How much did your bird cost?

[CaptMicha]

I'm just wondering, where did you find your bird(s), how much did they cost and why did you decide to go with a lovebird.

...As opposed to other more quiet birds. J/k. ...Or am I?

I'll start.

We moved in to our new larger house and my little brother wanted a bird so I was looking on line and found a breeder with two baby lovebirds. I did all my homework and they sounded perfect, all the personality of big parrots in little bodies. I think I may have been a little misled but oh well.

So my little brother backed out and I was too excited to let it drop so I ended up getting them. I paid $75.00 out of my pocket (I remember b/c this was my best purchase ever!) which included their cage, Daisy and Clover, some food and a can of baby formula in case they needed it.

[wilkiecoco]

I originally had a parrotlet for 1 year, who I adored. She got out of our house through an open door, and was never found. I was devastated, and didn't think I would ever be able to get another bird. My husband was trying to help me through my sadness, and visited a store with lovebirds, one of which cuddled right up to him, and that was it.

He took me to visit him the next day, and it was love at first sight. I knew that I shouldn't get a bird through a pet store, but I couldn't help myself. I brought him home immediately, and he is my little bundle of joy. :happy:

i paid $69 for him. when i checked at other pet stores later, they were selling their lovebirds for $159. the price never mattered though, cause once i fell in love with him, he was coming home with me!!!!:)

[saxypanda]

I grew up with many birds in our house and had always enjoyed them. One day my father brought home a love bird from a guy at work that was just going to let her go outside and that was it for me!! That lovebird was semi tame and had these awful mood swings but I still loved her!! Ever since then Its been only love birds for me!!

I get my lovies from breeders.. I had a great one in IL where I grew up. When I moved to Texas I had alot of trouble finding anyone who even had love birds. I finally found this bird store that I adore, there I got Daisy and I believe she was between $60-$75. I had trouble making up my mind so Daisy made it up for me.. she was the only one that kept coming back to me and wouldn't let go :p

[RicosPoppy]

1 Peach-Faced LoveBird: $65.00
Cage and Toys: $220.00
Well-Bird Visit: $75.00
Fresh Seed, Pellets, Millet and Mineral Block: $40.00
The abundance of joy and happiness that he has brought to our Home:
PRICELESS :wink:

[butterfly1061]

1 Peach-Faced LoveBird: $65.00
Cage and Toys: $220.00
Well-Bird Visit: $75.00
Fresh Seed, Pellets, Millet and Mineral Block: $40.00
The abundance of joy and happiness that he has brought to our Home:
PRICELESS :wink:PERFECT!!! :clap:

[Emery]

I got Amaretto from a breeder. He was $80 CDN.

I had one budgie at the time and was looking at budgie info when I came across a picture of a lovebird. I didn't know what a lovebird was and didn't know the name of it, so I searched everywhere on the net for a "small bird with a big beak". After finding what they were and researching more about them, I fell in love and had to have one. I finally found a breeder in my area that had babies available. She had 2 PF's and one Seagreen. I took the odd one out and the rest is history. :)

[Oscar]

149.99!x2 hehe plus cage which was umm.. cant remember ..

[Eliza]

Beetle was $100.00. I got him from a WONDERFUL breeder in my area.

I've seen lovebirds of various species (peachfaced, masked and Fischer's) in pet stores locally from $50 to $80.

-e-

ETA: forgot to add the WHY.

Let's see... I've always enjoyed birds; growing up a I regularly petitioned my parents for a pair of budgies or an African grey. They never gave in :( When I was getting ready to leave for college, I was offered a peach-faced lovebird but that fell through... once I was settled into the dorms, where we were allowed to have "finned or feathered" animal companions, I bought a budgie... Years later, I decided to add a feathered friend to my home after occasionally caring for my bosses' gold-capped conure and a co-worker's cockatiel. After several months of reading up on various species, I decided that a parrotlet was to be the bird for me. However, I had a difficult time finding a hand-raised and socialized bird in my area. One of the breeders I contacted about p-lets was no longer breeding Pacific p-lets but was still actively raising several species of lovebirds. After a few weeks of thought, I decided that I would revisit lovebirds... and that's how I got Beetle! I absolutely adore him. He's not a cuddle-buddy on most days but he's charming, inquisitive and a delight to be around.

