Hello from Italy. Please help me to become a bird owner.

[Brando]

Hi! My name is Brando and I live in Italy. First of all sorry for my english.

Many months ago I was browsing on youtube and I saw the infamous Michael and Kili's world record video; from that moment on I'm thinking about owning a bird. Since owning a bird will influence my life for at least the next 10/15 years I would like to gather the most amount of informations possible before making the big leap (maybe next september).

First of all the mother of all questions: what kind of parrot should I get? I know that is an almost impossible question to answer but I would like to know your suggestions. The main restriction is that I live in an appartment so the bird shouldn't be to noisy. I'm very interested in trick training, talking and colorful appearance would be good things but they are not a prerogative. I already found an answer by my own (Forpus Coelestis) but I would like to know your suggestions.

Thank you in advance.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.
English is my first and only language but you did better than me. Also I can't spell so you have to guess at the word.
There are no birds that I know of that live just 10 years. A cockatiel can go to 24 if cared for properly.
Don't get a pet because you saw one you liked. People who tell me they want one because they like mine are the ones that I discourage. They see mine and say how cute or smart it is. They don't know how much work is involved. That is not to mention that they love like a child and should get the same love and care that you would give to a child.
Find a shelter to volunteer and get hands on experience or find someone who has a parrot and learn from them. We can help you a lot but only if you tell all.

[Pajarita]

Benvenuto, Brando! Well, parrots don't live just 10 years (even budgies live longer), they all have the potential for been loud, most of them don't talk and a lot of them will pluck their own feathers, thereby losing their 'beauty' and 'colors' so the only thing left of your requirements is trick training and I am afraid that this is not a good reason for wanting one because the novelty of seing a trick done fades after you see it 100 times while you still have to care for them for many more years with their care been expensive, time consuming and labor intensive.

The one you chose, the Pacific or Celestial parrotlet is not known for talking or tricks. They are tiny little things that mostly perch on your shoulder, fly around and do little else. They are adorable and 100% loving and lovable but it will not fulfill your requirements... actually, no parrot will. Parrots are difficult animals to keep. They are dirty, noisy, destructive, very demanding and extremely hard to keep healthy and happy so keeping one is a labor of love that, of necessity, cannot have any expectations - meaning, you give, the parrot receives and not the other way around.

I suggest you think about this very carefully.

[Brando]

Hi and thank you for yours answers.

I definitely would not like to sound like it "I already know all" (because obviously I know nothing in compare to you bird owners) but I forget to mention in my first post that I made a little amount of researches since the idea of getting a parrot jumped to my mind. I read the parrot wizard's guide to well behaved parrots and so I'm perfectly conscious that taking care of a parrot means a lot of sacrifices (financially, time, and many other). I think that I could say that I overtook the phase "It would be cool to have a parrot" and I'm entered now in the phase "ok, I would really like to have a parrot, but could that desire get along with my lifestyle? And if yes what are the best conditions to make it happen?". I'm trying not to rush in and to take my time to think about it. I think that posting on this forum in seek of advices is part of the "thinking very carefully" process.

Visiting a bird rescue centre is definitely a step that I'm looking forward to make and I have it in mind since I read the book. It's a little bit difficult to find one in my region but I think I found one not too far from my town. Also maybe next week I'll go to visit a breeding structure run by a friend of a friend of mine. I know that I can get a biased impression but at least I can see (and especially hear) many species.

I orientated my research towards parrottlets because I read somewhere that they could be very quite (living in an apartment that is my big problem). Is that true? Also not having much space in my home I'm more orientated to little birds. I scraped the idea of having cockatiels because I read online that they are more prone to cause allergic problems (I don't known if that is true) and lovebirds because their sounds are very high pitched.

