Children and birds

[PeekABoo_Too]

This is projecting into the future a bit, but my son who will be nearly 8 when this all comes to fruition, really wants a bird of his own. We've had birds since he was tiny so he's been around them constantly and is (as is his older sister) very gentle, thoughtful, and careful with my birds. His sister isn't really a 'bird' person persay - she prefers dogs and cats, which I don't have or want. But my son loves birds and wants nothing more than to have one of his own. Obviously I would be overseeing everything - feeding, cleaning, vetting, etc. so no worries there. His handling is wonderful with the birds we have. But the birds we have are sweet and loving, and so is he, so it's a good match. I am thinking about getting him a 'tiel, because I love the one we have so very much, but what other small birds are good with children? I'm not into budgies at all, so are there any others?

[mi-ha]

A tiel is one of the best options. They are the right size, a very good bird to have hand raised (plenty of interaction), they are still a bit of work, but not as much as say a cockatoo would be.

If you going to be doing alot of the looking after then what about getting something like a rainbow lorikeet. They are one of the funniest birds ever. And beautiful too. Now they do require a different diet then a seed eater and there is alittle more to know about them. But if you are there to help, then why not.

Are you in America? I know in Australia they are very easy to come by and prices for a hand raised lori is around $200. The red colared Lorikeet is also nice.

[RachelLynn]

I would go with a tame tiel. They are just so sweet and gentle and little characters. They are my favorite.

[Monica]

Why not a handraised bourke???