Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I had cockatiels all my childhood and teenage years. Once I went to college, I could not have one in my dorm room, so my sis has it now and no way will give it back (plus the bird has not seen me for 6 years so...). Now I finaly have my house and married so it is time to get one again.
All my birds were given to me. That is not going to be the case now.

I was looking at cockatiels and cockatoos in Petsmart. Cockatiels looked just fine, cockatoos were a bit depressed. Anyway, with tight budget in mind, should I stick with Petsmart or should I look at any other stores?

I would consider adopting, but with potential for high vet bills and bird mental problems I just can't do it.

BTW, I live in Chicago, IL. Any recommendation re. shops?

I personally advise against using Petco or Petsmart. Their birds are production bred. This means that they are denied the basic socialization they need to grow up to be well adjusted adult birds. Many are also force-weaned, which just adds to the problems. Though there are many Petcos and Petsmarts that take good care of their birds, there are just as many that keep them in unsanitary conditions, don`t treat sick birds (and often cases where they`re reported to kill sick birds and other animals by freezing them), and don`t give infant birds enough handfeeding. I went into a Petco where a beautiful little female eclectus parrot sat there at the bottom of her cage screaming for food the whole time I was there because the employees said it `wasn`t time` to feed her yet. I saw the same thing the next day I went there, with my camera, to photograph some apalling conditions. She also felt terribly underweight when I held her. Granted this was the worse Petco I`ve ever seen, but these big corporations just don`t have control over what happens at a local level, but your money still goes to supporting that corporation, even if your local store is doing a good job.

If you want a healthy, well adjusted baby go to a breeder in your area. It`s worth the extra price, believe me.

I know there are a few rescues in your area, and I would highly recommend contacting them. Rescues often get in perfectly happy, healthy, and well adjusted birds for a number of reasons. It`s worth looking into. And a good rescue will NOT mis-represent a bird to you. Their hope is to find the bird a suitable, permanent home and lying to you about its needs just means that it`s more likely you`ll want to pass the bird on to someone else. So it can`t hurt to call and see what they have available.

There are also a few good petstore out there. I like small, mom-and-pop stores that you can tell pampers their birds. The fact is, though, that quality petstores cost MORE than quality breeders. Because quality petstores get their birds FROM quality breeders, and then mark up the price to make a profit.

Cockatoos are a lot of work, and if you`re looking for a bird that`s going to be relatively emotionally and mentally stable, perhaps cockatoos are not the birds for you. Please read www.mytoos.com and see if that`s still the sorta thing you want to get into. They are LOUD, they are NEEDY, and they quite easily become a little unbalanced.
Don`t get me wrong, they`re my bird of choice too, but you have to know what you`re getting into. Please be careful not to spoil the bird as a baby. Cockatoos need a LOT of attention, but make sure it`s not all direct, cuddling kinds of attention. Make sure they also know how to occupy themselves by playing with their toys in their cage, or on their play stand for a few hours a day while you give them more indirect attention (ie, occassionally glancing up to say `oh, you like that toy do you?` or `What a good, quiet little girl you`re being! Thank you!`)

What kind of cockatoo are you considering? Mollucans and Umbrellas are the most clingy and needy, and therefore some of the most popular and most likely to be abandoned. The sulphers, goffins and bare-eyed is better capable of occupying themselves. A sulpher`s idea of a good time is bouncing up and down with you, screaming at the top of their lungs. My favorite cockatoo is the slender billed corella. Rare, expensive, relative unattractive (physically), but man do they have terrifically unique personalities.

Goodluck whatever you decide! This link lists some organizatins in IL that might be able to help you find the bird you want.
http://www.lovemypets.com/lmp/Rescue/Default.asp?ParentCategory=21&ShowTheCategory=1

I`ve seen some great Petco`s and Petsmarts where the birds seemed happy and friendly, their cages were clean, they had toys, and the staff was knowledgeable about their birds. They even had hand-washing gel you had to use before you can handle any of the birds. Depending on the manager of the store, individual stores can take good care of their birds, or bad care of their birds.
There`s nothing wrong with the companies` policies themselves, it`s just hard to enforce them at a local level. (ie, when I did complain about the hungry baby eclectus, the regional manager made sure she was seen by a vet). Petco has held an adoption day with Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue. Both donate money to animal rescues and shelters. Petsmart is helping fund a survey that is researching the homeless parrot problem. But until they find a way to make sure it`s better enforced at ALL stores, or they stop selling live animals, I personally won`t shop at these large corporations. That is of course just my opinion.

