Brown-head vs Red-Belly vs Meyer

[JennyJenn]

Calling all experienced bird owners, I am looking to buy a parrot and am not sure which species is best for me. I hear lots of stories and would like to get your take if you have experience with these birds and how they compare to each other.

So far I've heard:
Brown-heads: the best of the species, they are not temperamental and are quite loving throughout their life.

Red-bellies: turn mean about 18 months and very nippy. Require a lot of handling and training.

meyers: I haven't met anyone who's owned this bird yet so no anecdotes.

what I'm looking for in a bird: I've had cockatiels before and their personality and chillness works well for me. I'm curious if any of these parrots exhibit a personality close to the cockatiel. I like a cuddly bird, one that likes head scratches and snuggles. Also must be okay entertaining itself while I'm at work, and be okay with 1-2 hours of attention when i get home. It would be a single bird.

At a bird breeders house, I saw a red-belly and a meyers upclose and I felt a liking to the red-belly, probably because it had more of an expressive body language. But i'm nervous about what i might be getting myself into if they are hard birds to care for. Your feedback on the differences of these 3 parrots would be invaluable.

thank you

[Kathleen]

I've handled an aggressive Brown Headed Parrot, an aggressive Meyer's Parrot, and an aggressive Red Bellied Parrot. Books and websites may give a generalization about each of these, maybe one species generally being sweeter, more of a talker, or more nippy than others, but it depends on the individual. The parrot's upbringing could determine its temperament to a great extent.

Most people on this forum and in the parrot community as a whole agree that any companion bird will require some very basic taming/training and handling. So with the qualities that you're looking for (snuggly, independent/less demanding, and fine with 1-2 hours of attention daily), a Brown Headed, Meyer's or Red Bellied parrot could all be a suitable pet for you.

Find a reputable breeder that will help you out by doing basic taming/training and extensively socialize the bird. When you get a bird, continue to socialize the bird extensively and maintain or start some basic training/taming and you can avoid so many biting problems in the future.

[pchela]

Kathleen is right. It comes down to individual birds. The sweetest bird I've ever know was a female Meyers but I've known another Meyers who was terribly mean. I have a Red Belly who is super sweet and cuddly with me, and a great talker, but he is with me because he put a hole through his previous owners ear and has bit my husbands thumb down to the bone. The only Brown Head I knew only liked her owner. Anybody else was getting bit.

So, the best thing to do is go and visit your potential birds and pick one based on your own experiences with them. You can improve your chances of getting what you want by choosing a species that is known for certain attributes, but nothing is certain!

So, knowing that nothing is for sure, here are my experiences.

Brown Head - known to be even tempered and sweet. The only one I've known was absolutely that way with her owner, but anybody else came near her and she bit them.

Meyers - my Meyers (I fostered her for about a year) would let anybody pick her up. She never bit anybody in her life. She was the kind of bird you could trust with children. She really just wanted to sit with you and chill. She also enjoyed head scratches. I don't think she would have done well on her own all day long.

Red Belly - I've known several. Of the ones I've known, the males have all gone through a nippy phase but they outgrow it and turn out to be really fun, comical, active birds. The males I've know are good talkers. My own Red Belly seems to like only females and is devoted to me. He wants nothing but to sit on my lap while I scratch his head.

Also, don't overlook Senegals. Mine is awesome, will go to anybody and is funny and playful. He's my favorite (but don't tell the others)

Any of them will require time and work to be good pets. A good breeder is essential. So much depends on their socialization as chicks.

On a different note, there aren't many birds that are going to be okay left alone all day long. They are flock animals and being alone is not natural for them. I believe it is always best to have two birds, in different cages, even if one is a small budgie or tiel. Then at least they can vocalize together and not feel alone all day.

[Natacha]

I agree that it's on a bird to bird basis...visit and see what clicks.

Between the three...I haven't owned a Brown head, but the reason for that is that I've head that they are calmer than the other small Pois and I like a bird with a bit more attitude...Anyways, if I were to add another bird out of the three, I would probably choose between one of the Brown head (because now, a calmer bird than the rest of my flock would be a welcome change or another Red-belly, not a Meyer's.

My personal experience with Meyer's doesn't make them my favorite Poi. While I love the two I have, they are the most problematic birds I have and with whom creating a bond has (or rather is) taking the longest. Not that I blame them, they bother had rather harsh pasts.

Petey is about 15-16 years old now and loves men. His favorite person is my boyfriend. He hates women. To the point where he wants to attack quite often. While we made some progress, it's still touch and go sometimes. Zuri is 3 years old and was left to himself for the first year and a half (he was hatched in May 2007 and I got him at the end of January 2009). His former owner got diagnosed with cancer early on and had to go to treatments and as such, Zuri had little socialization in those critical years. Turns out I got a rather skittish and nervous bird. He's made a LOT of progress, but he's definitively more oriented to playing with toys than wanting to be with humans (although he likes being around - don't I dare leave him in a room, he has to be where the action is, he just wants to view it from a distance most of the time). I know other Meyer's that are much more "family-type" birds, but I have my hands full wit my two...

Red-bellieds are clowns. My two make me laugh almost daily. I got both of them as rehomes, Joey (male) I got just before he turned 3. He was particularly nippy with me but ok with my boyfriend. He still had some of the panic attacks RBs are known to be prone to. He's now about to turn 6 years old and most of that is ancient history. He can still try to sneak in a nip here and there, but I've got used to his body language and am able to prevent it from happening. Pixel I got when she was 5 (she's now 6) and her relationship with me is almost as good as the one I have with my Senegal (whom I have had since she was weaned - the only none-rehome out of my Pois) which goes to show that you can have an awesome relationship even with rehomed birds (I've had Pixel for just over 6 months now).