Help our son wants a Parrot

[polti06]

Hi can anyone please advise us, our son has wanted a parrot for a good couple of years, he will be 12yrs old this summer, I thought he would have lost interest in them by now but his interest keeps growing!! we are a family of five,youngest child is 10yrs, we also own cats and have a miniature schnauzer.
We have never kept parrots before although we have had chickens for a good number of years.William has seen four birds that he likes but would any of them suit a young boy and his family, i realise these beautiful birds live for many years and so want to make sure i am totally happy if and when we choose one, the breeds he likes are:- Sun conure, Yellowed thigh ed conure, African Gray (congo) and the large Macows.
I was told by a breeder that the age to buy a young baby is when it is weaned at 12-14 weeks old and that it doesn't make a difference if the bird is male or female their temporment are the same. is this so!
Would the conures being a smaller bird make a better member of the family and be any easier to look after? the breeder said a Macow would be better as although it is large there isn't any difference in noise or temporment.
Can you house train them easily? How many hours a day should they be allowed to fly around, Sorry if i have asked some very straight forward questions but i don't want to get this wrong, this parrot will be a life long commitment on my part and i want to do it right. Thanks, looking forward to your comments. XXX
p/s if i was going to pick a parrot for looks it would be the sun conure(But i know the temporment is more important, hence i need your help PLEASE)

[pippy]

I've got two Congo African Greys, one of each sex. I've read that female parrots prefer male humans and vice versa.

In my experience this isn't so. My female, Mojo, absolutely ADORES me and ONLY me! Shinda just likes everyone regardless of their gender.

As for time out of the cage, mine spend a MINIMUM of five hours a day out of their cage and in the same room as me. I'm lucky to be able to do that because I either work a split-shift or only work until midday so I always have several hours free in the afternoon.

I've got my dining/computer room set up as a great play area for my birds. You can see from these video clips what I've done for them!


VIDEO CLIP. MESSY MOJO! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

VIDEO CLIP. MOJO & SHINDA on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

They have plenty of room to fly free and get the exercise they need to keep them fit and healthy.

On days when I'm not working in the evening they are out for about eight hours.

Every day before I leave for work I make sure they come out for a short play.

It's usually only half an hour but that's long enough for them to stretch their wings, have a fly about and a play and gives me time to change the newspaper in their cage and wash and replenish their four bowls in their cage.

At weekends they are out for pretty much the whole day from morning til night, either at my house or at my boyfriend's.

I appreciate not everyone can do this due to working different hours but I personally wouldn't like them to be out for any less than the times I've stated. But I just LOVE to have them out and in the same room as me as I love to watch them. They fascinate me!


I see no reason why a Grey wouldn't be any good as a first bird, PROVIDING you do ENDLESS research first!

Obviously you'd be buying the bird with a view to you having full responsibility in case your son decides in a few years time (college, work, girlfriends, leaving home, having kids of his own etc etc) he's no longer interested.

They do live a LONG, LONG time if correctly cared for!

All I can add to all that is I absolutely love to spend time with my Greys and I think the time I devote to them is paying dividends as they are extremely well-adjusted birds with no hang-ups.

Greys are well known for being scared of everything and anything new, or old! My two don't bat an eyelid when I introduce new foods, toys etc.

They're happy to travel in their travel cage to the homes of my friends and relatives and regularly have overnight stays with me at my boyfriend's house where a stroppy Yellow Crowned Amazon resides!

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

[pippy]

I'm pretty sure I've read that Sun Conures can be VERY noisy.

[polti06]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I loved the videos, they look like they are having great fun!!and they look very well cared for. I realise the commitment, they can live to over 100yrs I've been told, hence not wanting to jump into buying one. xxx

[hatchling]

Check out youtube and watch videos of people's birds. It can give you an idea of what they sound and act like if you can't get to a store to see one in person. Also, I would recommend visiting bird stores and seeing for yourself the different types of birds and getting as much info as possible.

[SDavid]

as part of your research I would urge you to visit.... www.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.

[pippy]

You're welcome

I believe the average age for a Grey is 50-80 years in captivity?? Still a long time though! My daughter who is about to turn 18 has already said she will willingly take over the responsibility for Mojo and Shinda should they outlive me or should I become incapacitated for any reason.

We discussed it even prior to looking for a reputable breeder.

This is my daughter with our lovely birds!






Mojo nearest the camera...









And a video clip of her....

NATS & MOJO on Flickr - Photo Sharing!



My son aged 20 however has no interest in them whatsoever


More pics of my birds, you can see we've put a great deal of effort into providing them with entertainment but it is SOOOOO worth it when you see the fruits of your labour!

Buying two has most definitely made it an easier job though because they don't rely on us for affection and fun but, at the same time, they still love to come and sit with/on us!



