Love birds with 3 little kids?

[cecewillybelle]

Hi. I'm new to this board and just had a question about what type of bird/birds to buy with young kids. I have a 6-year-old, 4-year-old and a baby. We also have a pug. We are thinking of buying a bird for a second pet and my original thought was to buy a parakeet. I grew up with parakeets and really miss the chatter and wonderful sounds that they make. I don't have a great deal of time to spend with a bird and, with the kids, I would be afraid to take the bird out of the cage a lot.. However we all would love to talk and interact with a bird in a cage. In fact, the kids visit the bird farm and I have to pull them away because they want to teach the birds to whistle or talk. Repetition is not a problem in my household!!
I've researched love birds lately and was thinking about getting two love birds. That way, they have each other.. Is this a good choice? Do love bird pairs still want human interaction? Would they learn some sounds? I realize they do not speak as well as a parakeet, but they sing and make noise right? Please let me know what you think. Thanks so much for your time.

[svolk]

Hi and welcome to Birdboard! Honestly, I think that any bird will require a lot of time spent with it. There are lots of people on here with birds and small children who are able to have their birds out with their children. Of course this requires close supervision, but it's done all the time. I just hate thinking of a bird who is in the cage all the time - that's no fun for you or the bird. I think that having a hand tamed bird would benefit everyone. If the birds are left in their cage all the time, they would most likely be fearful of human interaction. As far as talking goes, the more bonded that the birds are to humans, the more likely they are to talk. If they are bonded to you, they consider you part of their flock and will try very hard to learn your language - but not all birds will talk or whistle and I am not sure if lovebirds are known to talk or whistle...

About lovebirds in general - and I do not have one so please do not take my word as gospel - I have read that they basically have a very large attitude in a very small body. Not attitude in a negative way, but very active and playful and they think they are 10X bigger than they are. I have also heard that once mature they can become slightly aggressive, but again, check with other Lovie owners on that one. Budgies can be similar, you get a very large personality in a tiny little body.

And another thing to think about, if you get a male and a female pair, are you prepared to deal with eggs?

[cecewillybelle]

I would love to have close interaction with a bird and to have the kids be able interact also. It's good to hear that you know of families with little kids that have a hand tamed bird. My kids would love that. I just get nervous thinking about the bird being loose with the kids, of course with close supervision this would never happen. My parakeets growing up were always out and they were fine. Maybe a parakeet would be the better choice..

I'm not at all ready to deal with eggs with the lovebirds. That's a good point that I didn't even think about..! I'm just beginning my research. Thanks so much for your thoughts.

[Lori L]

I would like to add my 2 cents here and help you out a bit with my personal opinion.

I have a 6 year old boy, I have had many birds come and go since he was 3.5 years old. I used to handfed baby birds and rehome them. Never kept any as pets.

I currently have several birds that I consider "mine" and one that I consider "his" although he has little to do with it, it's a budgie and he will let it sit on his finger an crawl up his arm etc. But I feed it, clean the cage, take care of it basically.

I am very sorry I got a budgie for him. I wish I had gotten a cockatiel instead. Having had lovebirds as well I feel the the most docile, calm and "kid friendly" bird is a cockatiel. The lovebirds tend to be more aggressive although the MOST fun to watch. They tend to quickly become wild without constant intereaction and a bite from a lovebird hurts. I feel the same is true with a budgie. This is my second one and I'm afraid to say I don't have the same relationship that svolk has with her little Jerry. I am soooo jealous. This little budgie is somewhat aggressive even though he was handfed and I'm afraid he will try and bite my son's face.

With cockatiels (handfed, babies) you do not have to intereact with them as often to keep them tame. I think they are the perfect first bird. But no bird is really for a child and I think you already know that. A cockatiel would be nice because they would love to sit on your shoulder for hours just preening themselves.

[aris]

eggs can happen with either bird you get, assuming you get a female. Lovebirds are hard to sex just by looking at them, most are done by blood work, if you get them from a breeder they should have them sexed but not all do. You can not tell male from female by color in lovebirds. If you do not think you would have the time for a bird, but still want one that is very easy to take care of, consider a cornix quail. I know sounds very odd, but they are make suck great pets. I have one in perticular that is very special, she chills in the kitchen with me a lot and just walks around, comes over for a scratch, then off her merry way...they are easy to hold and love on if you raise them up from a chick. They do not require hand feeding as they eat and drink hours after hatching on thier own, and do not need a typical bird cage. You can keep them in something like a g.pig cage ot even those 50 gallon tubes with the lid cut out and replaced with mesh. that would cost 10 bucks to house, and they just need some pine shavings as bedding. you can also buy a 50 lb bag of feed foot them for around 7 bucks depending on where u live. Just an idea. I have 8 of them, as well as 20 button quail, two lovies, a budgie. I love them all(tho I have to say, I'm more in love with the lovie and think they make wonderful, affectionate pets) Anyway I breed the buttons and the cornies if you need any help where to find some one in your area. good luck

[svolk]

I agree with Lori that a budgie might not be the best bird for a child as they need quite a bit of attention and patience in order for them to stay friendly and tamed.

[CrazyBirdLady]

If you don't have a lot of time to interact with a bird, please don't get one. Lovebirds need a lot of attention if they are single. In a pair, they would be great to watch, but if not interacted with daily, they will wild and unhandleable. Honestly, I'd recommend waiting until you have more time to spend with a bird and maybe when the kids are older. Lovebirds find little fingers delicious. Just my 2 cents