What are YOUR thoughts????

[Netsurfer]

I would like to know when did that occur, was it during the few days of extreme hot weather, if yes then most of us have lost some birds. Otherwise unless the environment in the aviary is appallingly bad the bird was probably already been infected. I remember buying a bird from a bird shop it looked OK in the cage but the moment I released it in the aviary I could tell something was wrong, anyhow the bird was dead the following morning. But as desertbird said, can't prove much after 2 weeks! No doubt about it there are people who will sell you sick birds!

[SamDavis]

In Trilobite's original scenario Z has no right to expect anything from X as they took no precautions whatsoever. However if X and Z are mates then if I was X I would probably (A) give Z a replacement if it was a low value bird or (B) give a discount if it was of a higher value. I have sold the odd bird to people I know and trust only to have it fall ill within a day or so. I know the bird was absolutely fine when it left my aviary and I also know they've done the right thing at their end - it just happens sometimes. In essence you can never really know whose fault it is or if it is even anyone's fault.

[mickw]

Of course the bird was carrying some pathogen...........all living things do.........thats why they have immune systems........its essentially the immune system of the bird we need to manage & support.....ie, with all the precautionary strategies suggested like quarantine, morning release, electrolytes etc, etc.......

The base load of pathogens killed the bird when it got stressed.............we've all done it..........especially when we were starting out......the base load is not the breeders fault,.......... the stress level is the buyers lesson......No discount unless he/she REPENTS!

[Myzomela]

This also highlights the one major pitfall of bird sales/shows- they place increased stress on the birds being sold.

Birds are caught up early that day or often the day before, transported over long distances, placed in a noisy environment from which they can't hide (the sale), then caught again, placed in a different cage, transported, then left to settle overnight in the transport cage or moved to a new cage or outdoor aviary.

And we wonder about their immune systems...

Healthy birds and those prepared properly for sale generally cope ok, but it's hardly surprising that many birds die a few days post purchase.

2 weeks later? Well, without a cause of death then who knows, but in general I agree that it is unlikely to be the seller's fault with finches; parrots could be a different story.

I always make a point of asking what the buyer is going to do with the bird when they get it home and make suggestions accordingly including signs of illness to look out for.

[E Orix]

I could go on and on about this and sadly from my own experiences both ways.
Firstly it should be covered by "Buyers Beware".
A person purchased 8 birds from me,perfectly good as far as I was concerned,he picked them up and left to go home 30 kms away
It was just before 11oclock and it would give the birds plenty of time to find food,water and check the aviary out.
The following morning one irate person rang me saying 3 birds were dead and wanting his money back.
I will not give full details but this idiot picked up the birds and instead of going home went to a family BBQ,if that wasn't bad enough he simply
let the birds go virtually on dark. They needed food, water and shelter and got non as dark decended on them.All he got was an ear bashing
and told to find another supplier.
Last year I purchased some Red Crested Finches,they were freighted in and arrived in reasonable condition. They were released in a holding cage
with all food etc. When I returned to check the birds after 2 hours one had dropped dead.What did I do,nothing(except grumble to myself) why because there
were too many variables to blame the supplier.
I will rarely replace birds,it's my decision and I won't move birds that are seedy.
Birds do stress and if I think there could be a prolonged travel time or a bird species that may stress I try to get some Spark in them or at
least in their travel water.

[arthur]

If you are into cryptic crosswords . . and if you are not for that matter

Here is my take . .

Warning, bury bare ewe that's crazy