Local pet store or Petco?

Question

I'm trying to get a bird. So I am looking for it at every pet store I can. There is two pet store that I like, and one of them is petco while the other is a local pet store. At Petco, there is one Dusky Conure that has a great personalities and I really liked it. Although, at this place called Healthy Pet has a gorgeous African grey Parrot. Would it be better to get it at Petco? Which store do you prefer if you were to get a bird.

Answer 1

PLEASE . . . NO PET STORE PURCHASES !!!

I have an Amazon that I purchased through PetsMart five years ago. I thought I'd asked all the right questions and had all the answers I needed to make the decision to purchase this bird. This was my first parrot purchase. So I had to trust, somewhat, what the store employees and the manager said about him.

Two years after my purchase, It turns out I learned from a qualified avian vet that the bird was much much older than the store told me he was. He was not even the breed/species they advertised him as (I kept all the ads and paperwork on him from the store), nor was he what I thought I was buying / thought I'd bought. After some intensive investigations, I learned that this bird had been transferred around and had been in five different stores before he got to the one where I purchased him from. Pet stores will do that when a bird does not sell in one, they will transfer them to another, telling you that the bird has "been sold".

Truth of the matter was, he had come from a parrot breeder mill in Florida, that is contracted or owned/and/or operated by the bird food corporation called Kaytee. This is one of several contractors that PetsMart uses for example. Seems that the bird I'd purchased had slipped through the cracks some how, and was actually a breeder bird who had little of no socialization. And to this day, we are still working on that aspect of his personality.

My qualified avian vet told me that this bird was most likely 30 to 50 years old because of certain aspects of his phsyique that the doctor observed during an extended stay in his clinic.

By the time I learned all this information and other information that is not pertinent to this discussion, I challenged PetsMart on this issue. I'd invested a lot of time and effort into this bird. I was not willing to "give him back" or "trade" him. PetsMart and I finally worked out an equitable agreement regarding the purchase of this bird. Going through all this was just a real hassle and lots of heartache on my part was involved.

PLEASE RECONSIDER PURCHASING YOUR BIRD FROM A PET STORE!!!! There are many good breeders out there. You just have to be willing to be patient and find one. There are also many good birds who are in foster homes who have been abandoned and/or rescued that need a good permanent home. PLEASE, PLEASE consider one of these types of "homeless" birds before purchasing from a pet store. If we quit putting supply and demand on the pet stores, they will eventually quit "selling birds". You can usually get a reputable person who is selling a bird to give you a guarantee in writing regarding the health and general welfare of the bird.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider buying a bird out of a pet store. You never know what you're going to get. They will tell you anything to get you to buy the bird and you may never know the entire truth about how the bird got to the point of being in that store window to begin with. These birds go through a lot before they ever get on the sales floor in a pet store. Buying from an owner who can no longer care for a bird, or from a reputable breeder or shelter/rescue is a much much better option.

Good luck with your search.

Answer 2

Hi there, I would go to the Healthy Pet and ask them if they are breeders. Look at both stores for the conditions of the birds, their environment, and whether the birds can be handled. Not all pet stores are hell houses for birds. Some breeders are less than ideal. The African Grey is one of the best talkers. Give him a good pellet diet add 10%seed and 10% fruits and veggies. Cooked lean meats twice a week, All seed diets can lead to malnutrition. There is no standard for bird diets yet, but it's a lot better now. Good luck on your search. Ask a lot of questions and handle the birds. Have fun and a tweet year.

Answer 3

i dont trust petco..but i would also be Leary about buying a bird from local pet shop....i think u should take a Lil bit of time and observe the conditions in the cages and such of both stores and compare which ever u feel is more cared for the go with that i feel that sometimes animals in private stores have been socialized with allot more

Answer 4

Petco does guarantee their pets but if your gonna pay 300-500 dollars for a bird I would imagine the other pet store would too.
I got a canary from Petco last year and its a good strong singer.
African greys are real talkers if you have the patience to train them.

Answer 5

a pet store because petco employess are just there working a job...most pet store employees are owners who take better care of the animals

Answer 6

Go to each store and find out how much each of them knows regarding the bird you want to purchase. See if the people actually care about their job. And see which one has the more helpful employees, and actually knows what they are talking about.

at least that's what I would do.

Answer 7

It doesn't matter where you get your pet. What does matter is how much you pay, it's health and how you will take care of it after you get it home.

I had birds once, and I won't do it again because of alergies and all the mess they make. Good luck!

Answer 8

well, on one side of the equation, petco is probably more popular. but on the other side,
the small pet store may not be popular, but it may be more trustable. i would go with petco.

Answer 9

petco is good.