Caged Bird and Parrot Thread!!!!

[alinas2010]

Hi guys, I browsed a few pages and you all have adorable birds! I’m going to start following to see your day to day lives with your feathery indoor friends. I’ve been looking into getting a caged bird recently (as in this past year been researching a little) and would like to know what life is like day to day and get more of an idea what a good beginner bird is.

We’ve been researching and considering this for around a year now and have been hanging out at a bird store and interacting with the birds on and off for a few months now getting hands on experience with a few different species. This isn’t something we’d take lightly and wouldn’t get one for a bit still, probably. This is just part of my research!

The bird store owner hasn’t swayed us towards one species or another or even really recommended a beginner bird. She tells us about the different birds, but doesn’t come out and recommend any. She has love birds, conures, ring neck parakeets, budgies, cockatiels, green cheeked parakeets, two rescue scarlet macaws (no I really don’t want either of them), and a few other smaller species I can’t think of the names of…

I’ve been thinking cockatiels might be a good starting place. Budgies maybe? (I honestly don’t know a lot about budgies, though). One thing she did say, though was that cockatiels (she has baby ones, so she hasn’t brought those out, but would schedule a visit with us to bring the out), are dumb when they’re babies and fly into walls and stuff until trained, is that true?

I love love love the Indian ring neck parakeets, also, but they’re ornery and I know they’re a high maintenance bird, so I don’t think one would be a great stater bird. I did love interacting with them and am keeping my mind open to one in the future when I am more experienced.

The green cheeked parakeets were a joy, too! But again, I don’t know a lot about the maintenance of them.

Looking forward to seeing your feathered cuties and adventures.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hi guys, I browsed a few pages and you all have adorable birds! I’m going to start following to see your day to day lives with your feathery indoor friends. I’ve been looking into getting a caged bird recently (as in this past year been researching a little) and would like to know what life is like day to day and get more of an idea what a good beginner bird is.

We’ve been researching and considering this for around a year now and have been hanging out at a bird store and interacting with the birds on and off for a few months now getting hands on experience with a few different species. This isn’t something we’d take lightly and wouldn’t get one for a bit still, probably. This is just part of my research!

The bird store owner hasn’t swayed us towards one species or another or even really recommended a beginner bird. She tells us about the different birds, but doesn’t come out and recommend any. She has love birds, conures, ring neck parakeets, budgies, cockatiels, green cheeked parakeets, two rescue scarlet macaws (no I really don’t want either of them), and a few other smaller species I can’t think of the names of…

I’ve been thinking cockatiels might be a good starting place. Budgies maybe? (I honestly don’t know a lot about budgies, though). One thing she did say, though was that cockatiels (she has baby ones, so she hasn’t brought those out, but would schedule a visit with us to bring the out), are dumb when they’re babies and fly into walls and stuff until trained, is that true?

I love love love the Indian ring neck parakeets, also, but they’re ornery and I know they’re a high maintenance bird, so I don’t think one would be a great stater bird. I did love interacting with them and am keeping my mind open to one in the future when I am more experienced.

The green cheeked parakeets were a joy, too! But again, I don’t know a lot about the maintenance of them.

Looking forward to seeing your feathered cuties and adventures.

Welcome!!!!!

I would say the cockatiels would be a good choice but budgies would be too.

I had to rehome mine but I’ve had a lot of different budgies over the years. Well, parakeets, I guess. The regular pet store kind. I think they’re slightly different from English budgies? But yeah.

 

[alinas2010]

Welcome!!!!!

I would say the cockatiels would be a good choice but budgies would be too.

I had to rehome mine but I’ve had a lot of different budgies over the years. Well, parakeets, I guess. The regular pet store kind. I think they’re slightly different from English budgies? But yeah.

Thank you! What can you tell me about budgies? She hasn’t brought the budgies out for us because we’re always there when the louder, larger species are out. She said they’re more of a laid back, quiet bird, but I’m wondering do they interact with you? Or are they more hands off?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thank you! What can you tell me about budgies? She hasn’t brought the budgies out for us because we’re always there when the louder, larger species are out. She said they’re more of a laid back, quiet bird, but I’m wondering do they interact with you? Or are they more hands off?

