Newbie - Please help us find a bird!!

[TooLover]

Originally Posted by Cindy215

Yes and I think it's different with a flock. They have each other. My birds give me courtesy attention I think LOL. Like, ok here comes the one with the keys and the food we better play along...luckily they get along without anyone being the odd bird out.

LOL - true, true. Rosebud is in love with Buck, who could care a less about her. Buck is my preener - he preens Merlin and Rosebud, however, they are not allowed to preen him - only I get that HONOR!
Merlin, my LSC, is actually the bully of the entire flock - he hates everyone! Isn't it funny that though they are cockatoos, each has their own personalities? Gotta love those cockatoos......

[uehling]

We returned Peanut to his previous owner last night. She was very understanding. I'm sure that Peanut probably would have made an excellent pet and a great addition to our family, but I just couldn't take the sit around and wait approach..... I can't risk an injury to one of the children; Peanut really liked my daughter; weather it was because she seamed like the less imtimating of us or he was attracted to her; either way - it was more then I could handle. With a dog and 2 kids full time - I can't watch them all at all times and be completly sane myself. I Think that we did the right thing for Peanut & for our family.

I really appericate everyone's POV and I'm glad that I came here to seek info; I still want a bird, but not one as large & I think that I'm gonna go back to my orginal type; a parakeet / canary / or a tiel. :-)

Thanks again!!!

[Doyle'sMommy]

I know that must have been hard to do but I think you did the right thing. I didn't know that about cockatoos either. I just wanted to say that I have a cockatiel and she is just lovely! She is such a sweetie and would sit on us all day if we let her. She is very quiet and loves to be scratched and petted. Also, I am not sure if it is just her or all tiels, but she is very neat. My other birds throw stuff everywhere and just make a big mess- but not Miss Princess. I think a tiel would fit nicely into your family. Good luck!

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by uehling

We returned Peanut to his previous owner last night. She was very understanding. I'm sure that Peanut probably would have made an excellent pet and a great addition to our family, but I just couldn't take the sit around and wait approach..... I can't risk an injury to one of the children; Peanut really liked my daughter; weather it was because she seamed like the less imtimating of us or he was attracted to her; either way - it was more then I could handle. With a dog and 2 kids full time - I can't watch them all at all times and be completly sane myself. I Think that we did the right thing for Peanut & for our family.

I really appericate everyone's POV and I'm glad that I came here to seek info; I still want a bird, but not one as large & I think that I'm gonna go back to my orginal type; a parakeet / canary / or a tiel. :-)

Thanks again!!!

Thank You, Thank You for being VERY understanding. Big KUDOS for that. I don't know of to many people that would've taken it as well as you did. We sure do hope you stick around, and post pics of that new family memeber when you get one.

Mike

[Dayna]

yes, please stick around! Please get that bird that will be a wonderful new family member. I can't wait to see what you guys decide on. What a lucky birdie that gets to go to such a loving home.

I cannot imagine how hard it must have been the last couple of days for all of you. Big big big cheers and hugs to you guys.

[Luann]

I can only imagine how difficult it was to return her, but I believe you've done the right thing for you and your family. I had a U2 30 years ago, which I bought from a previous owner. She so loved her, that she wrote two dozen pages of what "Lucy" liked and didn't like. One thing she didn't like was men. It worked out fine, though, because she was really well behaved and my ex didn't push it. BUT...though she was wonderful, she was a handful, and quite needy of attention. She went with me to work most days, which was fun. When I left Hawaii, my friend who SOOOO loved her received a wonderful Xmas present of Lucy. She's still there, doing great. No children in either of our families, though. I worked for myself, so it worked out. But working full time with a Too is pretty difficult.

I'll say again that I highly recommend a lineolated parakeet. (Not that I'm an expert, but I DID do a lot of research.) I have a four month old one that I've had nearly a month. She is very sweet. Doesn't bite. Really quiet. Very cute. 6 1/2 inches long. Very forgiving if you can't play with her on her schedule. Content to play by herself, or sit on your shoulder. Loves skritching. I think they are just perfect, for a small bird. They ARE a little hard to find, however. I lucked out with a terrific breeder here in Tucson. Just a thought.

[svolk]

I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this with getting Peanut and then having to return him - but I agree with the others, I think you did the right thing.

Yes, please stick around and tell us all about the bird that you choose who is right for you and your family

Tiels are wonderful, I adore my little girl - but again, they are dusty. If you do decide on a tiel, I suggest seeing for yourself how dusty they are by witnessing a "full body shake" Even with frequent baths, my tiel still emits a cloud of dust when doing a full body shake. I'm just thinking about the small kiddos about the dust factor, I don't know if that can have an ill effect on them.

[uehling]

I'm thinking a parakeet - they are small and can be trained to ride, step up - cuddle and possibly talk... I think that a little keet will be perfect. Now, the convincing of my husband.

He was VERY disapointed that we had to give up Peanut, he didn't want to; and I feel REALLY bad that we choose Peanut then had to take him back, but again I think that we did the right thing for all involved, espeically Peanut.

I know that the lady whom we got Peanut from; will be going out of town on Wednesday; she is going to board Peanut until she returns on the 27th and then I think she is going to try and sell him; I feel so bad for him and all the confusion; I hope that he finds a wonderful home.

Like I said before, I still want a bird & I'll be re-reading the orginal messages to get some suggestions; and I'll be sticking around to show off pictures and let you all know what we do decide. ;-)

[Asta]

Yes, please stick around and update us on the bird you will be getting. I am so impressed by you. That was not easy what you did, and I have a lot of respect for people who do the right thing even when it's the tough thing to do.

[svolk]

I speak nothing but wonders of my little budgie (known to most as a parakeet, but that is really too broad of a category). I suggest reading in the species-specific areas on here. Being one of the budgie people here, we have a great group of people with phenomenol budgies. They are wonderful, huge personalities in tiny little bodies. They are quiet (compared to larger parrots), their vocalizations are usually pleasant - and sometimes constant. My guy is a chatter box! My budgie does talk (very much! you can listen to some of his audio files over in the budgie section), but not all will talk.

Besides the size factor of budgies, meaning they are TINY and can be easily stepped on or closed in doors etc., another other thing that I would point out based on my experience as well as others here, is that most budgies are not very "cuddly." Most do not like a lot of petting, if any at all. My budgie only allows me to give him head scritches and tickle his belly, but not my husband. When budgies are with a flock of other budgies, they usually only preen each other's heads, so there is not a lot of physical contact as with other species of parrots.

But this doesn't mean that my budgie is not fun, just the opposite! He enjoys being on my finger, shoulder, or head He constantly flies to me and he is very much interactive with me. He simply does not like hands behind him or petting him in other areas than his head or belly.

Another thing with budgies is that they are so readily available that they might not be hand tame - and hand taming them yourself takes some work. My budgie was not hand tame and it was literally a couple months of working with him in short daily sessions on getting him unafraid of fingers. When I stated early on in this thread that budgies aren't for everyone, this is what I mean, that in order to tame them and KEEP them tame if you have more than one, it takes a lot of patience and consistent training.

Just trying to present all sides, I am forever hooked on budgies! But like with every species, there are certain positives and negatives.