hiya
have just spoken to my mum-very upset.
she saw in a magazine that you could buy a budgie for £14. a quick search on internet said that a breeder was selling them for £8 but expected to pay £15-20 in pet shops.
is that all that a life is worth? one upset mum and a gobsmacked ellie
lt must of been going ‘cheep’
F.
*groan F
ellie x
Hi Ellie,
In view of the previous response, I might be taking this thread too seriously, BUT…
Not sure I really understand? Why would you (or your mum) want them to be more expensive? I think all that would happen if you put the prices up is a lot of unwanted budgies, that would probably end up having to be destroyed. How much do you think someone ought to pay for a budgie? £50? £100? Why would anybody pay that, when you could get a dog or a cat either free, or for a nominal donation, at any rescue centre?
Besides, I don’t think the price is the same as the value to the owner. I had cats for years (but not at the moment). The cats cost me nothing at all - although probably a small fortune in vets’ bills over the years. It doesn’t mean their lives were worthless, just because I didn’t pay for them. They were worth a lot to me, and that’s all that matters. I’m sure lots of much-loved pets cost their owners next to nothing. Slapping a big price tag on wouldn’t mean they were loved or looked after any better. In fact, if you make a pet too expensive, it’ll be out of reach of those who might appreciate it most, and only bought by people who want a “posh” pet (not the best reason to have one).
I don’t mean any disrespect to your mum, but a lot worse things in the world to worry about than “underpriced” budgies. Children dying every day, of hunger, thirst, or diseases that could easily be cured or prevented. If a budgie should be worth more than £14, then shouldn’t a child be priceless? How then, can we have children still dying for want of a jab that would have cost a couple of quid? I don’t expect you to answer this - none of us have the answers.
Don’t get me wrong, I quite like budgies, but their relatively low price isn’t something that bothers me. In fact, prior to your post, I had no clue how much a budgie might cost - I might even have guessed it would be a bit cheaper than that. If you’d told me they were being bought in bulk and used for experiments, or to put in cat food, or something, I might have more of a problem with it. But I think it’s good there’s a pet to suit most budgets. It doesn’t have to cost more than a telly (or whatever) to be loved.
T.
x
hiya tina
i take on board all that you say. its something that hasnt crossed my mind-re the cost i mean. it was in a magazine that someone had given her. in it was a couch for £1,500,cushions that said to enquire re price. a ceramic model thing of a budgie at £65 and the real budgie for £14. this just sparked a conversation of what was the price of a budgie and why. i appreciate theres more important things in life-but depending on your view-its a life-how can u put a price on it? as u quite correctly say the real value is more more than cost. and its us as superior humans (?!) that decide the value of other animals.
enjoy the rest of ur day
ellie x
I only have two rabbits now, but I love these to bits, but neither of them cost me any money as I got them from the RSPCA. I love budgies too, and ideally they should cost more so that people are less likely to see them as disposable, but unfortunately even the most expensive animals seem to be dumped when they have outstayed their welcome. Why not buy the birds, and treat them like royalty - everyone’s happy! Cheap, cheap!!
Best wishes,
Moira
thanks moira and val
am not sure myself! but i do like anything that challenges my thinking! i guess what i said earlier,pets value is far more than cost.
thanks for replying-am enjoying reading the replies.
ellie x
Hi again Ellie,
Hmmm, I understand it a bit better in context - if it was pictured beside a £1,500-sofa. And cushions so expensive they wouldn’t publish the price (That never means they’re cheap, does it?)
Or perhaps it looked a bit odd for the budgie to be priced at all, as if it was a piece of decor? As if you’d choose a budgie, to go with your room?
My immediate reaction would probably have been the sofa was over-priced, rather than the budgie under-priced.
But I suppose the price of anything is only what people are willing to pay. If there was no market for £1,500-sofas, then we wouldn’t have any. So we might raise an eyebrow about the price, but someone, somewhere must be buying.