If your local Petsmart has clean cages, toys for the birds, and none of the birds seem sick... Then it`s your choice whether or not you buy from them. But Petsmart and Petco usually aren`t very cheap, and most likely their birds weren`t bred in accordance to birdhobbyist`s breeders code of ethics. Ask them for references on where they got their birds. Who bred them? And contact that person to see how the babies were raised. I think you`re really more likely to find a good, well socialized, mentally stable cockatoo at a private breeder that follows Birdhobbyist`s guidelines.
Some Petsmarts and Petcos will sell unweaned birds, despite the fact that it`s against company policies. If they`re willing to sell you an unweaned bird, I would highly suggest not shopping there.

Goodluck!

To all the information Itdead provided, I might add that pet stores routinely price their birds about double what you might spend at a breeder's.

I'll agree that you might want to check out local parrot rescues. Any rescue worth their salt will have already taken care of any vet bills etc. that the bird needed, and they will only place a bird with you if they feel it's a good match. Usually the adoption fees run about the same or less than you would spend on a baby bird, and with all the vet bills taken care of you're a step ahead.

If not a rescue, I recommend buying only from a quality breeder. These are the ones that are NOT out to make every penny they can and have the birds' best interests in mind. Generally they raise only few birds at a time and go out of their way to make sure they're happy, healthy, socialized, and part of the family.

If you liked the cockatiel you had before and want another bird like that, I'd get another cockatiel. 'Tiels and 'toos are worlds apart in terms of their demands -- 'tiels are easy-keepers, 'toos are far from it!

You might also want to look at some of the other types of parrots. In the end, for most situations I think the species is less important than finding an individual bird that's happy, healthy, friendly, and socialized... even if it's not a species you had on your list. That said, the book "Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior" by Mattie Sue Athan has short, but very apt descriptions of the personalities of all the more common pet parrots.

Here's some articles you might find worth reading...
http://www.companionparrot.com/articles/poultrification.html
http://www.companionparrot.com/articles/questions.html

Also, if you're looking for breeders, this site has an extensive listing:
http://www.birdsnways.com

Best wishes!
- Lara

P.S..... if you decide you're interested in a cockatiel and don't mind a drive, I have babies in the nest and am located in MI.

Well, I am not going to an animal rescue to get my bird. I have been disgusted with pretentiousness of those people I had to deal with so far. They realy think they are the belly button of the world! At least the ones I dealt with (I will discole name of the organization if you e-mail me) had their noses so high up in the air that I would say animals are better of without their "help", because people like that turn away potential adopters who could make a difference. I have dealt with many non-for-profits with geat causes and yes I have met my share of jerks, but boy do those people at that rescue think that much of themselves. If not for my determination and previous experience with cockatiels, I would be turned off from owning and caring for a pet. These people left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I know there are many good organizations and the bad apples get weeded out.

I personally think the species matters, but only so far as certain species have certain general noise-levels and personalities. (ie, the generalization that cockatiels are more cuddly then ring necked parakeets is a pretty safe one). So if you`re looking for a specific characteristic, there are some species you`re mor likely to find it in.
That said, I think it`s MOST important to find the bird that simply `sparks` with you, AND suits your lifestyle. (ie, mollucan cockatoo in an apartment is a bad idea, no matter how well you get along with the bird).

Some rescues are a little more pretentious then others, some are simply misread as pretentious. I`ve heard people rant about how stuck-up Mickaboo is because they require them to go to a bird care class to adopt. Perhaps it was specifically the individual you talked to? Or maybe you could discuss with them the policies that bothered you, and try to get an understanding of why they`re in place?
There are at least 2 rescues in IL, so you can try the other one.
There`s also at least one big bird club. Often bird clubs are aware of parrots needing a second home. Lots of bird clubs do a little `bird rescuing` on the side.
And there`s also the `for sale` adds in the paper. But keep in mind that not all of these will tell you the truth. They`re trying to get rid of it, after all! So try to judge their personality, honesty, and the level of care the bird seems to be getting when you visit. It`s definately a risk though, as there are no health guarantees buying like that, as compared to getting it at a good rescue or breeder who`ll make sure the bird was healthy before sending it out.