Which parrot is right for me? Need suggestions!

Hi forum!

I just lost my little man (10 year old Jardine Parrot) 2 months ago. He was my only bird and the first real pet I bought after I left my parents home in college. He was the best bird- yes he had his quirks, but I loved him for them.

Now the house is extremely quiet, and I miss the familiar sound of the "honey I'm home" squawk. The rolling on the floor with toys, and the imitating of my alarm clock at 6 AM EVERYDAY (yes on weekends).

I don't want to get another Jardine. I know that sounds sort of harsh, but I had my time with the species, and I don't think another bird could top the one I lost. Plus there are so many other species/types I think I can find one suited to my life now.

I no longer live in an apartment. I have a home of my own! But I also have a husband, who loved my bird, BUT is deaf in one ear. That means he can tolerate a few good screeches and any birdy mumbling, but a lot or constant screaming will just not work.
For size, I don't want to go any smaller than a cockatiel. Bird was a good size, but a bit smaller or a bit bigger would be fine by us.
Cuddly please! But not "needs to be in your pocket 24/7".

Hope that helps. Let me know your ideas. So far we are looking at caiques, but I also have a tendency to be found looking at conures (i know, i know, the noise should rule them out.. but i can't help it!)

Let me know what y'all think! Thank you! I will include a pic of my Jardine "Birdus" below.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, it's one of the hardest things in life--they truely show us unconditional love.

From my experience, quakers are pretty wonderful little guys. I had a male. Sure he was a bit nippy, but I was also only 7 when I started training him. Plus it probably didn't help that I named him El Chupacobra after the mythic goat mutilator. Anyways, he wasn't that loud and quickly learned to mimic some whistles, like pretty girl and what not. He was cuddly, but only to me, hiding out in my hoodie pocket during dinner times. I could have made him more then just a one person bird, but I didn't really realize at the time that that behavior was bad.

A bigger parrot would be the african grey. I know, they're pretty loud, but they're extremely smart and can be taught to speak humanese instead of birdanese. Or an eclectus--which I'm very biased about right now cause we're picking up our littly lady in a few weeks

You could always go to a breeder that sells multiple species and see which ones really stick out to you before you make a decision. Besides, a good connection and loving relationship between bird and human can beat the usual statistics about any type.

Best of luck!!

Thank you for your advice! I do like quakers, but I still think i like caiques a bit better. Yet, idk if a caique is the perfect fit either.

You're welcome
Have you thought at all about a medium sized parrot?

Conure?

darkling said:

Conure?

Click to expand...

Haha! I can see we're playing favorites.

Yeah, yeah. The Conure Club is paying me to recruit new members. (I'm kidding, by the way. No offense to any actual Conure Club that may be out there.)

Seriously though, if you're looking for a slightly larger parrot but not too big, an Eclectus would be my suggestion. I don't know much about greys beyond the fact that they're known for talking and being really intelligent.

I for sure would be interested in a medium sized bird. Greys are wonderful, but are not a good match for me personality wise. I'm looking for goofy/playful. I love those conures... but the noise worries me... I have heard eclectus can be very independent and not very loving- is this true?

I second the Quaker suggestion. As I type this, my little Quaker girl, who has been very good and quiet entertaining herself on top of her cage for the past 3 hours, has decided that she wants my attention and is squawking and tossing toys off the top for me to fetch. She's very affectionate and loving, but does entertain herself very well.

Another option, if you didn't want super noisy conures, are Green Cheeks (or Black Cap or Maroon Bellied) conures. You could also look into Pionus. There are several species, they aren't super noisy, and I haven't seen a species that I didn't find gorgeous (I'm a gigantic fan of white capped pionus). You also could look into other Poicephalus like Senegals or Meyers.

From what I hear and have experienced with Caiques, they need constant stimulation. Basically, have a giant toy budget and a massive cage to fit them all, or have a slightly smaller toy budget and play with it all the time. They're adorable, but the ones I've met are totally hyperactive and ADD...which is obviously part of their charm.

