Please help me pick a bird!!!!!

[Mishell9940]

Ok so here is my questions, We are going to be getting my son a bird this weekend, hopefully! I have had birds growing up I started with lovebirds then had cockateils, then my last bird was a quaker. My son has been showing such an intrested in birds and we visit the pet stores at least once a week so he can play and admire them, he is 12, well he fell in love with a caique at the pet store and I just cant afford 1,100 for a bird right now. I found 2 birds that I can adopt for much much cheaper with cages included, so now we have to choose which is best for him. We are going to meet them both and see which one he likes and likes him(plus me cause I know probably I will be the one taking care of the bird) so the 2 choices are a red bellied parrot or a sun conure. I have been reading up on both just wanted some oppions from people who have either one of these birds. Please help!

[Markus]

Sun conures are great birds. They're full of personality all the time, and kid safe. I have one that has bonded best with my 5 yr old daughter. My 3 yr old son can also handle him.

I have no experience with a red bellied parrot, so I can't compare.

[greencinacheeks]

suns are amazing birds!!! quite loud though...very energetic little things...

Red bellied parrots are so cute!!! i had a rescue for a few years...then she died of cancer...:(:(

but anyways...red bellied s are very playful little guys...they are good on there own...entertaining themselves. However...as a general Red bellied parrots are very territorial, and to them size does not matter. so be careful if this is the way you choose...

hmmm..which one though....red bellied?!?!?!

~Nate

[sweetpeaches]

i don't have a red bellied parrot or a sun concure. but i do have a caique. however, before getting the caique i did alot of research on parrotts. probably could've done more, but for what i did i came down to three choices that most appealed to me: the caiques, meyers and the red-bellied parrots. conures are sweet too, however altho i know NO parrot is really "quiet" the conures had more of a reputation of being squealers. i'm sure there are always exceptions to the rule tho..i just didn't want to chance it. altho, i have read many posts of great relationships members have with there conures, especially the green cheeked species. sounds like you already have had some experience with birds so you know yourself...they all will most likely bite at one time or another and they all can be noisy if they chose to be. good luck in your decision....btw i know a caique can be pricey but i must say they are soooo much fun! and i'm so glad i waited for mine!

[Maxlovesboating]

Sun conures are very playful and fun. They are very energetic. Max is loud when he wants something or we just come home or wake up in the morning, it is his way of greeting us other than that his is pretty quiet. His cage is so filled with toys, ropes, ladders and such that he spends hours entertaining himself and us because it is fun to watch. We think he is part tarzan.

He is also very sweet, likes to nuzzle by our neck and get his belly petted.

I don't have any experience with the red bellied, so I can't help you there.

Picture of max's cage included, its not your normal cage. We already had this huge cage for our iguana who was an escape artist and one day escaped for good. So when we brought Max home we thought lets see if he likes it before buying him a new cage. Well, he loves it, its just a pain in the "you know what" to clean because it is a 6" L X 3" D fish tank with a cage built on top of the tank. We have the doors bungied open when we are home and he feels like he is in a bird playground.

[Pepper's Pa]

Both birds have the potential to be fantastic companion parrots. I'm partial to the small Poicephalus parrots, which the Red-Bellied is a member of that group. I share my life with a Senegal, a very closely related species.
Generally (we know every bird can be an individual), they are outgoing, friendly, active, loving playful and talkative. Red-Bellied parrots are often described as becoming more outgoing when new and more people are around them, instead of being shy and more reserved.
Though I've only had the chance to interact with a few RB's one thing amazed me. As they mature, they have the softest feathers on their heads. I've observed this with several different birds and I've heard this from others owned by them.
If everything else is equal, both birds are good to consider. Go with the bird that makes the best connection with you.
Good luck.

[huntress]

Well said Pepper's Pa. I didnt post earlier because I wanted to see what others had to say and they are all good, but the latest says it all - whichever bird you and he connect with, you said it yourself in the first post but I will admit Suns can be very loud. Ive never heard a red bellied that i know of.

[Maxlovesboating]

I agree with the connection, that will make up your mind I am sure.

[sweetpeaches]

that is so true..cuz when i went to "pick out" a parrot i was thinking along the lines of a red-bellied or meyers..but the caiques were next door and one of them (bailey) just came right over and stole my heart! i also was smitten with a hawkhead who i could of easily gotten also..he was very sweet too!

[JoT]

Yep,I agree its all about that connection. I would never have my cape if it weren't for that. I was looking for an amazon or grey, never heard of a cape. I saw that funny face watching me from another room and it was all over.