I've heard Petco and Petsmart are good places to get keets? Is that true? What's the best?

Petco and Petsmart are the WORST places to get a keet. The best are breeders. I'll bump up a thread for you on how to find breeders.

EDIT: The bestplaces are shelters because you are literally saving a bird's life. The 2nd best and most likely to be cuddly place, is a breeder. Click here to find breeders: http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/breeders.htm

no they arent the worst places. all of mine are bin budgies if you get a healthy one its fine.

I am not sure where Caico and Antigua came from since I got them from Bunchsofjoy and she got them from the animal shelter. Aruba and Cayman came from PetSmart and are good. Of course I haven't had Cayman long enough to be sure.

I think you need to go to the particular PetSmart or Petco in your area and see what the conditions are. They have a bad rap because of the way the animals are treated on the way to the store. Each store can be run differently depending on the manager so go check the ones by you. I figure I am rescuing a bird when I buy from them.

aww i wish i knew about that site link thing :P, but howe and nel im pretty sure are from a petsmart or something, and vash is from a breeder but i dont think he was hand fed

Definitely check around! I checked out every store in town, and got Jasper from an independent pet store. If I had to choose between the Petco and Petsmart here, Petsmarts' birds definitely looked better, younger, and were in a better (and cleaner) environment. Just shop around, and try not to fall for the first one you see!!

Also read up (research) on buying a parakeet so that you know what a healthy one should look like.

I wouldn't recommend going to any store. I would recommend going to a private breeder instead.

That works if you have any in the area that sells to the public. I couldn't find any. The store Jasper came from gets them from a local breeder, but she doesn't sell to the public (she also won't sell to petsmart or petco). But, yeah that would be ideal.

If you are in the Chicago area check out Bird is the Word in Batavia. They breed their keets are all eat veggies and are hand trained. There is a waiting list for their keets though. Gives you time to plan.

Best of luck with your new friend

Kathy

i went on the birdsanways site and chkd for breeders of keets in new jersey. i sent emails to the ones listed and the emails came back. i tried 3 different ones. so much for that idea for me. i got kiki from a pet shop, but i didn't like the fact that their birds are just fed seed. didn't even look like a pellet mixture was in the dish. mine was healthy. i looked in pet smart and petco because i bought toys there and i really didn't like the looks of some of the ceres on some of the birds, but i did notice in my petsmart, they did have a dish in the bottome with fresh fruits and veggies. that's more then the pet shop had. it is best to get from a breeder, but i didn't have any luck on that site for jersey. i don't know where to find a breeder of keets. i've tried.