Welcome to Parrot Link for Help & Advice
Parrot-link, created in 1998, was the first UK web site dedicated to helping parrots and their owners
We were the first to have a Breeders Directory. Our Parrot-Link Forum is the largest parrot forum, currently with more than 8,000 members - almost certainly the largest UK parrot forum and possibly the largest worldwide!
After many requests we have decided to open our front page to advertisers. As you can see we are offering 60 x 60 pixel graphic blocks with a minimum order of 1 block up to a maximum order of 16 blocks (240 pixels x 240 pixels). This allows you complete flexibility to book space where you wish.
As more advertisers sign up, we will increase availability of advertising slots. We accept payments by credit or debit card using PayPal.
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Our members keep all sorts of birds & parrots from Budgerigars, Cockatiels, Conures and Lovebirds to the larger species such as African Greys, Cockatoos and Amazons and, ultimately Macaws.
This huge group of parrot enthusiasts can offer help and advice on diet, breeding, housing, behaviour and many other aspects of parrot-keeping.
You can buy / sell parrots and equipment, find lost parrots & birds, find an avian veterinarian in your area.
Or, if you wish, you can simply make new friends...
So, if you have a broody Budgie, a lonely Lovebird or a moody Macaw why not give us a try?
BEFORE YOU BUY ANOTHER JAPANESE PRODUCT YOU MIGHT WANT TO WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP
(Warning: not suitable for those of a sensitive disposition).
You should also know that Japan is currently bribing non-whaling countries into joining the IWC (International Whaling Commission) in an attempt to re-start commercial whaling! Sign the Petition here www.petitiononline.com/golfinho
VogelJungle online shop in The Netherlands now open
Front Page News!
The news items on this page appear with the newest at the top - if you haven't visited Parrot-Link before, please scroll down to the oldest article and read back up the page. If you would like to comment on any of these snippets, please visit the Parrot-Link forum and have your say!
Please avoid these places when buying a parrot... (October 2005)
Many of these places are advertising wild-caught birds, without describing them as such, as suitable for "pets". Please, if you want to buy a parrot try to find a captive-bred bird. It may cost you more intially but the chances are that it will be much more suitable and by buying it you may help reduce the horrific trade in wild birds. You can start by visiting our Breeders' Directory page. The list below is in no particular order.
www.adtrader.co.uk
There are genuine birds for sale here but please avoid any advert such as "Semi-tame young African Grey...£280 delivered with cage..." A young captive-bred hand-reared Grey will cost about £500, an Orange-winged Amazon about £475 so any bird that is much cheaper is almost certainly a wild bird.
www.findit.co.uk/pets/birds
Orange-winged Amazons that are clearly wild caught. £195.00 plus cage.
If you have bought a wild parrot from someone who suggested that it might make a good pet then please contact David.
Double Dutch goes Dutch!
The specialist avian food company "Double Dutch" has just been appointed sole UK distributor for the Dutch company VogelJungle who are developing a new range of parrot foods using only top quality ingredients. VogelJungle products already on the menu at Double Dutch include Palm Nuts, Cedar nuts, Supervit2, Fruit and Nut Deluxe and a new Macaw mix and more will be added as Vogel Jungle's range increases.
Double Dutch Specialist Avian Foods online shop now open!
Another first from Double Dutch UK Parrot & Bird foods - a specially formulated, species-specific seed mix for Cockatoos.
Even More South African news....
Following the recent news, below, I have received further information. Apparently the "problem" is even more widespread than I thought. I have heard that two people make regular trips to Belgium to collect these birds which are then divided up between smaller outlets. In addition, a South African has opened a shop in the UK to sell them.
I was recently asked why I was making so much fuss about this. Well, firstly, if these birds are being sold as "English-bred" then the customer is clearly not being told the truth. If they are being sold as bred in South Africa then the customer can make a choice based on the truth. Second: I think it is important to support UK Parrot breeders.
There is also an issue in that the transportation of young, sensitive, baby Greys may not be ideal. I repeat my advice: if you are thinking of buying a baby Grey from a commercial outlet PLEASE ask questions, and be very wary if the birds have EBHR rings! (July 04)
Double Dutch, the only UK supplier of whole, frozen Palm nuts; both nourishing and stimulating. More than 600kg sold in 3 months. Shop online...
South Africa again!
