Parrot-Puzzled: Any Advice?

[Addicted to Tequila]

I would suggest a nice Quaker. The blue ones are down right adorable. Most are very good talkers. They can nip... but you will not have to worry about losing any fingers. With proper upbringing, most are relatively social.

[Lori~D]

In reading all your criteria It fits with some of the Poi. Look into the Meyers.

[Halo]

I'd say you're gonna have a time finding a poi in Fort Smith Having been a native of there and Fayetteville for too many years.... I would suggest the best place to go is the pet store in Van Buren... can't remember the name of it at the moment... it's on the main road, on the left if you are going towards Fort Smith.... they have a bunch of fish inside and they used to at least have lots of birds in the back and had access to kinds they don't carry in the store. Of course, it's been two years since I've been there so things could have changed. The PetCo there didn't used to have conures either There is also a pet store in Rogers... can't remember the name of it either that had birds. The people at the pet store in Van Buren were awesome and were always kind when we went in there and we were in there a lot.

Ohhhhhhhh......... have you tried Middle Earth?? The lady that used to own it (she has since passed on I believe) had TONS of birds... Quakers, conures, lovies, all types and her and her family are awesome bird people. It's off Townsen by where the old WalMart was... across from Popeyes I think... again been a while since I've been there but it's back there behind the curve... okay now I'm confusing myself. Anyway, they had tons of birds... we bought several there ourselves in the past and never had an issue with any of them.

Hope that helped

[guest1717171]

im a believer that you cant nail down one species as biters and another as not
its up to the individual bird whether or not they bite
now whether or not the species is more outgoing or reserved may mean you're going to get bit more if the bird is a biter
my quaker is an awesome bird. he doesnt bite but if he did it would be a huge pain in the *ss because he is pushy and relentless
not all conures are so loud that they will make you go deaf - a GCC is downright quiet compared to others i have met

[songsparrow]

[QUOTE=Halo;1246751]I'd say you're gonna have a time finding a poi in Fort Smith Having been a native of there and Fayetteville for too many years.... I would suggest the best place to go is the pet store in Van Buren... /[QUOTE]

The Van Buren store is called Wormeaters: they have wormeaters: fish and birds. The couple who runs it is great, the birds love them. The blue-and-yellow macaw (I think) just loved the wife, he would yearn toward her with his wings outstretched to get picked up and hugged. I like them a lot. I didn't know about the Towson shop -- how long have you been away from the area? Might not still be there. And I was told about Middle Earth, have to visit there, but the Wormeaters people said they have far fewer birds than they used to. I'll travel to Austin this spring for work, and will check out some aviaries in that area.

We have lived in Fort Smith for 2 years, we came here for my husband's job. It sort of freaks me out living in a place where I cannot find work (I am consulting from home now) if needed. And so far I have not found one really really good place to eat -- I have to go to Fayetteville for that. I was in culture shock for awhile, and getting lonely, but finally found a Tai Chi class and some friends, so now feel quite at home (except for the food). I love the mountains, I birdwatch and am working my way through the Wings Over Arkansas levels. Cosmo and I hike and birdwatch (he actually does bird watch, or pretends to). I think it was hard for me because I'm not Christian -- social life revolves around the church much more strongly than in WV (I lived there for 10 years), and because I work from home. Otherwise it is an OK place to live, also very inexpensive, you can get a lot of house for a little money.

[songsparrow]

Thank you all for your comments. The best thing is that you're giving me more confidence with the solid advice. Will keep everyone posted, and stay on the board: this is the best one I've found!!
D

[Lori~D]

If you can, look for breeders and dont discount having the "right" bird baby shipped to you. Get breeder referances. December Bird Talk has the feature bird as the Poicephalus.

[Monica]

As for the biting thing.... small parrots pretty much nip and tear.... where-as larger parrots usually tend to chomp more. It's like the difference between a paper cut and an actual wound. The paper cut will sting like H*** and you'll probably complain more about it than the larger wound... although both do hurt!

Pionus, Poicephalus, and Princess Parrots would probably be in your ball-park!

Pionus Parrots
Poicephalus Main Page
Sunnybank Aviaries -Handraised Princess Parrots colours and sexing

[xafsmom]

Hahn's Macaws!























I can't help it, I'm biased!

[Izzy]

I STRONGLY recommend poicephalus! But I'm biased!

I don't have much experience with jardines. But I've met a lot of meyers and senegals. I have a meyers, and would love to add a senegal someday.

They are quiet (they can be a little high pitched, but in my experiences they don't use their voices very often). They can bite, but they seem more predictable than mant species.

For me, it's the amount of noise rather than the volume that matters. My cockatiels make a lot more noise, which I find annoying. My meyers will maybe scream once a day, for like 2 seconds. She was given up to me for screaming...but I honestly don't know how that's possible!

The more important thing, I think, would be for you to research positive reinforcement and training techniques (I recommend Barbara Heidenreich - check out her books and DVDs on Amazon.com). If you raise the bird correctly, you have a good chance of ending with a great bird.

There is also always the adoption route. That worked out well for me, because I already knew my meyers parrot's personality.

Good luck!