Hi from Brisvegas down under

[hotboost]

Hi all ,have been hovering this forum and doing my research.I'm in the market for a family bird.I have 2 kids 6 and 3. My 3rd absolutely love parrots and birds in general. Yes we have a Labrador,cat ,angel fish and 4 chickens. I know a parrot is big commitment. People say just a budgie... We live on acreage with heap of bird life .I'm leaning towards a quaker or green faced concure. Just at research stage as we got big family holiday planned in a months time. Will see what's around then.
Cheers

[Harpmaker]

Welcome to the forum, hotboost! Let us know if you have questions.

[Pajarita]

Well, I don't recommend parrots as kids pets because their biting is not a question of 'if' but of 'when' and, normally, kids get the worst of it for the simple reason that they move too much, they talk too loud and they can't recognize the signs (body language) plus you have the inevitable 'short attention span' of the novelty of the new pet (7 kids and 11 grandkids so I know what I am talking about). But, if you have your heart set on one, don't go with a quaker. They tend to be cantankerous birds which do not have any patience for mistakes and a BIG bite. Female GCCs tend to sweeter BUT they require A LOT of one-on-one attention or they turn bitey.

Personally, in your case (VERY young children and newbie adults), I would go with a pair of hand-fed cockatiels in a large flight cage and see what happens before I commit to a single parrot that is not as naturally sweet-tempered as them.

[Roonil Wazlib]

Welcome You will find lots of great information here, from people who really care

I'm very new to parrot husbandry myself - and have just adopted a one year old sweet ekkie, after being on here asking questions and generally being annoying for several months.

Pajarita is right when it comes to getting parrots for kids. Even older kids it can be difficult. I had a budgie for a short time in my youth. He was an incredible companion, and i loved him very much, but we lost him too soon because of a mistake of a friend, and he flew away. After that we got a cockatiel, and i just didn't form the bond between it like i did with Chipper. This was a serious problem as I was a young teenager and going to school, had other commits and didn't want to be with the bird anymore - my parents didn't want the commitment either, so she was re-homed.

Also, with the cockatiel, we made the mistake of me (the kid) weening it myself - huge no no; this was part of the problem of our bonding - i had no idea what i was doing or the importance of what i needed to do, how long, and when i needed to do it. She became over attached, and i felt smothered. She has problems to this day of plucking and not being with her chosen human constantly - that is on me, that's my fault. Leave the weeing to professionals, you and your bird will be happier for it - but your here on this forum, so I'm sure your research has already told you that

If you, as the main carer, want the parrot, go for it. If you want it for your children and expect them to be feeding and training and bonding, etc...it might work (it did with my budgie) but its a huge risk to take, and they'll need to take it on for a long time - that a lot to ask of a child - I got a cat, and he was "my cat" for all of a month or so, then my parents were the ones feeding him for the next eleven years

I do believe though, don't feel forced into getting a certain species of parrot just because other people tell you to. You need to do your research and figure out what kind is best for you and your family Take the advise. if someone says, like Pajarita, that Quakers have big bites, trust that. Perhaps they might not be best for your family and around kids (I went into a shop that had two quakers out and about, they were climbing all over me - adorable little things, though, one did have a killer curious bite (shudder to think what an angry bite would be) (where as my eckki with a beak five times as large is genital as, and has only once bitten hard because my hand got in the way of his toy), the other one was very sweet - so, you do get different personalities within each species, that's what makes it so hard to choose. Go with you gut.

Don't walk into a shop, see a cute parrot and walk out with it! Please don't. Make sure you've researched as much as possible (I did for about six months) you'll need to be aware of lots of things, and you'll be establishing a learning routine with the parrot from day one. If you get internet on your holiday, that would be the perfect time to sit back and Google parrot stuff (namely, parrot videos on you tube - who said that cats ruled the internet? ) and learn a lot.

I currently have two cats. With your cat and dog, i'd keep the parrot flighted for his/her safety.

anywhoo...uh, yeah, welcome again. Oh, and i'm an Aussie too, NSW