these are the birds that have caught my eye.

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the ones that have caught my eye are:

king parrots
sun conures
indian ring necks
small australian lorikeets
alexandrine parrots.

even though african greys are in my opinion the most beautiful, i think they are out of the question to be honest. they possibly may be too large for someone with little bird experience. i feel i'm gravitating to the smaller parrots.

out of the ones i've mentioned, what are the pros and cons of each. i know i can read up info on each of them, but i'm hoping someone with actual first-hand experience can help me.

i really couldn't have one that is very noisy. prefer one that likes being handled and cuddled. i'm not concerned whether it is a talker or not.

hope someone can help me out, cheers.
 

Auggie's Dad

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Auggie: Dusky Conure
The only one of those I know much about is the sun conure. If noise could be an issue do not even consider a sun conure!

I know there will be plenty of people who say they have a sun conure who is quiet. There is a lot of individual variation in any species, but in general sun conures are quite possibly the loudest parrot you could get. I LOVE conures, but the noise is just part of the package.
 

HRH Di

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I can give you my experience with my Alexandrine, Max.

He's a wonderful little bird, however...he's a grouch. He doesn't like to be touched and, some days, doesn't come out of his cage at all. Those are the cons.

The pros, IMO, far out weigh them. He's quiet. He's been eager to learn and be trained. He loves to be with us - as long as we don't touch him. He's not nippy. He has a pleasant voice when he does make noise. Supposedly, they're good talkers, but Max hasn't seemed interested in talking. Another advantage is that he is a smaller bird - so food and cage expense are less. However, he can reduce a very large wooden toy to match sticks in about 24 hrs so toy costs can be high or you need to learn to make your own - which is really easy.

All in all, he's our lowest-maintenance bird. Not that he doesn't need and want attention, he's just not in-your-face like our RFM.

I've heard from other people, that their Alex's aren't as hands-off as Max. However, the breeder we got our RFM & CAG from, said that his personality is pretty typical of her experience with them. She's had both "pets" and breeding pairs.

Good luck with your decision.
 

apatrimo94

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Here's my cons of some of your listed birds, but again, the personality of the bird will always be different:
-For non-noisy birds, the sun conure and lorikeet is out, they are loud and make a lot of noise.
-King Parrots are almost like loris but I not sure about their behavior
-the best birds for your life style, would be either a ringneck or alexandrine.
 

Aussie Ben

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Last king parrot I met (years ago) was a male with a very large and playful personality. He was also a fairly good talker. Can't say much else other than that I'm afraid.
 

Auggie's Dad

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Auggie: Dusky Conure
Yup, most of them NEED their naps or quite time.

Some behavioral problems are caused by not getting enough out of cage time, but occasionally problems come from too much out of cage time. This is primarily an issue for people who work from home, or stay at home parents. But if your bird comes out in the morning and stays out with you until evening he will quite likely be a grumpy bird.

A midday nap of maybe an hour or so should be plenty. So on a day off or a weekend this is a great time to run to the grocery store or do some laundry, etc.
 

parrotqueen

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Out of your choices, I can see which ones would be best for your lifestyle.

The sun conures, as many have mentioned; are very noisy and are not ideal for someone who likes it quiet.

Alexandrines, ringnecks, and most of the asiatic parakeets are generally quieter, more managable birds. But as HRH mentioned, they aren't always the cuddliest of birds. The thing is, it can vary significantly from individual to individual.

King parrots are one of Dr. Rob Marshall's (an avian veteranarian) favorite birds as far as pets go. He says on his website that they are quiet, playful, and generally very easy to keep.

Lorikeets are playful, cute, and just plain goofy. Although their antics are entertaining, keep in mind the noise factor. They are full of sweet (but loud) chirps and squeals.

As for the nap, that's very important. Just like human infants, you can expect some crankiness if they don't get their nap.
 
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HRH Di

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Max - Alexandrine, Jade - Red-Front Macaw, Ruby - CAG
this is a silly question i suppose, but do parrots nap on and off during the day!

Yep, they do. Our Red-front prefers her naps lying on her back with feet in the air while being held on a lap or the crook of an elbow with occassional stroking on her head. Oh, and you really shouldn't be doing anything else because that might disturb her.

Our other birds are happy with naps on play perches or in their cages.
 

Bobby34231

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Of the birds on your list i'd have to say my vote would be the King Parrot, beautiful bird, active, playful, fairly quite and a decent talker, another great choice from your part of the world is the Rosella, many different species and colors............
 
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spaced

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thanks for all the replies everyone.

yes the king parrot does sound ideal really, however i've just read that keeping this particular bird inside isn't the best thing to do.
according to this little article, keeping a king inside as a pet results in a significant shortage in it's life expectancy!
is this true???

here is the page with this information:
How to Care for Your King Parrot | eHow.com
 

parrotqueen

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This particular bird species is usually kept in an aviary, because of it's need for flight. Whether or not it will shorten his life if you don't do so, I don't know for sure.
 

caliopi

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I have a male King Parrot and while he is not hand reared so doesn't talk he can be quite loud with his call in the mornings and early evenings. They are very easy to keep and if hand reared are very affectionate but in the research I did they are not the greatest talkers.

Loris eat a largely fruit/nectar diet so have rather runny poop and lots of and can be very noisy!

I too had very little experience with parrots and admit I made a mistake when I got my first one, the King Parrot and have been trying for ages now to get a female for him but they are hard to get unless you buy a pair. We decided on an eckie because it ticked all the boxes for what we wanted which was an affectionate bird that was easier to train and a good talker and we could not be happier with our choice.
 

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