PE>Hello All!
Hi there!
I was wondering if anyone had any information about Grey
Cheek PE>Parakeets and their legality in the US..  I used to own one
several years PE>ago, but have ben unable to locate one for quite a few
years now.  Someone PE>told me that they are no longer legal in the US,
but had no details as to PE>why.  Anyone know??  I am very interested in
  acquiring another one of these PE>beautiful miniature parrots.  Thanks
  in advance!
As far as  I know there is no problem with owning legally wild caught or
domestically raised Grey Cheeked parakeets in the US today. They brought
a bunch of them in to the States a couple of years ago just prior to the
cessation of importation. This is how lots of folks got Grey Cheeks. A
friend of mine managed a pet store and went down to one of the
quarantine stations ans bought a bunch of Gray cheeks. He sold off
most of them, but kept a couple pair. He didn't get anyone to buy these
pair when he was moving, so I ended up getting them on a breeder loan
agreement. Both pair laid eggs last winter. However, none were fertile.
one pair would have 4 eggs at a time and one pair would lay eight. They
have all been surgically sexed. However, I'm not sure that they are
sexed correctly. I know that there are at least 2 females because of the
egglaying (and they are caged seperate, 1 pr per cage), but what I am
not sure about is whether the males were sexed correctly. I may end up
having to wait until they are laying again and re-sex the ones NOT
laying. Then I may have to buy some males. When catching birds in the
wild, I have been told that it is usually the very young and very old
that get caught.It could be that these birds are just not mature enough
to breed yet.
SO, if I have any babies I would love to let you know. Do you want to
send me by this echo or by email your info/address/phone #? That way I
can let you know if we do have babies this winter. I also have Canary
Wings and White Wings in the same Brotogeris family.I am also willing to
ship. It depends on your level of experience as to whether or not I
would consider sending a bird out ot be weaned (I know, everybody, this
is a great controversy!!!) by the new owner.But we can talk about all
that as the time comes. BTW, I raised my Canary Wings myself from about
2 or 3 w/o and just had them out for some lab work yesterday. They are
still as tame as can be and ae set up for breeding.
Anyway, I am glad for your interest, and to my knowledge it is legal to
keep one as a pet.
Barbara and Ed Howell
Five Gates Exotics
P.O. Box 687
Green Cove Springs, Fl 32043
(904)284-7464
 * SLMR 2.1 * It's only a hobby ... only a hobby ... only a
--- PCBoard (R) v15.22 (OS/2) 2
---------------