Is this true

[vankarhi]

I have just been told that baby handraised cockatoos are about $900!!!! That is a little more than I payed for my ekkie. Is this true. I was told that would be from a pet store (or at least I thought that was what he said). He said that until a few years ago the pet shops sold mostly wild caught young cockies (I figured the two I had 20 years ago were wild caught, after I bought them home, but they tamed down nicely). That apparently PBFD has become quite rampant in the wild birds and so pet shops don't sell too many of them now. He said that not too many people breed them as yet, hence the expensive price on them. I am very surprised.

[zax]

hi what kinda cockatoo are you after??. iknow they sell sulpher ones in melbourne area for 50- 100 thanks chris

[vankarhi]

I am not 100% sure yet :-/but trying to find out the cost. I would prefer a handraised one (not wild), but did not realise they were so expensive. I enquired about one in Brisbane and he sounds absolutely lovely, But at this stage I cannot get down there to look at him (car needs some work done to it and it is a 7 hour drive one way). Still trying to contact my eclectus breeder as he also has 'toos, but having trouble contacting him also. (Maybe this is a sign that I am not meant to have one yet). At least locally I can go and have a look and interact.

[stillsqwarkin]

a hand raised majormitchell will cost around 500 from a breeder
blackcockies around 1700
sulphers around 250
galahs around 250
gangers at least 1000 pet shops will indeed be a lot dearer
jenn

[vankarhi]

Ok, thanks for that info. What one would be the best pet. I have owned SC2 in the the past, but unfortuneatly I did not own them for long. One got a fright and flew off, the other my ex husband made me get rid of because it chewed his stereo system. My galah (had her for 15 years) that passed away was a sweet natured girl, but not a good talker - her one and only word was "Hello" and I did manage to teach her a couple of simple tricks. Can you pm me and recommend any breeders to me. I am still trying to contact a breeder locally here, but I can't seem to contact him. I even rang someone to find out if he has changed his number, but apparently it has not changed. So he must just be spending a lot of time with his birds - and he has a lot of them.

Thanks anyway, I have some sort of "ball park" area to work with now - price wise anyway.

[Rissa]

$250-$350 is alot more normal for a galah/sulfer/corella then $900 unless it was a Gang Gang 0:) any cheaper and i'd ask them to prove its not wild caught and give you proof it is PBFD free. Good Luck!.

[stillsqwarkin]

I Think you might have to pay a bit more than 300 for a corella
what area do you live in where you are looking for a breeder
jenn

[vankarhi]

I managed to finally get a hold of Skye's breeder (eclectus) and had a talk to him about the different 'toos he has (except I forgot about his black ones). He said $500 for a handraised Sulfer crested or a major mitchell, $400 for a handraised galah and I can't remember what he said for a corella (but it must have been about the same price). He has none at the moment, so I will ring him in about 6-8 weeks. I really was not looking at getting another bird even before Bo died until later in the year anyway. I asked him about LSC 'toos and he said they are very expensive and he does not have any. So my next question is "how is a Major Mitchell" as a pet?? I have read they are not real good once they mature. But the breeder said he has sold a couple and they seem to be lovely well socialised pets. Many years ago I loved the look of them but they were too expensive then (or so I thought anyway).

[vankarhi]

I am asking heaps of questions and looking around and checking the internet as well as reading, because I want to find the best bird for "me" and my family and hopefully it will get on with Skye. Not in the same cage though - they will have separate cages. I also want to be able to train it like I am doing with Skye.