Newbie help please

[darkmage3]

Hi all, I am new to the board and have a few questions I am sure you have all heard before, but please bear with me.

I am currently not a bird owner but I want to be. I have been reading books, doing research for 6 months and recently started visiting every store in my area for the last month, I live near Reading, PA. Anyway, I have a daughter who is 5 and she is also very very interested in a bird, so the bird will be mine, but I want to get one that will tolerate her and give her a positive experience.

So here's question 1. Which bird? From everything I am seeing as far as a first time bird, it looks like a conure, tiel, or maybe a meyers or senegal would be a good way to go. The green cheeks seem too small, we kind of want something in the sun, jenday size.

We recently went to a store and I saw a Jenday that is around 6 months old and he is gorgeous. I would run right out and buy him, however, he is very very shy. The store owner could hold him, but as soon as we tried too he flew all over the place to get away. Am I asking for trouble getting this as a first bird? Will it take us a long time (or ever) to acclimate him to us?

I know many folks say the bird should pick you, and we have had that happen, the problem is that the birds that have "picked" us in the store, by coming right over, rubbing, accepting scritches etc, have all been $800 or more, one was a black headed caique, one a meyers, and the other a goffin cockatoo. It greatly scares me to spend over $800 on a first bird when we are so new to this, and that seems pricey for a meyers parrot anyway.

Are there other birds we haven't considered? Should we keep looking a little more until we find that special someone? or maybe i'm just overloaded from too much information.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

bob.

[chirpy]

I'ma a new bird owner too. We got our tiel in march and I'd thought she'd be easy to look after ... WRONG! It's hard and fun and I learn more and more every day. This board is a godsend, even if you don't post much you can still learn loads from reading other people's posts.
Obviously I'm biased and am going to recommend a tiel but I have no experience with the other birds you mention.
Good luck and let us know your final decision!
Michelle

[macawlover]

I think that you should contact a bird breeder near you. Do a quick google search, and see what comes up. Birds that have been hand-fed by a breeder are usually more tame than pet store ones, and usually a lot cheaper, too! Plus, the breeder will know the bird's individual personality.

[Xen]

My sun Lily wasn't tame at all when I got her in Jan, now she's the cuddliest bird... rolls on her back for belly and wing tickles, snuggles in my t-shirts and would preen my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes for hours if I let her. So it deffo can be done.
Whatever bird you get will take time and patience to get it to that sort of level... most birds will be at least a little nervous or wary of a new home/family at first.

I've heard of blue crowns being good with children... looked into them? One of the easiest going birds I've met was a sengal and quakers can be sweet little characters too.

My CAG will bite a strangers finger in a heartbeat, but when my 5 year old cousin met Matilda for the first time he snuck his fingers in the bars. He just kept laughing because she was tickling his fingers with her tongue... I think some birds just know when it's important to be gentle.

With prices breeders are 9/10 times going to be cheaper. If the USA is anything like the UK then it's usually quite a drastic price difference too. Might mean shipping if there isn't a breeder locally.

[CraftQueen]

Try to find a local bird club too, you can meet breeders at local bird fairs that are held usually in the spring, summer and fall. You can see all kinds of birds there in one place and meet the breeders. Bird people are out there, you just have to find them. Sometimes you can find them at local swap meets too. Many of the hobby breeders are passed by word of mouth and that is how they get their business too, but makes them kind of hard to find.

Look in your local newspaper too in the classifieds, many hobby breeders advertise there. You can Google specific birds for your town or surrounding areas online too. Before gas prices got outrageous, breeders were happy to meet you half way if it was few miles distance.

Hand fed males tend to be sweeter as a rule, but there are always exceptions and sometimes you find a very sweet hen. Just remember ALL birds go through a breeding process, hens will lay eggs without a mate, and both hens and males will defend the cage and bite when it's breeding season. I love handfed tiels and lovebirds.

[kathleen]

I don't think you should rush this. I think it's true that the bird should pick you. I own a quaker and is my first bird. He has been socialized to my family and although wants to be with me, will tolerate everyone else. I went to the pet store when I finally decided the type of bird I wanted. There were five quakers in the bin. I put out my arm, five jumped on and four jumped off. The one remaining was my baby Pumpkin.

This board is a great place to find all kinds of information and I learned alot here before deciding on the bird I wanted. Don't force it. You'll know when it's right.

Good luck with your search and keep the questions coming.

[Sashagirl]

Welcome to BB.

Other birds that good for first time bird owners are parakeets,hand tame lovebirds,as well as Pionus's.Yes Cockatiels,Senegals are also a good choice.I don't know too much about Meyers though.I know a few people that had Parrotlets and spoke highly of them.Sorry my mind is blank but there are a few more.

Good Luck with your search

Marcia

[Icednova625]

Welcome to BB!

I agree that your best choice may be to find a local breeder that has handfed babies. All of the species that you mentioned above, I've heard great things about. I only have personal experiences with senegal's and conures. Both of them are very nice birds. The larger conures can get pretty loud, probably louder than any other bird in comparable size.

Cockatoo's are sweet cuddly birds, but in my opinion are for a more advanced bird owner. Nothing against you, but I'd never suggest a too for a first bird, although they are sweeties.

Best of luck, I'd let the bird find me, Sooner or later you'll see the bird and know its the one.

[Ashling]

I agree that you shouldn't rush this. Let the birdy choose you. Even if the price is a little iffy, the bird would be worh it! I had to use TWO cards to buy my lorikeet, because we were a little short at the time, but it was SO worth it! I also agree that you should check out a breeder- they can tell you ALOT of information about the bird including history, hatchday, temperment, health, diet, you can see the mother and father and how it was raised and what it is used to and MORE! Plus you can ask lots of questions.

A cockatiel sounds perfect for your situation! My 7 year old male cinnamon cockatiel Peanut is the only one of my birds that my 7 year old sister can handle without being scared or bitten. I have two now and have had tiels all of my 'bird filled' life... so yeah I might be biased too! Tiels really are great though. Sweet natured, friendly, great at being taught to whistle, talk and do tricks. They're great with kids, don't bite hard, are easy to handle. The best bet would be a hand reared male. Maybe a pearl-pied because they are very attractive.
If you're looking for something bigger or more colourful, a Senegal sounds good, but I've never seen one, let alone owned one, so I can't help you much with that.

[ROYJOY]

that jenday, they are chasing around, will be traumatised. out of your choices, i think the caique would be best with your child.