Prefered

[Nathaniel]

Yeah... I hate how on facebook, people post pictures every 5minuets, saying "Look at me I have a LIFE". And what I always think of is. If you have a life, why are you posting on facebook?
(That is ment as a joke, plus it is the hard truth)

[Rrrma]

I'm not laughing.

[Nathaniel]

I'm not laughing.

That is depressing, I thought it was funny...

[Rrrma]

so will "it's complicated" be helping with the bird?

[Nathaniel]

When I am away.

[a.susz]

lol, i know i have no life, thats why im here.

no but seriously you also have to figure in how much time you are willing to spend with the bird once you're home. most green cheeks(any color) i have come across are, well not necessarily needy, but they LOVE the attention and would prefer to be with you than on a cage/tree.

poicephalus/pionus(i own both) are great for being able to do their own thing when you need to get stuff done. my birds want out the second i'm home, but then they just chill on their cages/playgyms until its time for bed practically.

i love my red belly, she's very affectionate and a goof ball, similar to things a GCC would do(upside down on the floor of the cage etc) and an awesome talker, in front of you too, not a shy talker.

my sennie is a talker too, but never in front of us, only when no ones home(or early in the morning or when he thinks no one is home) and he can be quite loud with his squawks at times but nothing too harsh.

my bronze wing pionus is an awesome talker and not a yeller at all, if you are playing with him and being noisy he can pick up the volume but he is a great bird noise wise, just VERY clumsy. he is an awesome flyer, just falls off perches/shoulders really easy. i blame it on the type of nails he has, they grow long and thick, not pointy and sharp like the poicephalus.

[Nathaniel]

I would like a bird that can do their own thing, like a poice.

[Athena&beepbeep'smom]

I think you have to be really careful with your first bird. I'm not necessarily one who believes in the "beginner bird" philosophy because all parrots are hard and deserve the same level of care and also because the term "beginner bird" seems to feed into the philosophy of rehoming a bird that is attached to you several years later just so you can have a "more interesting" bird.

However it doesn't make sense to just jump right into some birds. Earlier Eclectus was mentioned. They are just incredibly sensitive and awesome but difficult, not for a beginner. Anything that's too dependent on constant attention won't work if you're gone a lot so you have to take that into consideration. And even the so called "independent" parrots that can entertain themselves depend on you for their socialization and have to be out of their cage to socialize, interact, and exercise literally for hours every day. Some types of parrots are very prone to beign one person birds. This may not work for you if you depend on someone else to help you with care. Some parrots have even more specific dietary needs than others. These are all things you need to know.

There's also a learning curve for people when they have birds. They aren't domesticated and there's not always immediate gratification, in fact there's usually not. What I mean by that is a dog loves you immediately and are almost automatically socialized, parrots are not. You will be bitten. Hook bills hurt. You will be screamed at and feel rejected when all you want to be is the parrot's bestest friend. There will be times when you feel like you're making little or no progress. And when you think you're there and you have the world's best person-bird relationship they'll hit puberty and do it all over again.

For these reasons I think something like a gcc makes a great first bird. Beak still hurts but not enough to cause injury or intimidate you out of handling the bird. They are very out going and can warm up to people faster than some of the more sensitive standoffish birds. They have loads of fun behavior, are total clowns, and cuddlers, and can be trained to do a variety of tricks and limited speech. The puberty stage seems to be milder and shorter as compared to a lot of other parrots.

I have a white cap pionus. She is the little snow capped love of my life. But she didn't warm up to me as fast. Pionus have a slower maturation process than other small parrots and can also seem standoffish or aloof until they're settled in (tho she's really not at all once you get to know her.) She is a little more sensitive about things than my other birds have been, so I can't be as careless as I was as a beginner I have to be more intune with her signals and needs to be successful with her. She won't hit puberty until she's 3. We'll already be settled in a routine and relationship when the you know what hits the fan, and with pi's i hear it can really hit the fan. All of this is to say I wouldn't trade her for the world, but I think if she had been my first bird before understanding the ways and world of parrots I would have been overwhelmed, intimidated or let down in some ways even though they aren't considered advanced parrots.

My first parrot ever was a gcc and it was a great experience, lots of learning, but he was a little more patient with my mistakes and learning curve than I think Athena would be.

[Rrrma]

There's also a learning curve for people when they have birds. They aren't domesticated and there's not always immediate gratification, in fact there's usually not. What I mean by that is a dog loves you immediately and are almost automatically socialized, parrots are not. You will be bitten. Hook bills hurt. You will be screamed at and feel rejected when all you want to be is the parrot's bestest friend. There will be times when you feel like you're making little or no progress. And when you think you're there and you have the world's best person-bird relationship they'll hit puberty and do it all over again.

I completely agree with this. AND, even after puberty, even after YEARS of thinking you are perfect for eachother, they might one day turn around and decide they hate you. They are kind of like teenagers like that

I'd never rehome a bird just to get a more interesting one, definitely only go in for the long term commitment.

[ptuga72]

Athena: I love your post, you really hit the nail on the head. Your post struck a chord in me as someone with a rescue eclectus and a gcc. Like most of us here, been there, done that.

I love green cheeks. Jake was my first bird (as an adult) and I am so glad I got him. He can be nippy and squawky, but after being told off by my ekkie I wont complain about it. In my opinion a green cheek from a reputable breeder will be more forgiving of mistakes and misunderstandings. Plus I love their intelligence and personalities!