Advice Please, Child's first bird

[tacotaco]

Okay, my little cousin (Marissa) is seven years old. Her and I are very, very close and she pretty much looks up to my like an older sister/role model. I had recently bought my parrot 3 months ago (a nanday conure.) My little cousin fell in love with birds after seeing mine and she won't stop asking her parents (EVERYDAY) if she can have one for Christmas. My uncle and aunt are ready to give in and came to me asking for help, as they have NO experience at all. I really do not want them to make a mistake.. I do think she is old enough but I don't know if the responsilbility will be there to take care of it from her. My fear is that my aunt or uncle will end up caring for the bird (which they are ready and willing to do) and I don't want it to get nasty towards my little cousin as most birds tend to attach themselves to one person. My bird for example, is very jealous everytime Marissa comes over; his feathers go up and he makes a hissing noise at her. I try to fix this by showing him shes nice and getting him to go to her and he's just not for it.

I wanted to know thoughts on this: what type of bird would be good for her/them? I know my uncle wanted something a little more interactive* than a parakeet (i hope that is not offensive as I never had one before.) I was thinking maybe a cockatiel? I have no experience with any other types of birds than conures and I'm not sure if that is good to start out with?? I have been really pushing the fact that this is going to be a big deal and very time consuming but I would like any advice from you to give to them please.

We plan to visit a very large bird store over near my area (all hand raised) maybe this weekend just to look and I do plan to ask them advice as well, but I'd like to have a little plan before I go there.
Thanks in advance!

-Kim

[Kathleen]

As a child, I was always interested in animals. My family had a range of pets at different points in my childhood, a dog, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, and fish. When I was younger, my dad bought two budgies from a typical pet chain store for my brother because he asked for them. He was probably about 7 (since I am 5 years older, I was probably 12). He became bored of the birds and never wanted to play with them. The first mistake was that we got the birds in a pair, and the second mistake was that we choose birds that were poorly raised and parent raised. Not only did they bite but they tried to defend each other, and I was little and more scared of little budgie bites. I was the one that ended up trying to take care of the birds and trying to tame them. Unfortunately, I kept coming across the wrong techniques whenever I tried to look up on the computer what to do. I ended up using methods that simply didn't work. I knew the birds were afraid and that's why they bit me, but I was young and I didn't understand what to do.

I am against a young child taking complete responsibility for a pet and I believe that all pet care should be supervised by a parent. However, since her parents are willing to supervise to make sure the bird is well cared for, then I think it's fine.

I think a beginner bird that would be suitable would be a budgie (parakeet) or a cockatiel. They are the most popular pet birds but I don't think they have problems that many other birds available have. They're both fairly quiet, they don't pluck, and they probably won't get so attached to one person (especially a budgie). You are right though, it is a big deal and parrots are more time consuming than a lot of people imagine. Parrots are social animals and they need attention from their owners on a daily basis. Your niece and her parents must be willing to play with the bird every day, and not fall into the trap of getting a second bird because the first is lonely (getting a pair usually makes it worse!).

I would recommend you check out this topic: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=320 because it gives a good list of supplies that they would need to buy for a bird.

This article I wrote about budgies might be useful: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=355 The nice thing about budgies is that they come in many, many different colors and your niece would probably enjoy choosing a color she likes.

[Michael]

I don't think children should ever own a pet bird because they are too young to comprehend the consequence and responsibility of owning one. Also in my experience children are too abrupt and are too aggressive with the birds OR they are too timid and too scared to handle them. Neither is good. If your cousin can't handle your bird, I doubt she would be able to handle her own either. 7 is really quite young. My sister is 5 which is somewhat close to 7 and I know that she definitely wouldn't be able to handle a bird in the long run. Whenever she visits me she likes to see my bird but she is too scared and depends on me to put the bird on her hand.

When Duke the budgie was still alive my sister really liked him and wasn't scared of him. But that is only because Kathleen and I had tamed him for 4 months. I really doubt most children under 18 would have the patience to handle and tame a bird to that extent. The point I am making is that if your aunt/uncle really want to have a pet bird for themselves which your cousin can share a part in, that is probably ok. But by no means should they buy the bird expecting the child to take care of it or not get bored. If they know for certain that even if the child gets bored of the bird, that 15 years down the road they would still want it and care for it, then it is probably ok.

The bigger the bird, the bigger the bite is my moto and for a child that age even a budgie bite can be scary so once again, I don't a young child would be able to tame a parrot properly. If it bites and they run away, the bird will learn to bite. So while I can think of some really wonderful parrot species, it's difficult to recommend anything bigger than a budgie. My sister is scared of my Senegal Parrot but she was pretty at ease with the budgie even though they are both tame birds, it's a size factor.

I would recommend having your cousin interact and get more comfortable with your bird first prior to getting one. You should teach your parrot a trick so that your cousin could enjoy cuing it.

[tacotaco]

Thank you both! Michael, I'm kind of against them getting one FOR the little one because bottom line i think 7 is too young as well-kids just get too bored of things too easily, yes! I have a bad feeling but I guess I'm really not the one to decide. I am always willing to help them and guide them because I know they will appreciate the help and I will definitely discuss your advice with them so they understand the severity of it all. Hopefully they learn to love and care for it like i'm hoping they do but I am definitely going to recommend a parakeet and hopefully the people at the bird store agree with that as well. thanks again,
*and by the way, i didn't know you both were siblings! very cool lol

[Kathleen]

Uh, actually, we're not siblings.

[Michael]

Don't feel bad for thinking they shouldn't get a bird. My brother is 15 and I guess he got sort of jealous when I got my parrot (but I live separate) so he wanted one too. And I had to talk him out of doing it because he would have been too irresponsible. He travels for school too much and will end up in college soon so there was no way he could care for it. My parents would not want it so I would end up stuck with it but I don't want another bird.

I think advising people when not to get a bird can often be the greatest advice you can give. People have to really want it, really care about it, and understand how long they live. They have to be able to see themselves in 5, 10, 20, 30 years with that same bird. So the 7 year old still has yet to go through adolescence, college, and having kids and that could all happen in the bird's lifetime. That is how long term and major of a commitment it is and that is quite likely too much. Once again, if the aunt/uncle really like birds and would be glad to have one for themselves but just give the child the opportunities to play and interact with it, I think that is fantastic. But don't kid yourself thinking that a 7 year old can do everything by herself.

[Mona]

Hi Kim:

If the parents are willing to be involved in the care, don't overlook a cockatiel.

Cockatiels tend to be very friendly, gentle birds that can really become very interactive members of the family. If hand-raised, they are often very "people-oriented". Hens can be little love bugs. Males can be a bit more bold and entertaining. They are long-lived so the family has to be aware that they may be making a 25 year commitment.

Cockatiels generally do not come with some of the problems that the larger, more intelligent parrots can come with. They are usually much safer for a child although interactions always need to be supervised until the child is mature enough.

Thanks!

Mona

[tacotaco]

thanks mona ~ appreciated. i will keep you guys posted on what goes on this weekend

and kathleen,i'm sorry.. i read the above too quickly when he mentioned his sister and your name after, stupid me!! didn't mean to offend you.

[triplebbirds]

I will second the cockatiel suggestion for the parents, not your cousin. My kids play with my Green Cheek Conure and weve got a vast age range. The 4 year old loves my quakers. and he will play with the baby cockatiels and any new babies we have he always talks to them while they wait to eat. Really im thinking the best choice for a young kid is a goldfish, from walmart. they tend to have a shoter life span.