Can you help me choose a parrot companion?

Hey,

I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this, so apologies if not.
I would like to describe my situation to you, to see if I can have a parrot companion or not.

1. I live in a small apartment, about 40 square meters, one large room. I live in the city.
2. I can't handle screams (I'm OK with chirping and talk etc, but not the ear piercing shrieks like my friend's cocaktoo does when he's angry or she leaves the room).
3. I work around 10 hours a day and it's not always certain if it'll be 10 or 12.

What I can give - about 2 hours of love and affection mid week (unless I worked over 12 hours, then I might drop dead asleep by then), alot of fun on weekends, and sometimes take him with me to work (so a parrot who can enjoy travel and walks with me would be super cool). Toys, great cage (anything that requires money I can supply).

I don't have any other pets, no children.

I don't mind taking one or a couple, however I don't want eggs or not have a bond with the parrot. Not looking for a furniture, but a companion since I live alone and lonely.

Thanks again.

Parrots scream, it's what they do. If you can't handle that, a canary or finch is probably your best bet. A well behaved parrot generally won't scream a whole lot but it's fair to estimate/expect morning and evening noises.

Otherwise; a cockatiel or small conure might be good for you: Crimson bellied conure, pearly conure, green cheek conure, painted conure, any of the pyrrhura conures.

You work schedule is fine. I have an eclectus (medium sized parrot) and work your same schedule. He's a dream and handles that just fine. He's out of his cage as long as we're home.

Thank you Chris.

I don't think a scream of a conure is the same as a cockatoo? Am I wrong? when I say screaming I mean something insane in the volume it can make.

I was also suggested a green cheek, but someone else told me they never shut up. ever. And I need my sleep.
Another friend suggested an IRN.

What do you think?

Also, out of cockatiels and conures - who will be better traveling with me?

Yep, you're wrong. Cockatoos can get louder but the ear bleeding scream of a sun conure can compete with a cockatoo any day of the week.

I advise you to visit a bird rescue. You need to get an idea of what the screams are actually like to decide if you can handle it.

I would tell you though, if in an online post a primary post of yours is "I need my sleep", it shows you don't understand much about parrots and you have a LOT of research to do before you ever pick one up. I applaud you for starting by posting here, and encourage you to spend a few months really looking into this.

As it stands right now, I think you really shouldn't get anything more than a couple finches, given your preoccupation with noise.

I understand. Thanks for your input! I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation that's not good for me or the bird.
I will schedule a visit in a parrot rescue in the following weeks to listen to them closely.

locoparrot said:

I understand. Thanks for your input! I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation that's not good for me or the bird.
I will schedule a visit in a parrot rescue in the following weeks to listen to them closely.

Click to expand...

That is a great idea. I wish more people would do that ! Let us know what you find.

Hi Loco parrot - all parrots are loud occasionally, and it varies by each bird. Some conures are minimally loud, and some of the same species ear splitting and relentless . ANd honestly, 2 hours a couple of times a week does not suonnd like an ideal situation for you or the parrot. They do best when there is ample ( like 2+ hours) daiblt interactions on a 1 to 1 basis in order to remain tame and handleable. One thing tha sets off most parrots is not enough attention from the flock ( you). Sorry, it just sounds like you are setting yourself up for
1) disappointment because the bird is not bonding to you
2) a screaming bird because he wants more of you then you have to give. - remember you still need to clean and feed him every day, and both of those takes time.
3) Most parrots thrive on routine- and some, if you deviate even the slightest start to give all sorts of behavioral issues from screaming to plucking to outright aggressivet biting.

If I had to give advice , I would suggest a buddgie. But really who knows how long it will stay hand tame with that small amount of 1 on 1 time.

Parrots are loud ( look at all my special species ) It's part of being in the Bird world .Embrace it and yell with them

I find a sun conure to be shrill and loud. My green cheek conure not so much. But I also have a high tolerance for noise.

You can also listen to different birds on YouTube. But honestly even though "generally" some species may be quiet you may get that "one" loud bird. So every bird is an individual just like you may get the worlds quietest individual too.

Actually noise depends on what you or your neighbours class as noise. I think Im misreading your post when you say you have two hours midweek Im sure you meant two hours daily...if you havent two hours daily then a parrot isnt for you. Some people have sugested budgies and cockatiels but they also need to be cared for and fed and some time spent with them because they are flock birds and you would only make them miserable if you didnt spend an hour or two with them daily even on your 12 hour shift days. If you have the time to spend with a bird daily then another one you might consider is a Parrotlet. These little guys have the character of a larger parrot wrapped up in a tiny body and even when they throw a tantrum (and they do) they are not so noisy and they really bond with their person plus you can carry them from a to b in a little carrier presuming of course you have a safe cage for them at both point a and point b
This is a video of one I found on youtube...but remember these little guys need a daily committment from you not a two hour a week relationship or when you feel like it

[ame="https://youtu.be/JNSaDo2qGWg"]Crazy Koolaid Talking & Running After His Ball! - YouTube[/ame]

And here is one throwing a tantrum

[ame="https://youtu.be/CJkcOgVKEQQ"]Parrotlet Temper Tantrum! (Echo) - YouTube[/ame]

I love my green cheek. I altered my life to make it work (I have two jobs). I spend about 40 minutes with her before work (unless I work at 5:30am), then if I go right to my studio I make sure to take 40 minutes to stop by and play with her. Then when I get home she gets out for an hour before she goes to sleep.

