Best small bird for me????

We are a family of 3 small children (ages 4 - 9) who love animals. We would like to get a bird for our first pet and are considering budgies, parrotlets or lineolated parrakeets or any others you might recommend. We'd like a social bird we can hold and play with and teach it to talk and do tricks. We'd like a smaller bird and one that is not loud.
Any suggestions for us???
We live in the Boston area. Are there any good breeders in our area?
Thanks,
Taya, Payton and Cole

busgies dont talk if they do talk its super rare but they can be taught some tricks (not complicated ones) most birds that talk are on the expensive side i dont know about the parrotlet or the lineolated parakeet i have no experience from them but maybe someone can help i would reccomend a cockatiel fun can sing cant talk though but can be taught tricks and is a wonderful pet

Budgies are one of the best speaking parrots there are and you can teach them any trick you can teach a larger bird! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya8HgsmiSkU]Duke - Budgie Bird Tricks Medley - YouTube[/ame]

I don't have much experience with parrotlets but I love linnies. Other than that you could consider a cockatiel but they are a little louder than the others you mentioned.

I was under the impression that cockatiels could be taught to talk. It just takes a lot of time and patience. I don't have much experience with tiels, but I imagine they would fit your bill best.

Honestly, though, if I were you, I'd consider something furry instead of feathered. I'm not sure something as delicate as a bird would really thrive being handled by young children, especially ones who might not have much experience handling pets. You won't find one that can talk, of course, but you could definitely find something sociable that you can teach tricks.

Well our kids would love a cat but due to allergies, that's not possible and we are not ready for a dog yet. We were considering a hamster or guinea pig but the kids really want a pet they can interact and bond with and I'm not sure they would get that from a hamster or guinea pig.
Why do you think something furry would be better than a bird for us?
As for Cockatiels aren't they pretty big? If we were to go with a bird I thought smaller would be better?
Thanks

Are you thinking of cockatoos? They're quite large and definitely not what you're looking for; cockatiels are bigger than the birds you listed but are still pretty small.

I think people underestimate small mammals as companions- I developed a wonderful bond with my Russian dwarf hamster, and my rabbit Cadbury was probably the best pet I have ever had the good fortune to love. Guinea pigs are also friendly, and rats are very intelligent and love to snuggle. The key with any of these animals (including any birds) is patience and regular handling.

As far as why I'd hesitate to get a bird, it just seems to me that they're more sensitive physically and emotionally. Keeping mammals happy and healthy is generally much easier, and mammals aren't susceptible to as many dangers as birds- for example, non-stick cookware, scented candles, any aerosols are all dangerous for birds, but not really a concern with a rat. A small mammal is more forgiving to the kind of faux pas's a child will commit- like handling too roughly- than some birds.

but budgies don't suit kids or any small birds because if ur kids grab the bird in the wrong way or squeeze it to hard then u can really hurt the budgie and there not the type of bird that u could cuddle or really bond with u could also get a green cheek conure which a little smaller than a cockatiel thats a bird that has a strong bond with humans cockatiels can have a good bond with u but not as big as conures but is good

mcw009 said:

Are you thinking of cockatoos? They're quite large and definitely not what you're looking for; cockatiels are bigger than the birds you listed but are still pretty small.

I think people underestimate small mammals as companions- I developed a wonderful bond with my Russian dwarf hamster, and my rabbit Cadbury was probably the best pet I have ever had the good fortune to love. Guinea pigs are also friendly, and rats are very intelligent and love to snuggle. The key with any of these animals (including any birds) is patience and regular handling.

As far as why I'd hesitate to get a bird, it just seems to me that they're more sensitive physically and emotionally. Keeping mammals happy and healthy is generally much easier, and mammals aren't susceptible to as many dangers as birds- for example, non-stick cookware, scented candles, any aerosols are all dangerous for birds, but not really a concern with a rat. A small mammal is more forgiving to the kind of faux pas's a child will commit- like handling too roughly- than some birds.

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Honestly, I wouldn't suggest a rabbit with a 4 year old in the house. I love rabbits, I have two and I work at a rescue and children that young tend to just scare rabbits (which can occasionally lead to biting out of fear).

I do like the rat idea

I cannot answer for anyone else, but, I have had budgies all my life. And my children always had them around. They grew up with all kinds of birds. Budgies are wonderful birds for children! Teach the kids to be gentle, and handle the budgies often, so they'll be hand tame. Get one that is a hand fed baby, and it'll be used to handling. Many of mine have talked, though not all of them. I suggest a budgie for most first time pet birds. Parrotlets are cute, but, can be nippy, and need a bit more experienced owner. Go for the budgie! Get it from a breeder, so you get a baby. It'll grow up with the kids. You won't be sorry.

I do think my 2 oldest girls (9&7) are very good with animals and I'm pretty confident that they would not hurt the bird. They understand how fragile animals can be.
Having said that we are torn between a furry animal and a bird. I think you guys have really helped narrow our decision between a dwarf hamster and a budgie which is really what we had been considering. I had started to second guess the budgie idea after reading that there are other small birds that could be worth considering. It really sounds like the budgie is the best small bird for us if we decide to go that way. Thanks all for your help!

thanks you guys but i would like to ask you if you know where a breeder is for budgies or if you guys are one.
thanks!

