Adoption Specifics, Please help

[silentobserver]

I am interested in adopting a parrot, what im looking for is a bird that first can learn tricks and is obedient, second is not very loud, and third talkativity. although size is a factor it is minor i would prefer a smaller bird for convienience in caging the bird and handling but it is not as important to me. I was hoping you could suggest a choice parrot. One of the tricks I would definitely like to teach to my parrot fetch or retrieve, that the bird brings you an object(i.e. car keys or such) from afar only by command and name of object. If this is only a matter of training then ok, but is there a specific breed that is more adapt to learning? So far the breeds that intrest me are parrotlet and african grey, are these good breeds for what I am looking for? also is it possible to walk around with your bird outdoors, that would be a big thing with me if i could, or is it purely a trust matter?
Thankyou very much for your time

[born2fly]

Some species have better traits than others but not every African Grey will be a talker etc.

Looks like tricks are important for you but are you prepared to put in a LOT of time to teach as the bird will not learn by itself no matter the traits. Also if the bird is not keen on doing tricks will you keep him or just rehome it, they do live a long time.

As for taking the bird outdoors you can use a harness to take it out. Takes a lot of time to train a parrot to freefly outdoors and you will never be 100%

From personal experience you can teach a conure few tricks.
I would suggest to do more research about overall parrot care not just tricks

[Kim S]

I would also suggest reading through the forum a bit more carefully and getting to know the people and parrots that are on here. That can teach you a lot about the behavior and specifics of any species.
It feels very rude to me to just come out and post the same mesage 3 times in different parts of the forum without even introducing yourself.

[silentobserver]

First off, It was very rude, I apologize to the community. I really had no idea where to put this because of the well the shear expanse of information i wanted in the answer. I suppose then it would be more proper to introduce my self before i continue. I am Anthony, nickname Captain, and i am a teen in the North east U.S. I am interested in parrots because they are clearly very intelligent and sweet animals and I hope to procure one, not before naturally investigating a bit. and in regards to born to fly(great name) I do understand that caring for a parrot is time consuming at best but always rewarding on the web though i have noted that there is tremendous opposition to nearly every website's facts except the barebones basics i.e. African Grey is best talker. If the bird was not an aerial ace i would definitely keep him(I've heard males are better pets is this true?) Id just like to get an idea of what are the "accepted" parrot facts and minimal abilities, ya know?
Thanks for posting! Sincerely,
Anthony(Captain)

[Michael]

I have to leave in a moment so I'll make this quick. I'll try to post a more thorough answer later. In many ways I think a Senegal Parrot is ideal. They are small, quiet (for a parrot ), and very adept trick learners. If budget, space, or time is much of an issue, than a budgie would be quite suitable as well. I doubt an African Grey would be a suitable parrot for a first time beginner. I have been able to train many of the same tricks to a budgie as to a Senegal Parrot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya8HgsmiSkU

The one thing to be aware of with a Senegal Parrot is that they are very aggressive one-person birds. They are super jealous and will bite other people viciously. Very extensive taming/training is necessary to keep this vicious side in check. But they are super loyal and loving to their favorite person and won't bite them (with proper care and training). Definitely weigh the pros and cons of any parrot you're interested in getting. The pros are easy to get excited about but the cons are what will drive you nuts. Some are loud, others pluck, and others are really aggressive... take your pick, they're all wild.

[Michael]

You should use a carrier or harness when transporting your parrot outside. Clipping the wings is not a suitable safeguard as many clipped parrots have been carried away by the wind. A parrot can easily get spooked outdoors and without proper flight training/experience, not know how to fly back to you. When scared they takeoff and fly straight away but then don't know how to come back. For these reasons, it is very important to use a proper safeguard. Check out this video to see how I take my parrots to the park wearing harnesses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq8P8PEGVvk

[entrancedbymyGCC]

You should use a carrier or harness when transporting your parrot outside. Clipping the wings is not a suitable safeguard as many clipped parrots have been carried away by the wind.

This is true. Even if the bird is quite severely clipped, things can happen. It's a nice image to stroll around the marketplace with a bird on the shoulder, and I admit to being tempted (our birds are clipped, although not severely. The GCC can cover a fair amount of ground even clipped, the Cape is a bit less swoopy).

If you have a good bird store nearby, you could go observe some of the birds and see what appeals to you. I think, to paraphrase a famous horse trainer, in the end you better pick a bird you like to see and be around, because he may not be able to do all the things you want him to do, and he'll still be yours! No matter how hard you try to select a bird to be likely to do all the things you want, even if you are the best of trainers, you might wind up with a mute African Grey, or a clumsy 'tiel or maybe even a Green Cheeked Conure that doesn't like to play!

