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Helloooo! i have a question

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Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Kdoyle1053 » Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:06 pm

Hi! my name is Kaitlin and i have been wanting to get a smaller parrot for quite a while now. ive done a ton of research and i would like to get either a green cheek conure or a cockatiel. im 15 years old so im in school until 2:40 but my mom works 10-16 hour days so she would not be home a lot to keep it company. i am worried about it getting lonely, ive looked on websites but from what ive found there isnt anything saying how long you can leave a GCC or cockatiel at home without it getting lonely, just how to prevent it. would keeping a television on and giving it a few foraging toys be enough? i could also visit it during lunch break for 30 minutes since our house is in walking distance. we used to have a few budgies but had to give them to a friend because we moved into a small apartment but i miss them, :cry: they were so fun to have. :budgie: we are now in a larger house with lots of big windows and doors so i probably will clip its wings since in the summer we have windows open a lot. my mom would prefer a quieter bird since she gets home late and leaves early and needs sleep so i wouldnt want an annoyingly loud bird. my main concern is if it will get lonely though, does anyone have any suggestions on which bird i should get or if i should even get a bird given my circumstances? :gcc: :greycockatiel:
Kdoyle1053
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby ParrotsForLife » Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:35 pm

You said you had Budgies so I assume you have experience with owning more than one bird, From those two species I would choose a Pair of conures that way they can keep each other company and would still like to hang out with you and they are so fun to be around.I also suggest you do your research on clipping because windows and doors should be the least of your worries owning a flighted bird and we don't encourage clipping here and we wont bash anyone for it either.I can say I have lost a Grey that flew out on Halloween and still haven't found her but it would have happened anyway if she was clipped.
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ParrotsForLife
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 1725
Location: Ireland,Dublin
Number of Birds Owned: 5
Types of Birds Owned: Rocko and Loki, Cockatiels
Mango, Plum headed parakeet
Tiko, African grey, Oscar, BFA
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Kdoyle1053 » Sun Apr 09, 2017 3:04 am

ParrotsForLife wrote:You said you had Budgies so I assume you have experience with owning more than one bird, From those two species I would choose a Pair of conures that way they can keep each other company and would still like to hang out with you and they are so fun to be around.I also suggest you do your research on clipping because windows and doors should be the least of your worries owning a flighted bird and we don't encourage clipping here and we wont bash anyone for it either.I can say I have lost a Grey that flew out on Halloween and still haven't found her but it would have happened anyway if she was clipped.

Okay, thanks for the advice :D
Kdoyle1053
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby liz » Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:52 am

Welcome to the forum.

Where are you. Do you have screens on your windows?

Myrtle was sucked off my shoulder and pulled out the door by a high wind. I watched as she tumble all over the yard and fought the wind enough to grab a twig on the top of my neighbor's tree. She stayed in that tree and called to me. She calls me "Ma". It really tore me up until a young man in the neighborhood asked if I need to get my cat out of the tree. He was surprised it was a bird he had to rescue. When he got up there she was still so scared that she listened to me to go to the stranger. She got on his hand and ran up his arm to his shoulder and stayed there while he climbed down. She was so scared she did not let go of him until she could grab on me. The wind was so bad that day if she had been clipped she would have had no control. The wind would have blown her so far that she would have been taken her away from me forever.

I have two rescued Amazons. They are like my kids and can be as much trouble as kids too.

I am partial to Cockatiels. I had two and my daughter had two. She decided I was taking better care of them and gave hers to me. One female died and it started me on the road to rescue Cockatiels that needed my love. Only a few of them will let me touch them since they were abused and neglected but I let them flock and sometimes they come to me. I love each and every one of them. Each one has it's own personality. The ones who can't fly are very scared but I let them be part of the flock and it makes them feel better. Many came with clipped wings and were as scared as the ones who could not fly. As their feathers grew back their personalities changed and they drew closer to me. They use me as a perch when I go in the room and seem to want to communicate with me by twittering. I only have two who talk but only to ask me "what you doin' or "I'm a pretty bird". I was surprised one day when I scooped one up and he ask me "what are you doin' to the pretty bird?" I did not know Cockatiels could understand until that day when he asked me a question.

You can tell by my post that Cockatiels are special. They sing and tweeter. They don't screech like other birds. Their noises are so pleasant. They even seem to remember the dark and lonely places they came from and are grateful to me. Even the scared ones will tweeter sweetly to my face. (They don't like hands.)

You can not go wrong with two Cockatiels. A mated pair or both the same they will get along and keep each other company.

You have to parrot proof the room of any parrot and that includes the little ones. They seem to know what they are not suppose to do and where they should not go. So that is what they do and where they go. Bird proof just like you would child proof a room.

Back to the windows: do you have screens?
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liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Kdoyle1053 » Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:39 am

liz wrote:Welcome to the forum.

Where are you. Do you have screens on your windows?

Myrtle was sucked off my shoulder and pulled out the door by a high wind. I watched as she tumble all over the yard and fought the wind enough to grab a twig on the top of my neighbor's tree. She stayed in that tree and called to me. She calls me "Ma". It really tore me up until a young man in the neighborhood asked if I need to get my cat out of the tree. He was surprised it was a bird he had to rescue. When he got up there she was still so scared that she listened to me to go to the stranger. She got on his hand and ran up his arm to his shoulder and stayed there while he climbed down. She was so scared she did not let go of him until she could grab on me. The wind was so bad that day if she had been clipped she would have had no control. The wind would have blown her so far that she would have been taken her away from me forever.

I have two rescued Amazons. They are like my kids and can be as much trouble as kids too.