VIDEO CLIP. PREENING on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Lori~D]

I will suggest one book to read completely before buying. It wil give you all kinds of good information on many of the species including all you spoke of. What htey are like, how long they "actually" live for and lots of things we cant begin to finish on here. Its called "The guide to companion Parrots" by Mattie Sue Athan. It will surley help you choose the right bird for your family. And it will be for the family as you will all have to live with it for many years. You can look on Amazon or Hal.com amd get the book for less than ten bucks including the shipping. A small price to pay for such a huge investment.

[loyallyroyal]

I would say macaws are a lot different than conures, if you are looking for a quieter more family friendly bird you may want to look at green-cheek conures, lineolated parakeets, and caiques.

Sunnies are lovely and gorgeous, just make sure you can handle their high pitched screams, they definitely are not quiet.

I own an eclectus and he normally gets about 4 hours a day out to fly around.

Here is a great webby to look at species and care:
http://www.avianweb.com/

[Monica]

William has seen four birds that he likes but would any of them suit a young boy and his family, i realise these beautiful birds live for many years and so want to make sure i am totally happy if and when we choose one, the breeds he likes are:- Sun conure, Yellowed thigh ed conure, African Gray (congo) and the large Macows.
Sun conures are gorgeous! However, they are one of the major "impulse" purchases made due to their colors... and most often rehomed due to their loudness! Conures can make great pets if socialised, but they are very nippy! (then again, all parrots can be nippy!)

Yellowed thighed conure???? Perhaps this is a green cheek conure mutation, the yellow sided? Or perhaps do you mean a yellow thighed caique??? Big difference!!! GC's are quite nippy although not as loud as sun conures. Caiques on the other hand just *LOVE* to play! Therefore, they need lots of stimulation within their environment. This may be a bad comparison but it's like the difference between a lab and a boxer. Both dogs love to play, but boxers ESPECIALLY love playing!

African greys do tend to have even temperaments, however they need a lot of socialization and a constant change in environment, as some are known to become phobic of changes.

As for macaws... well, I can't really suggest any of the large macaws... perhaps a mini, but not a large. A large parrots beak can cause a *LOT* of damage, and although they may be sweet and friendly when young, they do grow up! Birds, like humans, go through a "teen" stage where they can be difficult to handle. Many say that the mini macaws are quite similar to conures!

Might I also suggest poicephalus or the pionus group??? I've heard that eclectus can also make great family pets, however they require a specialised diet.

I was told by a breeder that the age to buy a young baby is when it is weaned at 12-14 weeks old and that it doesn't make a difference if the bird is male or female their temporment are the same.
I don't agree with the breeder.... you could take in an adult bird and still have that bird bond to the entire family! However, babies tend to be easier to deal with because they don't come with any potential baggage. As for male vs female, well there's not that big of a difference other than the fact that females lay eggs!

Would the conures being a smaller bird make a better member of the family and be any easier to look after? the breeder said a Macow would be better as although it is large there isn't any difference in noise or temporment.
Conures are easier because they are not as expensive as macaws... they don't require as much food, and they are not as loud as macaws. Unless the breeder is speaking about mini macaws I'd say there's a *HUGE* difference between the noise level and temperament of conures and macaws! Might I suggest looking for another breeder?

Can you house train them easily?
What would you consider "house trained"??? Birds go to the bathroom every 15-30 mins, and it's not that big of a mess. With that in mind they can be potty trained, however it's more or less about you making sure to remove the bird off of you when you think it's gotta go.

How many hours a day should they be allowed to fly around
I don't know where you are from, however most people clip their birds because birds can be difficult to handle when flighted, they can get into things quite easily and get stuck, they could fly out a window or door, etc. Therefore, most people recommend clipping the bird. However, out of 12 birds here, only 2 can't fly. They can't fly because one is handicapped and the other clipped herself. If you can allow flight, I recommend it! Although you might want to look into clipping vs flighted, and clicker training.. here's some sites that may be of interest to you!

What do we do with those Wings
http://www.flyingparrotsinside.com/
Parrotrecalltraining : Recall/Freeflight Training for Parrots
Freeflight : Freeflight
flightedbirds.org
Carly Lu's Flight Blog: Parrot Training, Flight & Recall
Bird-Click : Bird-Click
Free Flight Training
February, 2005 - shanlung
index
Should you clip your bird?
Flyers - Home
Recalling Phoebe
Good Bird Inc. Companion Parrot Training Through Positive Reinforcement
Wings At Liberty[/QUOTE]



My suggestion is to go around to petstores who sell birds and interaction with as many as you can so you can get an idea of how each species (not breed) are. If possible, find a local bird club and go to the meetings so perhaps you can interact with peoples pets and get an idea of what they are like.