Hello from South Africa

Furbz

New member
Jan 10, 2019
8
0
Hi All,

New to the forum but not to owning birds.
and looking to learn and take advice before diving into owning a bird again.

my background.
when i was a kid my mom and brother brought home a Jenday Conure
To be honest i was very uninterested in having a pet bird in the house at the time.
noisy, messy things!
but as fate would have it Rolo took a shining to me.
years of the most fantastic friendship ensued. i really loved Rolo.
he did have a slight mean streak - he used to fly attack strangers. more so if they happened to be my GF :p
long story short one morning we woke up and it was clear Rolo was struggling to breathe, we rushed him straight the vet. and by the evening he was gone.
that was 7 years ago.

since then i have tried to fill the hole Rolo left with little success.

i bought a green-cheek conure Nikki a year after. Devil bird. acts normal, they savages you. hated everyone in our family. and everyone hated her due to her unpredictability.
she took a shining to a friend and was rehomed.

then as i was a student at the time i got a cockatiel named chip :yellow1:.
super cute bird. very demanding in the "give me love department"
was happy to go to anyone and loved to play and whistle.
she loved my brother the most so was sort of adopted by him.
that said she was a family friendly bird. never bit once! it was like she never figured she should close her beak - not that i am complaining.
sadly she started laying eggs. we did everything we could to discourage it.
she passed on egg bound. very sad for us, broke my brother heart.

my wife, GF at the time(also studying) hand raised a budgie named Pringle.
this budgie was the most exceptional budgie i have ever met.
friendly to everyone, playful. and smart. really smart - at least for a budgie.
Pringle was an absolute treat.
Sadly we went on a holiday and left Pringle with her parents.
Her father did not notice Pringle had flown onto the floor and he did not see her and stood on her. needless to say, 1x holiday ruined.
to this day i am still to scared to buy another budgie as i am certain it could never live up to Pringle.

i then tried a lovebird - my first impulse buy.
super cute, but way way way to loving. they are called a lovebird for a reason!
Cupid took to trying to feed me. as i took him out he/she started to regurgitate food to feed. when i say i tried everything to stop this behaviour i really mean it. it got so bad Cupid started to regurgitate everything he ate onto his own back. he would do this til he was so weak he could not stand.
i took him to a specialist who paired him with another lovebird and from what i hear that worked. only catch was i lost my bird to the specialist.
i was not so happy about this, but Cupids health was at risk.

Finally there was Chuckles - a Sunburst Conure :orange:.
a lovely bird that my mom adopted around the time i got Nikki (the green cheek).
Chuckles did not like me, to be fair it was because i clipped his wings and did his nails. a job i did happily to ensure no resentment was channelled towards my mom.
Chuckles was happy to sit with me, and did not like me taking him out the cage. but you could see he associated me with an activity he hated.
6 years on my parents started travelling more, and Chuckles got somewhat neglected on the interaction side. i was no longer living at home, my parents were not there. so Chuckles spent long periods with a minder.
In the end i stepped in a found him a new home.
at the time i had just rehomed my lovebird, and had totally lost interest in birds having lost Pringle and Chip, followed by rehoming my lovebird.
in hindsight i really should have taken Chuckles myself, it would have taken some time and dedication buy i'm certain i could have got him to trust and love me more. that said, my wife would have murdered me - she is not a fan of a screaming bird (part of a conures nature).

all of the above was a good 4 years or more ago.
i have always wanted another parrot. my wife's attitude is simple - NO BIRDS. until recently. i was told i could get a budgie if i really wanted a bird.

i have a large house on a 1 acre plot
2 beagles, and a mini dachshund. (all of which have known parrots)
funny, our beagle bailey actually found an escaped(or released) budgie in a park once.
she did absolutely nothing to it!
she looked at it, then at us and sat down.
the bird was clearly used to hands but not friendly.
i put up signed and a week later we had found the owner.
to be fair to the owner, for the time we had the budgie, i have never found a bird that wanted to be outside more than this one.
it only had one goal, and it spent every second of every day trying to get "away" or outside. it could spend hours running up and down the window sill.
one day i made sure its wings were clipped and let it go where it wanted.
you have never seen a happier budgie cruising around on the grass.
when it was time to go back inside it took me the better half of 10min to catch him! outside was all it wanted.

that leads to me now. 4 years on.
in that time i have suppressed a deep and lingering desire to own a parrot again.
many times i've researched and read and looked. but never pulled the trigger.
so far i know the following:
1. i want a challenging bird. or at least a bird more challenging than a budgie or cockatiel
2. small/medium size is good. Conure size and up, but smaller than an African grey.
3. if i get a conure my wife WILL kill me. something relatively quiet then.
4. i work. so i away during business hours. i need a bird that can entertain itself for 6-8 hours while i am away without developing anxiety issues.
5. i'd like a bird that can go to everyone. i know this is hit and miss, but if there is a strain that is better at this than most, i'd go for it.
6. i love a bird that loves to be loved. cuddly is important to me.
7. and the reason i have not pulled the trigger yet. family. in the next 2 years i hope to start a family of my own. the 2 legged, 2 armed mini - me kind.

based on that and everything i've read, i keep coming back to the Meyers Parrot. they sound fantastic by the write ups and info on the net.
but i read them with a pinch of salt as every writeup on almost any bird seems to read the same.
so here i am looking for people with more experience than me to help guide my decision.
the catch with a Meyers is they are not readily available in RSA.
a Jardine parrot is though.
parrotlets also look rather interesting, but then again so do alexandrine parakeets.

Sorry for the long post!
 
