Has anyone purchased from ... ?

[Ashley]

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted on here in ages! It's nice to be back I'm looking for a bit of help though! My fiance and I are looking to add a GCC to our family! We're very excited, but want to go through the right breeder! I've narrowed it down to 2 I believe.

Our first choice is Marianne Waldon of Heaven's Little Darlings in Whtby, Ontario. Her website is ;

http://www.heavenslildarlingsaviary.com/Home_Page.php

We've spoken with her on several occasions, and have received a few pictures from her, and over all she seems pretty good. She's roughly 4 hours from us, so we would drive out to pick our baby up.

Our second choice is Canada Parrots. Their website is ;

http://www.canadaparrots.com/index.htm

Now, I haven't gotten a response from them yet. I had emailed them on July 26th, and nothing. I decided I would try one last time today, so I'm just waiting.

Has anyone had any dealings with either of these two breeders? Overall, I like how knowledgeable and sincere Marianne comes across, but I'm not particularly fond of the fact that her babies are weaned onto Zuppreem Fruitblend pellets.. I would prefer Roudybush, TOPS, or Harrisons, but I guess I can always change his diet when he comes home.. And secondly, I had asked her if it were possible for her to get our baby used to being around a flight suit/harness, as we plan on training him on recall and would love to bring him out for walks! I figured if she played a part in this while he was young, it would make it a bit easier when we brought him home. However, she said she didn't believe a GCC should ever wear a flight suit or harness. What do you guys think? Are they too small?

Thanks all

[GlassOnion]

GCCs are definitely able to wear a harness. I would stay away from a breeder who refuses to harness.. What is she saying? That you should just take it outside clipped? Sounds like a crap breeder.

I would suggest Susan from Windsong Aviary and Minature Poodles. She has GCCs throughout the year and does harness train her babies. Just google for her website, she updates it daily.

[Ashley]

Thanks for the reply! I've heard of plenty of people using a harness on a GCC, so it striked me as strange when she said it. Here is what she wrote to me ;

"As far as the harness goes...I do not own one, use one or even like them, especially on a bird as small as a green cheek conure. Flight/recall is usually left to the bigger birds, however, within the home they can learn it. Before attempting to teach that, you need to get the basics down...step up, step down, no owies, thinks like that. And you really need a strong bond with your bird or he will literally fly away.
When trimmed properly, he can go outside without fear of him flying away. I usually will take them on the deck and let them bath and enjoy the sunshine...but nothing else as there are bugs and predators that I prefer that my birds not come into contact with.
If u choose to harness your bird, ensure you get a good one as many a bird has been injured by them. They are not natural to a bird so they can sometimes seriously injure themselves."

Aside from that, she seems pretty good.

I've checked out Susans website before, but unfortunately she's a bit too far from us. I had contacted her before, and she seemed a bit "short" with me. I had asked a few questions, but her responses just didn't seem to be quite good. Have you purchased from her?

[GlassOnion]

I think its universal that clipped birds should not go outside without a harness, because even a light flutter away can be very dangerous under some circumstances.

No I haven't, but I was on a waitlist for a conure that I decided against. When I emailed her, she answered all of my questions, and emailed me back within an hour each time. She was also understanding when I chose not to go with the GCC.

[Ashley]

To be truthful, I'm really at a loss of what to do. The breeder in Whitby (Marianne) has two males only, while the breeder in Staffa (Susan), has 4 females. Both of them seem to be very distant, or at least that's the feeling I'm getting. I emailed Susan 3 times with questions, and each time she emailed me back she never addressed my questions. Also, Susan said she doesn't harness train her GCC's?

My next dilemma is male or female. I've heard about egg binding problems in females (I have another post on here about it), and with males I've been told they are very aggressive. I don't like that I have to choose the breeder based on what sex I want. The whole process is starting to frustrate me to no end. Susan is 7.5 hours away from us. We're talking about driving up this weekend, but if we do, we'd have to spend the night in a hotel. So I really have to make up my mind soon.

