Pros and Cons: Capes

[Gracelyn Boothe]

Ok I am considering about getting an cape. What are the pros and cons?
And also I have a few questions..
Are capes easy to train (I know it takes time to do Michaels cape's tricks but are they hard to train?)
How bad is the noise and mess?
Would they make a good pet?
And if you wanted to know what I want to do with my cape I mainly want to teach it tricks and go around places like the pet store, friend houses ect (WITH HARNESS ON!) and just let it play around my house (I will turn off al fans and if the stove is on I will go to my room or something lol) and so he does not poop everywhere I will put a bird diaper/ flight suite lol. I have a cockatiel but I don't think they can play together so I will make sure that they are separated from each other xP but I don't know why but I REALLY want a cape! I feel like they match my personality and lifestyle lol! btw I have a dog, 2 lizards and 1 bird but my dog is scarred to death of my bird because long story short she was SNIFFING my bird she my bird bit my dog's nose.. LOL but I want to tell you guys MY PETS ARE SPOILD ROTTED! Just like I am Sorry about the off topic part. But do you have any pros and cons about them that I should know befor getting a cape? Thanks BTW im homeschooled and im smart so school takes me only 2-4 hours and I usualy have LOTS of time to play with ALL of my animals (especially my birds!) thanks for reading!!

[Michael]

http://trainedparrot.com/Cape_Parrot

[Gracelyn Boothe]

http://trainedparrot.com/Cape_Parrot

Do you think i would be a good owner?

[Pajarita]

In truth, my dear, nobody can tell what kind of parrot keeper they will turn out to be. We all think we are prepared and that we will be good at it and then reality hits us over the head. It's easy to take good care of a dog, lizards or a cockatiel (although the fact that he is alone is a problem) but it's not easy to take care of a larger parrot.

I'll be honest with you. You sound very young and that's a problem unless your parents are the ones that will be taking 100% responsibility for the bird because, eventually, you will go on with your life and it will not include a needy little bird. You also seem to have the a VERY romantic notion of what life with a parrot is (arm candy and tricks), which is understandable at your young age but not compatible with reality.

I don't have any capes so I don't have any personal experience with them but I do have other pois (senegals, redbelly and jardine) and they are not the hardest parrots but not the easiest either.

[Gracelyn Boothe]

In truth, my dear, nobody can tell what kind of parrot keeper they will turn out to be. We all think we are prepared and that we will be good at it and then reality hits us over the head. It's easy to take good care of a dog, lizards or a cockatiel (although the fact that he is alone is a problem) but it's not easy to take care of a larger parrot.

I'll be honest with you. You sound very young and that's a problem unless your parents are the ones that will be taking 100% responsibility for the bird because, eventually, you will go on with your life and it will not include a needy little bird. You also seem to have the a VERY romantic notion of what life with a parrot is (arm candy and tricks), which is understandable at your young age but not compatible with reality.

I don't have any capes so I don't have any personal experience with them but I do have other pois (senegals, redbelly and jardine) and they are not the hardest parrots but not the easiest either.

I know lizards are easy. My dad had some birds in the past he has quite a bit of experience xD He encouraged me to get a cockatiel instead of a parakeet (I'm glad he did..). My dad Will help me he always does c: and thank you for being honest! and my bird had an infected eye and now can't see though it So if i got a playmate or a bird with her it would try to hurt her But yes i am young (11 to be exact) But i've dealt with big birds like cockatoos.I know that cockatiels are not that hard to take care of but i know how to deal with the big birds like capes. And i also know i might not get the "perfect" bird of my dreams and i understand that they can me stubborn. And agin thank you for being honest but I'm still debating on cape or senegals lol its so hard to decide xP but i feel like a cape fits me better for many reasons. I know i sound kinda dumb and inecperianced lol but i am praying about it c: i hope this message made sense... currently i can't think strait XDD (its raining here and when it rains i feel very relaxed) But thanks for replying! (sorry about the smileys... i can't help it lol)!

[Michael]

Cape Parrots I have found are really difficult birds. The same warnings I give against getting a parrot in the first place, I can give all over again to someone committed to a parrot about Capes. They aren't difficult in easily quantifiable ways. It is not the usual undesirable traits like hyper or aggressive. Just suffice it to say that they are quite difficult in their own particular way. Success with other parrots doesn't carry over to them the same way it does to other more typical species. Not just my opinion but also from talking to other Cape owners. From a cockatiel, even a conure, senegal, or ring neck will seem like a huge leap. Cape is a whole different sort of animal. It may not seem obvious, but it is not what you are really looking for.

