Deciding species for first bird – advice or feedback appreci

[Zanizaila]

1. Emotionally easy-going temperament (stable, not prone to moodiness).

Remove cockatoos and many amazons (particularly the yellow-crowned/headed/naped ones) from the list. Also Senegal parrots and perhaps Caiques can be quite moody. Those beaks are scary, despite being so small.

2. Relatively quiet. Some noise is okay, just not frequent screaming.

Again away with the cockatoos, perhaps the Aratinga-conures (?), amazons and most macaws.

3. Medium or medium-small sized.

Well, that's a very general term, but that leaves Poicephalus, Conures, Caiques, Cockatiels, Mini Macaws and Pionus I think.

4. Okay for a working person. I know that birds need a lot of daily attention, but I do work.

No parrot require more or less attention than the other. They are all flock animals that want companionship 24/7 (but can learn to be alone for some time during the day), but that's solved by having a pair.

5. I would like a bird that is pretty cuddly and likes being touched.

This is where I tell a lot of prospective bird owners to reconsider - birds are not to be cuddled with, and if you get one that actually accepts you handling it (other than sitting on your hand/arm/shoulder and being scratched around the head and neck area), that's a bonus.

BTW, birds are not supposed to be petted and cuddled anywhere else than around the head and neck, or they can get hormonal. They preen the head and neck of flock mates in the wild; the areas the individual birds can't reach themselves. But body-contact ONLY occurs during mating, which is why many parrots can get overly hormonal and sexually frustrated when their humans tells them "time for mating and having babies" and nothing more happens.

Caique: Black Headed Caique
Pionus: Blue-Headed Pionus
Macaw: Hahn’s/Red-Shouldered Macaw (50% of people say they’re quiet, 50% say loud – not sure what to think)
Conures: Green Cheek Conure, Crimson Bellied Conure
Poicephalus: Red-Bellied parrot, Senegal parrot, Jardine’s/Red-Fronted parrot

That sounds like a very reasonable list.

If you live in the US or UK, you always have the opportunity to go visit and/or volunteer at a rescue. That way, you really get to interact with many different species, and the rescue staff will be able to tell if you're a good fit as a bird owner or not. (Unlike breeders and pet store staff, who make money from lying. )

[Shelby]

5. I would like a bird that is pretty cuddly and likes being touched.

This is where I tell a lot of prospective bird owners to reconsider - birds are not to be cuddled with, and if you get one that actually accepts you handling it (other than sitting on your hand/arm/shoulder and being scratched around the head and neck area), that's a bonus.

BTW, birds are not supposed to be petted and cuddled anywhere else than around the head and neck, or they can get hormonal. They preen the head and neck of flock mates in the wild; the areas the individual birds can't reach themselves. But body-contact ONLY occurs during mating[...]

I somehow missed that before... Yes, Zanizaila is right. With patience and love, you can get a bird accustomed to being touched in areas that make grooming/emergency care easier, such as being able to touch the wings/tail, hold the feet, etc. But generally birds are only really patted/scratched on the head and neck.

Some birds enjoy this more than others, depending on how they're raised. My aunt's cockatoo didn't like being touched ANYWHERE but loved to sit on your hand/arm and hear you talk. My best friend's cockatiel sometimes enjoys huddling up under your chin with your hand cupped around his back and getting head scratches. The rest of the time he'll get scratches while sitting on your hand/lap. And (tame) lovebirds do enjoy cuddling up in your cupped hand and getting head scratches. Lovebirds are a bit smaller than what you said you wanted, but they have lots of personality in a little package and are very sweet - if cuddles are what you want, a tame and well-socialized lovebird will give them to you.

[newmoon]

Thank you for the replies. I'm actually going to think more about cockatiels. I dismissed them early on for a very shallow reason (not liking how they look) but I think that was a mistake.

I've also learned more about the cuddling thing since I last was logged on here, and it goes along with the last two posts. I have a better sense now that I shouldn't expect the cuddliness of a mammal, and I also learned that you should stick to touching the head and neck. I think my revised expectations are for a bird that enjoys contact like head scratches, and is accepting of necessary body handling. But it sounds like you can teach any young bird to accept handling with positive reinforcement, so this isn't really relevant to the topic anymore.

I have removed Pionus' from the list because I think they are more reserved than I would like. Other than that, I'm still considering the rest.

[Shelby]

I'm so glad you're keeping an open mind about cockatiels. If you don't like they way some of them look, there are several color varieties available that might be more to your liking.


