good price for babies.....?

[Sparkette65]

Ok, I know its going to be a sad day, everyday, that a lovie baby is sold from my flock.....
I have paid from 55$ to 95$ for a lovie as I built up my flock....
I have a pair of Normal Greens (the tiki's) sitting on 6 VERY fertile eggs, and I have a pair, male seagreen and female WF Dutch blue (Mysti and Pistachio) sitting on 4 eggs, of which 3 are showing fertile, and 1 was only laid 5 days ago....but I think it may be fertile, considering how LONG it took the other 3 to show fertile.....
keeping in mind the mutations.....(I have no clue what to charge) what would you charge for these babies. (personally to me no one baby will be any more beautiful than the other(s),,,or should cost more than the other(s) But I am very new to all of this and have no clue what to charge....
thanks,
Lori

[shylevon]

The higher the price, the more serious people will be about actually wanting to own them. Lots of people view a cheap bird as a throw away pet, and a high pricetag weans out those few. You can always drop the price after you meet the folks and decide it is a good fit for your birdies.

[Rubygem]

The prices are different depending on the area.... I checked the pet stores around here, then I went on the net and found other prices and compared. I started getting serious on learning mutations because of the price differances.

I will not sell one of my babies for less than $65, because of the time, and energy, and working around the babies that I have to do. I know there are some breeders close by that sell their birds for less....but my babies are handled a lot, and socialized to everything around a family. And like Shy said, I have the right to drop my prices ;). (or throw in extra food, or toys, or what ever.. :D ) shhhhhhh Janie ;)

I should recheck my prices, as I can not hold on to a baby ... :lol most of the babies get sold before they are weaned, or very soon after they are weaned. I don't think I have held on to a baby longer than 3 months except the ones I don't put up for sale, because I know I want them in my breeding program. I have request from other breeders before the babies are even born :eek: :happy: but I guess I should just be happy that my babies have gone to great homes.

Rubygem

[Rubygem]

I wanted to add, the babies that are sold before they are weaned do not go home to their new families until they have been weaned, and I'm comfortable that they are eating and drinking on their own. I hold on to the babies, and call the new owners when they are ready to go home. ;)

I normally give the baby about a week to watch after I stop feeding them...most of the time it is two weeks after they are weaned.

Rubygem

[MaraJade]

You know, this is a really good question.
This is my first clutch too and I am having some real trouble selling them. People will contact me after I post them on craig's list or birds n ways or something and when they find out the price they're not interested anymore. One lady even thought they were free! Yea. . .

Anyway, I got Gimli, my single handfed lovebird, for $120 from my local bird store. That was 2 1/2 years ago so I'm asking $140 for mine. Is that too much? Should I lower it to $100 or something?

I'm really open to suggestion here because I want to find them good homes that are safe, but I can't be stuck with three extra lovies around the house because they won't sell. Also, they're not handfed. They're just socialized. What do you all think?

Great question Lori!

[bellarains]

Lori,

Mutation will of course make a difference, as Lutino's and Creaminos usually sell for a little more, and if they are male, and of course DNA'd male, then of course you must keep them ;)

Bela is a lutino, but they did not know his gender when I bought him, I paid $79.95. Lacey, I got from Linda, and she cost a flight here(Bless you Linda).

As you will most likely socialize your babies, it seems the price difference I see at bird fairs are about $20-$30 more for a socialized lovie-vs-un-socialized. You can get a normal peachface from $25-$95.

After your babies hatch, what I would do is pull up a site for a breeder and see what their mutations are going for. If it is in your are, that also would be helpful.

Now, all that said, I'm gonna wish you luck in giving any of them up. Somehow, I get the feeling you are going to justify keeping most of them ;)

[jknezek]

I think it depends on your region. The very good bird store near me (South Florida) sells "handfed" beautiful mutations for around $120-$140 and "normals" for around $60-$80. However, when I go into that store the first thing I realize is that the smaller birds might have been handfed but they are not socialized very much. On the other hand, their larger birds, while unbelievably expensive are socialized every day with many people in the store.

