A very sad and expensive lesson learnt

[skyjump100]

Hi all,

Sorry to post this but I have to get it off my chest and hopefully stop feeling so guilty.

I recently bought some 3 pairs of Gouldian finches from a breeder in the south of the UK. I live in the Midlands and so got the birds couriered to me. I have been given an amazing YH.WB.YB (DF) cock bird and I really wanted to keep the YH.WB colour going whcih is why I resorted to getting the birds couriered.

The wee birds were due to arrive on a Thursday but due to a mix up with another delivery and courier, my birds were delayed. The courier phoned me at about 8pm and said that they would'nt get to me until very late (1am) and asked if it would be ok if they kept the birds overnight and delivered them in the morning. As they were an established bird courier service I stupidly said yes, that would be fine as long as they were fed and watered. I thought they would be delivered first thing n teh morning but it was not until 11am that they finally arrived. I immediately released them all into the same flight cage in a seperaate room and turned the heating up. One of the birds had some red in its eye which has since cleared up.

Three of the finches have since died. One yesterday and two today. I emailed the breeder when the first one died but I haven't heard from them. Why am I not surprised?

I made some very silly mistakes and I will never buy from this breeder again or courier birds again irrespective of how desperately I want a certain colour in my birds.

I think I wil lose one more bird as he is still fluffed up and inactive. He is in a hospital cage but it's touch and go.

[lovezebs]

skyjump100

Oh Simon.....
So sorry to hear about this very bad and sad experience.
The thought of shipping birds in, can be quite appealing, but when one hears about situations like yours, it sure makes a person question if it's a good idea.

In this particular case, would it be the Breeder's fault, or the shipping company's for the delay? It's terrible, that the breeder hasn't responded. You would think that he would care enough about his birds to at least respond and want to find out what happened to them.

Those poor little birds.... I really hope, that at least some of them survive.

~Elana~

[Jen]

So sorry to hear this story....personally, I would continue to contact the breeder...don't know what good it would do for those poor birds, but I would definitely get in touch with him/her....even if I had to wait a few months... AND the courier...they would need to hear from me also !!!!! This is such a sad story. I don't think you did anything wrong. It was definitely out of your hands. I'm so sorry for your experience with this.

[Smurf]

So sorry to hear this, it's also difficult to know who's at fault, as to whether sick birds were sent or if it was the delay/treatment of birds during transport. If by any chance it was palmers mail order you purchased the birds from there's a whole thread about them on feathered flyer forum.

Stoke-on-trent is not too far from Stafford where there's a big bird show/sale on every spring+autumn, many breeders will be going to stafford shows and a good option for you purchasing birds in future would be to reserve birds with them and arrange collection at stafford.

[Sally]

So very sorry this has happened to you. There is always a slight risk when having birds shipped, though I'm not familiar with the bird courier service that you have available to you. Perhaps the courier didn't keep the birds warm enough, or perhaps he didn't make sure there was enough water. Or the birds may have been ill to start with, which would be the breeder's fault.

If I were to lose one bird in a shipment, I would chalk it up to bad luck, it happens, but losing most of a shipment is not normal. Either the birds were ill to start with, or something went wrong in the shipping. The fact that the breeder has not returned emails makes me question the breeder, as there is no excuse for not replying.

[skyjump100]

Hi all,
Thanks for your comments. I have stayed in contact with both the breedeer and courier. I am having nothing more to do with the breeder as I do not believe that he really cares for his birds as he has been so off-hand wth me. I also believe that he has simply off-loded some birds that he no longer wanted. I lost a fourth male this morning so have only two remaining birds surviving so far. I think these two will be fine as they are perky and chirpy. However I think they are older birds as their toenails are really long which I wouldnt expect in younger birds.

The courier has absolved themselves of all blame by blaming the breeder so I chalking this up to experience, albeit a bad one as I'm caught between the two sides.

@Smurf, yes, I have been to every Stafford show for the last 2 years and love it! Unfortunately there wasn't any birds that I needed (plenty that I wanted ha ha) so I came away empty handed. I did see a great pair of yellow Gouldians however they were sold already. Hopefully better luck next time.

[Smurf]

skyjump100 , you can place a wanted for collection at stafford post on feathered flyer forum beforehand and reserve birds, many people do this and then collect the birds at breeeders table in stafford

[skyjump100]

Thanks Smurf, I never knew that!

Great tip. Will try it next time

[Teagarden]

So sorry you had such a horrible experience getting the birds. I hope you are able to find a YH, WB to keep that color line going. They are beautiful birds.
Mary