Lovies...

[Azure Hanyo]

A comment made by thegreatkatsby on a different topic (love the reference btw!) got me thinking... And I am wondering how friendly a hand-reared love bird is. I have no experience with them, but am interested in an eventual "beginner parrot" for my husband to call his own, probably within the next year or two. So...what can all you lovie owners tell me about your babies? I think they're gorgeous little birds, and have held them several times but never actually owned one.

[pchela]

I raised some Lovies who were so sweet and adorable! I've also heard horror stories about them being aggressive though. They are hit or miss. Green Cheek Conures are awesome small birds in my opinion but go meet some hand reared Lovies and see what you think.

[Azure Hanyo]

I raised some Lovies who were so sweet and adorable! I've also heard horror stories about them being aggressive though. They are hit or miss. Green Cheek Conures are awesome small birds in my opinion but go meet some hand reared Lovies and see what you think.

Excellent idea. I am trying to figure out the best bird for him- he is afraid of anything that is going to be aggressive towards him, so maybe a lovie is out unless I am completely certain it is the cuddle-bug type. A conure would probably make too much noise for him. My caique's noise level is just fine, but when she starts screaming Archimedes joins in- just imagine a conure!

Maybe a linnie? I hear they tend to be very sweet and bond closely to their owners as a generalization. Have you ever bred any linnies pchela? I looked them up online, but have NEVER actually seen one, and there is only so much one can learn by reading about it.

[pchela]

Green Cheek Conures and similar sized aren't loud... just the bigger conures.

Linnies are AWESOME! I raised 4 of them and they were all really cool birds. That would be a great bird to look into.

[Azure Hanyo]

Green Cheek Conures and similar sized aren't loud... just the bigger conures.

Ah good to know! I always had an assumption that all conures were loud. I am very glad this has been proven false!!!

I have tons of time to do research, and I am going to make sure he and I visit breeders to see a bird that is right for him. The more I read about them, the more I am thinking a linnie would better suit his general personality. Thank you for your opinions!

[Natacha]

I raised some Lovies who were so sweet and adorable! I've also heard horror stories about them being aggressive though. They are hit or miss. Green Cheek Conures are awesome small birds in my opinion but go meet some hand reared Lovies and see what you think.

All the green cheeks and similar smaller Pyrrhura (is that spelled right?) Conures I've met have become nippy noisy little buggers as adults. Seriously. All of them, and there are quite a few of them.

To be honest? I almost bought a Green Cheek before I got Piper and I am very VERY happy I didn't.

While I've read about some aggressive lovebirds, a lot of them that I have met have been nice and even some were absolute sweethearts.

My Piper is a total cuddlebug who would be happy spending his day glued to me.

I actually wrote a blog post about how some lovebirds can be nice.

As for Linnies, I do think they would make a perfect "first bird". They are absolutely sweet and are so very very cute If I ever got another small bird, it would be a Linnie!

[Azure Hanyo]

I am most definitely thinking linnie! My husband is wary of bigger birds so I think anything bigger than a cockatiel would be right out. And so far everyone agrees that linnies are mild-mannered! Woo! I still want to check lovie breeders though, and maybe even a cockatiel breeder. Just so he gets to see a variety of birds. Does anyone know of a good linnie breeder within say 5 hours of Dayton, Ohio? I know that's a long shot!

Oh and earlier I was showing my husband pictures of linnies and he said, "Isn't that just a parakeet? Why is it so expensive?"

...I think I am going to need to do a lot of educating here!

[Rue]

Linnies are adorable. If we didn't have the budgies, I would have tried for Linnies...BUT then I discovered the parrotlets. I think they might be better as an 'only' bird. I think Linnies might be better in pairs...but don't quote me on that...

Again, the parrotlets can be a bit aggressive, but not necessarily and less likely so if handled enough.

[MandyG]

All the green cheeks and similar smaller Pyrrhura (is that spelled right?) Conures I've met have become nippy noisy little buggers as adults. Seriously. All of them, and there are quite a few of them.

In comparison, my Gold Capped (part of the larger Aratinga Conures) isn't very nippy. He's very sweet. He absolutely never bites unless I try to do something with him that he doesn't want to, such as pick him up when he's decided he's staying put on my shoulder. Even then it's just a small nip. He didn't bite at all with his previous family but after watching them interact with him I believe that's because he was always allowed to have his way. He is extremely loud though. He is quiet when he calms down but he quite often uses his loud, ear-piercing call.

[Rue]

...was just surfing...found this, if you want to see/read some parrotlet stuff...just to compare species...

http://www.birdchannel.com/featured-spe ... story.aspx