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Trying To Pick A Bird- Help?

MAM

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Hello! I am new here at AA. And I am really looking forward to making friends and learning about birbs and how to care for them.
I recently got bit by the bird bug and since then I have been doing a lot of research! But mostly it seems like I'm going in circles... Everytime I find a species I am interested in someone tells me how horrible they are.
I have never owned a bird before, aside from a few family parakeets when I was very young, my grandma's aviary of wild cockatiels and my uncle's Quaker parrot, who is...not friendly. Unless you're my uncle.

I don't care so much about size. Cost is something of a factor but only in the sense that it will take me longer to raise a larger sum of money. I have a very large cage already lined up. All I need to do is pick a species.
I need a bird that will get along with everybody. I have a lot of children in my family. I also have dogs. I also need a quieter bird. I don't mean completely mute. I don't mind a parrot who makes some noise. I am mostly worried about screaming. I don't really know how 'cuddly' I would want a bird to be. I would like a bird that will hang by me or sit on my shoulder while I draw or watch tv. Occasional head scratches would be cool.
I don't want a cockatiel or budgie. I don't have anything against them I am just looking for something else.
If anybody has any ideas or advice it's much appreciated.
 

Mizzely

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Mizzely

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The reason you get different answers is because they are so unique. They aren't dogs who have been engineered over Centuries. They are wild animals. Yes, some species have similarities within them but it's like trying to define humans!

Ones that I think of in your situation would be a Poicephalus species member
 

JLcribber

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I have a very large cage already lined up. All I need to do is pick a species.
We never even consider a cage first because it entirely depends on the species of birds that live in it.

I need a bird that will get along with everybody. I have a lot of children in my family. I also have dogs. I also need a quieter bird. I don't mean completely mute. I don't mind a parrot who makes some noise. I am mostly worried about screaming. I don't really know how 'cuddly' I would want a bird to be. I would like a bird that will hang by me or sit on my shoulder while I draw or watch tv. Occasional head scratches would be cool.
I don't want a cockatiel or budgie. I don't have anything against them I am just looking for something else.
If anybody has any ideas or advice it's much appreciated.
That's a lot of expectations. A recipe for failure or regret. Please read the thread Shauna linked to.

You have a vision of owning a parrot. The reality of owning a parrot is not anything like that vision. You can research until your eyes bug out. Without any real experience you will not be prepared for the challenge to come. If you're really serious you should go visit a rescue, volunteer some of your time and get real exposure to many kinds of birds. It will become self evident very quickly which species of bird you are cut out for and which you aren't.

While you're doing this there will be a special bird there that "chooses you". That is the bird you will have the best most successful relationship with. no matter what species it is.
 

Nobirby

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I agree, try volunteering to get an idea what having a bird around is like. I have 4 green cheek conures. I love them, but I am "semi" retired from trucking and home all day with them. One dog who is older and laid back, no kids, and very few if any guests. It works for me.
 

Peaches1

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I agree with everyone above but if your looking for a recommendation I would say a Conure. These are very friendly birds that love to spend their time around people. I have one and she acts like a small dog:roflmao:she wants to go everywhere I go. We have a Conure forum on here so I would defiantly go there and read about other peoples experience/opinion on them. If you have any questions about mine or conures feel free to ask. Ill help you in any way I can or find someone on here who can. Good luck!:birdance:
 

MAM

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Thank you everyone. Unfortunately I live in a place where exotic birds sanctuaries aren't really a thing. The only one 'nearby' is at least an hour or more away. I could probably visit once (and I would like to) but I don't drive and I rely on other people to get around so I'm not sure I could make it a regular thing.
@Peaches1 Thank you, I am looking for recommendations. I love Conures, so cute, and probably the perfect size. But I heard they were loud? I will definitely check out the threads!
@JLcribber I understand about not getting a cage first. The one I have is one that my uncle ended up not using for his Quaker. And it is BIG, at least 5 feet tall. Any bird that didn't fit in it would probably be too much bird for me!
@Mizzely Would a Plum Headed Parakeet belong in that category? That is the breed I originally wanted. But I have been unable to find any.
Again thank you everyone for the information!
 

Shezbug

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If your cage is big and you’re looking for a smaller type bird then you need to check the bar spacing is suitable, that is what @JLcribber would have been referring to I think.
I have a massive cage here that I could not put a cockatiel in (even though it would love the size inside) because the bar spacing is designed for a macaw a cockatiel could get badly hurt as it could fit a fair bit of it’s little body through the bars.
You will also find that wider is better for most birds than tall.
I’m sure this is what Jlcribber was meaning when he mentioned not getting the cage before the bird.
 

