choosing a new Bird?

[Lukejongens]

hey all,
as you know im new here and havent got a bird..........yet....
i was curious to see what people think is a good starting bird. i would like to try breed some for a bit of pocket money and of course - fun! i am really keen on getting a galah but my parents - well mum isnt so keen. she hates the idea of birds in cages etc but ive been trying to explain that if you buy aviary breed hand tame birds it wouldnt matter....but shes not on it.....
anyway, if im not allowed a galah which i probs wont be allowed....what would be a good bird to get and breed?
i dont want a bird thats gonna make heaps of noise, and would prefer something thats of a smaller - medium size.
i did have a sun conure (spelling) in mind but have read on another site that they can be very noisy. i am leaning on the idea of just getting some cockatiel's and taming them and then eventually trying to breed.
i saw another bird on here while having a look around i think it was put a linnies or something.....well i liked the look of them, does any one have any good advice on them?
also any info on the different colour mutations would be great (for cockatiels). i dont really like the standard ones but the lutino, white faced and cinnamon morphs i think are really nice.
any info on caging etc is much appreciated

cheers,
Luke

[Abby]

Linnies whilst available in Australia in very limited numbers are 4 figures each.

Sunny's are loud. Mine can outscream the galahs easily when it comes to volume.

I'd go with the cockatiels. Beautiful sweet nature. Personally I'd start with one handraised from a breeder. Get to know the breeder and then when you're ready you have a mentor to assist you in the journey of handraising. As for making pocket money, you may make enough to cover food and toys if you do it right.

Very few people make much money out of breeding. Also remember the babies are worth nothing until they're sold and think who you would be selling to.

[failurebydesign]

As far as I know breeder birds that were once hand tame pets, turn out not very tame to touch after they have been mated a while.
You are stealing their babies after all
So if you do breed them they might end up being not the cuddly pets you once had.

I second the cockatiel suggestion.
They are very nice birds if you buy a hand tame baby.

[Abby]

Originally Posted by Lukejongens

hey all,

also any info on the different colour mutations would be great (for cockatiels). i dont really like the standard ones but the lutino, white faced and cinnamon morphs i think are really nice.
any info on caging etc is much appreciated

cheers,
Luke

Missed this bit Luke. Great book for cockatiels and to get your head spinning on genetics is one put out by ABK. Your local community library may have it or you can try ebay. There's a couple of online stores that sell it for a semi reasonable price.

WF are becoming very common, cinnamon w/f are gorgeous. Just found out today that a pair of my guys w/f pearl split pied hen and pastel face pearl pied split platinum cock are on fertile eggs. The platinum is like a really pale silver and against w/f if beautiful in my opinion.

You need to also remember toys. Let me know if you want some links to Australian places that I'd recommend.

[Lukejongens]

thanks for the info abby and faliurebydesign!

i do not really understand the writing of your second paragraph in the second post abby but if WF = white face and w/f pearl split pied hen and pastel face pearl pied split platinum are different mutants....that sounds pretty damn awesome haha! where abouts are you located abby in Australia?

[Abby]

I'm in Adelaide. This pair came from a place called Higgis chicks in Melbourne. Awesome birds and a stck of his birdsare pictured in teh book I was telling you about. Lovely gentleman, he is pricey but you're getting quality. here's his site.
Home - Higgichicks Cockatiels

will give you an idea of what's currently available in Australia and what the different mutations look like.

[Lukejongens]

oh yea, just a bit south of me haha!
thats a shame i was just looking at your site and saw the cockatiels you were talking about! and also what you have for sale!
(after looking throught the site)
far out he has a lot of different colours! give you an idea of what i like:

Higgichicks Cockatiels - WHITEFACE CINNAMON PIED
Higgichicks Cockatiels - Hand reared Whiteface Platino cock
Higgichicks Cockatiels - Whiteface pied HEN Pastelface pied cock

im guessing those colour mutations will be expensive though haha! i always like expensive stuff

so what sort of caging if being kept indoors would i need? considering i will have them out and about everyday?

