AonEne

Thank you so much, that’s really helpful! Luckily for me I don’t have allergies, so the feather dust shouldn’t be a problem. Back when I was researching different pet bird options, it was really sad to see all the websites trying to sell animals from mills to people by blatantly lying to them about how “easy” it was to take care of them. I’m glad you’re making sure that people are fully informed.

Of course! I found a website (The Finch Farm) and it seemed legit. They apparently but from breeders then ship the birds. The birds are reasonably priced, but you have to pay about $80 for a climate controlled shipping box.

It's really sad to me how uninformed people are. I know a family who has a cockatoo (and they are the hardest birds to take care of) and she just doesn't get the attention she deserves. The guy who owns her is super nice, but he sometimes forgets to feed her. She lets him know, of course, but if you forget to feed your bird you shouldn't have a bird. It breaks my heart. My cousins also have a parakeet. That little guy... She's the cutest, happiest little budgie but they don't take care of her. They didn't even bother figuring out what gender she is, and it's REALLY easy to tell with older parakeets. She has all dowel perches, she spills her food all over the floor (like a normal bird) and they don't even bother really cleaning her cage, her cage is sitting on the floor, she has two toys (a bell and a plastic thing), and she's in the minimum cage size for a budgie that is let out of the cage frequently but she's just ignored. (I feel very strongly about this one, as I've been around her more than the cockatoo). I'd love to take the little guy home, but... Honestly, I should just offer to buy the bird. I'm getting a large flight cage soon, and have been looking for budgies to adopt.

Sorry for the thinking out loud. I needed to rant about that. 

You're all awesome and I hope you all get pets you can love without choking on allergies