Great birds for families

[jenseits]

I frequently see posts (here and elsewhere) by people who are considering a bird and want to know what species make good "family birds" or parrots that would be good around children.

I'm thinking of putting together a blog post on the subject (you know me and how much I love to blog about birds! ), but I'm not a species expert by any stretch of the imagination.

Hoping to tap into the board's collective wisdom to come up with some good reasons/testimonials why certain species are great family birds.

I'll attribute and link to anyone whose comments I use.

So please have at it: What birds do you recommend for families (with younger children) and why?

[Halo]

Oh wow... this will be an interesting topic to watch!

I have six year old twin boys and the only two birds we have found that like them are our Mexican Red Head Amazon Alfie (the kids can both get him to step up on their arms without biting... Pedro will do the same) and we had an umbrella cockatoo here briefly that simply adored my children. She would follow them around, sit on them, cuddle with them and everything.

The bird that dislikes my children the most is Tuck Tuck, my GCC. He will get between me and them and chase them off the bed and out of the room if given the chance! LOL

I look forward to watching this thread!

[KDK241]

Cockatiels. If they are hand fed and well socialized they will like everyone and they usually don't have the same behavioral or hormonal issues that other birds can have. Their hormones are generally easy to manage as well. They like to be with you but aren't generally really needy and are generally pretty quiet. They don't need as large of a cage that bigger birds do and they are just perfect. (Can you tell my birds are being good today? lol)

I'm not biased or anything though...

[Addicted to Tequila]

My thoughts on the matter are the following criteria:

1) Not high-strung. Kids are quick and loud... nervous birds need not apply.
2) Not able to actually remove child-sized fingers
3) Even temperament - sorry, but Zon's would not be my first choice
4) Does not over-bond to one person as a rule

My picks would be:
BCC
G2
Tiels
Poi species
Pionus
Mini-macaw
Quakers
Moustache Parakeets

Now all of these have pluses and minuses and it really depends on individual personalities as well.

The larger birds do have the advantage of being less "breakable" and less likely to die of shock if the unthinkable DOES occur.

Personally, I think all teenagers should be given GCCs... they deserve each other! LOL

[Halo]

Originally Posted by Addicted to Tequila

Personally, I think all teenagers should be given GCCs... they deserve each other! LOL

LMAO YES!!!!

And I was only referring to my birds lol I always said I would never even own an Amazon because of their unpredictablity but now that I have my two, I could own a hundred more, they are just so awesome!

And I have like no idea what most of those birds Robyn posted about are so I'm clueless obviously! LOL I do agree with the Quaker thought... and G2 probably wouldn't be a bad one either but Lilly doesn't like the "I'm going to pet you but as soon as I get close I'm going to jerk my hand back because I am a spaz" thing that my oldest son does and she starts to get cranky. Diddle doesn't like kids but after everything he's been through, I can hardly blame him. He is excellent at dive bombing them though and he will sweet talk them when they have something he wants LOL. And I had a tiel when I was young and he was my best buddy and preferred me to my parents!

I do agree though that the bird needs to be one that doesn't get nervous easily. My kids are nice to the birds but the birds still don't like them as a rule because they are loud and they move all the time and it's usually fast.

[Addicted to Tequila]

Halo:

BCC are Blue-crowned Conures... like in the movie Paulie
Poi are your smaller africans - like senegals and meyer's
Moustashes are in the ringneck family... but not as nippy as most
I hesitated on the mini-macaws... but brought up right they could work

I am awaiting to see what XafsMom has to say!

[xafsmom]

The best bird for kids with families?



Now, provided the adults are responsible and the birds are maintained by the adults and the kids get supervised interaction with the birds, here's my list:

Hahn's are great. Not all mini's are. Never lump them together. I wouldn't stick a yellow-collared or severe with kids. However, a Hahn's is like shrinking down a B&G macaw in attitude and mating it with a green-cheeked conure but removing abut 75% of the independant attitude. Believe me, 25% is plenty. I love the Hahn's. They're reasonably quiet (especially compared to aratingas), they're very loving and they have a nice ability to entertain themselves. Plus, they happily accept and adore entire families.

SOME Pionus species. They don't call Pionus 'poor man's Amazon' for nothing, so veer away from the spicier Pi's like W/C and Maxmillians because they can easily turn 'amazon' if they get pissed off. Blue-heads and B/W are beyond a doubt two of the best family birds ever. Quiet, friendly, playful... not very cuddly but will sit and be pet for hours. They also form strong flock bonds over a single person bond. The only problem is the smell - some people can't handle the Pi musk.

Poicephalus can be tricky as a family bird. I don't normally recommend them for younger kids. Poicephalus can get very, very aggressive at times - most small African birds can. Small does not make 'good'. If I were to say 'yes' on any poicephalus being goodish with kids, it would be the meyers and senegals over the capes, jardines, ruppells, and so on.

Appropriately socialised Sun Conures make a great family pet, and they're usually quieter than the kids ...or you, when you're having to scream at the kids. ...which will be often. And, if you're lucky, the Sun will learn to scream at them for you! Bonus there. This is pretty much standard for all Aratingas when socialised correctly.

Vasa parrots make lovely pets for families with kids! And, think of the benefits of it coming into sexual prime during Halloween! You get your very own buzzard for a deco!

Properly socialised GCC's also make great family pets WHEN raised in a family environment. The only problem I see with a family and a gcc, is that they're fragile and could be harmed very easily if care isn't taken when handling them.

...the family, that is.

Cockatiels. Everyone knows their merits. Get hand-raised, socialised ones and enjoy a great, friendly relationship.

That's my list, pretty much. Though, all birds have the ability to be exceptional around kids, care has to be taken to think of temperment, possibility of flare-ups, excitement over-drive, and the ability to do great harm when and if bitten or attacked. ...Though, I tell you, I'd rather be bitten by my B&G than a GCC. Holy cow, those buggers go for the bone when they get on it. And big B&G's can't dart to the side and into your shirt, claw their way to your armpit in like .002 seconds and bite 415 times before you can escape them; flinging yourself around like you're a crazy drug-induced tribal shaman in a voodoo dance until the bird flies out and looks INNOCENT.

[Halo]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

Though, I tell you, I'd rather be bitten by my B&G than a GCC. Holy cow, those buggers go for the bone when they get on it. And big B&G's can't dart to the side and into your shirt, claw their way to your armpit in like .002 seconds and bite 415 times before you can escape them; flinging yourself around like you're a crazy drug-induced tribal shaman in a voodoo dance until the bird flies out and looks INNOCENT.

LOL It's true!! Tuck Tuck bites me harder and worse than any of the other birds. I'd love to see that dance by the way LOL

Thank you Robyn. I'm still learning about some of the breeds So far, we've got all pretty common birdies. I guess the rarest is the white fronted zon.

Now I'm off to google vasa parrots LOL

[jenseits]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Some of your suggestions support my initial thoughts as I've been putting together the draft blog post.

Just curious - what do you guys think about budgies as family birds? Yes, they are a bit delicate and flighty, but I also think they are one of the most underrated parrots there are.

[guest1717171]

i agree that quakers would probably be good with kids
but
they are bossy pants
so...yeah lol