Luke

[Ashling]

Pet birds don't spend all their time in cages anyway if you do it right. Whenever I'm home, my lorikeet is out and about playing on my desk and riding around on my shoulder. Her cage is her favourite place (second to being on me!) because it's full of toys for her to play with and goodies for her to eat. Tell your mum that cages are for security and eating, not as a prison.
If you're going to breed, you shouldn't do it for pocket money. If you do it properly, you won't get much money back anyway. I am going to breed my cockatiels soon and hand-rear the babies- but I will be keeping the babies and/ or *giving* them to good loving homes! If you have your heart set on breeding, keep a cockatiel for a few years first to get the feel for them. I have kept them for 8 years and I haven't bred them before.

My tiels are a male cinnamon (my favourite mutation) and a female lutino (the light coloured one) I recommend you look into whiteface cinamons as well- they are stunning birds, I wish I could have one!

[Jag]

I think a tiel may be a good starting place. Are you a teen living at home? Birds live a long time, so give thought as to what you'll do with it when you move out, go to college... have less time. I'd do a GREAT amount of reading before choosing a bird. It's not like a dog or cat. Also, there are a great amount of birds in need of homes. Adding to a population that already is in need of homes may not be the best route to go. You'd need to know a great deal about the species prior to breeding. Pocket money? Well, first you'd have to spend a good deal of money to get a set up going. It's not cheap, nor is it able to be done (correctly) with little time. You'd need to learn not only all about the species, but also all about handfeeding and rearing, socializing, etc. or the babies you'd breed wouldn't be bought.

I'd spend a few years learning all you can, and seeing if bird ownership is really what you think it is first... then learn about training the bird you get and working on that...then maybe think about breeding. Getting a bird for the purpose of breeding is kind of like putting the cart before the horse (IMO). There is a lot that can go wrong. I'd get a bird after doing some research, then make nice with a reputable breeder to learn all you can about that. Then when you have the start up money and have a stable environment for the long term think about breeding.

I don't know how many birds are needing good homes already where you live, but there are a TON in the United States, and it's sad. I have seen this one breeder posting over and over on many different mediums trying to sell his birds. They are growing older...and not selling. Like breeders of other animals, you need a client base, a HUGE amount of knowledge, and also some business sense to breed sucessfully. I haven't met a breeder yet (of any type of pet) who actually 'makes' money by breeding.

You may want to go through the specific birds area of the board to get some ideas of the different needs/peronalities of the different types of parrots before making a decision on which type would be the kind you want.

[Abby]

Things aren't too bad here Jag. I wouldn't be breeding GSC2s or (after my fun and games with Coco) little corellas as they are the ones that seem to most often end up as repeat rehomes here.

However, baby steps Luke. See how you go with one cockatiel then progress from there.

As far as caging goes I recommend this one for people buying my youngsters
http://www.petluvers.com.au/product.php?pid=565

My 14yo like mel has his galah out with him after school. Been a few chew marks on home work but ya get that. BTW I now officially feel old.

Toys can chew into your budget especially when you get your first lot. Think about perching, different types, natural gum branches etc. Diet, you'll find most of us in Australia feed small parrot seed, mix of fruit and veg, and some of us also use pellets.

lets get you a good quality handraised cockatiel and then go from there with things. have you started a part time job? (Remind me to kick Jordan up the bum about applying for something). If you haven't then you're really going to have to discuss expenses with the folks. Another thing to keep in mind is vet care. It's a good idea to take your youngster to an avian vet for a check up when you first get it. Gives you a chance to establish a relationship and if an emergency happens then they have all your details.

While I'm on the vet thing, save soem cash in case anything happens. $500 will get you through most emergencies and then it's soemthing neither you or your parents have to stress about on top of a sick bird.

You should be able to get a nice w/f for around the $100 mark (being generous with pricing). My pastel face boy because he had the platinum split cost me $120.

Umm...I'm sure I can think of other things but will leave it there for the moment. oh might be an idea to see if your parents can read this thread too.