[Wolf]

I never get very involved in this type of thing and I never tell anyone what type of bird to get. I will suggest only that you make two lists the first one is what you are looking for in a bird, seal it or have someone hold on to it for you. wait a couple of days and make the second list it should be what you have to offer the bird then compare the lists against the birds traits and see what you learn.

[Ivan M]

At 11 years old, i would say a CAPE is not for you right now. Soon you will discover Girls, sports, High School will be here before you know it, then college, after college a career and then most likely marriage and then kids. So you see......... many, many, many things will come your way down the line. Perhaps after you have settled down and had kids maybe then you can seriously consider such a rare but stubborn beauty. Good luck either way. But if i were you, i would seriously consider another Tiel, or perhaps just enjoy the one you now have by teaching it new tricks and training it more.

[Pajarita]

It's great that your father always helps you with your animals and that he has experience with birds but helping is not taking 100% responsibility for an animal that is not only difficult to feed and keep but which also needs hours and hours of out of cage time as well as, at the very least, a couple of one-on-one. You need to want the bird for yourself real bad and your posting did not indicate he is the one wanting the bird but you.

And I know you think you know how to deal with a larger parrot, my dear, but, personally, I have been doing it for 23 years and I still would not say I can deal with ANY larger parrot...

At 11, you are really not at an age where 40 year commitments should be taken, especially when you are dealing with the life and happiness of an animal which is not only intelligent but has deep feelings and difficult needs. It's not only what you would like, it's also about his continued wellbeing for the next 30-40 years.

Furthermore, a mate would not hurt your tiel hen just because she cannot see out of one eye! Males, when kept under the right conditions, are very tender, loving and protecting of their females. I had an amazon hen that could not stand straight because one of her legs was VERY bent, it had broken and healed wrong, and the other was much shorter because it had also broken but it had never healed so, in order to 'fix' it, the ends of the broken bones had to 'shaven down' which helped in making them knit together but made the leg shorter. This hen had a mate and he would stand on her 'bad' side so she could lean on him. He was perfectly normal, could walk, climb and fly without a problem but he chose to stay next to her without moving for hours and hours so she could 'stand up'. And I have male peachfront conure that's bonded to a female GCC which also has only one eye - and he loves her to pieces and never, ever, hurts her! He is even more handicapped than she is because he is very old, has less than half a wing and a bit of a neurological condition so his balance is not too good and, when the other birds try to bully him, she (the one with only one eye) comes running to stand in front of him and defend him - even when the birds are more than twice her size!

[Gracelyn Boothe]

It's great that your father always helps you with your animals and that he has experience with birds but helping is not taking 100% responsibility for an animal that is not only difficult to feed and keep but which also needs hours and hours of out of cage time as well as, at the very least, a couple of one-on-one. You need to want the bird for yourself real bad and your posting did not indicate he is the one wanting the bird but you.

And I know you think you know how to deal with a larger parrot, my dear, but, personally, I have been doing it for 23 years and I still would not say I can deal with ANY larger parrot...

At 11, you are really not at an age where 40 year commitments should be taken, especially when you are dealing with the life and happiness of an animal which is not only intelligent but has deep feelings and difficult needs. It's not only what you would like, it's also about his continued wellbeing for the next 30-40 years.

Furthermore, a mate would not hurt your tiel hen just because she cannot see out of one eye! Males, when kept under the right conditions, are very tender, loving and protecting of their females. I had an amazon hen that could not stand straight because one of her legs was VERY bent, it had broken and healed wrong, and the other was much shorter because it had also broken but it had never healed so, in order to 'fix' it, the ends of the broken bones had to 'shaven down' which helped in making them knit together but made the leg shorter. This hen had a mate and he would stand on her 'bad' side so she could lean on him. He was perfectly normal, could walk, climb and fly without a problem but he chose to stay next to her without moving for hours and hours so she could 'stand up'. And I have male peachfront conure that's bonded to a female GCC which also has only one eye - and he loves her to pieces and never, ever, hurts her! He is even more handicapped than she is because he is very old, has less than half a wing and a bit of a neurological condition so his balance is not too good and, when the other birds try to bully him, she (the one with only one eye) comes running to stand in front of him and defend him - even when the birds are more than twice her size!

Ok thank you.