Need help deciding of species of parrot.

[santoshreddy]

I am thinking about getting a parrot in the near future, but I am at a loss for what species. It will be my first parrot, so nothing too large. It would need to be suitable for apartment living and be ok with me being gone during normal working hours. Basically my desires is a quieter species (I understand that parrots in general are loud by nature) that will enjoy being handled but will also be independent. By this I mean that it will enjoy being picked up and petted, but will also be ok just being around me with less direct interaction should I need to do some work or something. My girlfriend's requirement is that it not be able to talk or at least very poor at talking. So I think that narrows it down to cockatiels, lovebirds, and certain parakeets and maybe pionus. Most of my research has been done here. Does anyone have a particularly good experience with one of these species? Am I being too hopeful with my desires? Would the description of my situation lead you to be believe I should not own a parrot given the constraints?

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum and thank you so much for doing research before you make up your mind. And, no, I do not think that you should not have a parrot because, in all honesty, 99.99999% of people who want a parrot has, in one way or another, the same constrains you mention -well, not the one that the parrot should not talk... that's a first one to me

Cockatiels would be perfect for what you want BUT in order for it to really work, you will need to get a bonded pair, feed them and house them right and keep them at a strict solar schedule. If you do, you will get birds that are beautiful, smart, affectionate, can be perfectly happy without you there all the time, very quiet (happy tiels hardly ever make a peep) and, most likely, will not talk but males are very good a learning whistles. Lovebirds and budgies will not really pay any attention to you if they have one another (lovebirds because they are intensely pair-oriented and budgies because they are very flighty and prefer to do their own thing all the time) and I would not recommend a pionus because although they are not known for their speech and they do tend to be more quiet and less clingy than other companion species, they are companion species and having one alone all day long, day after day after day in the winter (because the solar schedule will not allow you to interact before you leave for work or after you come back) will make it terribly depressed and anxious. I haven't had a pionus in years (I had a bronzewing) but I do have two caiques which belong to the pionite genus and, as the name implies, they are close to the pionus genus and they would not be happy on their own. They might not be the Velcro kind of parrot but they like constant company and interact with me all the time.

[Casper]

Hi all parrot parents
I need some advices from other parents
We lost our precious Casper a few months ago and we are finally able to look for a new member to bring into our flock we had a cockatoo growing up hes still going strong and has replaced us kids and become my parents fourth child but I dont feel that a cockatoo is the right fit to my flock our darling Casper was an Indian ringneck that stole our hearts and we decided to get another ringneck but in the process of looking up breeders or looking into a rescue I fell upon the Amazons and now I am very torn the more researchers I do the more overwhelmed I get at to what type of Amazon I get . We want to keep it to a medium breed but want a family breed as we all love cuddles and playing with our new feather baby.
Any advise
Help
Suggestions
Experience
Help this mamma bird

[Casper]

Sorry just to add my family life... I homeschool my kids so I am home everyday. My babies dont live in cages we have perches all around the house we live in Zimbabwe so specialised foods can be tough but my ringneck had parrot seed mix with fruit and veg.
My entire family is hands on
We live in a house so open spaces sunshine and fresh air is in huge abundance.
The cage is used for bedtime safe space and when we go out

[Pajarita]

Hi, Casper's mama and welcome to the forum. I am glad you changed your mind about getting another IRN because they are really stressed out when they don't have another bird to interact with (they are more aviary than companion). Amazons are great parrots BUT you need to be extra vigilant in the solar schedule and the diet because an overly hormonal male can be quite dangerous and, if you don't feed them right, they all end up dying before their time from liver and/or kidney failure so, if there won't be anybody home during the day in your household so the solar schedule can be kept, I would recommend you do not get an amazon. As to what species.... well, in all honesty, of the species I've had (yellow nape, yellow crown, lilac crown, redlored, bluefront, orangewinged) the only thing I have noticed is that some speak better than others (all the yellow heads do) and that the females are the talkers. I had a male yellow nape that did vocalize in such a way that, when you heard him from afar, sounded just like a person but the sounds did not make actual words - they just sounded like words What I can tell you is that they LOVE music and singing, especially 'opera style' -Mami, an old YCA, actually asks for music ("Tralala? Tralala?") so she can sing along (VERY badly, mind you, as she seems to be completely tone deaf - but she loves it). But, aside from their talking ability, I truly cannot tell you of any 'real' difference between the species except that the bluefronts seem to be a bit more noisy than the others.

Now, amazons are not cuddlers and they are not family pets. No parrot really is. I have found that the GCCs (and other similar small pyrrhuras), cockatoos and macaws are more patient than other species in terms of being able to interact with other members of the family without biting them -some of them even enjoy other people's attention (the cockatoos especially because they all have a wide 'ham' streak in them) but they all love one person and one person alone. It's the way nature made them (they are monogamous and mate for life) so, although they can be friendly with people they know and trust, their devotion will always be reserved for their chosen one (and the operative word here is 'their' as they are the ones that choose the person). And I have never known of a single amazon that is a real cuddler. They love spending time with you, riding your shoulder, preening your hair, talking, roaming, exploring, chewing (BIG time this time of the year!) etc. but cuddling and a lot of touching is not their cup of tea. Cockatoos and GCCs are cuddlers while amazons are actually quite independent and the one thing that makes them really happy is having another amazon to love.

I love amazons - they are such easy birds to keep happy and healthy... they are GREAT eaters and bathers, they only fly when they have no other choice (perch potatoes through and through and, although this is not something that makes a difference to me, it does to my husband who is not too keen on large birds flying over his head), they are not screamers or prone to plucking (not that plucking is unheard of, mind you, but it takes a lot of neglect and abuse for them to resort to it) and, give them a strict solar schedule, the right diet, another amazon and stuff to chew and they are happy puppies!