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Conference 7.286::pet_birds

Title:Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN!
Notice:INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.*
Moderator:VIDEO::PULSIFER
Created:Mon Oct 10 1988
Last Modified:Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:942
Total number of notes:6016

764.0. "Importing Grays" by MIMS::CRISAFULLI_C () Mon Jan 18 1993 08:39

    HI All,
    
    I am in the process of buying a Gray. I am learning as much as I can
    before I make this kind of commitment and investment. I have really
    enjoied reading all the notes in here. I have learned a lot from
    everyone's experience.
    
    The reason I am writing this note, is because I have a question. I have
    found someone in Flordia that is willing to sell me a 6 month old Gray
    for $200.00. He claims that this Gray is imported BUT it was raised
    over seas and not taken from the jungle.
    
    He claims that they don't take birds from the jungle anymore. Is this a
    true statement?
    
    Thanks
    Chuck
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764.1Be Careful!SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JEMon Jan 18 1993 10:4215
    Sounds like a great deal and a great story!  I suppose I'm a skeptic,
    but it sounds too good to be true to me.
    
    I would be very careful and I would also try to find a local breeder
    where I could actually see and spend time with the bird before I
    brought it home.  
    
    Several people in this file have had luck with buying birds sight
    unseen but I suspect they dealt with a popular breeding ranch and
    probably paid a premium price.
    
    Good luck in your seach.
    
    Jeanne
     
764.2sounds too good to be true.CSOA1::DIRRMANMon Jan 18 1993 12:138
    I have to agree with Jeane. If it is a congo (very red tailblack beak)
    and $200 - that is extremely cheap. If it were a smuggled bird - they
    guy wouldn't tell you. Just be careful - maybe give him part down now
    and the rest in a month to give it a try. It really is better to get 
    a hand raised. They are a great deal easier to work with and will learn
    better.  Just be careful not to be taken. Good Luck!
    
    Dora
764.3JungleCSCOA1::CRISAFULLI_CThu Jan 21 1993 06:474
    thanks for the replys, but can anyone tell me if they still take Grays
    out of the jungle?
    
    Chuck
764.4Not a CONGO, believe me!ASDS::WHITEParrot_TrooperThu Jan 21 1993 10:054
    Not sure about taking Greys out of the jungle, but for 200 I'll bet
    all my feathered friends it's a Timneh grey!  
    
    chet
764.5Timneh's are good too!SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JEFri Jan 22 1993 11:2110
    Timneh's are lovely and if I were getting a Grey I would probably go
    that rout.  Imported Timneh's (from the jungle) are available here in
    the west and they do sell for about $200.00.  They are very nervous,
    shy and just about untrainable when taken from the wild.
    
    On the flip side, domestic, hand raised Timneh's are supposed to be
    more gentle, even tempered and generally sweeter than Congo's.
    
    Jeanne
    
764.6SHADES OF GREYSBRAT::BOURGAULTThu Feb 04 1993 14:1717
    
    BE VERY CAREFUL.  Greys are one of the hardest to tame, equal to the
    Amazon.  Unlike the Cockatoo,  The Grey is a very independent bird,
    sent in its ways.  Once wild, it takes tremendous effort to tame these
    guys down, and you almost never get them as tame as a handfed.
    
    BUYER BEWARE...if the deal looks too good, it's probably because they
    have some real problems with this bird, and if this going to be your
    first Grey, I'd advise you to think about it.  Greys can carry lots
    of psychological problems due to their nature.  
    
    Good luck, and if I were you, I'd hold out for a handfed.  If you look
    around, you can pick one up for $700 - $800 dollars.  Much better deal
    in the long run.
    
    Regards,
    Denise