Is it the right time?

[mike16]

I have 2 kids a 5 and 3 yr old and I want to get an amazon or an afirican grey. I work alot, but will have time for a bird. I understand its not the best bird for little kids, but this pet is mainly for me. Which brings me to my next concern in, do they switch there favorite person if I'm really going to be the only consitintly handling them. Also any opinion on african grey, or yellow naped amazon?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I think you can never be 100% sure the bird will bond to you and only you, but if you start with a young bird and handle it consistently, it seems to me that you are hedging the bets in your favor (but we have two birds acquired during late adolescence, early adulthood so I can't say I have real experience).

If you are sure you will be able to have time for the bird and also allow it adequate sleep time, I don't see any reason you can't make that work with a young family, but you may need to keep the kids and bird strictly separated for quite some time, depending on the circumstances. And the bird will need 10-12 hours of sleep time, which would most normally coincide with nighttime.

Have you had parrots before? If not, do a LOT of homework. Neither of the birds you mention are what would be considered 'good first birds". Greys are particularly known for being difficult to keep content and needing a lot of attention. Go to pet stores, read books, handle as many birds as you can before you decide for sure if you are really ready for this!

[GlassOnion]

Seeing from how you chose the two most well known talking birds, I figure you'd like a talking parrot. Do note that many of these species end up never uttering a word.

Also, do lots of research and go meet one if you can. Big beaks can be really intimidating, and often you won't know until you meet one.

[captwest]

I see from your avatar that you have or had a tiel and a sun,I too would not reccommed a AG or Zon as a first bird,Just because you are the main caregiver dosen't mean you will be the favorite person.And yes a baby bird will adjust to your family's life style much easier than an older bird,With and older bird you can tell fairly qickly who the favorite person is, with a baby bird it's preface might change as it matures but it will still tolerate you even if your not the favorite person, Also if raised right as a baby most Zons will do very well in an active family enviroment if they are included and socialized. May i ask why a YN ?

[coral]

If he's had a sun conure and has done research its a much bigger bird and has done a lot of research id say you should go visit some bird stores and breeders, I wouldn't recomend an ag though they seem to be way more needy

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I have said it myself, but I'm beginning to wonder if Greys are really that much more needy or if the perception shifts when a species becomes popular?

When my husband was first into birds, something like 20 years ago, Green Cheeked Conures were considered "the perfect bird". Now they have a reputation of being nippy. The "perfect bird" birds right now are the Pois, but as they become more popular, it seems I'm starting to see more concerns raised about them. Senegals in particular had that kind of "perfect" aura and yet more and more stories about them being aggressive to other birds seem to be cropping up. Greys are super popular right now. I wonder how much the dynamic of relatively inexperienced people getting the birds and getting into trouble or not knowing what to expect affects the perception of which birds are difficult. Is there a species that has been popular in the past which did not acquire a bit of a "rep"? Except maybe budgies?

[patdbunny]

I think I read on another thread that Mona was of the opinion that most birds aren't socialized enough. I'd tend to agree. I don't think it occurs to people that an animal they keep in a cage needs experiences. I think the cage might give people a "hamster" or "fish" mentality. I don't know if I'm explaining that very well.