This is a highly unusual day though, normally my day job finishes and she has me all evening Kyoto is very quiet, but she does chatter a lot (actual talking mostly) and she is just super fun and adorable. One thing to keep in mind about GCC's though, is they are BITERS. Their cuddly fun personalities make up for it, but they do love to bite.

Also, parrots sleep for 12 hours a day. On a normal day I wake Kyo up at 7am and she goes to bed at 7pm. She doesn't make any noise that would keep me up at night, she sleeps soundly and is quiet in the morning… unless I try to sleep in until late (10am), then she is yelling "MOMMY!!!!" for me to go feed her XD

Thank you all!

I want to clarify - I meant 2 hours daily. Not once a week. I'm new to this world, not an idiot

I can't ALWAYS promise it'll be 2 hours, some days it might be 45 minutes. But I can get a very large cage for them to be fly and be active inside.
Should 2 be better for their welfare?

Chatter is fine, talk is fine, whistles are fine. My issue is with shrieks. This is where I am sensitive.

Currently I spoke to a breeder that has a parrot farm, I will go there to listen to the parrots. My current list seems to be: cockatiel, green cheek and an IRN.
Ofcourse I will not take any parrot until I am certain it's good for both of us. Otherwise I wouldn't have been asking you guys.

BIRDIGIRL said:

And here is one throwing a tantrum

Parrotlet Temper Tantrum! (Echo) - YouTube

Click to expand...

OH MY! I think that was the cutest little temper tantrum I've ever seen!

locoparrot said:

Thank you all!

I want to clarify - I meant 2 hours daily. Not once a week. I'm new to this world, not an idiot

I can't ALWAYS promise it'll be 2 hours, some days it might be 45 minutes. But I can get a very large cage for them to be fly and be active inside.
Should 2 be better for their welfare?

Chatter is fine, talk is fine, whistles are fine. My issue is with shrieks. This is where I am sensitive.

Currently I spoke to a breeder that has a parrot farm, I will go there to listen to the parrots. My current list seems to be: cockatiel, green cheek and an IRN.
Ofcourse I will not take any parrot until I am certain it's good for both of us. Otherwise I wouldn't have been asking you guys.

Click to expand...

I hope you find the Parrot that is right for you. We were all newbies once snd I for one did not research my first parrot aswell as you are doing...full marks to you for researching things so well. I personally would recommend just one parrot to start with so that you bond with each other. Many times when two birds are together they end up bonding to each other and as you are a newbie I think it would be easier manage one and build a bond of trust with it than trying to bond with two who were bonding to each other but thats just my opinnion. Best of Luck in your search for your baby

You may want to check out Bourke's Parakeets as well. They are small, beautiful birds who are usually quiet. I got 2 older ones who had never been socialized, and they learned to step up within minutes.

Seems like you are taking all the right steps and researching as much as you can. That's great! Best of luck and let us know what you decide

To add onto Terrys post a bit, another parrot species that can be quite cudly are kakarikis. As far as I have noticed (a friend has a pet one) they are generally quite quiet but do make a sound a little like laughing.Good luck on finding a beautiful companion .

Hey all,

So I had a chance to join a friend for a trip south to a parrot farm.
I spoke to the owners for over two hours and he let me hear and hold a few kinds of parrots. Eventually I came home with a baby Quaker.

I am preparing a very very large cage for him with a big jungle gym, in the meantime he is in a smaller cage (can I attach pictures here?) with food, water and one toy.

He is not a happy camper
He screams and makes kind of weird cricket sounds. I am not troubled by the screams, just by the fact that he doesn't seem to like me (or anything).

In the room in the farm he was on me for about 30min and we ate an apple together, but now he tried to bite me when I brought in the food and water.

So I'm guessing I need to let him be for now. I hope he will like me eventually.

OutlawedSpirit said:

BIRDIGIRL said:

And here is one throwing a tantrum

Parrotlet Temper Tantrum! (Echo) - YouTube

Click to expand...

OH MY! I think that was the cutest little temper tantrum I've ever seen!

Click to expand...

SEE! THAT'S THE REASON THEY SAY BIRD'S SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DRINK COFFEE... That's it! From now on, we're switching you to decaf.

locoparrot said:

Hey all,

So I had a chance to join a friend for a trip south to a parrot farm.
I spoke to the owners for over two hours and he let me hear and hold a few kinds of parrots. Eventually I came home with a baby Quaker.

I am preparing a very very large cage for him with a big jungle gym, in the meantime he is in a smaller cage (can I attach pictures here?) with food, water and one toy.

He is not a happy camper
He screams and makes kind of weird cricket sounds. I am not troubled by the screams, just by the fact that he doesn't seem to like me (or anything).

In the room in the farm he was on me for about 30min and we ate an apple together, but now he tried to bite me when I brought in the food and water.

So I'm guessing I need to let him be for now. I hope he will like me eventually.

Click to expand...

He's disoriented.
Taken away from everything he's known to this point.

Be patient.

Sit down next to the cage and talk to him, offer him treats, let him settle in and get used to everything.

Then handle him. Basic step up. No bite. Touching exercises. Socialization.

Let him figure out he's safe first.

I handle them as soon as they'll let me. And some fear biting doesn't mean he doesn't like you, it means he's afraid of you. Get him over that hump... and it stops.