Alright guys, getting closer to a decision!!

You may have seen my other threads in various topics about me looking into getting a new bird within the next month or two.
Last night I finally got my boyfriend to sit down with me for a while so I can talk his ear off about different birds, look at photos/videos and help me make an educated decision on what bird WE are looking for.

I have to keep reminding him its for US, not for ME, otherwise I'd be getting a Goffin Cockatoo (which he doesn't want, because his mom has one that is mean, and he's too biased to give another bird a chance. Can't blame him.)

Soooo all things considered(other than price, but we should be able to find something for under $1,200 somewhere!) We've severely narrowed down our options in what we're looking for.

Eclectus(Preferably male), Patagonian Conure, Alexandrine Parrot, or a Yellow Collared Macaw.
He would like to have an Umbrella 'too because we met one the other day who was just the sweetest thing ever. However, they can get loud(er than some birds, and for no reason!) so we've decided to wait on the bigger birds for now. Not to mention the 'too, Paris, was running $2,500 for her and her cage! Just a little out of our budget at the moment..

Now those aren't the ONLY birds! This doesn't mean we are going to turn our cheek at every other bird that is presented to us! But for what we can find in our area(and from breeders) those seem to be the most reasonable.

We still have time to decide and we are going to be getting the cage first, so if anyone knows of a breeder they've gone through and TRUST that ships, we would gladly take a recommendation and check them out. Also if anyone knows of anywhere local to the Dallas Texas area, that would be cool.

I've had awful luck trying to find anything near me, but I did find a pet store that will teach me how to hand feed, so maybe we'll get a baby!!

(Also. We've been looking at birds that aren't super prone to being one-person birds. I know ANY BIRD can do it, but I'm at home all day every day pretty much and he works 10-7 wed-sat, 8-4 sunday, and 6/7-2/3 on monday and tuesday so he's gone allot more than me. That's really our only concern, as even our White Eared Conure who loved him dearly has recently been showing aggression toward him since I haven't been working, and she's been nothing but sweet to me.. so we don't want that with a larger bird. We're working on correcting her behavior as well.)

SORRY FOR THE RANT! And thanks for any info ahead of time! And to answer the question ahead of time: YES we have done extensive research on the needs of these birds specifically, and we will NOT bring home a bird if we are not 100% ready! I love my flock way too much to distress them with an incorrect diet or house!

Even if its a daytrip, I would suggest you take a trip to a rescue and meet a bunch of different birds. Even if you don't adopt, meeting the different types, you might be surprised which one draws you in (or you might find the perfect bird, never know!). But I always thought a male eclectus was the bird I would get when we added a bird to the family that was 'mine' (my daughter has been the bird nut for years, I'm a fairly new convert). But, I was really surprised when I met a couple and tho they are beautiful, there just was no great feeling that I was looking at a bird breed I had to have... And the real irony of all things, the shelter we have started to rescue at and my daughter is adopting Folger from, the bird I have become most interested in.... an Amazon! I never had an interest in Amazons, the typical Amazon personality just did not appeal to me. And Rosey has the typical Amazon personality, but is so beautiful and beyond funny the way he perches way up above everyone and does play by play commentary on what is happening. My daughter keeps teasing me that when we move and if Rosey is still there, I'll be bringing him home...

Anyway, the point of my ramble... if there is any chance at all that you can go to a rescue or even a large petstore in another city, I think the experience may decide for you... or check around for an umbrella looking for a home, unfortunately they are so common in the birds looking for homes.

Good luck!!

Unfortunately, my boyfriend isn't quite as bird-crazy as I am, and since he's the one with the car and the one who knows how to drive a standard... We go no further than an hour away. And that's still "too far".

If it was me in my old car, I'd have been to Austin (About 4 hours away) just to look! I love the thought of going and interacting with a bunch of birds, but there's nowhere within three to four hours that has anything other than small conures and the occasional Macaw that is deemed as "mean" and is a shop pet.

It's definitely a sticky situation, but I check craigslist daily (Even though we don't have the money RIGHT now...) just in case.

There's some bird shops in Dallas you can visit and I know there's at least one rescue.

Dallas treetop bird center, kookaburra bird shop, and fish and chirps are all in the area and usually have a good selection of birds. I got an IRN from fish and chirps and alexandrine from kookaburra.

Alexandrines might be a species your boyfriend enjoys. They're extremely gentle, and ringnecks don't pair bond for life in the wild. That's not to say they don't have favorites, but my guy will go to anyone. You should note though that generally they aren't a cuddly species. Mine specifically hates to be petted by hands, though he enjoys kisses, face snuggles, being petted by feet, and is overall very affectionate.

I appreciate the feedback on the dallas shops... Definitely gotta check it out!
How are the prices? I'm sure I'll see them when I come to check out the birds, but I'm mostly curious about Fish n Chirps, as they don't have a website(that I can find) and they're the farthest away from me.

At fish and chirps IRNs were 160, pineapple green cheeks were 250, sun conures 350, Grey's 1k, Amazon's 800-1k, eclectus 1k, b&g macaw 1200, galah I think was 1400, might of been 1200. Alexandrine was 600.

At kookaburra alexandrine was 600, black capped caiques 1100, yellow collard macaw 1k.

Dallas treetop I've only visited a couple of times, I know that in addition to baby birds they also rehome adult birds.

If Kookaburra and Dallas Tree tops keep their websites updated, then all they have right now that I'd be looking at is an Eclectus and maybe the African gray. But allot could change in a month or two!! and I'm definitely going to check out the ones they have for adoption.

Maybe if my boyfriend can see that not ALL adopted parrots are mean, he might be more open-minded to getting an older bird.

Had to turn down a beautifully feathered African Grey and cage all because he was 15.. what a bummer.

Fish n Chirps seems to have really good prices(compared to what I've seen in some shops- yikes!) so I'll definitely have to check them out.

So I called Fish n Chirps, and I was sort of saddened by the man they put me on the line with. He sounded like he was reciting something that was written when I asked about the birds they usually have in early-summer.
"Well, uhm... we uh... we have some Amazons.. uhh.. A cockatoo or two.. maybe some Macaws..." just really drawn-out responses.

Maybe it's just me, I'm rather socially awkward so I avoid calling people unless I have to, I'd rather just go in, but it's about an hour away from me.

I tried to get some idea of the prices and he said they had a bare-eyed last year, but he went for like $1,300.. yikes. Maybe it's just cause I'm used to seeing the breeders online go from 800-1,100, but alas..

He said they won't have anything till about a month and a half or two from now, which is fine as I'm waiting about that long to get a bird anyway, but oh well.. Maybe I'll just check back sometime in April. I'll just go inside instead of being on hold and then talking to someone who sounds so dang sad! I felt guilty for calling and troubling him! Buhhh.

Be warned, store prices are almost always way higher than breeders. Example, I paid $600 plus tax for my sennie. I could have gotten one from a breeder for $400, but in the summer you'll get a chance to meet more birds. This is a bad time if year to look for babies.

Yeah, I just have to decide if I want to go through a breeder and pay an extra $150-$200 for shipping or go to a shop and pay a little extra..
I definitely plan on going sometime in the next couple months just to be around the birds, if nothing else.

Sooo we're trying to get set up with an appointment with a rescue that's about an hour and a half away.. We're gonna go and see the birds and see if any bond to us, hopefully. Just gotta fill out the adoption sheet and wait on her to email me back!