Parrotfarm Thailand

[Bushra]

We live in UAE. I would like to buy yellow collared macaw fully weaned baby, but here we didn't found. Here we can import a pair from Thailand. Can anyone give us a trusthworthy breeder there? We found 2, but my husband fears they are fake. Thanks a lot.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

You have to be careful about scams. Don't pay for anything you cannot pick up.

[Pajarita]

I would not buy any bird from Thailand... one hears all kinds of horror stories about the birds there - lots and lots of black market, sick birds, etc.

[Bushra]

Thank you Liz and Pajarita for your replies, however a day before you answered we started the process. The paperwork between countries is maybe finishing today, than the shifting comes. I will inform you how it ends.

[Bushra]

As I wrote I will inform about the result. Liz and Pajarita was right with the warning. It came out fraud. Hard to understand, when all documents were done, UAE Government checked with the Thailand Government about the seller's document also. Never buy from here: lydiamacawsbirdfarm.weebly.com
It seems everything is fine, but when he told he sent the birds, the so called company which supposed to bring the birds was fake. They even wrote a story to get more money, writing that in Oman our birds got quarantined. We checked with the Oman authorities, no parrots from Thailand arrived to them. SO called shifting company only mailed strange mails, no any phone number, one cannot find them on google. Earlier he told he will send with other company, which has even website, perfectly done. One mistake: the phone number they have given there is not valid at all. If someone wants to know more about our story, PM me.

[liz]

It is so easy to get scammed.

When I was searching for a second Amazon I was distracted by a person who could not keep his pair of Greys. I contacted him and he said he would send them to me free but that I had to pay shipping first. When I told him that I do not ship beings and that I would pick them up even though it was Kentucky I never head from him again. The forum had given me info about scams so I pretty much knew it was not real but had to check in case there were two birds who needed me.

I did get caught in a scam that cost me $1150. By email I was contacted by a man who could sell my time share. I just had to pay the closing. I paid it and he then asked for $60 more which I didn't have because my savings were drained for the $1150. We were in contact about a month when I stopped hearing from him. I went searching and found out that his company was named slightly different from a real company. That is how he got me.

Never pay before you see what you are getting. I rescued 2 cockatiels, Phoenix and Flutter, from what I thought was the owner. He came to the car with a box and took my money. I did not look in the box until I got home. I should have looked in the parking lot before I paid for them. I would have been able to beat the crap out of him and taken the birds for free. The white one, Flutter, is truly wild. It is not fear it is just that he had never had social contact. He is still wild and amuses himself by knocking the others off their perches while flying by. Phoenix was named after the bird that rose from the fire. This poor little thing had an open wound where someone had tried to trim his wings and cut off the hand part of his wing. The wound has healed but just like amputees he can still feel the pain in his missing wing.

The scammers are getting harder to spot. They have really set up fake businesses and covered their tracks.

[Wolf]

With the large amount of scammers preying on innocent people, perhaps it would be a good idea to tell your whole story here, in the hopes that it will help others to learn what to look for so that they can avoid going through this type of experience themselves.

I am so sorry that this turned out to be a scam and that you got caught in it. It is a terrible thing to do to another person and it makes me very ashamed that there are people that would even consider doing this, let alone following through with it. I am so sorry that you had to go through this.

[Bushra]

Thank you Liz for sharing your terrible experiences.

As Wolf suggested, I try to share our whole story shortly here.
We live in UAE, because my husband has got job here. We just live next to Sharjah bird market. The ituation of the birds in the market made me to think to find breeders. We didn't find for Eclectus and Yellow Collared Macaw which were my choices. In fact very difficult to find any breeder, and even we find a breeder, you can order, but cannot go there personally.
We started to search breeders from abroad in Internet. Some we founded out that those are scam. In fact there is a lots of webpages, nicly made, but scam. Than we founded Lydia Macaw birdsfarm in Thailand.
They must have more webpages, 2 we found. We contacted, about 2 weeks we kept thinking, and trying to put such questions which can show if it is scam. The person sent photos, Google search didn't know, it seemed very right. He sent a cites certificate showing that he already sent to UAE.
Finally we ordered a pair of yellow collared macaw. We sent half price, and agreed to pay the rest in delivery. He sent us cites certificate from his part. Medical certificate too. Well, I never found on Net that vet, and not a single phone number was on the vet's paper.
Next step was to make in UAE the cites certificate. In the Ministry the person first told the cites certifi ate is strange from Thailand, but they checked with the Thai government, and they told it is ok.
When we got the cites certificate in UAE he was not sending the birds. He told because of the king's death. He wanted us to send more money for sending the birds from the capital. We refused. When he saw we are not sending more money, finally one day he told the birds are on the way and the shipping company contacts us in email only. They sent very strange email, no phone number, nowhere we could find such a shipping company, but the name was very similar to a really existing company. I repeat, no number so we can call them. After a very few hours they sent again a strange email, saying that the birds are in quarantine in Oman, because no insurance paper. They wanted us to pay $ 500.
We contacted Oman quarantine, Ministry. They were very helpful. They told they never received parrot from Thailand, insurance is not needed, they also ensured us that they never stop any bird going to UAE.

This is our story. It was scam. The most dangerous part I think that they sent official, Thailand ministry stamped certificate.
And now they havo our UAE made cites too, and they are showing to people ensuring them that they sent birds. Which never happened.

But we got a happy end somehow. My husband got an orange winged female Amazon on Sharjah bird market, very cheap. She has no ring, no any certificate. We do not know the age also. Now over one month she is with us, healthy. I am training basic things, all I studied from our Parrot Wizard's videos. I am very greatful to it. Her wing feathers were trimmed, but growing now, and hopefully I will not cut it again.

I still miss to experience macaw playful personality.

Sory to answer late. I like to come to parrotforum, but I have 4 children too.

[liz]

What are the ages of your children?

My policy is to not pay for a bird I cannot pick up. I have bought and taken home Cockatiels that came in cardboard boxes. I pay what they call a rehoming fee. When I got home I found that one (Phoenix) was mutilated and Flutter was just plane wild. But that is why I got them. All my birds are rescues of some kind who need extra care to become parrots instead of possession that get past from one house to another.
They all have different personalities. Learn you birds personality like you would learn with an orphan who has been mistreated. Not only give it love but also respect. Birds that can fly will adapt faster than those who's wings are clipped.
The parrot may not have been the one you wanted but you will bond to it and treat it like part of you family. Let it learn about you by being where he can watch you even when you are not paying attention to it. I have recently learned that Rainbow and Myrtle will stop their yelling back and forth if I sing to them. They both love it. Myrtle will get on my shoulder and make little noises like she is trying to add to the song. She will be singing before long.

I also suggest that you give your bird a perch that is at your eye level. They don't have a fear of faces but they do hands.

[Wolf]

Thank you for sharing your story with us, I am hoping that it will help others to avoid this type of situation.

Four kids, that could be quite a handful at times and always a lot of work. I am glad that you found a bird that you liked even if it is not a macaw, but then an Amazon's bite will not do as much damage to a child or adult as a large macaws bite would, so perhaps this will prove to be the better choice for now, I do hope so.