I am partial to Cockatiels. I had two and my daughter had two. She decided I was taking better care of them and gave hers to me. One female died and it started me on the road to rescue Cockatiels that needed my love. Only a few of them will let me touch them since they were abused and neglected but I let them flock and sometimes they come to me. I love each and every one of them. Each one has it's own personality. The ones who can't fly are very scared but I let them be part of the flock and it makes them feel better. Many came with clipped wings and were as scared as the ones who could not fly. As their feathers grew back their personalities changed and they drew closer to me. They use me as a perch when I go in the room and seem to want to communicate with me by twittering. I only have two who talk but only to ask me "what you doin' or "I'm a pretty bird". I was surprised one day when I scooped one up and he ask me "what are you doin' to the pretty bird?" I did not know Cockatiels could understand until that day when he asked me a question.

You can tell by my post that Cockatiels are special. They sing and tweeter. They don't screech like other birds. Their noises are so pleasant. They even seem to remember the dark and lonely places they came from and are grateful to me. Even the scared ones will tweeter sweetly to my face. (They don't like hands.)

You can not go wrong with two Cockatiels. A mated pair or both the same they will get along and keep each other company.

You have to parrot proof the room of any parrot and that includes the little ones. They seem to know what they are not suppose to do and where they should not go. So that is what they do and where they go. Bird proof just like you would child proof a room.

Back to the windows: do you have screens?

We have screens on most of the windows but there are a few in the bedrooms upstairs that don't. I am not really concerned about it flying out of a window but we have windows that cover most of the wall for the view that can't open in the main floor living room that I'm worried the bird would fly into and hurt itself, we also have a cat that mainly stays outside and I wouldn't really be concerned about the cat, she would probably just ignore the bird or watch it from a distance but just to be safe it would probably be better if the bird could get away if it needed to. The parrot's cage is going to be downstairs since that's where my family is most of the time, there is a door to downstairs so if the cat is being a bother to the parrot we can just keep that door closed, there are a few windows downstairs but they have screens too
Kdoyle1053
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Pajarita » Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:15 am

Hi, Kaitlin, welcome to the forum and than you so much for taking the time of doing research in advance about your future bird!

Let's see... there is no information on how long you can leave a parrot on its own because they need company 24/7/365. People who work do leave them alone but it's not what nature intended for them as the flock represents safety and they are born, live their entire lives and die surrounded by their family so, being by themselves is very stressful for them. Stress means a depressed immune system but, even leaving aside the physical problems, it also means that, eventually, the parrot will be so unhappy, he will start 'acting up'.

Now, there are differences between the species and GCC's are one of the neediest ones so I would not consider getting one if the poor thing is going to be alone for hours. And, even if you were not considering cockatiels, this would be the species that I would recommend for somebody in your situation because they are the sweetest things! Pretty, good-natured, not noisy, good eaters, etc. - there is absolutely nothing bad you can say about cockatiels! And, if you get a male/female pair and put them in a good size (I would get what they call a medium-size flight cage), they will be happy on their own during the hours you are not there (you can't have a single one, it would not be fair to it as they are what's called an aviary species so they are never really happy with just a human for companionship).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby liz » Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:08 pm

That would be a good excuse to not wash the windows. More acceptable use sheer curtains.
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liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Kdoyle1053 » Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:32 pm

Pajarita wrote:Hi, Kaitlin, welcome to the forum and than you so much for taking the time of doing research in advance about your future bird!

Let's see... there is no information on how long you can leave a parrot on its own because they need company 24/7/365. People who work do leave them alone but it's not what nature intended for them as the flock represents safety and they are born, live their entire lives and die surrounded by their family so, being by themselves is very stressful for them. Stress means a depressed immune system but, even leaving aside the physical problems, it also means that, eventually, the parrot will be so unhappy, he will start 'acting up'.

Now, there are differences between the species and GCC's are one of the neediest ones so I would not consider getting one if the poor thing is going to be alone for hours. And, even if you were not considering cockatiels, this would be the species that I would recommend for somebody in your situation because they are the sweetest things! Pretty, good-natured, not noisy, good eaters, etc. - there is absolutely nothing bad you can say about cockatiels! And, if you get a male/female pair and put them in a good size (I would get what they call a medium-size flight cage), they will be happy on their own during the hours you are not there (you can't have a single one, it would not be fair to it as they are what's called an aviary species so they are never really happy with just a human for companionship).
thanks for the advice! I'll talk to my mom about getting two birds so they won't get lonely
Kdoyle1053
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Pajarita » Mon Apr 10, 2017 9:55 am

Great!!!! Now, if I may make one more suggestion, I would highly recommend your adopting a pair from a rescue, Craigslist or rescueme.com. This way, you know for a fact you have a male and a female (all babies and juveniles look like females) and you don't have to worry about whether they will bond or not. Plus, you would be taking in a pair of birds that need a good home (sooooo many out there that do!) AND it will be cheaper (good argument to use with your mom :lol: )
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Helloooo! i have a question

Postby Kdoyle1053 » Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:18 pm

Pajarita wrote:Great!!!! Now, if I may make one more suggestion, I would highly recommend your adopting a pair from a rescue, Craigslist or rescueme.com. This way, you know for a fact you have a male and a female (all babies and juveniles look like females) and you don't have to worry about whether they will bond or not. Plus, you would be taking in a pair of birds that need a good home (sooooo many out there that do!) AND it will be cheaper (good argument to use with your mom :lol: )

Yeah I've been looking on Craigslist, thanks again for the help!
Kdoyle1053
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes


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