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New and need advice...

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Shelly 
#1 ·
Hello, my name is Shelly, I am trying to decide which bird is for me. I had a parrotlet but he wasn't hand fed or hand tame and though i worked alot with him he just wouldn't warm up to me. So after advertising him for a month, i finally found a nice, knowlegable girl whe wanted him to eventually be a breeder. I think he will be much happier in that situation. So I guess I am here to see what might be a better match for me. I want a lover not a fighter, one who wants to get out of his cage and hang with me, one who will let me give him scritches, you know, all the good stuff. So now that i am here, I hope everyone will help me pick out a new baby!:)
 
#4 ·
I think the choice of individual bird of a species is probably more important than the choice of the species. My daughter's a hand-fed parrotlet, whom she played with almost daily from the three weeks of age, is one of the most loving birds in this house. My green cheek, whom I also visited and played with while she was still weaning, is also highly affectionate.

Can you tell us a little more about what you are looking for? Do you want something similar to a tiel? Do you have a size preference? Is there anything else you would like? Are their certain physical traits that appeal to you?
 
#5 ·
Hey and welcome to the forum! If you answer nanay's questions I'm sure one of us or all of us will gladly help you :thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
Hi Shelly! I really like Conures for their personalities. I'm not sure if anyone has ever told you this but if you have a bird choose you, rather than the other way around, it often works out beautifully. In fact, my Sun Conure chose me. I had no intention of purchasing a Conure or any bird the day I went to the bird store (I had my two Parrotlets and was content), but Boogie was calling out, head bobbing, etc. to me. I asked one of the employees to please take her out of her cage, and was told she would, but that she bit everyone and was difficult to get out of the cage. Boy was she! She threw an absolute fit! And after she was out, I put my hand out to ask her to step up and the girl told me she might bite and I said that was okay. She stepped right up, hopped onto my shoulder, and shopped with me. The employee said she had never done that with anyone before! She never went back into that cage, because she came home with me, and has been my best feathered buddy ever since. So, if you can, try to meet some birds in person and see whom you have a mutual connection with.
 
#8 ·
Sounds good but...

Hi Shelly! I really like Conures for their personalities. I'm not sure if anyone has ever told you this but if you have a bird choose you, rather than the other way around, it often works out beautifully.
That sounds great in theary but i am afraid if i do it that way, the bird that may like me for the moment in the store may not be hand fed or hand tame and i may go home with a dr jeckle mr hyde bird. I know i need to decide on a general type and go see breeders of them, maybe pick from a clutch or let one of the clutch pick me. Plus i feel like I should decide on a bird and learn about them before i take the plunge again.
 
#7 ·
You guys are great

Well, heres the thing. I have never had a hand fed hand tamed bird before. Isabella was my tiel and though i loved her i would like to try something new. My parrotlet was supposed to be tame and a green rump and he was not, i worked with him for months before giving him to a wonderful lady who was knowlegeable about them and thought she might try breeding him. So this time i want to do it right. I am thinking something fairly small, not too noisy (although i know all birds are noisy at one time or another) I just don't want a screamer. And i do enjoy some bird noise, absoulutely loved the parrotlets little twitters. I am not thinking finches or parakeets something a little more parrot like. I want a cuddler, something that would like to hang out with me and let me give him scritches. Would love a sun conure if they didn't make so much noise. Maybe something not too nippy, i have been thinking about a green cheek conure but i keep reading that they are nippy. I have been hearing things about lineoated parakeets and bourkes but i am hearing they aren't as cuddly as i would like. OH HELP too many options and not enough knowlege about all of them! I appreciate everyones opinions even those bias ones!:rofl:
 
#9 ·
Oh, absolutely, you should do your research. I wasn't suggesting otherwise. I was just trying to explain that birds that choose you (regardless of species) often work out well, so after you decide what species you'd like, try to meet the birds in person. Perhaps visit them more than once so that you can try and gauge if it's a good fit. Green Cheek Conures are wonderful and not all are nippy. There's also a wonderful Conure called the Crimson Bellied Conure. Their personalities are more in between Green Cheeks and Sun Conures, but are not noisy like Suns. If you don't want noise, you definitely don't want a Sun Conure. LOL It's good you're doing your research now, and this is half the fun - learning about the various species, so take your time.
 
