William has seen four birds that he likes but would any of them suit a young boy and his family, i realise these beautiful birds live for many years and so want to make sure i am totally happy if and when we choose one, the breeds he likes are:- Sun conure, Yellowed thigh ed conure, African Gray (congo) and the large Macows.
Sun conures are gorgeous! However, they are one of the major "impulse" purchases made due to their colors... and most often rehomed due to their loudness! Conures can make great pets if socialised, but they are very nippy! (then again, all parrots can be nippy!)
Yellowed thighed conure???? Perhaps this is a green cheek conure mutation, the yellow sided? Or perhaps do you mean a yellow thighed caique??? Big difference!!! GC's are quite nippy although not as loud as sun conures. Caiques on the other hand just *LOVE* to play! Therefore, they need lots of stimulation within their environment. This may be a bad comparison but it's like the difference between a lab and a boxer. Both dogs love to play, but boxers ESPECIALLY love playing!
African greys do tend to have even temperaments, however they need a lot of socialization and a constant change in environment, as some are known to become phobic of changes.
As for macaws... well, I can't really suggest any of the large macaws... perhaps a mini, but not a large. A large parrots beak can cause a *LOT* of damage, and although they may be sweet and friendly when young, they do grow up! Birds, like humans, go through a "teen" stage where they can be difficult to handle. Many say that the mini macaws are quite similar to conures!
Might I also suggest poicephalus or the pionus group??? I've heard that eclectus can also make great family pets, however they require a specialised diet.
I was told by a breeder that the age to buy a young baby is when it is weaned at 12-14 weeks old and that it doesn't make a difference if the bird is male or female their temporment are the same.
I don't agree with the breeder.... you could take in an adult bird and still have that bird bond to the entire family! However, babies tend to be easier to deal with because they don't come with any potential baggage. As for male vs female, well there's not that big of a difference other than the fact that females lay eggs!
Would the conures being a smaller bird make a better member of the family and be any easier to look after? the breeder said a Macow would be better as although it is large there isn't any difference in noise or temporment.
Conures are easier because they are not as expensive as macaws... they don't require as much food, and they are not as loud as macaws. Unless the breeder is speaking about mini macaws I'd say there's a *HUGE* difference between the noise level and temperament of conures and macaws! Might I suggest looking for another breeder?
Can you house train them easily?
What would you consider "house trained"??? Birds go to the bathroom every 15-30 mins, and it's not that big of a mess. With that in mind they can be potty trained, however it's more or less about you making sure to remove the bird off of you when you think it's gotta go.
How many hours a day should they be allowed to fly around
I don't know where you are from, however most people clip their birds because birds can be difficult to handle when flighted, they can get into things quite easily and get stuck, they could fly out a window or door, etc. Therefore, most people recommend clipping the bird. However, out of 12 birds here, only 2 can't fly. They can't fly because one is handicapped and the other clipped herself. If you can allow flight, I recommend it! Although you might want to look into clipping vs flighted, and clicker training.. here's some sites that may be of interest to you!
What do we do with those Wings
http://www.flyingparrotsinside.com/
Parrotrecalltraining : Recall/Freeflight Training for Parrots
Freeflight : Freeflight
flightedbirds.org
Carly Lu's Flight Blog: Parrot Training, Flight & Recall
Bird-Click : Bird-Click
Free Flight Training
February, 2005 - shanlung
index
Should you clip your bird?
Flyers - Home
Recalling Phoebe
Good Bird Inc. Companion Parrot Training Through Positive Reinforcement
Wings At Liberty[/QUOTE]
My suggestion is to go around to petstores who sell birds and interaction with as many as you can so you can get an idea of how each species (not breed) are. If possible, find a local bird club and go to the meetings so perhaps you can interact with peoples pets and get an idea of what they are like.