Any suggestions on how I can make my decision? Would having a female really present that much problems? Also, when she becomes sexually mature, is she going to naturally switch from me to my fiance to bond with? Itll be me as primary caregiver, as my fiance works long hours. AHHH the frustration! Sorry for the rant, hope you guys can help!

[Natacha]

Birds don't generally have opposite sex preference - while some might have gender preference, it's generally for other reason and it can go either way. For example, I have a male Meyer's who prefers men and I'm fairly sure he got mistreated by a women in a previous home.

Not all females have egg binding issues, in fact, not all females will lay eggs. It's not to say it won't happen, but it's not necessarily something that will happen. And females can also be aggressive.

Being comfortable with your breeder is important.
Not all breeders will harness train their babies but if it's something important for you, then it's something you need to take into consideration. What are you willing to compromise on when choosing a breeder? If you are also feeling rushed into a decision right now, are you willing to wait and possibly find another breeder that shares more of the same views as you? If you do want a specific gender but it would be with the breeder you are less comfortable with, would you be willing to wait for another clutch?

[Ashley]

Hi Natacha,

Thanks for your response. I want to feel 100% comfortable with our breeder, and right now I'm leaning towards the second, farther away, one. I've spoken with her on the phone, and she seems pretty genuine. She offers a 1 month health guarantee, which I thought was much better than the 1 week the other offered. I am concerned with one or two things. She says that the babies haven't really bonded to her. Is this something to be concerned with? Also, her babies are weaned onto Kaytee brand pellets. I don't know much yet, but I've read that those aren't the best brand. I've ordered the TOPs brand online, so hopefully I'm able to change his diet when he's/she's more comfortable in our home.

Harness training isn't the end of the world. I haven't found any breeder so far that does this with their babies, at least none that we're able to drive out to. I'm not comfortable having our baby shipped, for two reasons. 1) I'd prefer to meet with the breeder, see where she raises her babies and 2) I'm worried it would cause added stress on the baby. Going from his home where he knows people, then onto a plane for hours, and then to a new home where he knows no one..

[Natacha]

Some breeders are willing to do the training if asked - the breeder who's raising my Cape is doing it, but I agree it seems to be only on requests.

Given it's still a baby, with some work on your part it's entirely possible to have a nice relationship bond form with it, even if there doesn't seem to be one formed with the breeder at this time. As long as the babies aren't totally put off human contact and that this will create a stress on you (if you expect something and are not getting it..).

As far as what the baby is being weaned on, no it's not the best, but again, as babies, it might be much easier to change the diet once you have it home. Is it only weaned off those pellets or is she also offering fresh foods?

[Ashley]

What I'm most worried about is that were going to drive the 7.5 hours down there, and find out that her babies have had virtually no contact with humans and don't want any either. Since this is our first bird, I want a hand tame, social baby who enjoys human companionship. I had asked the breeder closest to us, (the one with only males) if she wouldn't mind harness training while they were growing up, and she flat out said no. She said that as long as his wings were clipped, we wouldn't face problems (which I know is a load of crap. One gust of wind and up and away he goes). So I'm not overly thrilled with her..

I just don't want to drive all that distance for nothing. With the price of gas right now, that alone is gonna end up costing as much as the bird.. I've tried asking for pictures, and she said they all basically look the same, and that she was short on time. Her internet is down on her computer, so she only has her phone to go by. I just thought that a good breeder would be thrilled to send pictures etc. Her testimonial page is nothing but shining reviews with tons and tons of pictures of pets in their new homes, so that's good. Maybe I'm just being paranoid and she really is fantastic, just very busy.. I sure hope so.

[Natacha]

If I am to be honest, in your place I would reconsider, wait a bit longer and see who else is out there.

The fact that she can't sent at least one picture..it is a long drive to end up coming back with nothing.

Best of luck with your decision though!