What is the best household pet bird?

Question

Why?

What is the maintnence level?

Does this bird do better by itself, or with a fellow bird friend?

Is it child-friendly?

Answer 1

Starting with a cockatoo or parakeet (actually, a budgie, but at pet stores they are referred to as parakeets) is usually best for a first time bird owner.

You need to feed fresh fruits and vegetables as well as seed and you need to have either play time with them or you need to provide toys and a companion bird (either in the same cage or in a cage that is close by so they can talk to each other and preen each other).  Plenty of space and fresh water is always needed, otherwise they are quite simple to care for.

Both are fairly small and as with all pets all birds can bite but a bite from these smaller birds can't bite as hard as the larger birds can.

After you have learned bird care and your family has worked with your bird and became confident in their bird handling abilities you can look into getting a larger parrot.

Cockatoos are gorgeous but quite expensive and loud.

Macaws are a favorite of mine, but they aren't usually a popular family bird because of the size.

Conures are popular because they are small.

African grays are smart and they talk quite well. Eclectus parrots are also smart and good talkers and they are absolutely gorgeous but can be hard to take care of (they are often not fed properly because they don't eat as much seed as other birds) and they often pick one person to bond with.

Another popular parrot is the amazon parrot. There are many different amazon parrots and most all are great talkers. As with any of the large parrots they can be quite noisy so you want to be careful if you live in an apartment.

Answer 2

whatever you do, do not get peach faced lovebirds, they are aggressive and love to chew stuff. i bought  my lovebirds a toy with a bell hanging at the bottom, and the next day , the bell was detached!

Answer 3

Lovebirds!! :)  I'm partial.  They have the personality of a much larger parrot stuffed into a much smaller bird.  They're on the same maintenance level as parrotlets, and some small conures as far as time commitment goes.  They really, really like being around people.  Mine used to bang the cage doors up and down all the time because they wanted to be out and riding around with me.  I would say a good couple hours of interaction a day, much like a conure or senegal.  

If you want the bird to bond with you keep it by itself.  If you get another one, it will most likely bond to the fellow bird much more strongly than you.  That being said, if you find you can't devote enough time to it, another bird is a great idea.

They can be, especially if your child is the primary handler.  Some lovebirds can bond very strongly with one person however and not really tolerate others well.  The plus about a lovebird however is that even when they do bit, they're small enough to make it so it doesn't hurt badly, unlike their larger cousins.

Conures are another great bird, as well as anything from the Poicephalus genus, (senegals, red bellys, etc.)  Larger, louder, and more time intensive, but very beautiful, and most times will be very family friendly.  I also recommend these if you want something a bit bigger than a lovebird but not as big as a full fledged parrot or macaw.  

I would check out some lovebirds (peach-faced are your best bet), conures, and the Poicephalus.  Definitely a good starting place.

Answer 4

some people in my family have 3 types of birds.....and they all have different life styles.  for example they have a small parrot...and its very mean. i would say a small bird would not be the best to be around kids. it bites every thing. they also have a big parrot and it is very nice and friendly...they love to sing and talk.... and the last they have a small cockatoo they are very nice or they can be very mean. they have sharp beeks... i think you should look around and see the lifestyles of the birds you like.