Help our son wants a Parrot

[Conure crazy]

Has your son been around birds before? Do you know anyone with a bird?

If you have any bird stores (the ones where the birds stay out & can be handled) or breeders near you it would be a good idea to let your son visit a few times. It would be a good way to see if he would be fearful or not. It would also be a good place for a bird to pick your son. We visited Kermit for almost a month before my husband bought her for us. We would visit 2-3 times a week and she had been handled by myself & all three of my children prior to getting her.

Have you ever considered a cockatiel?

[hobbit]

Originally Posted by SPTN

All good advice, but in the end, if your family and your son have decided to take the step and introduce a parrot into your lives, then let that bird choose your son.

Best of luck!

I strongly agree here!!!!! Let the bird chose! This is how you get the interaction , well, you want. If you pick just that one the bird, any animal , the one picked could hate you n you'll never be able to have a GOOD relationship and being owned becomes a nasty chore!!
Good luck on what ever you choose to do

[skthurley]

A few things I would consider before jumping into ownership:

Ensure you son has lots of interaction of birds of all sizes and shapes. Maybe look into volunteering a bit at a local petshop, or bird sanctuary.... Your son may love the idea of having a parrot, but not actually know the time and commitment they have. They're not like a dog and a cat where you can pet and play with them from day one... They require a lot of education - one needs to know and understand a bird's body language.

Now, let me share my personal bird story:

I've always loved birds... but the noise and mess always steered me away from them. And the big beaks of the macaws, conures, etc, always made me nervous. I knew absolutely nothing about birds and was terrified to interact with them. The little guys, like budgies and cockatiels always appealed to me... but here I was faced with noise (nothing compared to the larger birds, but still noisy none the less) Cockatiels are vibrant whistlers.... the pair my grandparents have are very loud.... and budgies chitter and chatter all day long....

Then this past august I met a pacific parrotlet. He was so small and tiny... and gosh frigging cute! It really was love at first sight! And best of all, i discovered they're quiet! Ok, not completely silent, but much more so then any bird I had ever met. Come September I had myself a little male who my husband and I named Jack the Ripper.

He really is a sweet heart. He was hand fed and hand-tamed (something i reccomend as a neccessary MUST for first time bird owners) and enjoys human interaction. He is very quiet, and a few times a day, will sing happily like a budgie... in short spurts... and on occasion he may raise his voice and shriek.... but that is usually when he wants his breakfast. lol. That is the only time I ever hear him make any sort of unpleasant noise.

Now, typically parrotlets aren't good first birds, as they are notorious for being a nippier species.... but in the few months I've had Jack I've been bit twice. Once I have no idea why he did it, and the second time, it was my fault. I rushed our interaction and didn't want for his invitation to go near him. I just reached into his cage, without talking to him first and letting him see my hand.

I would suggest a smaller bird for your son, especially if there is a concern of him getting bored with a bird. It wouldn't be nice for you to have to care for a large macaw, grey or medium sized macaw.

Perhaps a parrotlet, or even better, a lineolated parakeet. They are my suggestion. Check out lineolatedparakeet.net for more information. They are a pleasant little parrot, full of spunk, personality and a gentle spirit. I'll be getting one at the end of the month :D

[lovesbudgies]

I would suggest a parakeet(budgie )for your son. budgies are a good starter bird for someone who has never had a bird. they are small are not that loud and can live up to 18 years. Most don't live that long. I have only had budgies and they are wonderful birds. My last budgie lived 4 years. i have a new budgie and she is 8 months old. budgies are small birds full of personality. Budgies can cost around 20 bucks at a pet store. i got my Aruba for 16 bucks and she is a wonderful little girl. They are not as expensive to care for as a larger bird but they still need vet care when they are ill,and vet bills for birds can run in the hundreds for 1vet visit. Male budgies can learn how to talk but not all do. if you get a budgie get a baby as they are easier to tame. Budgies do get loud like any other bird but they don't have the really loud voice like bigger birds. Budgies need fruits,veggies and pellets in their diet like all other birds and need out of cage time and toys in their cage to keep them stimulated like all other birds. My Budgie Aruba gets an hour a day out of her cage and that seems to be enough for her. I hope this info helps.

[rockybird]

I think the question you need to ask is whether YOU want a bird. Your son is 12 years of age. He may want a bird at 12, but will he at 16, at 18 in college? Most likely, he will not be able to keep a bird in student housing.

Parrots live many years. My conure will live 25 yrs., my caique 35 yrs. It is like having a very messy dependent loud 2 yr. old child that will NEVER grow up. While I type this, both my parrots are screaming for me downstairs. This is after I took them for a walk outside, fed them, played with them, cuddled them...You can NEVER spend enough time with a parrot. They are social flock animals and will always want to be with you.

