# what is a fair price for a cockatiel?



## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

There seems to be a range of prices for tiels. If one is hand fed, tame, healthy, and well socialized, what is a reasonable price do you think? Also, not a rare mutation. Maybe like a pied, cinnamon, pearl, the common mutations...


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## Spike182 (Dec 19, 2013)

When I was looking around some months ago, the prices varied a lot. For a tame cockatiel, price was normally between 50 and 85. For an untame, from as low as 15 to 30.

I'd say a "fair" asking price would be around 50 or 60 though I'd personally be prepared to pay a bit more, depending on tameness and just generally whether we struck a chord on the initial meeting and whatnot...but hey, that's just me!

PS: I'm in England, so that's in pounds


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

In my area, anywhere between $40 and $100. Depends on whether it's a breeder, a "regular" person whose birds just had some babies, or a pet store.


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## abaldwin40 (Aug 25, 2013)

i was talking to a woman that wanted to rehome her 3 tiels. she was asking $45 each for two untame. and $60 for her tame.


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## lisaowens (Oct 17, 2011)

depends where you are i have seen some normal tiels that are tame go for 35 and up i am in Georgia. i would say a normal tiel 50-60 would be reasonable


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

I have no idea about other prices in the area, but, I bought my tiel as a weanling at a small bird store. Hand raised, socialized and extremely tame. She is a cinnamon pearl pied and was $100.00. She is worth every penny!


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## Scribbles (Jun 28, 2012)

In my part or Australia breeders sell them for $100 for a hand raised one and $120 for a DNAed one that has been hand raised. In other parts of Australia it's maybe $80 and more for DNA testing. At pet stores in my area they sell them for $199 with no DNA testing.


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## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

My hand-raised tame pearl-pied was $75.

The breeder had other mutations for sale for other prices. Cinnamon was $65, Lutino was $70, WF Pearl was $85.

My local pet store sells untame tiels for $150 for cinnamon, $175 for pearl, and $200 for a WF Lutino that someone had brought in once.


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## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

Comparatively, the prices are pretty high in Aus. In my area, breeders sell hand raised babies for $100, and $120 for sought after mutations. Don't see many breeders selling untame cockatiels around here. Pet shops are daylight robbery though. $150 for an untame aviary cockatiel, and $250 for a handraised one. From a discussion with the breeder we got Waffle from, I gather the pet shops buy from the breeders for the same $100 everyone else pays, and then jack up the prices.


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

Pet store in Canada is $239 + tax.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

In my town, pet stores sell untame cockatiels for $40, and $55 for lutino or whiteface. They don't sell handreared. Breeders sell untame aviary 'tiels for a bit cheaper, and I haven't found anyone who sells handreared but I saw a pair of handreared 'tiels at a pet store once for $170 each. I got Coco as a very tame baby for $20 from a hobby breeder. I'm not sure about prices in the rest of the country.

Overall, I'd say $100 is a fair price for a handreared 'tiel, and $30 or $40 for an untame aviary bird, and somewhere in between for a parent-raised tame bird.


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## BabyPanda (Aug 26, 2013)

I'm in the us, I bought my 4 month old lutino from an aviary breeder untame for $40. I bought my 3 month old whiteface pearl pied (split lutino) hand fed from a breeder for $100. Stores (like petco and petsmart) sell untame tiels for $100 I think it's a rip off. I'd go with a rescue or a breeder, stay away from stores.


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## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

I got Dusty tame from a pet store for 100 I've seen one store sell them for 199. Myka was untame and I got him at the local bird club sale for 40. But from breeders here for a tame one you would be looking at around 80 to 150.


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## joshm (Aug 23, 2013)

The breeders in my area sells their hand raised tiels at AUD60-90 and aviary bred at AUD25-40. Tiels retail at the local petshops anywhere between AUD25 (sale price) to AUD75 for aviary bred and AUD150 for hand raised. 

I find local breeders using a local classified advert site.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Untame at pet stores are about $50, hand raised are $75, if the bird is whiteface and some other mutation it is usually $100, if it has a rare mutation like emerald it can run $150 to $200. That is in US dollars.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

It depends on how much people want to profit off of them, I suppose. Mine have ranged from free to around $100. I imagine show quality or rare mutations could be worth a lot more.


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## Pippitha (Mar 27, 2011)

My first normal gray was $15. She wasn't tamed. My pied tamed baby was about $75. Was very much worth the extra money to have one already tamed. The petstores here sell untamed all different mutations and normal grays for well above $120.


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## karendh (Mar 25, 2013)

I live in Malta and paid around $20 for an untamed grey.


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## laszlosmom (Dec 3, 2013)

My tiel was $65 from a breeder on craigslist. She was a handfed baby, I was told she was about 10 weeks old.


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Yep, I think they are higher in Australia. I paid $120 for my little stinker. LOL! 

But I love her to bits. And she's cost me alot more with her medical bills. I could have about 8 of her by now.  I do tell her she is going to have to start work soon. She decided to destroy my friend's laptop keys. I guess she didn't like the F keys across the top, or the arrow keys. Little ratbag cost me $220 to fix the laptop. GGGRRRRR!!! 

They vary in price based on mutation (from a breeder). Pet shops are super expensive. Last year I saw two quaker blue babies and they were $650 EACH!!!!


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

my friend is thinking about a beautiful 5 month old tiel for sale. it is a gorgeous cinnamon, hand fed, healthy, very tame. The owners are including his cage, accessories, some food, and a nice wooden play top. I saw the pics and everything looks nice. Everything is $175.


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## JennyLynn (Feb 13, 2012)

Paid 100 for my Lutino at one pet shop and 65 for my others at a mom and pop pet store


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## MrCoopersMom (Jan 12, 2014)

I just got my 8 week Pied baby boy from a bird store. He was DNA tested and hand fed for 139.00 in Ohio. I got him 2 days before Christmas...love him so much already!


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## Ozala (Jan 1, 2014)

I paid $100 for Chocobo from a specialty bird shop -- they sell hand-raised babies and will take back their alums if necessary. He was one of their hand-raised babies whose previous owner had to return him after their son was diagnosed with leukemia. So he was super friendly, tame, DNA sexed, medical all up to date, negative on his infectious disease testing, CBC for the year had already been done. For all of that, plus being in SoCal, I think the price was pretty fair.


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