Policies and Procedures
We take our responsibility to provide the highest quality baby parrots seriously. We pay particular attention to the genetic background, and mental and physical health of each baby we produce.
We do not allow babies to leave the nursery until they are feathered and have a competent immune system.
Information Provided with Babies
All unweaned babies will come complete with comprehensive handfeeding and weaning information in writing.
Handfeeding Information
Weaning Information
At the time a deposit is placed on a baby, written instructions will be supplied to the new owner. It is expected that the new parent will carefully read this information as soon as possible. Between the time of deposit and taking the baby home, the parent is expected to visit the baby in the nursery, observe the baby being fed, and ask questions. During the week before the baby goes home, the information should be carefully re-read. After the baby goes home, we will be available to answer questions at any hour of the day.
Weaned vs. Unweaned Babies
At Hartman Aviary, we like to see baby parrots in the hands of someone who can give them great deal of attention at the same stage their wild cousins are leaving the nest. For the average size parrot, like an African grey or an amazon, this is about 8 to 10 weeks old. The first 30 to 60 days after a baby begins to peak out of the safety of the nest is the most important time of its life. During this relatively short period of time a parrot has to learn many things to insure his chance of survival. That little brain is programmed to build neuropathways at the fastest rate in all of his life. These neuropathways are developed as a response to environmental stimulus.
The first 30 to 60 days after leaving the nest a parrot has to learn language, how to avoid predators, forage for food, parrot body language, flock etiquette, fly and a host of other behaviors that can only be properly learned during the appropriate developmental phase of the brain. Parrots learn so fast that, by the time an average parrot like an african grey is 4 months old, he has developed 75% of all of the nueropathways he will get in his life.
This is the same stage of life a human experiences at two and three years of age. The "terrible twos" are when we are a learning sponge, getting into everything and trying the patience of everyone.
There is no way a breeder can spend the amount of time necessary to expose multiple baby parrots to the tremendous amount of situations necessary to get the maximum brain development. These areas of the brain have to be developed at the optimum time. You cannot do it during later stages in life.
Breeders that keep their babies until they are weaned do not understand the sequential development of the nueropathways of the avian brain. They assume that a healthy friendly baby can become a healthy friendly adult. I doubt that any of these same breeders would allow their children to be raised in a sterile nursery with a limited number of caregivers until they were 5 years old; which is the same stage of development as most weaning parrots.
A baby raised without a great deal of tactile and mental stimulation generally develops into a low-functioning adult. Don't be fooled by the "I raise great babies" statement. You want to know what kind of adults they raise.
Guarantee
All of our babies are born here at Hartman Aviary. We do not buy babies from other breeders. We have control over the babies all of their life and are able to continually assess their health. Our babies are guaranteed to be free of congenital and pathogenic diseases when they leave the nursery.
We have sold thousands of babies without significant problems. In almost 20 years we have not yet had a case of viral infection reported in one of our babies. For this reason, we do not utilize any of the available vaccines. Vaccines are available from your veterinarian for any babies that will be living in high-risk exposure situations.
Many types of normally occurring bacteria and fungus are found throughout our nursery and your home. These bacteria and fungus are ingested and inhaled by baby birds, and us, continually. Sometimes this normal bacteria and fungus will show up on tests your veterinarian may perform. Often, the numbers of these potential pathogens will increase slightly during stress related events like moving to a new home. Low levels, without symptoms of illness, are not to be considered a disease.
There is no specific time limit to this guarantee. We understand situations can arise where time will pass between symptoms and a definitive diagnosis can be made. Any baby that is shown to have become ill from congenital defects or an illness, present while the baby is in our nursery, will be replaced at our expense.
Hartman Aviary's veterinarian will decide all disputed claims after examining the bird. When it is not possible to examine the bird, our veterinarian will utilize veterinary diagnosis and supporting lab work to make a decision.
Purchase Policies
Waiting List
There is no charge for putting your name on the waiting list for a particular species. When we have fertile eggs, we will call to make sure you want the baby if it hatches. If you say yes, we expect you to buy the baby.
Deposits
Once we have a live baby a 25% deposit will be required. Individuals on the waiting list for a fertile egg are encouraged to send a check for deposit prior to hatching. This check will not be deposited until the baby is three days old and will be destroyed or returned if we cannot supply the baby. By having the deposit on hand you can avoid the hassle of getting the deposit to us within five days. After five days the baby will go to the next person on the list.