If I was building my flock, which I am emphatically not doing (no more birds, no more birds, no more birds) I wouldn't care if the bird was handfed or not. I would just care that it is well socialized. That being said, several lovebird breeders down here that I have met sell their birds through the paper. The birds are very well socialized but sometimes handfed sand ometimes not. They are advertised for between $40 and $80 and several have said that for experienced people that they know and trust they would all but give the birds away if they had a large clutch. Knowing that it is South Florida and that I have a lot of options, I would probably not pay more than $80 for a bird again unless it was a very exotic mutation.

But I do think regions play a rather large role in the price and that South Florida is particular fertile for parrots of all sizes and types.

Jeremy

[Sparkette65]

I was thinking are asking 55-65 each for them. I will more than likely end up with Normal greens and med greens, seagreens and WF dutch blues.
I have no doubt the babies will be social babies, as I have three teens that are going to be ALL over dem babies when their old enough for handling! They are about as excited as I am.
Thanks for the replies.
Lori

[Rubygem]

Jessie,

What color mutations are the three lovies... :confused: you might have said already, but I have old timers :p or is that just plain forgetfulness... :rolleyes:

Anyways, pet stores can sell for higher prices because of the traffic they get in the stores, and people just don't have any idea of the price market. I normally see the birds in any pet store way over priced...but that is why I prefer to deal with breeders... :D

But unlike stores, bird fairs sell for cheaper, because you have so many breeders together in one area, and they tend to make the prices drop. It all falls back into "supply and demand". I will not pay over $75 ($100 with DNA testing) for any peachface lovebird....unless it is a rare mutation. But I'm looking to buy the birds to put into a breeding program, so I do not care if they are parent raised, socialized, or hand raised. I just want them to be healthy, happy....and a color mutation I'm looking for... :lol

Rubygem

[Sparkette65]

You laugh,,,I paid 95 each for my seagreen and my wf dutch blue....and I got my creamino and her brother for 55 each.....so sometimes the mutation either doesn't matter, or the breeder hasn't got a clue what she/he is selling....
thanks again.
Lori

[Janie]

Ruby, plug up you ears or should I say, close your eyes, :lol

I agree with Shy, the higher the better!!! It's my pet peeve about lovebirds....they are so inexpensive to acquire and therefore, may seem more disposable to a new owner/first time pet bird owner. I did buy my two new lovies from Ruby (thank you, Ruby, :)) and I would have paid more! :D I certainly could have paid LESS if I'd bought from many other breeders at a bird fair but, I really like the idea that Ruby wasn't lowering her price just to move her babies! So, my initial purchase, just over $200 for both, was the least amount of money I'll ever spend on them. Their first vet check was $470!! I did have the "works" done at the vet's because I have another bird and wanted to protect him as much as possible, but I knew how high that first visit would be before I bought the boys. And now I'm looking to buy them a large cage (and lots of toys!) so what I originally paid for them is a drop in the bucket to what I'll spend in the years to come, keeping them healthy and happy.

At the last bird fair I went to, I saw people walking around with parakeets in cages about the size of a large shoe box. I have the worst feeling that many of those birds were purchased by first time owners and will never find themselves in a larger cage or at a vet's office. They were "cheap" to buy and therefore, considered cheap to maintain! :(

[Rubygem]

Janie,

You know when you tell someone not to look, it's going to make them look even harder...:lol I agree that the initial price is always cheaper than in the long run. And we won't even get into the special needs birds. I try very hard to educate anyone that buys any of my babies about that...I also make sure I let them know what high energy birds lovies are. I offer a basic cage for new bird owners...but I also add that when they can get a bigger cage that the cage they purchase from me (16X16X24) can be a great hospital cage, or a temp cage. With them having the energy level they have they need bigger cages...and I always tell the buyer, get the biggest cage you can afford, that has the right bar spacing, and that is made for the type of bird you are houseing...because like us, they love to have space ;). I also explain that they fly across not just up...LOL.

Rubygem

[MaraJade]

Hrrmmm. I know you all are saying that "high" is okay because it gets across the message of serious bird ownership, but maybe my $140 is a bit much anyway. Looking at some of these prices I think it might be. Maybe I will lower it a bit.