As a kid the ages of your kids, my favorite pets were my budgie and my guinea pig. Either would be good. And yes, male budgies are super talkers, or at least they can be. They not only learn a ton of words, they can speak whole sentences and will put words together to make new sentences. As far as who learned the most words of all my birds, it was the budgies. They also did some tricks for us that they made up themselves.

Budgies are wonderful talkers, sweet, rarely bite (usually only if very frightened, inexpensive and wonderful all around pets.

Guinea pigs do like to sit in your lap and be petted like cats. They will squeal though every time you open the refrigerator. They also purr when you pet them. And they do this funny thing when they are happy where they like "Popcorn" up off the ground. However they have fur that many people are allergic to. Most people I know have issue if they hold one up near their face or neck, or don't wash their hands after holding them.

Hamsters are cute because they look like miniature teddy bears (who can resist a miniature living teddy bear?). But, they like to run around more than be held. And they are nocturnal. So all night they are up, running in their wheels and chewing on things. If you are a light sleeper you might not want one in your bedroom.

For a bird I would definitely go with a hand tamed baby budgie... It's a great learning experience for kids, and young kids can learn to be gentle...

For a mammal I would go with a rat... they are so gorgeous and gentle.. Just like a tiny dog, except they don't bark...

Yes, rats are good pets, too. They are very smart.

It has been my experience in general that male rodents make better pets than females, but I've had a couple of sweet females as well.

roxynoodle said:

Yes, rats are good pets, too. They are very smart.

It has been my experience in general that male rodents make better pets than females, but I've had a couple of sweet females as well.

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I had a female rat when I was a kid, she was the best. My sister had one as well, also female, they were sisters and cage mates. We taught them to run obstacle courses, raced them up the stairs (mine always won, haha). I also taught my rat to come when called. Both were very friendly and loved people. You couldn't walk by the cage without them both being plastered to the door, staring at you, wanting to come out.

And, I know that I should have NEVER done this (in my defense, I was only 7...), but I would even take my rat outside with me on the lawn, and she wouldn't go any more than two feet from me; if I started walked away she'd be bounding along at my heels.

In my experience a dwarf hamster isn't the most friendly... I would suggest a rat if you go w a small furry animal. I know people think rats are dirty but they are extremely clean. They LOVE interaction and you can teach it to do tricks. They actually enjoy being out and about. They will sit on your shoulder, play, etc... Another furry idea, if you don't mind the musk scent is a ferret. Very interactive, funny and big personality... If you have questions on keeping either just ask
As far as a budgie I would go with a handfed English budgie. They are bigger so not as timid IME. My English is great with kids- supervised.
Good luck in what ever you choose!!

budgies make great pets, i am very fond of conures though. A green cheek conure could be great because they are not really very loud and are cuddlebugs if you get them handfed from a great breader.

To clear up some confusion with regard to the cockatiel....they are not large birds, but they are larger than a parakeet/budgie.

YES! Cockatiels CAN learn to talk and quite well and also learn a whole lot of tricks. I've been owned by 3 male cockatiels and all 3 of them learned to talk, in my signature line is a video clip of our youngest male tiel...Chicken Little chattering up a storm. If you have a moment..check it out!

Cockatiels have fabulous personalities and can be very wonderful with children. My suggestion...if you choose a cockatiel is to get a hand tame tiel that you can handle up front. If you don't have any bird experience, it can be very frustrating learning to hand tame any bird species.

Our first cockatiel we got when my children were quite young, 5, 6 and 10 and they learned how to safely handle Chaco Bird with no problem.

The biggest downfall to the cockatiel is that you mentioned allergies??? Tiel's are a powder down bird and they have a lot of extremely fine dust that can really aggrivate allergies. However not everyone with allergies is allergic to cockatiels. And regular bathing along with an air filter/purifier really helps in keeping the dust down.

Cockatiel Hens are very much quieter than the males, they chirp, but the males have a greater tendency to talk and whistle. I found both male and female tiels to be very easy to handle and I've not found one sex to be more nippy or bitey than the other. For all our tiels, once they're hand tame, we've not been bitten at all.

My experience with Cockatiels is that they don't have the unpredictable independent behavior that sometimes comes with other parrots, such as conures. Our conure is very much a lover and a bully. And he will sometimes haul off and bite for no particular reason or sometimes he get's over excited when playing and becomes rather nippy. That mouthy/nippiness can be frustrating if you aren't experienced. Also, my experience with our conure is that he is an "exploratory nipper" meaning that he's constantly mouthing, tasting, test biting as his way of checking things out. We've been consistent with our expectations of what's allowed and he's learning all the time what the "testing" limit is and is MUCH nicer to handle then when we first got him.

I think that cockatiels make a wonderful first bird, their only downfall is they're powder down. Aside from that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the cockatiel to you as a first family bird. If you want a rather quiet bird and don't care if it ever learns to talk, then look for a Hen, if you'd rather listen to chatter, whistling and hope it learns to talk, then look for a male.

Good Luck and happy searching!

Toni

I've been owned by 3 male cockatiels and all 3 of them learned to talk, in my signature line is a video clip of our youngest male tiel...Chicken Little chattering up a storm. If you have a moment..check it out!

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Awwe! I love Chicken Little's chatter and talking! Makes me really miss mine : (