Pro's and Con's

[Strawblady2000]

Hi All,

Okay...I have a question about big birds in general. See, I am looking to find a pet bird...something larger, such as an eclectus, african grey, or even a caique or amazon....something that's a bit more interactive than my finches, lol.

I've already determined it will have to be young...freshly weaned...as I feel that is the best way for it to adapt to the kids and the household activity level.

But, I was wondering, as I'd like to consider ALL options beforehand, what are some pro's and con's to owning a larger bird?

To me, Pro's would be:

having a pet bird that can tolerate affection without freaking out (like the waxbills, lol)

teaching it to talk

playing with it

sharing an apple, lol


Con's would be:

if you get a screamer

the size of the turds

losing a finger if it decides to bite super hard

balancing the attention level, so that it doesnt single out 1 person for affection and torture the rest of the household


All input is greatly appreciated!!! Anything to deter me from getting something I may regret, lol, is fine by me.

[kenny]

hi nikki
the first thing that springs to mind is an african grey parrot as you can tick al those boxes you listed if you get them young enough they can talk really well are intelligent and as i said if you get them young enough they are really affectionate .the only downside is it just might outlive you

ken8-)

[Strawblady2000]

LOL! Yeah, I thought about that! My mom has one...and it's only 8 years old. Mom says I'm inheriting it one day...and I'll possibly be passing it down to one of my kids. :lol:

Hers is a MAJOR plucker, though. She calls it her Mountain Chicken. :lol:

Must be a Korean thing, lol. (yes, she's Korean :lol: )

[kenny]

wow nikki
thats a new one on me,but i suppose that name would make them edible then,have you seen the link about the talking african grey on the website its amazing!

ken

[kenny]

hi nikki
i am sorry about that last post,ireally am i have just re-read it and ithought it looked a bit offensive which it wasnt meant to be!

ken:-(

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,

No offense taken! She oft jokes about roasting it, lol. :lol:

I havent seen it yet...but I'll chceck it out!

Thanks Kenny

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

The following is from my own experience with the Parrot species you mentioned that have been kept by people I know.

Regarding the pro's you mentioned, Eclectus, African Grey, Caiques and Amazon Parrots would tick all of the boxes (they might even share a bunch of Grapes with you).;-)

But the con's, Eclectus and Caiques can be quite noisy, Caiques can also be a bit stroppy and bite, but be all cute and cuddly the next minute, and sometimes some Parrot, species will take to either male or female humans only.:roll:

The second question you have on the con's side of things, I wouldn't worry too much as long as you have a shovel in your garden shed.:lol:

Having said all of that, you could buy any of the above species and have the most docile and affectionate Pet you could ever wish for?
At the end of the day though all birds have different temperaments and characters, but it is far more noticable in Parrot species.

But I will say that you could do a lot worse than buying a handreared Cockatiel,:grin: they aren't as powerful beak wise as the larger Parrots and would tick all of the boxes in your pro questions and put a cross in all of the con boxes.

Paul.

[Strawblady2000]

LOL, great, Paul!

Now, going from finch poo to parrot poo....that's a HUGE difference, lol.

FYI...we have 3 dogs over 150 lbs each...can you imagine the camp-fire-logs they put off??????

I've thought of a cockatiel and I've heard great things about them. I think I want something a little larger. Honestly, I prefer the shorter tail-feathered birds, but if I find a larger bird that wont snatch me bald, then I'll be happy.

Noise could be a detterent, but I honestly cant expect it to NOT make noise...after all...it hasnt lived with 3 small kids before. Now THERE's some noise!!!

:lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

I'll fess up now, the turd thing was slightly exaggerated,:lol: if you really want a Parrot as a Pet then I would suggest the African Grey or Amazon species, Yellow Naped, Mealy, Blue Fronted, Green Cheeked Amazons etc, seem to make great Pets.
Jardines, Senegals, Meyers, Brown Heads etc are also Parrot species that are good candidates.

Paul.;-)

[kenny]

hi paul/nikki
a long time ago i had a male cockatiel and it was really tame and it used to talk like mad as we aquired it when it was really young but we gave it to a relaative of my wifes as they had a really large cage and it was starting to screech really really loud so she took it to morcambe and she still has it after all this time

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hello,

Well, I did it. Sort of, lol.

