I was looking for a parakeet for my mother. Let me preface this review with telling you that I have been a bird owner for over 40 years and have a lot of experience with African Greys, conures, and parakeets. Because there were no pet shops in my local area with a selection of more than one or two parakeets to choose from, I drove 35 minutes to Gaffney to get the parakeet. The person who waited on me was pleasant and polite. The shop appeared to have a good selection of pets for a small independently owned shop. If I remember correctly , they had rabbits, chinchillas, parakeets, and a snake at least.
There was a lot of dust on the parakeet supplies I looked at and selected, so much so that I had enough dust on my fingertips from selecting a few items that I had to wipe the dust off on my shirt. This should have been my first clue, but I was so intent on getting my 92 year old mother the parakeet she wanted, I overlooked it.
There were about 6-8 parakeets to choose from, but my second clue should have been that all of them were sitting on a perch that went across the cage and there was no chattering or playing, activity, etc. I should have been more aware, but I was so intent on my goal, I overlooked things I should not have. I saw one female that appeared to have mites based on the condition of her nares, but I chose a male that appeared healthy.
I purchased the bird and a few other items and headed home. At about 6 pm, the parakeet was placed in a nice cage that was clean and ready to be a mansion for my mom's new companion. He sat on the bottom of the cage for the rest of the evening, which is not necessarily abnormal when placing a parakeet in a new home. It can sometimes take two or three days to acclimate to new surroundings.
I covered the cage before we went to bed. In the morning, when I removed the cover, the bird had not moved, which could be deduced by the feces at the bottom of the cage. It hadn't moved since being placed into the cage.
It did move a little further back into the corner of the cage in the morning when I added new seed and pellets, but didn't move from that corner at all the rest of the day.
The cage is on a stand by a window next to my desk since I am working remotely due to the pandemic, so I kept an eye on him most of the morning and he continued to stay in the corner, and I attributed that to being in a new environment. I stepped away from my desk around noon to get lunch, and when I got back to my desk about 45 minutes later, the poor thing was gone.
I let the store know what happened and the response was simply "I have no warranty on live animals. I'm sorry." There seemed to be no concern about the parakeet I bought or the remaining birds in the store. I was surprised there was no mention of quarantining the remaining birds until they could determine the were not sick and not selling them until they could be sure the birds were okay.
I cannot comment on the grooming services or other animals, but please don't buy a parakeet from them. Even though parakeets are inexpensive as far as pets go, they are a living being and should be cared for and about.
Just sayin'.... read more