Refunds
Deposits on live babies may not be refunded. Once we commit the baby to you, we may pass up other potential buyers. If the baby has another buyer by the time he was scheduled to go to your home, the deposit will be refunded. Under some circumstances, a deposit may be applied to a different baby.
Late Pick-up of Babies
A charge of not less than $3.00 per day will be assessed for boarding babies not picked up during a reasonable time window.
Payment
We accept Cash, Check, Paypal, Money Orders and Cashier's check.
Bird Fairs and Other Exhibitions
No babies from Hartman Aviary will ever be seen at a "Bird Fair." We will never expose your baby to the stresss and disease possibilities associated with bird shows.
Many of the vendors at bird marts or shows are hobbyists and not professionals. They are often not aware of the problem that can develop by placing a baby parrot in this environment. Here are a few of the many reasons to consider:
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Prior to weaning, babies can require 18 to 20 hours of uninterrupted sleep each day.
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There are many parrots of questionable origin at these shows. Some of these birds change hands many times and are exposed to diseases along the way.
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Young birds cannot handle the tremendous amount of noise and activity at these shows and will experience considerable stress.
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Young birds do not have a competent immune system until they are at least 7 weeks old. Prior to having a competent immune system, babies are prone to infections by all of those normal, opportunistic bacteria and funguses that we are exposed to every day.
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Babies taken to a show and returned to the nursery then expose all of the other babies in the nursery to all of the diseases they might have come in contact with. A healthy older baby that is not as susceptible to diseases can infect the nursery while they are mounting an immune response.
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Money, one of the most bio-contaminated items we have, is constantly handled by breeders feeding and handling babies.
Parrot Rescue
Hartman Aviary is not a parrot rescue facility. We are, however, interested in obtaining parrots for our flock that have good pet qualities. We are always looking for good pets that need to find a great home. If you find it necessary to place your bird due to a life change and are looking for the best home possible, we may be the answer. If your bird is an adult, tame to most people and has all of its feathers we may be interested. We will also consider rare birds that need to be breed to maintain a genetic pool, regardless of their disposition. For more information review the section on selective breeding.
Selective Breeding
Recent developments in gene mapping have allowed biologist to figure out that personalities of animals are at least 50% dictated by genetics and less than 50% dictated by the environment we are raised in. This means that most of an animals’ personality is the result of the genes it is born with. Genes dictate the roads we can take. Unfortunately if there is not a road it cannot be taken.
The environmental stimuli we receive, that helps develop our personality, use our genetics as a foundation. If none of our genes are coded for being nice, and all are coded for being aggressive, then no matter how hard we try, we can only be mean. This is an extreme example but makes the point. In most cases, all animals have genes for good and bad development of most personality traits. At Hartman Aviary we try to stack the deck in our favor by selecting breeding stock that has more desirable than undesirable genes for each trait.
No matter how hard we try, it is never possible to provide exactly the right stimulus at the right time to optimally develop our personalities. We recognize that this is a fact of life and select proper breeding stock to minimize the potential down side.
There are a few behavior traits that are easy to identify. When we see birds that we know have a genetic predisposition to develop these undesirable behaviors, we do not breed them. The most obvious undesirable traits include aggression and feather mutilation.
Hours of Operation
Hartman aviary is a farm-oriented operation. We do not operate a retail store. We do, however, stock a few hard to find items like shower perches, counter perches, harnesses and educational material.
Open House
From mid-April until mid-October Hartman Aviary opens it outside facilities to the public on Saturdays. The hours are from 12:00 to 4:00.
During open house, visitors are able to see hundreds of our parrots, in large outdoor flights. Visitors are able to get inches away from small conures and lories to the largest hyacinth macaws. In most cases you will be able to hand fruit, nuts and seeds to these birds. These birds are part of the collection we call our "future & retired breeders."
Babies that are eight weeks old or older can be seen and handled in their outside nursery flight. Even if you are not interested in buying, we encourage everyone to get into the flight and help socialize the babies.
Under certain, limited circumstances, individuals interested in purchasing a baby will be permitted into the indoor nursery to see the babies younger than eight weeks old.
By Appointment
Babies can be seen by appointment. Starting about March 15th, we usually have babies in the nursery. At this time serious buyers may visit the nursery with a prior appointment.
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