I decided to go with a parrotlet...green rumped pacific parrotlet to be exact. I bought her from the bird mart last weekend. Parrotlets normally range from 120-300...but I got her for 65, so I was happy with that, considering her young age.

I thought that as I had no experience with a larger bird, I would go for something smaller. I know I will still wish I went with a bigger one, lol, but she will more than do for now.

She hatched in March and is semi-tame. She will bite the crap out of your hand while in the cage (of course, I don't blame her, LOL!), but once I take her out, she perches on my finger pretty well and steps-up.

Kind of fun to have a bird that plays with toys, etc. She is pretty cool. She makes all kinds of racket at excatly 9 am every morning, lol....we have a ways to go though. Working with her 3-4 times a day for about 15 minutes each day.


Anyways, I'll get some pics up soon. Hopefully this will stave off my urge for a LONG time to come.

[dave85]

hi nikki,

i wish id spotted this sooner as i would have suggest pionus - the ones ive seen talked about mention no mood swings but friendly and amusing nature.

only thing that is a draw back is lack of talking ability.

im getting a pair of blue headed hopefully :D

Thanks
Dave

[Waxbillman]

sounds brilliant,

i have allus been attracted to parrotlets, dunno why good luck with her anyway

Matthew

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Matthew and Dave,

Thanks Guys!

Pionus are great. I was looking at caiques too...but they were a bit out of budget for now.

Talking ability doesnt matter much to me, as I;ve got enough talkiing in the house with the kids, LOLOL!!

Hope she stops nipping...I know, I know, it takes time and PATIENCE!!!

[kenny]

hi nikki
i am glad that you have found something to suit you or maybe your pocket..i had a cockatiel a long time ago and it would talk your head off and would sit on your finger and let you stroke its head ....but if it had to go back in the cage it used to take a piece out of your finger everytime i dont know why but it just did not like going back in the cage it was ok when it was in there but putting it back in was a chore!so all you need is a lot of patience as you say it does not need to talk just bieng freindly towards you means a lot !


ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

I'm pleased you have found your Pet bird at last,:wink: I hope you manage to eliminate the bad habits of biting and the noise at 9am.:lol:

Some tips for you that I know of regarding taming birds are the following, when as you say working with the bird, always put the bird back in it's cage before it decides it has had enough of you, by this I mean that you should show the bird that you are willing to show affection on your terms and not letting the bird tell you it is time to back off.

Offer the bird it's favourite food while it is in contact with you and behaving by not being noisy or biting only!

If the bird insists on making a racket when you aren't giving it attention, then move it to another room until it becomes quiet.

If I come across as Jo 'Super Nanny' whats her name, then I apologise,:lol: but to stop a Pet bird becoming your boss, then you need to make the bird know that you are in charge of the doses of affection, rather than the other way around.

All the best to you mate, Paul.:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

Just adding to Daves comments, I agree that Pionus species can make very quiet and non aggressive Pets.

I have seen handreared Dusky Pionus housed in an aviary in a public collection that have been the most gentle birds I have ever seen despite not having one on one Human contact 24/7.

Not knowing their price in the US, I suggest the next Pet Parrot you buy should be a Pionus species from as young an age as possible.

Paul.;)

[kenny]

hi paul

what i dont get is every time someone gets a parrot to tame they always teach it to swear first before it can do anything else

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

It's not quite every time but I know what you are saying,;) thankfully there are more sensible owners out there than the idiots.
Having said that I have seen a pub that has a Parrot in the bar area, now that to me is far from a fitting place for any animal 24/7, dozens of smokers in a small area and the drunken antics from the regulars, who knows what has been poked into it's cage over the years?:mad:

Paul.

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul we don't need to worrying about smokers in pubs no more as the nanny has decided to ban smoking in all public places by next year, i'm glad to say, it is completely illogical for people to be smoking these days especially in non coal mining areas. complete waste of money that in the end will kill you, why not slit your wrists for fun, that dunt cost owt and you will die allot faster,

Matthew