Is there a reason the fetch trick is particularly important to you? I wonder because you emphasized it quite a bit. And what you are suggesting specifically, being able to teach it object labels so that it verbally recognizes a wide variety of objects when asked, is a pretty advanced linguistic skill. You might need a better-than-average African Grey for that, plus a lot of training, and pretty advanced training at that.

Green Cheeks are fun little birds and they can learn tricks. They are quiet and a very manageable size. Ours has a modest vocabulary, but a real inclination to talk. They can be nippy, but I think that's fairly easily managed. They aren't what you'd call the intellectual parrot, though... they are kind of the party animal type.

Greys are the Brains of the bunch. Capes may be in the same ballpark, but the jury is out. Amazons also have good talking ability. Quakers are supposed to be really cool little birds, but they aren't legal to own in all states (mine being one of those).

[silentobserver]

You should use a carrier or harness when transporting your parrot outside. Clipping the wings is not a suitable safeguard as many clipped parrots have been carried away by the wind.

This is true. Even if the bird is quite severely clipped, things can happen. It's a nice image to stroll around the marketplace with a bird on the shoulder, and I admit to being tempted (our birds are clipped, although not severely. The GCC can cover a fair amount of ground even clipped, the Cape is a bit less swoopy).

If you have a good bird store nearby, you could go observe some of the birds and see what appeals to you. I think, to paraphrase a famous horse trainer, in the end you better pick a bird you like to see and be around, because he may not be able to do all the things you want him to do, and he'll still be yours! No matter how hard you try to select a bird to be likely to do all the things you want, even if you are the best of trainers, you might wind up with a mute African Grey, or a clumsy 'tiel or maybe even a Green Cheeked Conure that doesn't like to play!

Is there a reason the fetch trick is particularly important to you? I wonder because you emphasized it quite a bit. And what you are suggesting specifically, being able to teach it object labels so that it verbally recognizes a wide variety of objects when asked, is a pretty advanced linguistic skill. You might need a better-than-average African Grey for that, plus a lot of training, and pretty advanced training at that.

Green Cheeks are fun little birds and they can learn tricks. They are quiet and a very manageable size. Ours has a modest vocabulary, but a real inclination to talk. They can be nippy, but I think that's fairly easily managed. They aren't what you'd call the intellectual parrot, though... they are kind of the party animal type.

Greys are the Brains of the bunch. Capes may be in the same ballpark, but the jury is out. Amazons also have good talking ability. Quakers are supposed to be really cool little birds, but they aren't legal to own in all states (mine being one of those).

ha ha it is actually a dream of mine somewhat unrealistic i admit but if at all possible something id like to attempt. I just have this image of a pirate pointing to something on a counter and the bird retrieving it, silly i know. also is their a difference in recognition of objects to names and linguistic skills? what i mean by this is that it is not very important to me that my bird can speak very much as that it understands what i say, not anything intricate but say a command such as retrieve and an object ball. is this unrealistic? and how much do parrots understand of what their masters say? In terms of outdoors is a harness completely safe? and if i were to know that my parrot would not get spooked is no leash or harness still very dangerous if my parrot knows how to return?

[silentobserver]

You should use a carrier or harness when transporting your parrot outside. Clipping the wings is not a suitable safeguard as many clipped parrots have been carried away by the wind. A parrot can easily get spooked outdoors and without proper flight training/experience, not know how to fly back to you. When scared they takeoff and fly straight away but then don't know how to come back. For these reasons, it is very important to use a proper safeguard. Check out this video to see how I take my parrots to the park wearing harnesses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq8P8PEGVvk

I am so amazed bye the shear discipline of your birds not to mention their amazing training, i commend you. it was quite amazing how the children and dog did not really distract the birds that much. how do you feel about not clipping a birds wings though?

[silentobserver]

I have to leave in a moment so I'll make this quick. I'll try to post a more thorough answer later. In many ways I think a Senegal Parrot is ideal. They are small, quiet (for a parrot ), and very adept trick learners. If budget, space, or time is much of an issue, than a budgie would be quite suitable as well. I doubt an African Grey would be a suitable parrot for a first time beginner. I have been able to train many of the same tricks to a budgie as to a Senegal Parrot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya8HgsmiSkU

The one thing to be aware of with a Senegal Parrot is that they are very aggressive one-person birds. They are super jealous and will bite other people viciously. Very extensive taming/training is necessary to keep this vicious side in check. But they are super loyal and loving to their favorite person and won't bite them (with proper care and training). Definitely weigh the pros and cons of any parrot you're interested in getting. The pros are easy to get excited about but the cons are what will drive you nuts. Some are loud, others pluck, and others are really aggressive... take your pick, they're all wild.

also what are your feelings on parrotlets? or the general feel about them. they were my original interest in parrots i find them very appealing.