[Rubygem]

;)
You laugh,,,I paid 95 each for my seagreen and my wf dutch blue....and I got my creamino and her brother for 55 each.....so sometimes the mutation either doesn't matter, or the breeder hasn't got a clue what she/he is selling....
thanks again.
Lori

Lori, is the wf dutch blue two birds? :confused:

The mutations only make a differance when the breeder knows what they are breeding. And it means a lot more to another breeder, because if you aren't going to pass the genes on what differance does it make if the bird was rainbow color? :rolleyes: Just like the opaline mutations, a very expensive mutation in peachfaces...but you don't find them in the pet stores, or at bird fairs ;) At least I haven't seen them in those two places.

When someone breeds their birds, and don't know what the market value is at the time, they will try to sell too high or too low...first thing that comes to mind when a breeder sells too low is..."what's wrong with the bird?" "is there a problem in the bird room?" If they try to sell too high, then what comes to mind is "they don't know what they are doing", "Does the bird lay golden eggs?" :rofl: "is it a new mutation?"

Rubygem

[beansbirds]

I had 8 babies to sell last year and could only sell 1. I advertised on the internet, reasonably priced and got only a few resposes, no one serious. So you can see how I'm nervous this year with 8 more babies. I intend to keep 2 of them and I'm preparing my ads for the rest now.

[butterfly1061]

I go to the same birdfairs Rubygem & Janie go to and I bought all my lovies there. I paid $40 for Molly (Lutino), $40 for Daisy (Creamino) & $50 for Piper (Pied). Piper was the only one that had been brought down in price from $65. Molly & Daisy came from the same breeder (not a good one) but I know they have a better life with me and I hate to think where they would've ended up. My next purchase will be from Rubygem. I want a violet and want a breeder who knows about breeding. She can tell me everything I want to know about her birds and that makes a difference to me now. I will not buy another lovie from the breeder I bought Molly & Daisy from. She knows nothing about her birds except they are lovebirds :rolleyes: Just my :2cents: worth.

[LauraO]

I agree with those that say where you live matters. Before pricing your birds, it's best to look at different petstores and the newspaper. Here on Oahu, they charge anywhere from $40 - $100 in the petstores with the average being from $50 to $80. In the paper, Handfed birds go from $35-$50 but they go as low as $15-$20 for non handfed. However, the breeder that I've gotten four of my birds from is a firm $70 and they feel like Rubygem in they take a lot of time and effort with their birds and their mutations. The problem is the birds aren't socialized.

I do have to disagree about the higher price will bring about more serious owners. It seems like a prejudice statement in that we're assuming just because you can easily shell out a couple hundred bucks for a bird and accessories that you're a better pet owner. I know this may be preachie, but America is a throw away society and people waste TONS of money on things they ignore, break, throwaway or lose interest in. In fact, I've sold a few birds and given away even more and have always felt better about the homes I've given my birds to than the ones I've sold. I think this is mainly because once people buy a bird they feel they can do whatever they want and those who've been given a bird, though I may never see it again, always have me and the way I treat my birds in the back of their minds 8o.

Just my :2cents: :2cents:

[Mummieeva]

I think $ 140 might be alittle high. But also depends on the colors of birds. I got my first lovebird Angel from a pet store and she was about 70 dollars. Baggy and Kiowa are rescue birds and they were 100 for the pair of them. Lovebirds are not popular in area of Georgia I am in. So I knew when Baggy laid eggs I might be having alot of birds. Lucky for me only WHisper hatched. I will sell whisper for no less then $3,000,000.99. :rofl: So I doubt anyone will buy Whisper in the near furture



Steph

[Sparkette65]

The WF dutch blue is one bird, am I using the wrong termination for the mutation of her....
Mysti, she is wf dutch blue....or would she be called wf blue......Heck I dont know.
if you go to the photo gallery, there are pics of her in there, when she was first with egg., her white face is accually a bit cream colored...and so is the wf on my seagreen,,,,a bit creamy,,,, I have seen White faces on some lovies that are real white, mine arent real real white, but I was told that it was a wf dutch blue peach faced lovebird.....
thanks,
lori

[Janie]

Laura, I don't disagree with you at all. Oliver was a "free" bird and there isn't a bird out there with a better home! :) If I should ever be faced with a clutch of babies :eek:, I would definitely look for homes to place them in and not give a thought to selling them since I'm not a breeder. And you're right, even spending a couple hundred dollars on a bird doesn't insure that it's going to a good home. I think it's got to be a very, very expensive bird to insure that. When you're spending $500 to $1,000 and more, that isn't pocket change and more thought is hopefully put into the purchase. A free bird can end up in the best home. Finding a home where the owners have done their homework and research FIRST is probably key to happy placement.

