Which is the best bird for me?

Question

I live in a house with 2 sisters a mom and a dad 3 dogs(small chihuahuas there not mean and don't eat animals) and my older sisters friends are always over, now i just graduated middle school and my dad said i could get a bird but I'm really unsure about what bird to get.I want a bird that i can walk around the house with on my shoulder and will like my best friend. please helppp

Answer 1

You should definatly get a cockatiel, also make sure it is hand raised which might cost you a little more but will help you so much when interacting with your bird, they can talk and do tricks and are very smart, hope this helped

Answer 2

i think u should get a cockateil.they love to be on ur shoulders

Answer 3

well, sounds like you want a parrot! :) i recommend a cockatiel. they are very friendly, and have a funky hairdo! my best advice is to visit your local pet store and talk to one of the employees there, they will probably help more than i did, good luck!

Answer 4

You should get a cockatiel.  Make sure that you get one that was hand fed as  a baby, if it isn't hand fed it won't interact with you very well.

Answer 5

You just earned BIG hero points in my world!!  You are so right to look into what bird you want before getting the bird.  Super hero points to you my dear!

You probably know that getting a bird is a great investment.  And I mean a great investment, not even as far as money goes.  The bird you get will last in good health for 20 years.  And that's the little guys, parakeets and cockatiels.  Larger parrots live lots longer.  Winston Churchill's parrot is still alive and still sounds like him.  So whatever you get you will be able to have as an adult.  Find out if your parents will be willing to keep your bird while you are in college - and then if they will let you have your bird back after college when you are an adult.  They might not be willling to give him up at that time!

It sounds like you are talking about a cockatiel and they are certainly great first parrots.  Not too noisy (they are usually lovely whistlers and will do the whole song, not just parts of it)  They are less likely to talk than many other parrots.  They 'only' live 20 to 25 years.  They are engaging and very social.  Of course, they are all different.  

If you have a parrot rescue anywhere near you, talk to the people there and find out why people don't keep their birds and what happens to birds that are shuffled from house to house.  If you know these things, you can prevent doing them yourself.  For instance, a cockatoo is SSOOOO cool!  But few people can deal with the noise a cockatoo usuallly makes at some point in the day.  And if you can deal with it now, maybe your situation will change and you will live in a place where roommates or neighbors won't put up with the screaming.  

Know that you will get bitten if you get a bird.  It hurts.  There is a way to avoid it, but it will happen and you have to know how to handle it so that you don't accidentally encourage your bird to bite you.  The rescue people are willling to teach and help you.  They want to prevent you from not being a forever owner.  

I have two Quakers.  I will not recommend that anyone get a Quaker as a first parrot, but they are a hoot and I think all parrots have the potential to be a lot of fun.  I don't recommend Quakers because they are territorial and because they are illegal in several states.

Also I think you should avoid any kind of conure because they tend to be a lot of fun, but they are very often loud.  The noise they make seems to go with the flow, so if you have a busy household, you will likely have to deal with a loud conure.

I don't like birds on my shoulder because I don't like the idea of being bitten in the face and when a bird is on your shoulder that is always a possibillity.  My Quakers insist on sitting on my shoulders and I don't like it so I try to distract them.  I also don't like p**p on my back.  All my birds are flighted, so I have a little less control tthan some people.

If you really want a bird on your shoulder, don't get one whose eyes will be level with your eyes when on your shoulder.

READ and talk to people who have had experience with several different kinds of parrot.  

Sadly, pet store people are often not the right people to talk to because their experience is rather limited and although they are trying to be helpful, they are doing a job which is to get you to buy stuff.  I recently saw advice from a pet store worker who said to remove the seeds from an apple before giving it to your birds.  My birds FIGHT over the seeds - I have to close the cage doors on apple days so they don't go into one another's cages and steal the apple seeds.

As far as your dogs (and if you ever get cats), it's not that the bird would get eaten, but that your dogs might try to play with the bird.  Dog play usually entails roughhouseing and birds are fragile.  My cat did once attempt to mess with a bird.  She won't even look at a bird now.  The one who was bleeding was not feathered, so I don't know who she was stupid enough to mess with.

My African Grey just crawled into my lap, so I have to stop and play with her.  Even though Dixie can fly, she prefers to walk everywhere and she just made a huge trip across the living room for a scratch, so I guess I better do what he is asking.  

Do lots of research and you will enjoy your feathered friend for a LONG time.  Also look at Craigslist - if someone is going overseas, you might be able to get a wonderful bird for a very reasonable or no cost.  Keep looking.

Answer 6

Lovebirds are very sweet and friendly and don't carry some of the nasty diseases that parakeets have.  I would suggest a private breeder, get one that you can spend some time hand feeding. (a baby)  This will help him bond to you.