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Furbz

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Jan 10, 2019
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thanks,
i figure a large portion of this forums members are based in the states.

i just finished reading through @SailBoat Amazon thread.
a very well written and informative thread!
i suspect i will have to re-read it a few times.
its scary to see how many times i've done the entirely wrong thing!
 

Allee

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2013
16,852
Media
2
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Texas
Parrots
U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts
Welcome to the forums. Thank you for the intro and thank you for researching extensively before you make your decision. Who would be the primary caregiver for your future bird? You mentioned your wife wouldn't be happy with a conure due to noise? The words parrots and quiet are seldom used in the same sentence. Is your wife as excited about adopting a bird as you are? How much time will you be able to devote to the bird after your human child arrives? I don't mean to sound negative but there's a lot to consider for the bird's well being. I have no personal experience caring for a Jardine but hopefully some of our members can tell you more.
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
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Full house
Hi welcome.
We have a lot of people ask what bird would be quiet, happy to entertain themselves on their own, then loving to everyone. Sadly , that parrot doesn't exist. Or we would all have one. :)
My past GCC and current GCC were and are quit birds. Both birds are very loving, and also bite...
My quakers are very loving, but loud. And they are so social they couldn't handle not having a lot of attention, or they would become a screamer and turn to self mutilation...
Pionus Parrots are quieter by reputation, but I haven't met or had one..
Alexandrine Parrots have a reputation of not being into touching, and can revert to a more wild state if not constantly worked with..
 
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ChristaNL

Banned
Banned
May 23, 2018
3,559
157
NL= the Netherlands, Europe
Parrots
Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
I love long posts :)

Have you considered a Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus)?
The crazy thing is: all the american ones seem to be one-person (shy) birds, overhere they are typical outgoing all family birds (unless they are raised and kept by a single person that does not socialize them at all).
They are small-ish (so not scary for a first time parrotowner), compact and compared to a lot of other parrots not really loud.


The Meyers were quite the hype here, but since people expected them to stay tame & cudly without regular interaction .. they get rehomed quite a bit (more a people-issue than a parrot-fail afaik). Lovely parrots.
 
OP
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Furbz

New member
Jan 10, 2019
8
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Welcome to the forums. Thank you for the intro and thank you for researching extensively before you make your decision. Who would be the primary caregiver for your future bird? You mentioned your wife wouldn't be happy with a conure due to noise? The words parrots and quiet are seldom used in the same sentence. Is your wife as excited about adopting a bird as you are? How much time will you be able to devote to the bird after your human child arrives? I don't mean to sound negative but there's a lot to consider for the bird's well being. I have no personal experience caring for a Jardine but hopefully some of our members can tell you more.

Not at all. i see it as constructive criticism and a form of looking at something from a perspective i may be blind to. your help and questioning is much appreciated!
some answers:
i would be the primary caregiver.
as is a Conures nature, they tend to scream for attention. its just their nature. i think we all know a conure screams. lovely lovely birds. but that screaming my wife could not live with.
so let's say a conure persistent screaming is a no go for us.
that said, all bird are loud. its not the loudness so much as the constant screaming that would drive my wife wild.
are we both in on getting a bird... Truth? no. i've wanted a bird companion for years and 4 years later that has not changed. my wife's attitude has cracked slightly. i am in her word aloud a budgie.
Time is something i am blessed with. i have a flexible job, and often work from home. but you have hit the nail on the head. if i start a family will i have the time to devote to a youngish bird? - this has troubled me for the last 4 years. so my slightly selfish thinking is there is never a perfect time to commit to a pet of any sorts, there is always be obstacles.
i know how demanding a parrot is and i'm ready to take on that challange.
that said, i am clueless as to the demands of a baby child. and its that unknown that has always stopped me.
Trust me, after rehoming 2 birds - i never want to have to do that again.


Welcome, thanks for sharing your interesting history with birds!

not a history i am particularly proud - of many mistakes.
i am here to tell my tale and gain knowledge before taking the plunge again.

Hi welcome.
We have a lot of people ask what bird would be quiet, happy to entertain themselves on their own, then loving to everyone. Sadly , that parrot doesn't exist. Or we would all have one. :)
My past GCC and current GCC were and are quit birds. Both birds are very loving, and also bite...
My quakers are very loving, but loud. And they are so social they couldn't handle not having a lot of attention, or they would become a screamer and turn to self mutilation...
Pionus Parrots are quieter by reputation, but I haven't met or had one..
Alexandrine Parrots have a reputation of not being into touching, and can revert to a more wild state if not constantly worked with..

of course! let me clarify my thoughts on loud parrots.
a screaming conure is my wife's nightmare. a budgies chirping she loves.
as for loving everyone - my conure used to fly attack anyone other than me.
i dont need the bird to love everyone, rather i need a bird that wont actively attack people. this is based on my time around 2 Conures.

I love long posts :)

Have you considered a Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus)?
The crazy thing is: all the american ones seem to be one-person (shy) birds, overhere they are typical outgoing all family birds (unless they are raised and kept by a single person that does not socialize them at all).
They are small-ish (so not scary for a first time parrotowner), compact and compared to a lot of other parrots not really loud.


The Meyers were quite the hype here, but since people expected them to stay tame & cudly without regular interaction .. they get rehomed quite a bit (more a people-issue than a parrot-fail afaik). Lovely parrots.

Senegals, i have not written them off!
nb i am basing my ideas on what i have read on the net, i'm keeping my mind wide open at this point. that said what i have read it that they do tend to be 1 person birds, and i would ideally like my wife to be friendly with the bird.
size wise they are perfect. i'm not going to lie i'm intimidated by larger parrots. so small to medium size fits me perfectly.


its chick season here, all the breeders and shops have birds available.
i was playing with 4 month old amazon in a store last week.
stunning bird. just nervous it might be too much bird for me.
 

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