Also, I just re-read your original post. A "one-person" bird is NOT ok. Some birds have a more outgoing personality than others, either because that's just the way they are or because that's how they were raised and trained. "One-person" birds consider a specific person to be their MATE. They have over-bonded with their owner and will behave aggressively towards anyone else, especially people that approach their 'mate". If you ever get married or have to live with roommates or family, a one-person bird will make everybody who tries to interact with it or you miserable. If you ever go away and have to leave them in the care of someone else, they will be very unhappy and will make the "bird-sitter" unhappy too.

This is why it's so important to start socializing your birds while they are young. Not only will everyone be happier, but the bird will be better able to adapt to changing environments and situations. Overall they will be less stressed and have a more enjoyable life.

[CinnamonParrots]

1. Emotionally easy-going temperament (stable, not prone to moodiness).

Remove cockatoos and many amazons (particularly the yellow-crowned/headed/naped ones) from the list. Also Senegal parrots and perhaps Caiques can be quite moody. Those beaks are scary, despite being so small.

2. Relatively quiet. Some noise is okay, just not frequent screaming.

Again away with the cockatoos, perhaps the Aratinga-conures (?), amazons and most macaws.

3. Medium or medium-small sized.

Oh God caiques!!!! Yeah........I think they are wonderful little punks but BOY are they MOOODDDYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My lip has 2 scars from a white bellied caique 7 years ago and my bf's mom's black headed caique last year. Let me just say, I'd rather be in a room with macaws -__- Those little buggers can be a real pain!

[Cage Cleaner]

Cage cleaner seems to always reccomend lineonated conures, which she says are very sweet so it might be a good idea to look into those =)!

YES! And I will prove it by buying one when I meet the right one.

[Cage Cleaner]

I don't have personal experience, but size-wise, red-bellied parrots would work, too. Don't know how well they would fit into the rest of the parameters, though.

I've read that Dusky Conures are more cuddly than the rest of the conures, as well as less noisy. Also, less nippy than GCC's, which seem to be the standard 1st/2nd non-budgie/cockatiel parrot for some reason, even though they are pretty nippy. I stress that I've only -read- this.

As for GCC's, I personally love my GCC to death, but he is definitely without a doubt, moody. On a good day, we are absolutely bonded and he will do anything to get my attention and just hang out with me. He will fly over to where I am napping and try to get my attention, or continuously do tricks to get me to say "good bird". He'll let me pick him up by the body, and give him head scratches, and undo all his pin feathers.

BUT, on a bad day, all he wants to do is hang out with my Sun Conure, or chill in his cage and will actually attack me if I get a body part into his cage--or if he is outside, anywhere in his immediate vicinity. If he is hanging out with Phoenix, he'll either block me from interacting with her, or bite if I ask him to step up when he would rather be with her. Or, if she steps up onto my finger, he'll force room for himself to also step up. It's fine, you just learn to adapt and read his body language.

My Sun conure is the exact opposite. She is always happy and never nippy--BUT she is also a baby. I expect a similar change of personality when she reaches adulthood.

Dont' take this negatively, but most people go into parrot ownership with fairly ideal expectations that are more suited to mammalian species. Parrots are not creatures that are always "on" in terms of friendliness or cuddliness. They are not the type of creatures that will always make you feel great even after a shitty day at work, the way a dog will always (excessively) love you even if the rest of the world doesn't. They have very delicate psyches and it takes a lot of effort on part of the owner to make the parrot relationship happen in the best way that it can.

But I have to say that when the bird falls in love with you, it's one of the most flattering things in the world. And it leads to bird numbers 2, 3, 4, etc.

[CinnamonParrots]

I agree with CageCleaner, Green cheeks are really varied in my opinion, I've been in contact with so many!! of all ages, except beyond 10 years though. My GCC is going to be 7 in another month!!! How exciting! But she had never displayed aggression towards me, she will towards new people in her own home but when I bring her out with me, she will step up on anyone and everyone without a fuss.

I notice with conures who get "sassy", my birds all used to have "happy huts" and I removed them after realizing it perpetuates their mood and mating behaviour, if given the right food, activity level and what not, USUALLY I do not see aggressive GCC, but then again, a lot of them are quite moody, I do not know why Casey is so sweet and not a typical GCC. She has her moments though, mainly due to her still hormonal behaviour but she did not display any for the first 4.5 years that I've had her or so...

My experience with Duskies were that they can scream pretty loudly, but nothing compared to a sun. I find their personalities somewhat like Nandays, I'm not sure why I group them together but that was my perception of their personality o.O weird.

[Cage Cleaner]

Also wanted to add brown-headed parrots and meyers to that list.

[Crimson_Shadows]

my first bird was a budgerigar. they may be small, but they're still just as capable as any other parrot. the reason why I think they're great is because they are small, so buying a cage isn't too expensive. they're colourful and can be extremely unique in appearences, and they also have a much smaller bite, than a larger parrot. budgies are really nice little parrots and usually quiet if they're is only one.