#10 ·
Thank you

I will definately keep that in mind when i get a chance to go see the babies. I will just kinda see if one gravitates towards me and if i go back again see if it happens again. That is brilliant advice and i hope i get to try it out soon!!
 
#12 ·
My green cheek is very affectionate. She went through a "teething" stage in which she had to learn how hard was too hard when she bit, but now she almost never bites hard enough to hurt. She has never made me bleed or made a welt or dent, even when she was learning about how hard she could nibble on me without hurting me. I do not consider my green cheek louder than my daughter's parrotlet or louder than many cockatiels.

I have heard that crimson bellied conures are even sweeter than green cheeks. I have never held a crimson bellied, but I would like to some day. I have had personal interaction with a rosifrons conure. Rosifrons and painted conures are also supposed to be very sweet, sweeter than green cheeks. All of those I have held have been very, very sweet. The black capped conures I have held have been very similar in personality to green cheeks. These are all various pyhurrah conures, so they make similar vocalizations. (I hope I spelled that correctly. I always have trouble with that.)

I have a bourkes and a linnie and a green cheek. I have to agree that, while I love the bourkes and the linnie, if you really want a playful and cuddly bird, more green cheeks will fit that bill.

Is there a speciality bird store close enough to you where you could put a deposit on an unweaned baby and then play with it while it weans? That is a wonderful opportunity.

From your description of what you are looking for, I have to recommend the small conures as my first recommendation, although you may find an individual linnie, bourkes, parrotlet, etc. that would be perfect for you. The issue with parrotlets seems to be that if they are not played with nearly every day from a very young age, simply having been handfed does not guarantee that they will enjoy human interaction. However, I also have to caution that I have noticed the same tendancy in the small conures.

Poicephalus could also fit what you are looking for, but they are larger and their beaks are more powerful, and they tend to have many more fears. I wouldn't rule them out, if you happen to find the right one, but, again, that would mean spending a lot of time with the bird. Commonly available small poicephalus include brown heads, meyers, and senegals. In general, both the brown heads and the meyers are noted to be a little more gentle than senegals, but the individual bird is really what matters. I find poicephalus noises to be a bit higher pitched than small conure noises, so listen to the vocalizations because one may be more tolerable to you than the other.

Pionus are another group of species to consider, but I find them considerably louder than either pyhurras or poicephalus. My daughter's maximillian pionus hen is one of the gentlest birds of her size I have ever met. Pionus can love a snuggle, and they are good shoulder birds because they are gentle even though they are really pretty large. However, I find both my senegal and my green cheek love to be cuddled more than the pionus. The senegal and green cheek have always been pets. The maximillian was once a breeder, so perhaps that is not a fair comparison. Nevertheless, I have handled many pionus of various species, and none have "demanded" petting and attention the way my senegal and green cheek do. It may simply be that they are not as demanding a bird in general. Perhaps they enjoy it as much, but don't ask for it.

Lories are very affectionate. They have needs that are different from the seed eaters you are used to. Most also have a louder and more piercing vocalization, but I have heard that the goldies lorikeet is much quieter than most lorikeets. I cannot speak about the vocalizations of the following two lories, but the ones I have handled have been wonderfully tame: dusky and all species of Chalcopsitta.

My first recommendation would still have to be a pyhurrah conure.
 
#13 ·
Thank you

Thank you for the extremely helpful advice. Right now i am leaning towards a senegal or green cheek, or if the oportunity presents itself maybe marron bellied conure. No, i don't live close to my breeders. There is one 3 hours from here and one an hour. Even if i go with the one that is an hour away i wouldn't get to go nearly as often as i would like but that was a really good suggestion. I have green cheeks laying eggs 3 hours from here and the senegal hasn't laid yet so either way, if i don't find something coming up in the next couple of bird fairs in my area, it will be 3 to 4 weeks. Thanks again!
 
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