Mizzely

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Poicephalus are Jardine's, Meyer's, Brown Head, Senegal, etc. Plum Heads I don't have any experience with.
 

MAM

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If your cage is big and you’re looking for a smaller type bird then you need to check the bar spacing is suitable, that is what @JLcribber would have been referring to I think.
I have a massive cage here that I could not put a cockatiel in (even though it would love the size inside) because the bar spacing is designed for a macaw a cockatiel could get badly hurt as it could fit a fair bit of it’s little body through the bars.
You will also find that wider is better for most birds than tall.
I’m sure this is what Jlcribber was meaning when he mentioned not getting the cage before the bird.
I am not sure about bar spacing... I will have to check. I think it is at least 3 feet wide...It is very big.
 

MAM

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Poicephalus are Jardine's, Meyer's, Brown Head, Senegal, etc. Plum Heads I don't have any experience with.
Ah. I did look at those! And they seemed like they would be a good fit, but again. I couldn't find anyone who bred the species I really liked, which was the Meyer's. I think a Meyer's parrot might be perfect.
 

Cynthia & Percy

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Welcome
 

Ripshod

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Peaches1

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@MAM
All birds have the potential to be “loud”. From my experience my conure seems to be mostly quiet when she’s out of her cage. But she can get loud when she wants out/attention. Then some just like to be chatty :blah::embarassed:
 

Zara

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Welcome to the Avenue :)

A couple of other things to consider are;
  • Where is your nearest avian vet?
  • Do you have a little stash of cash for vet bills, toys, perches and quality foods.
Remember, you will need to visit the vet with your bird when you first bring him/her home. And you never know when an emergency will arise, it could be a year after you bring your bird home, or ten years, or even ten days. But an emergency will arise at some point, and it will be very stressful and upsetting, the last thing you need is to have no piggy bank of cash to pay the bill on top of that. I don´t mean to scare you, just prepare you :)

Good luck finding your feathered companion
 

scott199

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I've been down the same road as you for around 18 months now, reading, watching, learning then more reading, asking, meeting all forms of birds and forums and owners/pet shops.

we've just got our first bird, well i say ours, we're safe housing for a rescue (in basic all rescue birds go to a carer to be looked after/assessed before re-homing happens)

we've been with a few rescues for months, early/mid December the rescue called and asked if we could help with an African grey, we've only ever looked at small birds (conures, senegal's, caique, Hahns type size) so for us it was almost an instant No, all i've ever heard was noisy, destroyers and extremely messy/dusty, temperamental (very true).

but being a safe house, we wasn't forced to keep him for ever just temp until they found a permanent home for him, so as we had money and space, we felt we should at least try and help.

4 weeks on (still very early days and this could change) he's the best thing i've ever done, extremely quiet bar the odd whistle, chattering but this is only when your out of the room, if your in the room you would hardly know he's there, dust wise we don't really see any difference, a slight dusting on a cabinet he has next to his cage, but barely anything, he takes treats from all of us, he's had a few nips on each of us, but thats our fault for not knowing his body language yet he sits on his cage happily chatting to us.

if you search African grey, you'll likely see this is very unusual for the species.

So basically all my research, forums, reading/learning was helpful but meeting birds or the bird is so much more important.

When people say they are all different, i fully believed that they would generally be the same with slight differences in each breed,,,,,,Wrong, i really was.

Bert (our grey) lived with another Africa grey bird (both rehoused due to long times left alone in cage) the other grey, same age as Bert, brought up the same way, had to go to a special place as he/she was extremely aggressive to everyone, screamed constantly and was just a very difficult bird, certainly not for the faint hearted.

So 2 x African greys, same age, same upbringing, same diet oppersite ends of the spectrum.

i say make the effort, drive where ever you have to, meet some and hold them, listen to the noise they "can" make, i routinely travelled 2hrs south and 2.5hrs north of me to breeders/rescues with the types of parrot i was thinking about, prob done this 3/4 times, and then got a grey which id never thought of or researched or looked at :confused:.
 

Mybluebird

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I am not sure about bar spacing... I will have to check. I think it is at least 3 feet wide...It is very big.
"Bar spacing" is the distance between the bars. Grab a ruler or tape measure and measure the width from one bar to the next. You want to make sure that the spacing is small enough that any bird you put in the cage can't get its head between the bars and get stuck.
 

Mizzely

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Yeah cages are weird - some are 2 foot wide with 1 inch bar spacing, which is not suitable for any bird! So you have to have the right combination of width and depth and bar spacing. Height is the least important.


 

MAM

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Thanks guys! I will definitely check out the bar spacing, search up a vet and see if I can find anyone willing to drive out to the parrot rescue! I am taking my time on this decision- I am not going to rush into it. (Despite being very, VERY impatient, lol)
 
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