Since I last posted, this breeder sent a replacement bird free of shipping charges. Since the S & H was no charge the breeder suggested we take advantage of that and buy another bird if we wanted to. We thought that would be a nice idea, especially since we felt bad that the breeder was going to be losing so much money. In fact, we offered, and did, pay half the shipping in the end since we were actually buying an additional bird. Fast forward: the replacement bird had normal toes. Unbelieveably, the new bird we bought had the exact same problem with the double-fused toe!! We are mystified that this happened twice...that the breeder would send another bird with the same problem. Who would dare let that happen after having already made the mistake once? Especially since this was supposed to be the "fix" to the problem!!
The breeder suggested we send back both birds, or at least the second bird (wants to use the bird for breeding since it supposedly carries the Lavender gene!!!!!) and then we would be reimbursed for the price of the bird, the half shipping, and the cost to ship back to the breeder. This would total $128 out of our pocket up front, with no guarantee that the breeder would actually refund the money (though we have no indication that wouldn't happen). Not to mention, it's in the 90's and humid on our end AND on the breeder's. Then there's the fact that they'd have to go through the stress of shipping within a two week period.
Needless to say we're chalking this up to a learning experience and have completely lost faith in this breeder's competency or sincerity (or both). We will keep the birds as pets; we don't want to breed them and might not be able to show them, but we care about them enough to not want to send them back under the conditions mentioned above.
Beware of anyone who sells "show quality" birds that have never been shown!! We've learned the hard way.
Now to find a good breeder of good quality birds!!
I'm posting pics of the original boy with the double toe, as well as the new girl's toe.
PS...in my original posts I didn't want to identify the breeder out of fairness to them, so I claimed the birds were not silkies. However, you may note in the photos that they appear to be silkies, indeed. Draw your own conclusions.
The original boy with the toe issue:
The second girl the breeder sent along with the replacement bird for the first bird!!
Original Post:
Hi all,
My mother-in-law informed me today that I'm a fool (not the first time, actually!!). She thinks a breeder (who shall remain nameless) is taking me and DH for a "ride".
We recently purchased two 4-month old birds from a breeder who seems to have a lot of experience in breeding and showing. We requested show quality birds and were super excited when the birds arrived. However, in the box there was one small glob of bloody stool.
I mentioned it in my email to the breeder to let them know the birds had arrived and how beautiful we thought they were. Without saying a word, the breeder went ahead and ordered meds for us to treat cocci and vitamins for the birds, paying out of their own pocket. (The cost was almost the amount we paid for one of the birds.) I was really impressed.
A few days later the breeder sent us some more info about the breeding background of the two birds. The breeder acknowledged that both birds were younger than originally thought - one was 3.5 months, the other was 3 months-to-the-day it was shipped to us. We'd paid a higher price for 4-month-old birds than the listed price for 3-month-old birds that the breeder carries. There was no mention of reimbursing us for the difference in cost, though I only would have expected it for the youngest bird.
Another couple of days later we were handling the birds when we noticed that one had a toe deformity - an extra toe nail from what was two toes completely fused together. We hadn't noticed it before because it surely wasn't obvious to us, but I took some pics and emailed the breeder to ask about it and check if it was a DQ for shows.
The breeder wasn't sure if it was a DQ either, but offered to send a new bird to replace it, w/o any additional costs to us.
My mother-in-law thinks we've been had. She thinks the breeder should have known whether or not an extra toe/toe nail is a DQ, and she thinks we were definitely NOT sent SQ birds if one had an extra toe.
I like this breeder and can't imagine someone with a good reputaion doing something like that on purpose. I even insisted I wouldn't hesitate to buy from this breeder again. But my mother-in-law says that's too many mistakes to make: shipping sick birds, overcharging and sending younger birds than what were paid for, and sending a SQ bird with a toe deformity, making it no longer SQ.
It's one thing if my mother-in-law tells me I'm an idiot. It's another thing if I end up agreeing with her!! Am I right or is my mother-in-law correct? (I'll never tell her one way or the other, no matter how many people think she's right! LOL!!)
Thanks for any input.
The breeder suggested we send back both birds, or at least the second bird (wants to use the bird for breeding since it supposedly carries the Lavender gene!!!!!) and then we would be reimbursed for the price of the bird, the half shipping, and the cost to ship back to the breeder. This would total $128 out of our pocket up front, with no guarantee that the breeder would actually refund the money (though we have no indication that wouldn't happen). Not to mention, it's in the 90's and humid on our end AND on the breeder's. Then there's the fact that they'd have to go through the stress of shipping within a two week period.
Needless to say we're chalking this up to a learning experience and have completely lost faith in this breeder's competency or sincerity (or both). We will keep the birds as pets; we don't want to breed them and might not be able to show them, but we care about them enough to not want to send them back under the conditions mentioned above.
Beware of anyone who sells "show quality" birds that have never been shown!! We've learned the hard way.
Now to find a good breeder of good quality birds!!
I'm posting pics of the original boy with the double toe, as well as the new girl's toe.
PS...in my original posts I didn't want to identify the breeder out of fairness to them, so I claimed the birds were not silkies. However, you may note in the photos that they appear to be silkies, indeed. Draw your own conclusions.
The original boy with the toe issue:
The second girl the breeder sent along with the replacement bird for the first bird!!
Original Post:
Hi all,
My mother-in-law informed me today that I'm a fool (not the first time, actually!!). She thinks a breeder (who shall remain nameless) is taking me and DH for a "ride".
We recently purchased two 4-month old birds from a breeder who seems to have a lot of experience in breeding and showing. We requested show quality birds and were super excited when the birds arrived. However, in the box there was one small glob of bloody stool.
I mentioned it in my email to the breeder to let them know the birds had arrived and how beautiful we thought they were. Without saying a word, the breeder went ahead and ordered meds for us to treat cocci and vitamins for the birds, paying out of their own pocket. (The cost was almost the amount we paid for one of the birds.) I was really impressed.
A few days later the breeder sent us some more info about the breeding background of the two birds. The breeder acknowledged that both birds were younger than originally thought - one was 3.5 months, the other was 3 months-to-the-day it was shipped to us. We'd paid a higher price for 4-month-old birds than the listed price for 3-month-old birds that the breeder carries. There was no mention of reimbursing us for the difference in cost, though I only would have expected it for the youngest bird.
Another couple of days later we were handling the birds when we noticed that one had a toe deformity - an extra toe nail from what was two toes completely fused together. We hadn't noticed it before because it surely wasn't obvious to us, but I took some pics and emailed the breeder to ask about it and check if it was a DQ for shows.
The breeder wasn't sure if it was a DQ either, but offered to send a new bird to replace it, w/o any additional costs to us.
My mother-in-law thinks we've been had. She thinks the breeder should have known whether or not an extra toe/toe nail is a DQ, and she thinks we were definitely NOT sent SQ birds if one had an extra toe.
I like this breeder and can't imagine someone with a good reputaion doing something like that on purpose. I even insisted I wouldn't hesitate to buy from this breeder again. But my mother-in-law says that's too many mistakes to make: shipping sick birds, overcharging and sending younger birds than what were paid for, and sending a SQ bird with a toe deformity, making it no longer SQ.
It's one thing if my mother-in-law tells me I'm an idiot. It's another thing if I end up agreeing with her!! Am I right or is my mother-in-law correct? (I'll never tell her one way or the other, no matter how many people think she's right! LOL!!)
Thanks for any input.
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