Age to get a bird

So in my research I've seen mixed advice on getting a newly weaned baby vs. getting an older bird.

I'm a rescue person, and I honestly hate having puppies/kittens versus an adult animal whose personality is already developed. I would think I would prefer that route in birds too, especially with the adolescent behavior changes and such. I'm not opposed to buying from a breeder - I support both responsible breeding and rescue - but I would think a rehome or rescue whose personality is established might be easier to work with.

What is your thought? At this point my family is leaning toward a CAG or Eclectus.

I recently got a baby, but honestly I kind of wish I would have gotten a rescue. They are harder to work with since they're babies, but they cuddle more. I'm not too familiar with rescued birds but I would say go for it!!! Plenty of birds that need a home. Just go to different places and see if a bird likes you. Same as you would a dog or cat. Good luck!

DeeNTheChillas said:

I'm not opposed to buying from a breeder - I support both responsible breeding and rescue - but I would think a rehome or rescue whose personality is established might be easier to work with.

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Re-homed and rescue birds often come with their own baggage and may require more of your time & efforts than newly weaned/fledged chicks from a breeder.....

Although designer birds are available, more has been done in the short term appearance category than the personality areas.....

We went through a rescue for our 2 parrots, best thing we ever did.

My amazon is 35, his only baggage appears to be all species related. All DYH male amazons would have those traits.
His age gave me some advantages, hormonal being one is not too bad. He is partially potty trained, he is very loving and someone had taught him not to bite hard. He likes to sleep in, knows some words, flies to me and flies very well. All these things I didn't have to teach him.

Our African brown head has the issue of not liking women too much, he has bonded to my hubby. We knew this when we got him.

Rescues can be and are wonderful, meet the bird and find out history as much as possible. Also our rescue would of let us return the bird within 30 days and refund our adoption fees or pick another bird if the ones we had chosen didn't work for any reason.

There are so many birds that need homes that if you can find it in your heart to work with an older bird then please explore this option.

You've gotten good advice from the other members and i'm all for rehoming older parrots. The key word in your original post was "family". If you could find a well socialized older parrot in rescue then it might be a good family pet, however most parrots in rescue aren't "well socialized". The really well behaved ones are rarely looking for a home. If you had enough "parrot savvy" then raising a baby ,well socialized, and involved with your whole family, might lead to a better chance at having a family pet. All that being said, it's still requires knowledge and effort to make any bird a "family" pet. Socialize,socialize,socialize regardless of your choice.

Both of my birds are older and they are wonderful

Rosie was a rescue and it took a long time to make her physically and mentally healthy. I've had her two years now and we have a incredible bond. I don't think I could have the same bond with a bird I got when weaned and raised. Sure, that bird would love me and we would have a awesome bond as well, but it wouldn't know anything different. Rosie has had a hard life, and when she came to live with me everything changed. I came into her life and made it worth living, and we have a amazing relationship because of it.

Kenji was born in 1993, Since being weaned he lived with one family his whole life where he was given wonderful care. He is a gem, and I feel so lucky to have been able to adopt him. Kenji's only "packages" are his fear of packing boxes, and his great reluctance to step up from his cage along with his lack of confidence while on hands.

I think having a baby bird must be awesome too, being able to raise a bird just the way you want is probably really nice.

Thanks everyone.

Bird care will be primarily my task, but I do need my husband to be able to care for said bird when I travel for work, which is at least once per year in the fall. I am sure my daughter will probably get involved when she is old enough as well, and I am not planning to get a bird for a few years so I think the youngest she'd be when we brought one home would be five.

I'm going to keep looking at both options... I would love to help out an older bird if I can but it has to be safe for my family. So we will see how things happen down the road.

weco said:

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Although designer birds are available, more has been done in the short term appearance category than the personality areas.....

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I cannot figure out what this means. :20:

Another place to look for older birds is with breeders. Many times they take back birds they've sold when the situation doesn't work out, for whatever reason. It's worth asking for sure. I actually bought a bird from a breeder and it wasn't one raised by them. This breeder is dedicated to Eclectus and will take in birds whose owners are ill or even for families who find themselves responsible for Eclectus when a loved one dies and they don't know what to do with the bird.

sodakat said:

weco said:

....

Although designer birds are available, more has been done in the short term appearance category than the personality areas.....

Click to expand...

I cannot figure out what this means. :20:

Another place to look for older birds is with breeders. Many times they take back birds they've sold when the situation doesn't work out, for whatever reason. It's worth asking for sure. I actually bought a bird from a breeder and it wasn't one raised by them. This breeder is dedicated to Eclectus and will take in birds whose owners are ill or even for families who find themselves responsible for Eclectus when a loved one dies and they don't know what to do with the bird.

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That's a great idea - thank you!

i buy from breeders, rescues, and just rehomes form craigslist all are amazing! Buying a baby is nice cause they always wanna snuggle and dont have any vices really (assuming they are handraised by a responsible breeder) but they do go through hormonal changes which for some is really hard to deal with! Getting one from a rescue is great as you are usually getting a bird who has already gone through the hormonal changes so you dont have to worry about that also they are full of personality and you feel good having given a bird with no home a forever family but they can have some bad vices form their previous homes and usually take longer to bond with you than a baby. A bird from craigslist is usually cheap, and really needs a great home so its nice to give them a second chance but often people will lie about their "super sweet healthy bird" and you end up with a biting, sick bird that wont eat its healthy food now Im not saying all birds from craigslist are like that I have found some amazing birds for rehome on craigslist and they are part of my flock but ive also found some that really need work and if your up to the challenge thats great but it sounds like you want something a bit easier to handle whatever your choice you really cant find a bad bird just ones that need more work than others good luck!