Recommended Bird(s) for 8 Year Old

[Smuvers Farm]

My 8 year old son has recently been around my moms pair of cockatiels daily for about 3 months. Her birds are aged 11 y/o and about 2.5 y/o. She has raised the 11 y/o from baby and the 2.5 y/o since he was 6 months old.

Neither of them are friendly AT ALL, which has kind of scared me off cockatiels.... however, kiddo fell in love with having indoor birds. (We have chickens, which he fully participates in the feeding and care of).

We have a cage we bought for my moms birds that remained at our home when she returned to FL. It's quite large:



I'd like to get him 1-2 birds that he can hand train. Can y'all recommend a few different breeds that I can read up on? I am not looking at pricy or rare breeds. I'd like them to be trainable, friendly, outgoing, able to imprint on more than one human (both of my mom's birds BARELY like her, hate everyone else), won't live 150 years and are pretty to look at.

 

[User395221]

Budgies are great little birds. Bear in mind that all birds are individuals, some are more sociable/like being handled than others. If you get a young bird, he should be able to train it to be handled and tame. That's the advantage of getting a hand-raised bird, they are already used to being "manhandled" and you don't have to put in the hard yards to get them to trust you.

I'll also chime in for weiros (cockatiels) despite your mum's ones not being that friendly. They are terrific birds, and they can be trained to be tame, same as budgies.

"Chicken math" can also apply to pet birds. One bird turns into 2 turns into 3 turns into.....

 

[chicken4prez]

Parakeets and/or budgies. Can they live together?

Parakeets and budgies are the same thing. Budgerigar is the proper term for them but people calls them "parakeets" or "budgies."

 

[BantyChooks]

I've owned budgies. They're good birds. Several of mine were nice---one was a total nutjob that put me off them for a good long while. I think he was mentally ill.

 

[BantyChooks]

I am glad your researching parakeets, some of them can talk. They are sweethearts and so pretty. I have a feeling your child will love them. Please post pics of the new family member when they come home. They are easy to sex there cere is blue for boy and a pinkish tan for girls.

One of mine would imitate microwave beeps.

 

[User395221]

Why not start with one and see how it goes? I didn't find my budgies to be all territorial over their cage(s) or unwelcoming to new friends, so you could get another/more budgie friend(s) later on. Your son's only young and obviously doesn't have any extensive bird training background so as to work with taming/training 2 birds. It is hard enough putting in the time and effort with one bird to focus on, rather than 2.

It's still fun to have the birds "not tame" to look at and talk to. I don't handle my weiros, but they are "tame" in that they know who I am and "have conversations" with me. Small birds are naturally afraid of us "big monsters", we can change that with time and effort to get them used to being handled. I just didn't feel that it was necessary for me to impose on them. If he wants to work with the bird and have it step up and accept being handled, I'd just get one.

 

[chicken4prez]

I have 4 budgies and my toddler brother loves them so much. They sit on his shoulder as he walks around the house.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Parakeets are good for kids , when they bite it's not that bad. Bigger birds can break finger bones. Plus parakeets come in several different colors and don't cost lots of $

X3

Young parakeets are easily tamable and very friendly. They also don't usually live for move than 8-9 years. They are also not very messy, and easily cared for! Parakeets and budgies are the same thing, they're pretty much just different names. I get my parakeets for $20 but it definitely depends on where you live and get them from. Their chirp sounds really nice too! I would definitely recommend doing some digging and finding a breeder. I have to tell you, they're pretty inexpensive, but they have such huge personalities!

 

[chicken4prez]

Thanks for the responses. After a very quick search, I agree. Parakeet/budgies it is. 2 more QUICK questions:

1. Is PetSmart a reliable source for purchasing them? There are no breeders in my area (I'd have to drive almost 2 hours to get one).

2. OR, is there a reliable breeder y'all know of that would ship?

Thank you @Junochick @chicken4prez @Coturnix Quail

If you were to get them at PetSmart I would handle the bird more than usual. We got ours at a place like there and if we snuggled them and stuff like that they will be more friendly. Everyone does have their own opinion about it though. One of our budgies give kisses!

 

[Smuvers Farm]

I've recently been hand rearing some cockatiel chicks to help out a breeder. I've never had a cockatiel and I am in love with them. Our kids have each chosen one to keep. They just want to ride on your shoulder and be cuddled. They are playful and funny, but they do live a long time. 15-20 years is a big commitment. They also need things to chew on and more attention than a smaller bird. A budgie is probably a good starter bird, especially if there's a chance your son will lose interest after awhile. I hope your little future feathered friend brings you a lot of joy!

I absolutely believe that cockatiels can be terrific birds. It's unfortunate my mom has the problems with hers that she does. I chalk it up to being left with non animal lovers while she's been hospitalized numerous times over the life of the birds. It has still made me skittish and turned me into wanting a bird less tempramental.

A 15-20 year commitment is a cake walk in our home. I walk in to EVERY animal decision knowing that the animal will more than likely become *my* animal.

The kiddo is pretty responsible, of course needing reminding, but doesn't put it off or have an attitude once reminded. He walks both dogs every day, gives them their vitamins, cleans the cat box, feeds/water/collects chicken eggs... and plays with them!

We are definitely looking forward to parakeet ownership, and will possibly get one 2 weekends from now. This weekend will be taken up with washing and disinfecting the cage my moms cockatiels vacated and putting together a brooder hospital coop for our broody chicken. Next weekend we should be hatching out (up to) 9 eggs. Then the following weekend we will deal with parakeets!