If you (and not your son) are willing to take on a parrot for many many years, than I personally would not get too large of a bird because of the damage they may inflict with a bite to small children. Parrots have bad days too. Many parrots go through a teenage phase where they will try to test you. Both of my birds bit terribly during this phase, but we worked through it.

I would make sure to keep the cats away from the bird so that he/she can be out of the cage and socializing with the family for at least two hours a day. I would keep the cage in an area where the bird can be part of the family and watch what is going on. If you purchase a baby, he will grow up thinking that he is one of you, and will not want to be holed up away from the family activities in the house.

Sun conures are very loud. I birdsat a sun and after that decided that I will NEVER own a sun conure. The screams started early in the morning. She screamed because she wanted to be held and cuddled, which was ALWAYS. There was no peace in the house. A small green cheek will be fragile, and so children will need to be careful with them. They go tend to go through nippy stages, but can also be very affectionate. I dont have experience with african greys, cockatoos (notoriously loud), macaws (big beaks). Red-bellied parrots or a senegal may also be a good choice. Somebody suggested a cockatiel which would be a great choice.

Dont forget that parrots go potty often. You may be able to potty train them to some extent, but dont count on it. My birds learned quickly, most of my friend's birds did not. And believe me, there are still MANY accidents on a daily basis. They do not understand food conservation and so food is flung, spattered, dropped everywhere. Cages need to be cleaned almost daily. Vet bills add up (my vet is 110 a visit without any tests). Damage can be inflicted to anything valuable (I lost one laptop to the conure pulling the keys off), one $500 mountain biking light (caique chewed through the cord), and my caique chewed the steering column of my new $25k car. It is nonfixable. He also attacked my Channel glasses, scratching the lenses terribly. He chewed the cabinet door of my new expensive bathroom cabinets. He also scaled a towel hanging on the door and chewed up the new door that I bought for the bathroom. He chews holes in most of my shirts as well. All of these incidents happened in less than 30 secs.

Good luck. If you buy a bird, make sure you are willing to make a lifelong committment to giving it a good home.

[Parrotpeople]

Well I am going to agree with the green cheek suggestions. They truly are big parrots in little packaging. They are comical, playful, can talk (mine quite well ) & gorgeous to boot!

Good luck, looking forward to see how this turns out. By the way, where are you located?

[Tom Lawless]

Another family friendly/children friendly conure I've heard of is the Blue Capped like the bird in the movie Pauly.

A lot of people will tell you your son is too young for a bird. I wanted one so bad at that age and never got one. 33 years later the interest is just as strong. Sure he will need guidance and you may end up with it if/when he leaves for school but that's not always the case. We've got college students with parrots too.

I'm going to throw in the Hahns Macaw. They are little clowns and when raised with a family they tend to go to everyone (from what I've read...I live alone). They can be a little nippy but not in a break skin/draw blood kind of way.

Sun Conures are great and beautiful and I have seen them with children but they also have a reputation for an annoying call.

I love African Greys but right now I am dealing with feather plucking and I am realizing why I often read that they are complex birds.

Good luck. Keep us posted. I hope your son and your family get a great bird.

Oh yeah, babies are great but so are a lot of the older birds.

[NoLimitssjca]

Here's an idea. What about acting as foster parents for a rescue bird? There are many lovely Tiels, lovebirds, etc that need a foster home while parents are found. This could allow you to "sample" a few varieties with different personalities without the forever commitment. I know my local rescue works to match rescue birds with appropriate fosters.

[Andie]

I find this book very useful.
I am not sure if you can buy it where you are but I would happily post one to you if you wanted to buy the book. It is good because it goes into health and stuff at the end so it will be a useful book long after you choose a particular species. It also talks a lot about living with a parrot and the daily requirements.

I am not sure if this is already said but it is very important to consider why your son likes those 4 birds. Each of those birds have things about them that instantly attract a person's interest and you should talk about what attracts him to them.

I think that you have to want a bird for its personality and looks and that at the end of that day if you son chooses a pretty type bird that is not the right personality for him and your lifestyle neither he nor the bird will be happy. You get to look at the bird but you have to be able to deal with the personality 'quirks' of the species you choose.

[JenJenna]

Originally Posted by SDavid

as part of your research I would urge you to visit.... All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

Most information out there unfortunately paints a way too one-sided view of parrot ownership. All fun and games. Here's another more common side.

What an informative website. Thank you for sharing it!