[Tango's_Mom]

I got Tango from a superpet after having researched a number of pets (of all varieties, furred, feathered and scaly) he was $150 CND, which yes is a little excessive especially for a sterile hybrid, but I fell in love with him the minute I saw him and didn't care how much he cost or what his breeding was, or that he wasn't at all tame, he was coming home with me. And really it was just a drop in the bucket when you consider all the other costs, I think the total amount of money that went into me getting him, in the first 2 days alone, came in just under $500 CND

[Chiappone]

I got my two from a breeder that was a little over an hour and a half away. There aren't many places to get lovebirds around here and the pet stores RARELY have them. I paid $200 for the pair, which after looking at prices that were from people even in a 4-6 hour away range was a pretty good deal. I already had a large cage that I got for free off of someone else on the freecycle around my area. So I just needed some toys and food for the birds when I got them. Plus the vet visit once I got them, so I'd say total i've already spent about $350(?) on them and I got them 3 weeks ago I think it is now. :rotfl: And the little buggers still won't let me touch them or anything even close!

Jen

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto was free! The ex couldn't pry him off me so he stayed. :rofl:


It also helped that he decided that he hated her (see he's smarter than me).:whistle:

[CaptMicha]

It sounds like I got Daisy and Clover at a steal! Which is good considering all the other expenses they've incurred.

The breeder even delivered them to me. Makes me wonder if she was just trying to get rid of them.

I still remember when she dropped them off in the front hall of the house and they were just sitting there in their cage with huge eyes taking everything in and freaking out if I got close.

[ottermom]

I got Bubble and Squeak from ... Let me back up. A neighbor has many (many) animals - some pets, some she breed, some she boards . She had 2 lovies that she bought at a bird fair because the breeder told her they were hand tame. She had them for a while and then went away for a week and asked me to take care of all her pets (plus th boarders). I REALLY loved my Bubble boy (then called Apollo). A few months (and many pet-sitting sessions) later she wanted to get rid of them because (surprise) they weren't actually hand tame. She called me first because she knew that I loved them.

She made me reimburse her for what she spent on them (including cage which she didn't give me - not that I would have taken it) it came to $200. Then I went out and bought a small cage - $70.00. I found this board (Thank GOD!) and saw that even though the cage I bought was 150X better than the one they had been in it was still too small. So I found a great big cage for around $250 that works well.

Figure in toys to date it probably comes to at least $600 well spent!

[Eliza]

She made me reimburse her for what she spent on them (including cage which she didn't give me - not that I would have taken it)...

OMG! You've got to be kidding me >:

Thank goodness you were a part of those birds' lives from the beginning!

-e-

[dani]

In US dollars, haku was about $50... Evie my zon was about $10 US... yeah believe it!!! That's what happens when a guy is desperate to sell a baby bird he caught from its nest because it looks like if its going to die...

and well, after having Evie for 2 years i began having bird cravings again, i would go to pet stores and drool over the budgies. I went one day totally prepared to buy a budgie, and then I saw the lovebirds in a huge cage, and they were sooo beautiful!! I had my eye on a peachface and then i saw this handsome little masked man peeking at me from the side of the cage, and i thought his slate colouring was the most striking thing!! I just fell in love, and i just had to bring him home!! The guy at the pet store was going to put Haku in a bag for me to take him home... my jaw must have hit the floor!! i went really quickly to my boyfriend's house and got a little spare cage, and took him home in that. Jeez... at least Haku's happier and healthier now!