[Rubygem]

The WF dutch blue is one bird, am I using the wrong termination for the mutation of her....
Mysti, she is wf dutch blue....or would she be called wf blue......Heck I dont know.
if you go to the photo gallery, there are pics of her in there, when she was first with egg., her white face is accually a bit cream colored...and so is the wf on my seagreen,,,,a bit creamy,,,, I have seen White faces on some lovies that are real white, mine arent real real white, but I was told that it was a wf dutch blue peach faced lovebird.....
thanks,
lori

I went and looked at your Mysti, she looks to be a dutch blue. Lets see if I can help you a little with the mutations. :p

There are three blue series...and in these blue series you have dutch blue, wf, and seagreen. The three different blue series are seperate colors, and the only blue series you can combine is the wf and dutch blue (which makes the seagreen). Does this make sence? :confused:

two genes are dutch blue to have dutch blue bird (horn colored beak)
two genes are wf to have a wf bird (pinkish colored beak)one gene dutch blue, one gene wf to have a seagreen bird (top of beak pinkish color from wf, and the other part horn colored from the dutch blue...two tone colored beak)

This is the only way to see the blue series (besides adding the other color mutations like cinnamon, opaline, pied...etc..) But those three color mutations are the basic ground colors for the blue series and we need to save this for another time. ;)

I think you paid too much for your sea green and dutch blue... >o but you paid too little for the inos. But I figured it worked out in the long run ;)

With a seagreen and a dutch blue pair you can throw dutch blues and seagreens ;).

Ask any questions that I might have brought up in your head...because I know I can be confuseing without all this color mutations stuff...:rofl so I won't be surprised if I confused you more :eek:

Rubygem

[LauraO]

I wonder about my, what I think is dutch blue, Katsu. He has a horned colored beak but his brow is soooooo light as to almost be white. In fact, the brow is much lighter than our seagreen Birdy Boot's brow. What could all that mean????

[linda040899]

In order to determine the actual "sale" price of a lovebird (or any bird for that matter) to the pet shop, look at their asking price and cut that in half. That's usually what the shop paid the breeder. Pet shops have to cover their overhead so they will double, and sometimes triple, the price they paid for the bird.

When I sell my birds, I try to be aware of what the birds are going for in my area. If the bird is DNA sexed, that adds to the cost of the bird. If the bird in question is from championship bloodlines, that increases the cost.

Harder to find mutations and males in sex linked mutations are usually more expensive.

[Rubygem]

Thanks for that tid bit of info about the pet stores. I also agree with you on the sex linked males, as well as adding the cost to DNAed birds.

See I told you....there is a lot for me to learn here too :D

Now about the championship bloodlines....another can of worms all together :) I know there are lovie shows and they can win ribbins and such...but I haven't been able to find any shows in this area, So how would one get one checked to see if it is good enough for those type lines? I know there are some beautiful birds that have won shows and such, but I haven't been intreasted in going that route due to the fact that I can't keep getting points for the babies in this area, so how would you be able to keep the points going on the babies? And being able to keep the prices up on those blood lines? :confused: (Maybe this is a better discussion for a different thread (shruggs))

Rubygem

[Elle]

A regular peach face around here will go for $150 canadian at the pet store. babies are parent fed, not socialised. Socialised babie will go for a price of over $200.
The breeder I met was letting his regular green peach face for for $150 as well but they were socialised. His lutinos were $175. Socialised as well. I remember my first lovebird 12 years ago I paid $79.99. What happened??
I look at your prices and wonder if I shouldn't move to the states the day I decide to increase my flock.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

In order to determine the actual "sale" price of a lovebird (or any bird for that matter) to the pet shop, look at their asking price and cut that in half.
Linda's formula is definitely accurate in my situation: Milo (WF violet) was $90 at a bird specialty shop. Melody (Australian cinnamon blue) was $49 direct from a breeder at a bird show.

