Best Parrot

[SparkLeAnn]

Hi, I came down to the decision to get either a green cheek conure, indian ringneck, caique, quaker, parrotlet, linolated parakeet, and the rosy bourke parakeet. I know that's a lot but I just can't decide they are all so cute. So out of all these which do you guys think is best choice. My birthday is in 23 days. thank you

[Pajarita]

It all depends on what you want. The parakeets and the plets don't do well on their own. The IRNs require lots of handling every single day of their lives. Quakers are VERY loud and tend to be cantankerous (they are also quite fearless so you will have to supervise all the time he/she is out because it might go after the zon). Caiques are little clowns but they also tend to be quite independent.

[Michael]

Why do you want another bird in the first place? Do you not feel like you have your hands full already? What do you expect to gain from another bird? Not being pretentious, just trying to understand the situation and to help you think it trough as well.

[Topaz]

It depends. If you want a small and easy bird, I would chose a quaker or parakeet. I have a quaker, and he is a real cuite and is nice. bigger parrots like the indian ringed neck, is a HUUUGE responsibility. They usually live up to 60 years (I think). While the smaller ones, will usually live up to 15 years, except for quakers, they live up to 30 years.
Do not forget to think about your futur between your new little (or big) and you.

, , .... Your choice

[Pajarita]

I beg to differ, quakers are not 'easy'. They are easy when they are young but, as they get older, they get VERY noisy and nippy, especially if they are not kept to a strict solar schedule (this is because they come from a temperate zone and not tropical as they usually say on the internet).

[SparkLeAnn]

I'm 13 and my birthday is coming up, so my parents said I could get another bird. The amazon is my moms bird, so basically I only have one bird. She is a green and yellow parakeet named Sprite. She is a great bird and I spend a lot of time with her I just want a different bird to add because I like them and would like one that can talk and do tricks.

[Pajarita]

Well, actually, budgies (called parakeets in America) are great talkers and can learn lots and lots of tricks and you already have one so why don't you get another one? They need companions of their own species to be happy and reduce the stress of captivity so you would be 'killing two birds with one stone' - you would get another bird and would be able to keep both of them happy as they would have each other as well as you.

[Dave & Karen]

Budgies do very well when they have a buddy, they enjoy the companionship and can be trained to do all kinds of tricks, and even to talk. That's what I'd add to the flock before considering a diferent bird.
Depending on what kind of personality you want in a bird, here's what I'd say would do ok with a budgie as a friend if you do want a different bird...

a parrotlet because they have such cool personalities, they're very small, but very very smart and will pick up on trick training really easily, they can talk and will learn words very quickly. The one we have now, we got him at 6 weeks old and he learned his first trick at 7 weeks old, then he was saying "peek a boo" by the time he was 8 weeks old.

A parrotlet can make a good play partner for a budgie, but it has to be supervised and they shouldn't be caged together since parrotlets can bully other birds, they can be very jealous or they'll pick a fight over a toy or treat. Our parrotlet gets along with, and even protects the budgies we have so it could go either way, but separate cages would still be a must.

Cockatiels are also a lot of fun, easy going, love to cuddle, easy to teach to talk or whistle a song, if you got a cockatiel, they could play together without any worries because of the tiel's mellow easy going personality, they are very non agressive, and even when they do get mad, they tend to hiss and peck instead of biting, they will bite as a last resort, but you'd have to push one really hard to get it to bite, and their bites don't hurt because the shape and size of their beak... about the same as a budgie bite. they can also learn to do some cool tricks.

I'd still recommend getting another budgie first since you already have one and they do better with a companion, but if you really want a different bird, the parrotlet is very feisty and playful, very smart, yet very cuddly and loving to it's owner, the cockatiel is very mild mannered and easy going, yet very smart, they are playful, but not as playful as a parrotlet, easy to teach to whistle songs, and can also talk, they are some of the most cuddly birds too.

[SparkLeAnn]

thank you and what are your conures and indian ringneck like?

[Rebellious]

Hi sweetie,
So right off the bat I can tell you that you should not get an Indian Ringneck. They are very stubborn and complicated birds that even experts have trouble with, not to mention they can bite the heck outta ya. And you're only 13.
It's great that you're into birds at such a young age! I'd recommend either the lineolated parakeet or GCC. They're relatively easy parrots and are small enough to bring around. Also consider getting another budgie or possibly a cockatiel. Cockatiels are larger than budgies and are very intelligent. They have cute little crests and can learn whistles and tricks. Probably get a cockatiel, budgie, linnie, or GCC.