[MaraJade]

My orange-face, Button, was $120 from my favorite bird store. I paid $55 for my australian cinnamon, TK. I got Peachy Keen in a trade - traded one of my babies for her so I could have a second breeding pair.
I got my first breeding pair, Goldmoon and Quicksilver, for $50 with cage and later discovered that was too much since they both HATED humans of any kind. lol.

[Asue]

Mikey was the best $35 I ever spent... Everyone was buying the more colorful mutations, passing Mikey up for the Blue Masked Fischers and the others...

Year to date... I've spent over $500 on cages ( he's had three different ones ), food, toys and toy parts, and his vet bills. He's never gotten sick, just likes to pluck and make me worry... check ups and stuff. :lol

I wouldn't sell him for all of Trump's money and power. >o

[Ducky]

At the beginning of the summer last year I got some spare time to breath. That's always dangerous to me because I always start researching animals. Then I want animals. Anyway, besides chickens, I hadn't really wanted any birds for a long time since a bad experience when I was littler. But Drs. Foster and Smith sent me a magazine with the most GEORGEOUS birdies in it. SO, I got on the internet. :whistle: I knew I wanted a smaller parrot, and not a budgie. I came across lovies, and after little research, I was hooked.

I didn't actually buy Widgie until September last year. I found a breeder bout 40 min away. He was just starting out, so I got Widgie for $35 dollars. While I wish he had done some things preweening differently, I wouldn't trade Widgie for the world. Then another $60 for the cage, awesome deal actually, and $150 to the Drs. mentioned above. :rolleyes: Worth every penny!

[CaptMicha]

The guy at the pet store was going to put Haku in a bag for me to take him home...

Wow... I don't even know just what to say to that... :omg:


I've since spent so much money on Daisy and Clover and their initial set up, like, probably every one else here.

Every year they both get a check up. Clover likes plucking when she doesn't get things her way so we have visits for that. Daisy was bothering Clover so Clover bit a hole in Daisy's beak (while I was away from home with them I might add, running around not knowing what to do) so there was a visit for that.

Harrison's pellets at $30 a pop. Not mentioning the gas to get there b/c I live in the boonies.

They've had... oh... 8 cages. Finally on the last four cages now, I hope. 2 for sleeping, 2 for day.

Don't get me started about toys and other junk.

It's not how much money you spend, I know. I could have spent more money on them and just ignore them all the time. It's just astounding though that I paid that little bit of money for them and look how much I've spent now!!!

Those two little birdies have really taken me for a ride.

[cassysmiley]

My pair of Blackmasked lovies were £30 each.
But at Xmas Time, all the lovebirds at Pets at Home shot up to £70. each. I dont know what that is in U.S. Money.
My Adopted birds were Free from a forum user on here, far as i am concerned they still are Bella Birds. I am just a permament Adoptive Mum. Bella bless her did not want anything for them, she just happy they come to a good home.

But what really annoys me is that when at Xmas Time these huge pet chains, suddenly Hike their Prices up.
Before i adopted Bellas Birds, i was thinking of getting a Sengal Parrot (Female) for my Male Sengal, I paid £299. for him 7yrs ago, went to a garden Centre at Xmas with my sister and there was a Young Senegal there, they had put their Prices up. The senegal (not hand reared/fed etc, unlike mine was). Was Priced at £750. Their Rabbits they were sellling were also going from £30 up to £100. So it just goes to prove at xmas time, they make a Killing on Hiking up their prices and people dumb enough to buy them.
You watch now, We are comming up to Easter and i bet you ( cos brats was a Bunny rabbit for Easter.) Prices will shoot up again. It really does make me angry.

[dmj64]

My original pair of lovies were a suprise gift. One morning at work, one of the guys set a little cardboard box in front of me and said "here you go, they're yours!" Peeking up from the little box were my Blue Girl and my first Pink Face. My life has been changed from that moment. I couldn't even think about what I've spent on them. Countless vet visits at at least $50 apiece, plus hundreds for my poor little lovies who didn't make it (ILM):cry:

[Jessica]

Celeste was $80 but we left the store paying at least a $125 for all the other needed things. We already had a cage that had cost us $80 for her. The same cage is now at least $100 so I'm really glad we had it. The biggest cost was the vet. $600. in the first months. Celeste's cultures came back with two illnesses and we just didn't have the heart to return her. Thankfully she never displayed any signs of the illnesses and they were treatable. The well baby check up doing all tests possible probably saved her life even if it was really expensive.

