New with a frequently asked question

[Blink]

Hello all,

New here and had a very frequently asked question: If it best for me to get a companion parrot, what would you recommend?

A little background info: I had two budgerigars in high school growing up and about three years ago, had a Black Capped Caique and a Pacific Parrotlet that unfortunately were rehomed due to a move across the country due to being in the military. My family has been settled in for quite some time and I am no longer in the military. My wife is a wonderful studious student and a stay at home mom to our beloved 1.5 year old. We are a organic, no microwave, no teflon family, and we also own two outside farm dogs who will not be interacting with said companion bird.

My main question is, are parrots acceptable pets with small children around? My wife and I miss having a companion parrot but worry slightly due to having a small child. It's totally fine if your opinion is a solid no. I'd rather hear the straight answer than some sugar coated one.

My wife is home about 90% of the day and will be assuming most of the responsibilities until I get home from work in the evenings and weekends. Like previously stated, we have no other inside pets, eat mostly home cooked organic meals, are general home bodies, and have some previous parrot experience. We would like a parrot on the smaller side such as another Parrotlet, Cockatiel, Quaker, etc but want to avoid the dust with a Cockatiel due to our toddler, again, IF a parrot is suitable for our family.

Thank you all for your help and patience!

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes kids and birds can get along as long as the bird is hanging from the ceiling. I would never let anyone under 10 near my birds and even then I would not trust them alone.

[Blink]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes kids and birds can get along as long as the bird is hanging from the ceiling. I would never let anyone under 10 near my birds and even then I would not trust them alone.

Thanks for the reply Liz! Unfortunately the parrot's cage will not be hanging from the ceiling as I'd like to buy the largest possible one and assume a large rolling one would be adequate? I am however 100% into flight and no clipping so the parrot should be able to fly freely indoors. Again, our toddler would not be handling the parrot and would be supervised at all times.

[Blink]

"With toddlers get into all sorts of trouble - tasting the light socket, putting objects in their mouths, and jumping off the bed. It's inevitable that a toddler will get too close to a parrot's cage one day, and get a warning nip from their beak. Bird personalities vary, and some parrots (especially cockatoos which can be emotionally jealous of a new baby) are likely to bite infants harder." I guess I forgot completely about all the mischief toddlers get into and honestly think a parrot is leaning towards the no spectrum hah! Not to mention all the stress the toddler could cause the poor bird. I think I'll continue to research the topic but really think a parrot won't fit in till much later on in our family.

[Wolf]

I don't like hanging cages and will just leave that as it stands instead of try to go into my personal reasons for it.
I don't know if a parrot is right for you or your family, I will say that children can be very dangerous for a small bird and by the same token a larger bird can be just as dangerous for a child. Because of this I would not allow any but the most rigidly supervised interaction between them for both of their safety. A small child is going to want to touch the pretty birdie and will stick their fingers in the cage between the bars, they will want to hold the bird and then they will inadvertently hold the bird to tight and either suffocate or otherwise injure the bird. These are just a couple of things that come to mind about young children and small birds and is just meant to say why I worry about them interacting with each other even when closely supervised.
I pretty much feel the same about birds and dogs, although for slightly different reasons. A dog is above all else a predator, while a parrot is a prey animal. The smaller the bird is, the more likely that it will cause the dog to jump at it to try and catch the bird when it flies. I have dogs and although they are very well behaved, I do not recommend any opportunities for them to interact as it is just too dangerous for the bird, so as a general rule when my birds are out so are my dogs. This means that the dogs go outside whenever the birds come out of their cages.
These are my big areas of concern with regards to you having birds of any type and as long as you understand these risks and are willing and able to address them for everyones safety and well being, I would say that the choice is yours to make.
Should you decide that a parrot is in your families future then I hope that you will take the time to find a bird rescue that you can visit and maybe do a little volunteer work at to gain a broader perspective concerning parrots and the different species as well as to gain some valuable hands on experience with them. You may find the ideal parrot for you is waiting at the rescue for you to arrive so that it can choose you and you choose it. I always recommend this route for the hands on experience as well as because there is a glut of parrots that need a good home. Many were given up by previous owners because the bird went through puberty and transitioned from a baby to an adult bird. Some simply because their owners did not realize their commitment when they purchased the bird which depending on the species could live for 50 or 70 years or longer. Some could not afford to take care of their birds or keep them due to changes in their lifestyles. Regardless most of the birds at a bird rescue are there through no fault of their own, Yes, there are some birds at a rescue that have issues but with a kind and loving home there are very few issues that can't be corrected given some time and patience. Some of them are in the rescue simply because they were louder than their owners expected.
I, myself never wanted to have any birds in my house or living with me and I never expected for there to ever be one much less four birds living in my house with me. But all it took was a single little Senegal parrot to show up at my house one spring while it was still too cold for it to survive for me to give it a place out of the cold in my house and then food and then my heart.
I don't know which way you will choose to go for certain although I suspect that you already knew your answer before you wrote the first word on this forum, and I doubt that I have done much to discourage you from going this route either. So when you decide to get your bird(s) let us know and we will try to help you as best as we can.

[Pajarita]

Hmmmm, well, usually, I would say that parrots and small children don't mix. I have grandchildren and none of them are allowed to handle or even get close to the cages (I have a 5 year old boy that loves to bang the sides of the cages scaring the poor birds half to death in the process). The thing with small parrots (the ones that would not do much harm if they bite) is that they are real short on patience and tend to be nippy when not handled correctly but, on the other hand, although the larger species are much more patient and some seem to actually enjoy children (Freddy, my Lesser Sulfur cockatoo, is one of them), have such BIG beaks that one always worries about the bird snapping and biting half a lip in the process.

Personally, if I had a toddler, I would get myself a real nice, large flight cage and a pair of small aviary parrots. They are beautiful to look at, do very well when in pairs and, if you leave them flighted, you can let them out every day for 3 hours of flight and, as long as you place perches for them way up high throughout the room (which you will have to birdproof), the baby will not be able to grab them. You can go with linnies, with Bourke's, rock pebblers, princess of wales, barrabands or any kind of grass parakeet (Splendids, Elegants, turquoisines). They range from small to almost medium in size and all do well on their own as long as they have an spacey aviary and a mate.