You could also look into smaller cockatoos like Goffins or Bare eyed, and a mini macaw, like a Severe or Hahn's might fit the bill too.

THank you fro the great suggestions. I have to be honest, and there is a Mitred Conure I am totally falling head over heels for, but all i hear is they can be really needy and VERY VERY LOUD. ANyone have an idea about this? I think quakers are fabulous! But i might want something a little larger. Not much, but maybe a bit bigger...

Caique, Quaker, or Conure

Each bird's personality may vary. You need to be the one that go out to find that special bird as I believe the bird chooses you, not the other way around. All birds can be loud but to me conures' screams gets to me more then any other birds as I am half deaf myself. My macaw and cockatoo can be loud yes but its not an all day deal like the conures I've been around. I've owned a Quaker before as well and he was a wonderful bird but can be loud at times too. The quietest birds in my house are the Soloman Island Eclectus pair, just understand they're diet specific birds that requires a little extra care....

I have a blue capped pionus and he is the quietest thing ever. He is currently having a bad day but its a normal birdy thing. He is calm and will eat pretty much whatever you give him.

Also please remember depending on where you live quakers are illegal in some places.

Also if you are looking for a clown look into goffin cockatoos they are small and don't usually scream as much as the others and can be complete sweethearts.

I agree with MikeyTN, the bird will pick you.

We just got chosen by a Yellow sided Green Cheek Conure and he is the bestest joy EVER! We also have 2 Cockatiels and we love them to pieces, but our little GCC is amazing! He's comical, cuddly, acrobatic, loves tunnels and caves and burrowing under blankets for a mid day snooze. So far he's been very good, he hasn't squawked at all mostly just trying to talk to us. Maybe he'll get louder the longer we have him...but I dunno, he hasn't shown any indication yet.

We both work, I'm a school bus driver and I get to pop in and out of the house throughout the day, my husband usually comes home for lunch...we talk to him...SOMETIMES we get him out during lunch, but usually not as we're busy. Night time after dinner is our "bird" time and that's when they all get to come out for a couple hours, walk about and find treats, play, snuggle, cuddle, kiss and preen.

He's great with all the members of our family and our neighbor kids too! So far, he'll go to anyone and has successfully made EVERYONE who's met him laugh out loud

I posted a post in the conure forum titled "Showing off Franklin" It has some pictures of him with my Sons.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, I lost my 1st cockatiel 5 years ago...took me this long to want another bird after him...now we have 3 As for you, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Green Cheek Conure to anyone Big Parrot personalities bundled up in one little package. The perfect bird for us.

Take care and good luck,

Toni

I do adore all conures, but if you want a larger bird with lots of personality and quiet, try a pionus. All of them have a very quiet nature not known for screaming or skawking. I love my white capped pionus girl, she is a doll and loves to be talked to and is just so curious about everything around her.

So sorry for the loss of your bird. It is painful to lose one.

The female eclectus I'm getting isn't very loud and she's coming from a family who have lived in apartments for their entirety together without any complaints. Yes she squawked a few times while we were visiting there, but just when we came & went. Besides that she sat on our laps and mumbled happily. From the research I've been doing on eclectus', they seem pretty mellow--sometimes being described as lethargic but cuddle buddies My vote, eclectus or green cheek conure.

Green cheek conures are cuddly, and one of the quieter conures. Although any bird can have a scream day here or there I suppose lol.

I live in a very small apartment complex and I have a Black Cap conure. I love her to bits

Blue front Amazon! Now thats a clown! At least my guy is. He can be loud, but not to often. He sings quite loudly, but thats because I do. A conures noise level is to much for me. My amazon would sit in my lap all day if I would allow it, but he always LOVES to entertain anyone that walks in the door, and then when he is done, he asks them to leave. So forget the conure club, come to the dark side and get an amazon! I am only kidding. Get what is right for you.

what about a African grey? I heard they are quiet... is it true? noone has said anything about them being loud or quiet in this thread.