Arrgh, pet stores are tempting

**Marrie** · 03-09-2012, 06:16 PM

We went to petco today (I know, I hate shopping there, but it is the only store in town that carries organic seed and I ran out, can't wait for the mail!) and there was this cute little budgie picking things up with his feet and jumping on the other budgies backs and surfing on his cuttlebone... boyfriend offered to buy him for me and it was so hard to say no! But he's from a bird mill and I don't want to support them, plus I don't trust the health of their animals.

He was a dark blue, nearly purple, oh my he was cute.

Last bird that I saw that was that cute was a little GCC in petsmart, he was hanging upside down on his hanging toy. But he was $400 so wasn't even an option. :o

Do you guys fall for birds at the pet stores?

**boomer girl** · 03-09-2012, 07:00 PM

I do. Me and Carissa went to the pet store near us the other day and they had a Conure who instantly asked us "What are you doing" and right next to it was a African Grey sitting on top of his cage wolf whistling and chattering away to us too. I wanted to take them both home with me but no way could I afford them. We also went to Petco last week and there was a cockatiel that was wolf whistling at everyone, poor thing was given to them because the owner couldnt have him anymore. It was super sweet and this girl was seriously thinking of taking him home with her, I hope she did because it was way too tame to live at Petco.

**DesertDweller** · 03-09-2012, 07:02 PM

I'm very sorry to report that I do fall for birds at the store. As cute as the birds are at Petco or Petsmart, I won't buy them, though, like you. But, I fall hard when I go to the bird dealer down the street. On Monday I told him he HAS to move his store to another city! LOL.

I just went in to buy hookbill seed and to ask what shade of blue my new baby IRN will be. He said, "Oh! I just got a batch of Parrotlets in that are the same color!" Oh my goodness. When I saw those little tykes, my heart developed a big giant rock inside of it because I had to walk out without one. After 2 hours, I was back at the store and got 8 week old Henry.

**Marrie** · 03-09-2012, 10:15 PM

Lol I am kind of glad we don't have a bird dealer, I would get in so much trouble if we did. Would be like I want that one, that one, that one, boyfriend would get annoyed haha

**Kushala Daora** · 03-11-2012, 07:57 AM

I do! Fell for a Hahn's Macaw just looking at him make cute looks at me. And most of other birds like budgies too. One of the funny things is there was once I stood right in front of the tiels' cage. All of them jumped down from the perch and approached me. It shocked me, but I laughed.

**BC_linnies** · 03-11-2012, 10:58 AM

I do as well. There is a nasty place in a mall here, and I'm not normally a budgie person, but this poor little green male, was clinging to the side, looking straight at me, almost begging me to take him away from that horrible place. My fiance who REALLY doesnt like budgies, even put his finger up to the little guy, and he GROOMED him. My heart was breaking, but with several birds, my bedroom is turning into cages, with just my eyes in the middle

**Liz Ball** · 03-11-2012, 06:21 PM

Oh I do too. We were also in Petco (getting a new bigger cage for my rat Tatty) and they had these darling little baby budgies. They were so little and sooooo cuuuuuute. It was really hard to walk out of there without one. Even for my husband. But with my stupid arthritis I could never care for or devote the time to training another bird. My tiel is time consuming enough for me. Plus my 7 year old black lab mix (who is really great with the bird) and the rats Tatty and Ruby. Ruby requires extra care and patience because she is albino and visually impaired. Thankfully she isn't totally blind. Oh and we can't forget Noah. My male betta that has lived forever.

**BC_linnies** · 03-11-2012, 10:26 PM

Liz, I understand the whole baby bird thing too. The pet store I used to work at would get in Baby Senegals, I couldnt help falling for them. They were such little monkeys, and SO easy to train. I trained them "wave" and "call the doggy""

**Nocturnal** · 03-12-2012, 08:39 PM

Ah! I know what you mean, I work/volunteer at a great local bird store (I can personally attest to the fact that they don't sell from bird mills). Many of the birds in there are on consignment from people who no longer want them or were rescued in some way.

If I came home with every naked african grey and chattering amazon that stole my heart I wouldn't have a place to live!

**Renee Potter** · 03-14-2012, 09:45 PM

Yep. I curse the day Petland opened a store in our town. They have their birds, and furry critters (hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits) in open pens/cages so you can touch and play. We stopped in for cricket food one day and our home has never been the same since. Our last trip was to buy a new hamster ball and I fell in love with a little conure. My daughter picked her up and said isn't it cute? He sat on my finger "quacked" at me and refused to be put down. After we had walked around the store and he "helped" pick out new toys for our cockatiels I was a goner. Now he is helping me typethis post.

**Marrie** · 03-15-2012, 09:59 AM

Hehe I guess pet stores know how to catch us - I wish we had one near us like yours, Nocturnal, just have petsmart/petco here and they both use bird mills.

Our nearest rescue is hours away and to adopt takes multiple trips out to visit the bird you want + a class on a different day... so it's kind of impossible if you work to go through them (unless your boss was nice and gave you a week off to get a bird, but I don't know any that nice!)