[Wolf]

A parrotlet weighs in at a very hefty 1 ounce and is about4 1/2 to 5 inches long, which makes it smaller than a budgie. All birds that are this small have a very high pitched voice and are considered quiet because they are too small for their noises to be very loud. The parrotlet has a high pitched fast chittering sound. It also is too small to have the strength to do much in the line of tricks.
A cockatiel could aggravate a sinus condition, asthema or allergies due to the fact that it produces special feathers that turn into a waterproofing dust for their other feathers instead of an oil.
Perhaps it would help to tell us what your normal schedule is like to help determine how much time and when you have available for a bird. A trip to and a period of time volunteering at an avian rescue would help you more than anything to see what is entailed in keeping a parrot on a long term basis. It is also the best place for you to find the bird that would fit in your life, long term. This is mainly because they have already gone through puberty which is a time when their personality changes and it loses its parent / child bond for the more permanent mate bond.

[Brando]

Thank you for mentioning strength, I didn't thought about it. Let's say that I'm interested more about the training and learning process than the variety of tricks so, for now (there is always a lot of time), a parrotlet remains my choice.

I work from home 2 days every week. Unfortunately the other 3 working days I'm away from home from 10 to 12 hours, for now. Could that be an insurmountable problem? Could be sufficient to buy a bigger cage with many different toys, maybe switching them daily? I was thinking especially about hormonal problem. Could they trigger on 3 days of insufficient night time? Could I recuperate covering the cage more than 12 hours on the other 4 days? Do exist parrot species that are less bothered about this problem?

Speaking of other species could anyone tell me some information about the barred parakeets? Especially differences between them and parrotlets?

Thank you so much and sorry for the avalanche of questions.

[Pajarita]

No, all birds without a single exception are photoperiodic and regulate their sexual hormone production by light. What I would do in your case would be to buy a large flight cage for a male/female hand-fed pair and put the overhead lights on timers so, when you have to work long days, the artificial lights will go off when the sun is halfway down and on when the sun is already up. This way, the birds will have each other when you are not there and will not get overly hormonal. It is harder to train a bonded pair but not impossible, it just takes a bit more patience and time because you need to bond with them real good first and only then start training - separately at the beginning but, eventually, you might be able to do it together. And the other extra good thing about this is that birds that have other birds for company and don't get overly hormonal never scream so they will be just fine in the apartment!

[Brando]

Thank you for the lamp and timer idea I definitely gonna use it. So the hormonal problem is more influenced by light/dark ratio than awake/sleep time?

I will also think about taking a couple instead of a single bird. Could I get just one bird and then introduce in the same cage the other one after some time or, for territorial reason, they have to be raised together?

[Pajarita]

Well, you will need DNA'd male and female birds, for one thing, and getting them when they are both very young gives you a much better chance that they will bond with each other AND with you. Bonding can happen when you get one first and then the other but it seems to work better when they grow up together and, beside, it's never a good idea to try to pair an adult with a baby so, unless your second bird is also an adult.

[Roonil Wazlib]

Welcome to the forum

First, I want to tell you thank you for being responsible and researching about parrots before getting one In this situation you can make the best possible choice from the information you get regarding your lifestyle for what parrot you should get. I congratulate you.

Given the time and effort willing to put towards the bird/s will have an outcome of the birds behavior and screaming. As far as the species best suited towards you work schedule is, i have no idea, so listening to pajarita and wolf would be a good idea.

My adoptee came with no forging or shredding toys, and at a year old, this was unacceptable, in my opinion. Bordem is another reason for their screaming - during his month here, I have given him some more forging toys, which helps stops the bordem, which helps stop the screaming. The 'honeymoon' phaze lased till about a week ago, and in that week, there were two days where he was being a bit crabby and noisy (earsplitting screeches every five seconds - be ready for that no matter what parrot you get). Giving them new things to do will help - they don't have to be costly, but exercising his brain often with new stimulation (or with toys/things he hasn't seen or played with for a while) will keep him quieter.

My boy is an eclectus, and they are known to be 'quiet' birds, but still can scream quite loudly. Coming home from work yesterday i'd bought a shredder/foraging toy, put some nuts into it, which kept him entertained, and he had a shower this morning - barely made a peep.

The one piece of advise when getting a parrot is - research, research, research, don't get on impulse, in store parrots can be very different then being at home with you alone and in a new environment. Figure out what species is best, then look around for that species.

Also diet is a crucial thing. Each species has different needs. Julian, being an eclectus is on %80 fresh fruit and veg, and no pellets. if you get a bird with difficult dietary requirements, make sure you are able to provide this for them.