Mine were mostly pretty hands off BUT!!!!! I believe that was due to the fact that I had two of them. If you have one, they are a lot more interactive I think. But I’m not sure because I’ve always had 2 or more until I had to rehome. But they can learn to talk, especially the males, and there was even one on one of those pet talent shows years ago. And even with two, they still would sometimes step up on my finger and stuff. So they can be trained and interactive. But personally I didn’t mind the hands off ness because they have a beautiful chatter/songs they do with each other and it’s adorable LOL but it’s not super loud. I also wanted mine to have friends of their own species. But you can easily have one too. It’s just a bit more work because YOU are their friend and interaction LOL you could also start with one and add more later on once you get one tamed. I didn’t do that and probably should have lol I find the males more friendly too btw. Idk why but my females were always way more skittish/flightly and likely to bite me LOL the males were much more chill. I really liked mine. I used to let them fly around my apartment LOL

 

[TXchickmum]

Budgies are great! We have an American budgie and an English budgie. They are in the cage together, and get along very well. They are not too noisy, sing sweet little songs, and interact with my daughter. They both spend time out of the cage. The English budgie likes to ring a bell, and then expects my daughter to ring it. They will play back and forth like this. -very sweet birds. We also have a green cheeked conure. I don't recommend starting off with this. He is very vocal and very loud. -very much likes attention, and will fuss if he doesn't get it. He does enjoying sitting on my daughter's shoulder.
I know nothing about cockatiels. My mother-in-law used to have a pair of them. She seemed to enjoy them quite a bit.
Best of luck on your decision with a new bird!! Birds make delightful pets, IMO!

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Hi guys, I browsed a few pages and you all have adorable birds! I’m going to start following to see your day to day lives with your feathery indoor friends. I’ve been looking into getting a caged bird recently (as in this past year been researching a little) and would like to know what life is like day to day and get more of an idea what a good beginner bird is.

We’ve been researching and considering this for around a year now and have been hanging out at a bird store and interacting with the birds on and off for a few months now getting hands on experience with a few different species. This isn’t something we’d take lightly and wouldn’t get one for a bit still, probably. This is just part of my research!

The bird store owner hasn’t swayed us towards one species or another or even really recommended a beginner bird. She tells us about the different birds, but doesn’t come out and recommend any. She has love birds, conures, ring neck parakeets, budgies, cockatiels, green cheeked parakeets, two rescue scarlet macaws (no I really don’t want either of them), and a few other smaller species I can’t think of the names of…

I’ve been thinking cockatiels might be a good starting place. Budgies maybe? (I honestly don’t know a lot about budgies, though). One thing she did say, though was that cockatiels (she has baby ones, so she hasn’t brought those out, but would schedule a visit with us to bring the out), are dumb when they’re babies and fly into walls and stuff until trained, is that true?

I love love love the Indian ring neck parakeets, also, but they’re ornery and I know they’re a high maintenance bird, so I don’t think one would be a great stater bird. I did love interacting with them and am keeping my mind open to one in the future when I am more experienced.

The green cheeked parakeets were a joy, too! But again, I don’t know a lot about the maintenance of them.

Looking forward to seeing your feathered cuties and adventures.

Hello
Please be aware that when it comes to caged birds/parrots "starter" or "beginner" birds do not exist!
Unlike chickens where you're often discussing breeds we're looking at species here. Basically more comparing chickens and quail and ducks etc. Different species have different levels of needs and some more specialized. Parrots cover a WIDE variety of diet types, from granivores to frugivores and more.
Then within the species, every bird is very unique and may or may not come with their own challenges. I have a cockatoo but he's really quite laid back compared to others I've seen or heard about. He's also young and I've not had to deal with a whole heap of hormones, yet.
Often when it comes to birds it's recommended you interact and research as many as you'd like and more intently the ones that peek your interest and then go with that one instead of "working your way up" to it. A budgie won't prepare you for a conure and a conure will not prepare you for a macaw.
I have a strong love for one of the commonly called "starter" birds, budgies. Currently have a flock of eight. Budgies are a very social species and I advocate for minimum of a pair, unless you're truly prepared to committing to them. Yes, you *may* lose the opportunity to have a close bond with them when there is more but in my eyes if you dont approve of keeping a social animal solitary then budgies are no different (i.e. would you keep a singular chicken?). Male vs Female stereotypes can be misleading. Girls can talk too (though speech ability should be low on your list, if on it at all). Ime the boys are often more laid back. My girls have been sassy and extremely fun and entertaining. Be careful when someone tells you budgies are "quiet", when those boys get to singing... spend some time around them beforehand, some people cannot stand the sound of budgie chatter while a macaw's scream doesn't bother them. I don't mind the budgie sounds and find it fairly pleasant, with the exception of their demanding screams I sometimes get if I disturb their sleep or something
Have you been keeping in mind lifespan? Some species have extremely long lifespans and this is something to take into account. Dont be put off from getting an older bird of a longer lived species, many have to change hands a few time in their lives because they live so long, not always by fault of them. Sometimes older birds will also be more mature and you actually skip out on bad hormonal phases
When it comes to cockatiels, i do not own or have experience with them but if there is anyone in your household with allergies or asthma, please be cautious. Tiels are one of the notorious old world species when it comes to dust.