but am concerned. First, I don’t want to get a bird that is sick. I saw one I really liked, but while I was watching him he seemed to be slightly fluffed, especially around the neck. The second one that caught my eye was flying from perch to perch. But, even if I found a healthy bird, being housed with a sick bird would mean that I run a risk… right? They are all full flighted too, and I doubt they are hand-raised.

I know there are budgies at the pet shop I got Cutie from, though they are all pretty skittish as well. I would be able to get his wings clipped before I took him home with me. I feel that they care for their budgies better. My only problem with them is that the budgies all seem to be small… and they don’t have a large selection. I have heard of them getting budgies from people who don’t want them anymore. The budgies that they do get from a breeder are hand-raised, though.

I’m leaning towards the bird shop I got Cutie from, but was wondering what you all thought? :shrug:

 

[The Brute Squad]

The bird shop for sure!

 

[Solace.]

You do run the risk of getting a sick bird even if it looks healthy being caged with obvious sick bird.

Is the next pet shop you could go to (where you got Cutie from) a better store, healthy birds, clean cages, clean water, fresh food etc? I'm not one to buy any bird from pet stores anymore, but getting any kind of bird from a store that's not good means they're going to replace the one you bought with another budgie and there's a 99% chance s/he will be ill.

It's up to you, but I think if it was possible, getting a hand-raised and fed budgie from a breeder is the best option.. but that's not possible for everyone, so if it's not for you, I'd go with the store you got Cutie from and stay well away from the first one.

 

[EverLove]

You do run the risk of getting a sick bird even if it looks healthy being caged with obvious sick bird.

Is the next pet shop you could go to (where you got Cutie from) a better store, healthy birds, clean cages, clean water, fresh food etc? I'm not one to buy any bird from pet stores anymore, but getting any kind of bird from a store that's not good means they're going to replace the one you bought with another budgie and there's a 99% chance s/he will be ill.

It's up to you, but I think if it was possible, getting a hand-raised and fed budgie from a breeder is the best option.. but that's not possible for everyone, so if it's not for you, I'd go with the store you got Cutie from and stay well away from the first one.

The bird store I got Cutie from is much better than PetsMart. When I first started going there and playing with the birds, I thought it was an amazing store that did everything right. Now, I realize that they don't. My only complaint is the cage sizes for the birds. The budgies are kept in an aquarium, but they have plenty of toys and they made the top with tons of holes so there is fresh air. They have big food and water dishes too, and chirp happily whenever I'm in there. I don't recall ever seeing a sick bird.

I'm hoping to go there today and check out the budgies that they have. Once my dad repaints the large cage, I'll move Cutie and have the small cage for quarentining the new budgie.

There are no breeders around where I live...no places to adopt either

 

[twink]

Ditto what's already been said.:thumbsup: Seeing as how there aren't any breeders where you live, your next best option is the bird store. You know they have healthy stock and they're well taken care of, it's always best to go with what you already know. Have your dad repaint the cage now, the longer it sits to cure, the better. Did you decide on the Krylon H20 ?

 

[Jenny]

I agree with everyone else - avoid Petsmart if you can. While there are some good individual stores, the overall chain leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I work in a pet shop, and we have a Petsmart and a Petco within a mile of us, and still people come to us. I know down here, they get their budgies from an aviary breeder, regardless of age. They just go in there with a big net, scoop up who they can, then toss them in the cage :frown: I wish you lived near me, we hand-feed and raise our budgies! My manager breeds them and has WAY too many :rofl: