Which bird and cage to buy?

[alec92]

Hey guys,

I used to have tame birds when I was much younger and I'd like to get another tame bird now. Just wondering:

1) What bird should I buy? My wish list:
- Something around the size of a cockatiel - ring neck
- Not too loud (going to keep it inside)
- Is okay by itself
- Not too messy (I've always loved rainbow lorikeets but their wattery poos is a dealbreaker)
- Looking to spend anywhere up to say $600 or so

2) What cage should I buy? My wish list:
- Something which gives the bird plenty of room to play in
- Something where they won't flick seeds etc onto the floor, and is easy to clean!
- Preferably something where the top opens up and they can sit on top. Or alternatively, an add-on or separate playground they can sit on?

I have nieces and nephews (2 - 5 years old) which often stay over so I need to train the bird to be extra friendly with kids. I assume the secret to this is to get the bird as young as possible and just get it used to people form a young age?

I'm in Sydney NSW, if that makes any difference to availability of birds and/or products...

Much appreciated!

[Pajarita]

LOL - Another impossible request for the perfect parrot! There are no parrots that are not messy or that are OK by themselves and, even species that are considered 'quiet' can get pretty loud at times. And small children and parrots simply do not mix because parrots are not that trainable no matter how young you get them and will always react with aggression when they feel threatened. I keep a couple of parrots in the human living areas (but I am planning on nixing this in the future, too), they are the sweetest tempered little girls and I can do pretty much anything with them but I don't allow any of my grandchildren to do anything but offer them a large treat through the bars and that's with me watching over their shoulder.

[Michael]

Cockatiel. Smaller bird, smaller mess, smaller noise. They are less aggressive. Sounds like you want a bird that children can visit rather than keep so thats fine. Also probably the only bird that will fit a $600 budget. By the time you get a cage, perches, toys, initial vet check, that $600 will barely suffice.

[cml]

Not to mention a buddy, as no parrot will be fine by itself unless you can interact with it all the time and then only barely will that suffice.

[alec92]

Hey guys,

I was hoping to buy a bird this week but it seems like I need to do a lot more research before I do so! I'm going to visit a couple pet shops this week to see them in person, learn more about them, and I'm going to do some more research before buying one.

Also, the budget of $600 was for the bird itself, I was planning another $200-300 for cage, toys etc.

Keep the advice coming!

Cheers

[Pajarita]

The most important thing you need to consider is your lifestyle:
. do you work full time? Because, if you do, you will need to get two so they can keep each other company during the day
- do you go out at night or have a social life? Because, if you do, you will do better with aviary birds

And, please, consider adopting instead of buying. Lots of perfectly good birds out there that need a good home and, the best thing about getting an adult is that they are over the difficult period of the puberty (when they can reject you), what you see is pretty much what you get in terms of personality and you know for a fact that you are not getting a sick bird (breeders sell sick baby birds all the time).

[pennyandrocky]

I agree with pajarita. plus a rescue wants to give their birds a home not sell a product and the adoption fee goes to the care of homeless birds. my mya was adopted from a rescue she's a perfect fit for our family.

[Harpmaker]

And my experience with pet stores is that the birds they sell are markedly less healthy than breeder/bird store birds(although that could be because I hunted out the good birdstore in my area).

Rescue birds have already made it past some problems, and if they have others that are caused by neglectful owners, at least you know up front. You can get lovely birds that have made it past puberty, so that is a non-issue. Babies may change when they grow up.


Good luck!

[alec92]

Guys, thanks so much for all the advice.

UNFORTUNATELY, my parents won't let me have a bird in the house (I've had 2 birds before, when I was much younger). They will let me keep a bird outside, but I know that conures aren't the sort of bird you can just keep outside and play with an hour a day, they need human interaction as much as possible. I wouldn't want to buy one if I couldn't keep it inside and give it the detention it deserves...

Also I have 2 dogs and a cat outside so it wouldn't be a great spot for the bird.

I'll keep trying to convince them to let me keep it inside but it doesn't look like it's going to happen, which is a real shame!

Thanks anyway for all the help

Cheers

[Pajarita]

If you cannot keep the bird inside, then, please, consider another pet instead of a bird.