newbie from Illinois

[goodshep]

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum; new to birds actually. I joined in order to learn what breeds might be best for our family. We are a large family with 7 kids ranging in age from 1 - 17 who we homeschool. All of us are interested in getting a bird. We've had budgies in the distant past but nothing larger. There is someone home almost all the time so we feel we could offer a bird plenty of attention and socialization. I breed and train dogs and we are also all familiar with the need for training, patience and consistency. I use mostly positive methods with my dogs. We would like a bird with the capacity to talk and I think we can deal with the noise level (we live in the country with nearest neighbor a 1/2 mile away). I have talked with a breeder who raises sun and green cheeked conures, quakers and hahn's mini macaws as well as senegals. He was most helpful and thought that most of the birds he raises would do OK with us. He did think the sun conure might be a good choice and not be put off by the activity level of our household (lots of people around all the time). He also thought because of our experience with dogs, the mini macaw might not present too much of a challenge. One of our main concerns would be that the bird is able to accept all the members of the family and not attach itself strictly to one person. My middle children (especially my 7 yr old ddd) really want to be able to interact with any bird we get. I know some breeds are more prone to be a one owner bird but I also know that how extensively you socialize the bird has something to do with it. In addition to speaking to the breeder I have contacted a rescue and have filled out their adoption application (waiting to hear back). Is getting an older rehomed bird better or worse than getting a handfed weaned baby (especially in terms of our above concern)? I'd appreciate any thoughts on this as well as suggestions for appropriate breeds and will post on the various individual breed forums as well.

TIA, Amy

[dgcashier]

Cockatiels are sweet and loving..they make a good family bird. The males talk and whistle and can even whistle tunes. They're not too big, and can live along time...we had one for 23 yrs. Conures make good pets but their noise level is much higher than cockatiels! My daughter has a sun conure that can be ear-spliting at times.
Good luck with whatever bird your choose

[goodshep]

Thanks. We've not ruled out cockatiels. We're going to meet different breeds in the next couple of weeks and I think that will help.

Amy

[micki]

hi Amy good luck in ur search for the right bird

[birdyland]

Hi, welcome to BB!

[Lori~D]

In your active houshold I would steer you toward the Sun as long as no one forgets he is number 8 and not just a pet,LOL! Yes he will get loud at times but who will notice with 7? Im from a large family...go for the sun and pick a young baby that is not weaned. Visit it often with a few of the kids and get it used to being passed about. An older bird might not be able to handle it unless it was brought up the exact same way. Conures can go thru a nippy phase! EVERYBODY who will spend time with the bird should do their own individual homework...put all the species into a box and see which type comes out of the box the most????? ALSO, have everyone in the family visit All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com before they do there homework.

[catschair]

[Umm Layth]

Sun conures are lovely, loud, birds. Very friendly, and oh so much fun. I wish you well on your bird finding!