Apparently there is a campaign underway to try to encourage UK citizens to buy more goods from South Africa. I doubt if the organisers realise how much contribution is already being made by certain unscrupulous sections of the UK Parrot world!! (June 2004)
More South African News
As a result of my recent notice, below, regarding the fitting of English rings to South African-bred baby Greys, I have received further information. It would seem that the organisation concerned actually sold all their breeding Greys and now simply import these birds, with their own rings fitted, and sell them as their own babies. Apparently these birds cost about £140 each and are sold on at £650. I am informed that they also buy other babies from breeders in the UK, and Eire. It is far cheaper than feeding lots of pairs of birds. However this organisation would like customers to believe that they are caring bird breeders when in fact they are just dealers.
South African Greys: another scam?
News reaches me, from a normally reliable source, that a leading UK commercial Parrot breeder/seller is sending rings bearing their "signature" to South Africa. These rings are then fitted to birds, which may or may not actually be captive-bred, and the birds are then imported into the UK and sold as being bred in the UK by this organisation.
If this turns out to be true, then, at the very least, this would interest the relevant Trading Standards authority. The whole reason for fitting a closed ring on a Parrot is to identify the bird...and the breeder. If you are buying a baby Parrot, supposedly English bred, you are fully entitled to ask for proof of origin. The intials "EBHR" are widely accepted as meaning English-bred and hand-reared. At the moment it is a buyers' market so do not neccessarily buy the first bird you are offered. PLEASE DO NOT BUY WILD-CAUGHT BIRDS.
Do you keep Lories, Lorikeets, Sugarbirds, Tanagers or other nectar feeders? If so, check out Double Dutch - UK No 1 Bird Food Supplier - and only UK agent for AVES Product - Double Dutch and AVES Product
I am also advised that the price of wild-caught Parrots is slightly up from recent levels : could this also reflect problems within the trade?
We can assist in the ending of the trade : STOP BUYING WILD BIRDS!
Baby parrots... cute aren't they? Where will they end up? Pets at Home? Safari Select?
What sort of conditions do their parents live in? Do they have all their eggs removed?
Do they have access to fresh air, sun, rain?
If these issues don't matter to you, then you are in the wrong place!
The ban on wild Greys at shows seems like another token gesture: it could be argued that at least 75% of all adult African Greys in the UK must be wild-caught; how is PSUK going to enforce this policy? Ban all adult Greys unless they are CR?
I doubt if any sane bird-keeper still seriously believes that the UK "needs" to import wild Greys, and I supect that even some of those involved in the trade would now stop importing wild Parrots without too much fuss.
What is the future for bird shows?
Could we end up in a position where these events have no live birds at all?
Would this result in more birds changing hands in motorway service stations and the like? Would you care? It is the case that, for many bird-keepers, these events are largely social, and very few people now actually sell or buy birds at shows, for various reasons such as the stress involved, risk of infection etc.
If you have an opinion on this issue, or any other, why not share it on the forum?
Parrot Breeders' Directory page. This was set up to help UK parrot breeders sell their young and to help prospective buyers. I would like to think that any of these people will be willing to give you honest advice and good service. I have decided to steal an idea from eBay! In future, any person on the directory who gets good feedback, via parrot-link, will get a symbol by their entry denoting this fact. The opposite is also true! So, if you buy a parrot via this site and are happy, or otherwise, with the treatment you had, please let me know.
If you are contemplating buying a cockatoo then I recommend a visit to www.ckcbirds.co.uk
The news items previously featured on this page are now on the NEWS page. If you are looking for Lost & Found or CONTACT WANTED you can post these items directly on the Parrot-Link Forum.
If you are looking to buy a young parrot, or are a breeder who regularly breeds certain Parrots then go to THE BREEDERS' DIRECTORY.
Free advertising for other birds on the Parrot-Link Forum.
We now have a SOAPBOX section on the Parrot-Link Forum. If you have any bad experiences then please go to the Forum and let everyone know.
NO MALICIOUS GOSSIP PLEASE: GENUINE STUFF ONLY!
OTHER STUFF: SOCIETIES, Avian VETS, RESEARCH, MAGAZINES/BOOKS, CONSERVATION
If you have an opinion, flattering or otherwise, about this site, then please let me know.
Before you go elsewhere, please visit The World Parrot Trust at www.worldparrottrust.org and sign the petition against importation.
If you want to be really sickened by the huge legal trade in wild parrots and other animals then visit the CITES website!