What is the best type of bird for an inside pet for a child?

[Guinea Goonie]

We have large parrots. A blue and gold and an Umbrella Cockatoo.

They are extreme in their upkeep. You can not ignore these birds and you MUST handle them on a daily basis. They require a lot of attention, they are VERY messy, VERY loud and if you do not care for them properly they will turn mean and disruptive.

I would stay as far away from these type of birds as one can for a 10 year old.

A parakeet or a tiel are bird enough. I would stay away from ANY hook billed bird.

 

[PIO-PIO]

LA~Poulet :

I would definitely recommend a cockatiel. They are common & inexpensive, but can whistle and many talk in a chirpy high voice. I had two, and both had great personalities, were both very tame, did tricks, and could say a few phrases. One of them whistled more than actually 'said' but you could hear the words in his whistle, if that makes sense.

IMO (I've had parakeets, cockatiels, and a few types of parrots) cockatiels are the friendliest and happiest-the parrots can be smarter/better talkers but they don't have the sunniest dispositions all the time. Cockatiels do-they are happy little birds who love their owners, and are more likely to be hand tame/talk than parakeets.

Try to get a male, they can be more affectionate and better talkers (in cockatiels head color makes them easier to sex than many birds) and get a hand-raised young one for best results. If you contact a local bird club you can probably find a breeder with babies from this spring-here hand raised ones go from about $30-$70 depending on the color.

I totally agree. I have 2 conures and quakers and my kids can not touch them. years ago I raised cockatiels and they are so sweet and gentle...and pretty too

 

[Featherwisp]

As for inexpensive upkeep, I would say parakeet or cockatiel.
Parakeets can be gentle and sweet, and dont require a very large cage.
Cockatiels have much more personality, and if you buy them from a breeder who hand raised them, they will be gentle and very hand tame. They are very entertaining to watch and interact with.
Cockatiels from pet stores can be pricey though...our tiel Sunny was $144, not including the cage. The cage itself was about $60. I'm sure breeders will charge less for birds though.
Cockatiels live longer then Parakeets, and can be taught simple wistles/phrases quite quickly. Sunny learned a few different whistles in the path of a month just by the family continuously whistling to her!
I would go with the tiel, if you dont mind spending some extra money (and cleaning up a bit of poo and scattered food!)

If you have anymore questions about expenses, upkeep, or behavior of these birds, dont be afraid to pm me! (I have had a parakeet in the past, and currently have a cockatiel!)

 

[SarahFair]

I had a parakeet for about 10 years before he died.
He was always as mean as a snake trying to get him out but once you got him out he was sweet.

I had cockatiels. This is what I would suggest. They whistle songs and are sweet.
I had one that flew down from the sky onto my sisters head. I grabbed it up and gave it a home. It knew a few different songs but was also mean. Would bite the fire out of you if he was in one of his moods

 

[Peeper]

Parakeet, Lovebird, or Cockatiel.

 

[LA~Poulet]

One of our cockatiels was found the same way-we were outside and he started swooping down to us, starving.

He cursed like a sailor, and a month later we found his original owner. I hated to see him go!

Our current Quaker can say quite a bit, but he is mean and normally only affectionate to one person. He'll defend my 3 y/o from any harm (real or perceived)-including attacking anyone that comes near him. He woudl bite any stranger who came close, I'd never recommend one as a children's pet.

 

[babylady4]

If you were closer I would give you some of my Budgies! Ours had babies last year so they are all finger tame and are quite the characters!

I would recommend two Budgies just because they are very social birds and need the companionship in case your daughter loses interest. Also, make sure whatever bird you do decide to get is not kept in her bedroom; birds need to be located at the center of the activity of a house.

The Budgie that is in my son's first grade classroom could talk very well, it just takes a lot of time and training (and if you want it to talk then I would suggest one bird).

Yahoo has a great group on Budgies and is full of friendlies who can help you out on this one.

Good luck!

 

[chixie]

I had a parakeet when I was little... his name was bud... and he was a little clown... every time the hefty comercial came on(the one that went hefty hefty hefty... wimpy wimpy wimpy) he would get excited and start going wicky wicky wicky... he also played cards and checkers with us... like he new how... we adored him

 

[cutiepieacres]

I have had lots of different birds and currently have cockatiels and Conures and Parakeets. I would say a handfed male Cockatiel would make a great pet for a child. The hand tame babies are just so lovable and cuddly and rarely nip where my handfed Conures are always challenging dominance.

The Cockatiels, you can teach them tricks and they just love to be with their people and they can learn to talk and most are excellent at mimicking whistles. My current babies at 8 weeks old are already learning to wolf whistle.

Parakeets are cute but if they aren't constantly out they tend to revert to untame tendencies pretty quick. But my friends have 3 babies that I handfed and they are around a year old and they meow, wheek like guinea pigs, mimic whistles and one says hello in her muffled parakeet voice.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Parakeet, lovebird, sun-conure. We have had all of these and more...these are my kids favorites.