| Hi Lisa,
The $650 for a cherry-head conure seems extremely high. Highland
Aviary, a private breeder in Hudson, New Hampshire, has hand-feds
for about $200, last time I checked. Their number is 603-881-9749
(they have an answering machine). I saw a baby sun conure recently
in Barrington, New Hampsire for $550...and suns are the most expensive
conure!! Your instincts are right about going to a breeder, IMHO,
but they may only be slightly less than retail (for example, suns go
for about $700 retail). You can ship a sun conure baby in from
California or Florida for less than a local breeder will charge,
sometimes, but you have to pay shipping and buy sight-unseen.
Be careful about mixing rabbits and birds....rodents and rabbits
naturally carry gram-negative bacteria, which if picked up by the
bird can cause health problems for the birds. See Rita Tillson's
note on this a few basenotes back for her excellent write-up on this.
A final suggestion on pricing conures....get a copy of the
WANTADvertiser and watch it for a few weeks to get a sense of
what private parties and private breeders are charging. Pick
up a copy of Bird Talk magazine and American Cage Bird Magazine
to see what the commercial breeders (and some private breeders
who advertiser nationally) charge. Local and regional papers
often have birds for sale in the "Pets" section, which is another
way to get a sense of prices, besides what you see in a retail
pet store.
Good luck in your search! Picking just the right bird for you is
worth all the waiting and research.
Linda
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