[Janie]

The biggest cost was the vet. $600. in the first months. Celeste's cultures came back with two illnesses and we just didn't have the heart to return her. Thankfully she never displayed any signs of the illnesses and they were treatable. The well baby check up doing all tests possible probably saved her life even if it was really expensive.

Jessica, you've brought up a very valid point, seeing a vet immediately after buying a bird. Not even because you might want to return it if it's ill but so that you can probably save it by having taken it in immediately. Same here, I would not have parted with my two even if an illness had been found on that first check up and would have done what I could to get proper treatment but "assuming" a bird is OK, is a huge mistake. I would not buy a bird (or take one for free) from anyone w/o an immediate vet check.

Thank you for sharing your experience. :) It's something every bird owner needs to be aware of...how important vet care is for all birds from the very beginning. It can save the life of the new bird as well as any others that someone already has in their home.

[Anjamau79]

I paid 120 for my pair of Blue Masked Lovebirds, 330 for the cage, spent a good amount of money for toys and supplies and well about 550 for first well bird examen, medications and unfortunately they had to take a little piece of Diva's toe of, because their was an infection going on, that destroyed the bone. She had that infection already as I bought her but my vet wasn't able to get it under control and after a few med treatments (antibiotics and 2 other) we decided to take the damaged part of, to prevent the infection from spreading. Never in a million years would I have brought her back to the store, even with the knowledge, that I bought her like that and still had the 14 day garantee.

With all the cost... not one penny is wasted... I love them to death and enjoy every second they keep me companie and bring so much :rofl:

[Cathy]

Anja, did you try to get the pet store to pay for any of your vet bill? I would at least try to get them to reimburse you for some of it. And I agree, once we have bonded with our fids, there is no return policy that will work for us. Although, I often thought about returning my teenage sons!

[Anjamau79]

Anja, did you try to get the pet store to pay for any of your vet bill? I would at least try to get them to reimburse you for some of it. And I agree, once we have bonded with our fids, there is no return policy that will work for us. Although, I often thought about returning my teenage sons!

Cathy, my husband suggested that we try to get some money back from the store, but if you read the contract... there is/was no chance for us. It sais in one part...

"As we believe that routine veterinary check ups are an important part of responsible pet car, we encourage our customers to have their new pets examined by a veterinarian experienced in treating these pets. Any veterinary fees are the responsibility of the pet owner. If the veterinary examination finds any illness during the gurarantee period, please return the pet to the store where it was purchased for a refund or relacement, and we will treat the pet following appropriate veterinary recommendations. You can request to be notifierd when the pet has recovered, if you wish to repurchase it. We do not pay or reimburse customer vetenarian bills."

I didn't want to put Diva to more stessfull situations, first the new caregiver (me) and a new home and than the vet visits. If I had returned her, they would have kept her for the treatment and I didn't want that. It was a lot of money, but it was worth the little birds wellbeeing :clap: And in comparison to the vetbill for my one cat Cecil, it was a litte piece of cake ;)

[Angelwing]

Etna and Laharl both came from the same breeder. Although I did get them at the same time, they are from different parents. They were $50 apiece.

Kali and Trixie were 'rescued' from a petstore. They were bred in the store and had been living there for just about two years. They were $89.99 + tax, I believe.

My very first bird, a budgie, was $7 from a breeder. My two current budgies (from petstores) were $20 each. And Cedric (Green Cheek Conure) was $250, from a breeder. Plus the cost of shipping. I can't even imagine the amount of money I spend on all of them, but they are totally worth it.

[eeyoresdad]

Wow, I had to buy mine for $95. Its nice hearing all of your stories:D.