Fahad Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Hi All, I am sharing my experience so that all can learn from the mistake i made when we bought our baby African Grey a month ago. We live in UAE and there are no breeders of AG in this country. After a lot of research and advise received from so many people, we opted to purchase an 5 month AG Baby from one of the trusted suppliers. We collected the AG the day it arrived from South Africa to UAE along with its Health certificate mentioning it was free of PBFD Disease. As i had the certificate, i felt it was unnecessary to get him tested. He was with us for 4 weeks and all our family members became so attached to it. During his stay, i felt he was underweight but let it go thinking that he is very small and must be a lean parrot. Last week all of a sudden after feeding him in the afternoon, he started trembling and one of his leg was completely not functioning. By evening the other leg also paralyzed. He could not move at all, stopped eating, stopped talking, stopped pooping and puked some of his food. We rushed him to an avian vet where the doctor did a quick blood test and informed us that the AG has no White blood cells in his body and is neurologically damaged due to which both of his legs were paralyzed. He informed us that the bird was infected with PBFD. He told us that given his situation,he will die in 24 hours. He advised us that its best to let the AG go to ease his pain. It was the most hardest and a tear felt decision i had to make to euthanize him. He was with us just for a month and i never thought that his loss would affect our family so much. The loss is unbearable. When getting a bird , always get it fully tested . Tests are expensive but they will spare you the pain of loosing the bird in such a way. DO NOT TRUST PET SHOPS or ANYONE !! When getting the Tests done, make sure the bird is with you so that it does not get infected with other birds until the test results come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Sorry to hear. Yes, best to use a trusted breeder and stay away from the backyard breeders. One of the petshops around here is nothing but a backyard breeder and thankfully they closed down a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Oh, what a heartbreaking story! So sorry for your loss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 (edited) OMG, I have went through this twice in UAE. First time the baby lived with me for 3 months, then I lost her. The socond time I took the baby grey directly to the avian vet and in few days, PBFD was confirmed. Sadly if one of the birds was sick, all the rest transported with him will get the desease. Later a friend of mine who has a pet shop in Dubai, explained to me that he goes through huge measures to get healthy birds in a leagal way, which makes them way more expensive. He explained that to be sure you import healthy birds, they have to be tested at the breeder, quarantined for min 40 days, retested, then flown in individual cages. This of course is costly and people prefer to buy at the cheap pet shops at a much lower price. And due to this he gets rather older birds, more than 6 months old as they come from a breeder not caught wild. Edited April 18, 2014 by ranaz typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Fahad, why dont you get a bird from a breeder in UK or France. Its not so difficult and you get all the papers and you insure a healthy bird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Sad for your loss they do creep into your heart and mind and soul, letting go is hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fahad Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Thank you all for your support. i am skeptical to get a bird imported as the costs are huge and there are risks of getting an imported bird which could be infected. The only way what i see is that Dubai government is opening an official Pet market in coming months which will be strictly regulated. They have mentioned that only pets obtained through legal means and tested will be allowed to sold there. But to make sure i don't get duped again i will get all the tests done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I'm so sorry about your baby Fahad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 My condolences to you and your family. What did you name your friend? Even in such a short time he was a family member and brought joy to your home. I am so very sorry for the sadness in your family and for you to be in that place to have to decide to help him pass peacefully. It does not seem possible to wake up in the morning with happiness and a healthy young bird and feel such despair hours later. You will find a way to honor his place in your life. I am very happy to hear about the creation of a Pet market with better oversight than the souks. It has been ten years since we lived in Dubai and we keep in touch with Emirati friends who share the many changes created since we were there. It would be so valuable for you to be on an advisory board to help create a better standard for creating a healthy environment for such exquisite companions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fahad Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Thanks katana600 , his name was Gogo. The biggest problem here is that most of the birds in these souks are imported illegally and there is a very high demand for exotic birds. I just came to know yesterday that there is a temporary ban on birds imported from Australia, South Africa and some European countries due to Diseases and Bird Flu since 2013. All these pet shop agents care about is making money and by the looks of the current demand this will go on for sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 It can be hard to keep up. There are probably a lot of people who don't know about that ban. If you haven't already, it might help to visit the World Parrot Trust website ( www.parrots.org ). I really believe someday, the wild bird trade will mostly be a thing of the past. There will always be greedy people. But I'd like to think there are very many more who just don't see the harm. But by sharing Gogo's story you help change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I am so sorry to hear of Gogo's passing, how sad he had such a short life but it doesn't take long for them to get inside your heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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