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Packrat
Egg
Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 9
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| What I realized yesterday about pet stores |
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I found a really big, adorable, white as snow, cockatoo today. I was cuddling and playing with her for about a hour at the pet store, Debating whether or not to buy her... Then i was basically kicked out of the store because i was in there so long and not buying anything...  Pet stores are all about profit, not the birds at all.... its very sad... The only take care of the animals because for them it only registers as animals=product. Produce sick/damaged=throw it away/sneak sell it off/sell it off at discount. They wanted 1800 for her... Is that about right pricing for large white cockatoos? |
Thursday March 23, 2006 11:50 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
Good observation Packrat! You're right, it's a business & they're in it for profit!
IF you are serious about getting a parrot, I really suggest you do some internet researching on the specific breed you're interested in & talk to others with the same breed first.
Then after deciding what species would be best for you & your life style, try to find a reputable breeder to talk with & buy from. In FL I'm sure they must have a few bird shows once in awhile where breeders all get together & sell their chicks.
That way you'll know more about the bird. How old it is, if it's healthy, if it was hand or parent raised. Pet stores aren't usually able to give you any of that information.
The price of the cockatoo? That sounds
about
right to me, but I've never had one & haven't paid much attention to the price of them myself, so I'm not real sure, sorry. |
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Thursday March 23, 2006 1:17 pm |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7972
Location: Australia |
Yeah, pet shop is a lot like that, but then some are great!! just a lot of them are bad and only in it for the money.
It depends on where you're at and also the type of white cockatoo you're after. If it's the Umbrella you were cuddling, I'd say they are asking a little too much if you're in the US. Sorry, I don't remember if I read where you're from.. hehe. sorry. in Australia, an Umbie would go for at least $7000 ( I think) they are very rare here as we're not allow to import birds from oversea. |
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Thursday March 23, 2006 3:15 pm |
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parakeetgirl
Bappie
Joined: 29 Jan 2006
Posts: 58
Location: USA |
I saw one nice-looking shop that had hand raised birds, hand raised umbrella for $900 USD. The bird looked healthy too. I guess that's cheap? |
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Saturday March 25, 2006 4:14 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
I think 900 USD is very cheap, but, like I said, I'm just not sure about cockatoo prices. |
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Saturday March 25, 2006 12:16 pm |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7405
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Umbrella Cockatoos cost exactly $1800 CAD at petstores here in Canada, so I imagine they should be a bit less in USD. You can definitely get them for A LOT cheaper at a breeder. Here breeders sell them for $900 CAD. |
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Saturday March 25, 2006 2:54 pm |
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Chaquita's Mom
Experienced flier
Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1028
Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
A cockatoo isn't for the novice parront. You definately need experience, years, in parronting of larger bird breeds before considering a cockatoo. Some people, very very few, get lucky and have an excellent companion. Let's just hope they have that good companion attitude for their 80+ years. Do you have this kind of experience with parrots? If not, I'd suggest a different species. You want a good experience with a parrot, not an extremely challenging one  |
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Monday March 27, 2006 12:23 am |
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faerieprincess29
Bappie
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 96
Location: California |
I would have to agree. Umbies or any cockatoo is not for a novice. I have an umbie and he is just starting to hit puberty and he is a handful. About prices: at a breeder you could find an Umbrella for ~900 and at a pet store ~1600-1800 but I have to say breeders usualy have the better birds. A breeder I know had an Umbie who was a royal pain so she sent him to a pet store. lol Breeders also tend to take better care of their birds. But there are also bad breeders who are only in it for the money so you have to be careful. |
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Monday March 27, 2006 7:00 am |
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Kellyanne
Flier
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 659
Location: Ottawa, Canada |
Cheeta: Are you serious that Umbrella's are 7K$ in Australia? Aren't they from Indonesia, just north of Australia? Is is true taht you can't import foreign birds? I would have thought that all toos would be really cheap there... interesting...
When I bought my Umbrella, about 10 years ago, I paid $2000 CDN for him a pet store, but I know that I overpaid. Breeders are definitely cheaper. If you do a search online, you should be able to come up with a list of breeders in your area or do a search for a local parrot club as they can offend recomend reputable breeders and pet stores. |
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Monday March 27, 2006 2:48 pm |
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z24wkit
Egg
Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Posts: 7
Location: Mass/NY |
i am new here
i agree with you guys that most pet stores are all in for the wrong reasons and i was watched and literally stared at once while in a store which turned me off i walked out right away but...
i am openning a store for all animals in the fall and am not going into for profits but rather i am tired of these big chains and little stores that dont care about animals at alland tired of the internet and mail order service controlling our market
i want people to wlak into our store and meet and spend time with our birds and othe ranimals and fall i love and feel comfortable |
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Wednesday March 29, 2006 1:27 am |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7972
Location: Australia |
kellyanne, yes umbie is very expensive here, and that's only a price that i read in some Eastern state classified on the internet. They are considered as very rare here! And yes Australia don't allow importation of foreign birds into the country, which is why a lot of the exotic birds are quite on the expensive side.... other cockatoos such as Galahs and the BE2 are quite cheap here.. you can get a hand fed galahs for less than $100AUD. i've seen it for $60!! even cheaper for parent raised babies. so as you can see, it difers quite a lot when it comes to cockatoos in Australia. |
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Wednesday March 29, 2006 5:51 am |
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cheekie_birdy
Experienced flier
Joined: 08 Jul 2006
Posts: 1719
Location: Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Kellyanne
Cheeta: Are you serious that Umbrella's are 7K$ in Australia? Aren't they from Indonesia, just north of Australia? Is is true taht you can't import foreign birds? I would have thought that all toos would be really cheap there... interesting...
When I bought my Umbrella, about 10 years ago, I paid $2000 CDN for him a pet store, but I know that I overpaid. Breeders are definitely cheaper. If you do a search online, you should be able to come up with a list of breeders in your area or do a search for a local parrot club as they can offend recomend reputable breeders and pet stores.
I thought umbies would be cheap there too..
Actully, I think it's mullocans that come from indonesia, the mullocan islands? maybe umbies too, but I think they are aussies. Here's a site
http://www.indonesian-parrot-project.org/ |
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Tuesday July 25, 2006 3:28 pm |
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