Technically, though, Milo's true "cost" was more like $500 because he went to the vet about 9 times the first 2 months I had him, due to the fact that he was very sick when I brought him home.

[p3rr4n]

I am not a breeder and have no intention of being a breeder. With that being said, I would charge top dollar. Not because I would be looking for a profit, but because of all the horrible stories I hear and read about people who buy lovies and then neglect, mistreat or otherwise do not provide them a lovable and happy existence.

I would also make the prospective buyers fill out a questionnaire that allowed me to get a better perspective of how good a home a baby lovie would have.


I look at my lovie when I read these tragic stories and it makes my blood boil.

Along with the price of the bird there are caging costs, vet bills, food, toys and other things and in my opinion all of these are non negotiable.


A lovie isn’t a cat or a dog. I own both and can safely say they do not require the attention my precious Trixie Bunny needs.

I can leave my dog alone for long periods of time and it doesn’t affect our relationship. He has free roam of the house. Same with the cats.
Neither needs much attention (but ours get showered with attention and affection but they don’t NEED it).

If I were to ever breed, people would have to convince me of why I should sell to them.

I treat my teaching practice the same way.

I charge about 3 times the current market value of what the music stores charge, and I do not accept every student. They have to convince me that they should study with me and that they will appreciate what I have to offer.
A lot of very special people taught and trained me and I hold what they did for me in the highest regard.

What I offer is substantially superior to what is available in this area and a majority of my students stay for several years. Since moving to the North East I have never had a student express discontent with his/her lessons or tell me that they regret taking here.

I weed out the undesirables with my approach. I weed out the irresponsible and I certainly only attract the most genuine.

My students win and I win. I offer a superior service that has superior benefits andthe people who take from me do really well compared to other
people who study from music stores. In fact a lot of my students come to me because they have not been happy woith where they have studied before.

After a short time, I give my students recording time in my studio along with other perks. This is special in part because I do not sell recording time
to the public. I built my studio for me. I produce music for radio and television and record my band here. There is no teacher within 200 miles of my
location that cares this much. The way I look at it the student has to earn all of this.

My point is that a lovie is special, and in my opinion the breeders here care more for their flock than the breeders I have met in the real world. So in my book that means (to me) that these loving people deserve a higher price than the run of the mill, "Im in it for a profit and dont love my flock" breeder.

A lovie is a special special creature and deserves a fine home. This means stability, love, time and people who have the cash for whatever WORST case scenario is possible. A lot of people just don’t have the time, the income, the demeanor or patience that owning a lovebird demands.

[Janie]

A lovie isn’t a cat or a dog. I own both and can safely say they do not require the attention my precious Trixie Bunny needs.

Perran, when I tell people that, they don't believe me!!!!! It is so true! A well taken care of bird takes far more time than a dog/cat!

I like your idea of the questionnaire! When I first met Rubygem at a bird fair, last April, she did tell me that any birdy I might buy from her would need to be Avian vet checked immediately and that if there was an existing bird (that be Oliver :D) in my house, she recommended a 90 day quarantine. I knew right then that she knew what she was doing and was very health conscious about her birds and mine. :) No doubt, we both kind of did the "questionnaire" on each other! :D

[LauraO]

Oh Yeah! Cookie is a free bird. He's a Meyer's Parrot that came with a nice big cage, which together are worth hundreds of dollars. I wouldn't have paid for him but I think he has a great home and he's grown so much since he's been with us.

In fact, I did some reading about bigger parrots and bird rescues when I brought Cookie home and one of the biggest problems with bigger birds is that most people who buy them don't really know what they are getting into, but are reluctant to sell the birds because of the high cost they paid and their inability to recoup the money. So what you have is a lot of bigger birds stuck in small cages and being neglected for years and years and years.

Just :2cents: of mine :D