which one i should get??

[Melon]

hi everybody,
im new here n this is my first post.
i always wanted a parrot n now i already decide that i want one.
this is gonna be my first bird,but i had some little experience with my dad's cockatoo before.i dont want to get cockatoo because i feel not ready yet to take all responsibility n its cost too much for me.
so, i would like some suggestion from parrot owner in this forum.
honestly i prefer:
-cuddly bird,i know its really depend on the bird's personality but maybe some species is more cuddly than other one??
-i would prefer medium size parrot.
-i live in apartement which many people keep parrot as a pet so screaming is quite fine for me.
-im ok if the bird would never talk or cant do trick .
-i prefer calm n non-agresive bird.
-im okay with messy parrot.

we r newly wedding couple,we dont have any kids or other pet.n im working in home.so the bird can be almost 24 hours with me.
please help me to find my suitable parrot,any comment are welcome.thanks everybody!!

ps:this forum really awesome!!!i fastly register the first time i found it

[Michael]

Cockatiel

[Melon]

hi michael,
thanks for the idea.
before i was thinking to get cockatiel also, but many people say they will not happy to be only one bird.n honestly its difficult for me to keep two.is it true??

i was thinking about sun conour or lovebirds,anybody had experience before?are they good for beginner??r they cuddly?sorry for long question,just want to make sure i buy the right one n the bird gonna be stay with me forever without any problem.

thanks everybody!!!

[GlassOnion]

Definitely a cockatiel. I have a male and he LOVES me!!
Another suggestion is a green cheek conure. Stay away from Suns, their screams are so loud people get kicked out of apartments or end up selling the bird.

[Zanizaila]

I agree that the Cockatiel is probably the #1 "pet" (oh how I dislike that word) bird, or companion bird, probably on shared 1st place with the Budgie.

But I just want to clear a few things out; you can never count on a bird to be cuddly. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits are likely "cuddlers", birds are not. Birds want to be free, and the only bodily contact they naturally share with others is preening around the head and neck.
Even if the bird accepts more than that, you shouldn't do it as physical contact other than head/neck can give the bird ideas (since birds ONLY do that during mating.)

Also, all birds can become aggressive, but of course, some (like Amazons, Cockatoos, Poicephalus, etc.) have a greater tendency towards those behaviors than others. But still, all parrots are wild animals and will behave like wild animals, which includes biting, screaming, destroying things and making a mess all over the house.

Just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
Even Cockatiels can live for 30+ years, and have very loud, sharp voices. (Nowhere near a loud Cockatoo or Macaw, but I had Cockatiels who tortured me with their yelling when I was sick.)

[Melon]

wow,thanks for all the advice!!
oh ya for more detail info,here u cant find any breeders,we just can buy bird from a pet shop,so defenetly they r not handfed-quite wild.is it still possible to get the cockatiel tame??

n how about lovebirds??how is it??

im waiting for more info n comment, please please please

[Michael]

First of all, any parrot can be tamed/trained whether it is hand raised, parent raised, or wild caught. However, hand raised makes it a lot easier for a beginner to get started. Second, if you live in the US, you can have a parrot shipped to you directly from a breeder. I don't recommend a "pet store."

[GlassOnion]

If you look around on the internet, you can certainly find breeders who will ship a bird to you. Like Michael, I do not recommend pet shops. At all.

[Melon]

hi,
i agree,sadly i live in malaysia n here we dont have any breeders.the only one way to get parrot is from pet shop or wild caught.we only have cockatoo n electus breeders here,because they are the most bird that they keep as a pet,actually cockatoo population here is soooo much(sometimes u can see wild one sitting on your garden everyday).but for other species like cockatiel/grey/conour u have to buy from shop n im sure they are wild caught .

im quite relax after read michael's post that even wild one can be tamed.but one thing i want to know more.just say finally i buy the cockatiel n its wild.defenetly the bird is really scared of me,is it possible to make them happy being keep as a pet?i wont clip the wings,but flying inside room is totally different from flying outside,is it gonna make them to be agresive parrot?is it possible the birds quickly return to its wild behavior and become unhappy in captivity??

thanks for the answer..

[Michael]

By saying that a wild caught parrot "could" be tamed should in absolutely no way imply that I am suggesting for anyone to get one. Just I have read about wild caughts being tamed and from my own training experience understand that it is their learning capability that is primary and not imprinting.

Please do not purchase a wild caught parrot and contribute to those brutal practices. You can see some of the treatment of wild caught parrots here:

http://TrainedParrot.com/Parrot_Market
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... ird-trade/

If the only way you can acquire a Cockatiel is by supporting the industry that continues to pluck them from the wild, then I would not recommend a Cockatiel. It is just that in the US they are bred in abundance and readily available. In your case, you will have to accept the limitation of what domestically bred parrots are available and chose from those. Even if a wild caught parrot can be tamed, how can you live with yourself knowing that your companion was forced to live with you buy trapping and not because this is the world he was raised in?