I’m not sure I’d ever spend £500 on a handbag. I mean, even if I’d won the Euro-millions, I’m not sure I would. Because part of me would be saying: “But it’s a handbag!” Even if I could afford it, it would still be only a handbag. But people do spend that much and more.
T.
lol… stop the world, i wanna get off… xx
jaki
welcome to my world!
ellie x
Aww I understand how upsetting these things can be, I love rodents and a rat is only £5 a go 
I think they are worth much more! and mice £2 a pop… This is pet shops…
…and syrian hamsters £9-50 each and if a few months old, only £4-00! in my local pet shops, I paid £9-50 for mine
Jools
X
…and peking duck £24 for a whole one, shredded, at the local Chinese
Well worse thing about people selling the mice for £2 and rats £5 is they usaully sell snakes not far away from them! :@!
I would have thought budgies would have been a lot more than that by now. My dad used to breed budgies and although at one time he did supply the local pet shop with them (in return for seed) and they sold then for about £10 in the 80s. He used to give them away to friends. When I was in primary school most of my class had budgies from us. We used to hand train them from hatching so they were always brilliant pets. My cousin had one that lived for about 12 years and talked constantly.
Over the years he’s had all sorts of birds but I liked the budgies the best (cockatiels poo too much!).
Sue
x
E,I’m sure you’ll sort it out, and your mum will be ‘Trilled’.I was a bit concerned it was something to do with ‘Budgie Smugglers’. I’m sure you’ll know about them,but to anybody else reading this who doesn’t know,I would advise extreme caution if Googling.
Wb x
As an Australian all I can say is Beware the dreaded Budgie Smuggler
B
Budgies vary, typically you can buy a budgie for anywhere between £5-£30 depending on how you buy it. Sometimes they are hand reared and therfore cost more, sometimes they are a rare colour/breed and cost more, sometimes they are sold direct from the person who rears them as my parents did only the other week.
If sold by a shop they are typically more expensive then if you buy them direct from the breeder. Of course no matter how much a budgie costs, you also have an ongoing cost of food, grit, sand, toys, perches, cages etc, A cage, toys and a months worth of food and grit can set you back about £50. The cage can last a lifetime but sometimes its a good idea to buy a new cage every so many years to prevent any corosion or damage to your bird from them simply “living” in it. You should also consider dumping a cage if your previous bird died myseriously, get rid of all the toys, seed and cleaning clothes etc, they could all contain something that caused your bird to become ill and you may risk killing the next bird you own by reusing them.
I’ve owned 2 budgies myself and had three when I lived with parents. All were loved for many years and well looked after. Like any pet, you buy it to interact with and give it attention, if you just want a bird in a cage you shouldn’t own a bird in a cage. Like any living animal they need stimulation, looking out of the window really isn’t enough. Talk to them, spend time playing with them, think about how the bird can be stimulated when placing its toys, also be aware of how it will navigate its cage to find food and water, try and let it out to fly reguarly, it needs the exercise and it’s stimulating for the bird to have a larger environment to discover…just remember to always close windows and doors…budgies cannot survive in this country outside. They will die to other animals or simply exposure to the elements very quickly.
I’ve also owned two parrots an African Dwarf Macaw that cost me about £400 with cage and an African grey that was about £1000 with cage. I currently own a Cockateal which I paid about £25 for and he’s been with me for about 14 years, gone through two different cages and chewed his way through countless toys and perches.
Just because an animal appears to have little initial value doesn’t mean it’s upkeep and love isn’t expensive in time and money.
Guys, this is probably the most bizarre thread I’ve read so far on here. Get a grip! Lol! Teresa xx
hiya
thanks to all that have replied. theresa-do i win an award?!
seriously-thanks to all.
folk have asked if i am bored cos of recent happenings-been 6 months now. my body is goosed (wonder how much they are?!) but the mind is stronger that ever and still has many questions in it.
have a brill day all!
ellie x