My mom has been thinking about buying a parrot for the past couple of months, both as a pet and as a companion to our cockatiel. (The vet advised buying it a companion once the other parrot we had died) I've been telling her that a parrot is a big investment on the scale of twenty years or so, but she doesn't seem to mind. She's been taking care of the ones we had previously for years, so I figure she's not naive when it comes to the mess + noise.
Either way, she's been thinking about buying a plum-head she saw at the local pet store. It's a cute and very quiet bird (supposedly hardly ever makes any noises). However, it's still not tame and will move away when you put your hand near its cage. Recently, the store acquired a hand-reared young monk parakeet that apparently someone was selling due to being unable to take care of yet another one. It was very sociable and wanted both me and my mother pet it. Given that neither of us can dedicate a lot of time to a rigorous training/taming regime, all the birds we've had thus far were half-tame at best (no touching, even with the best of efforts), so an "easier" bird is definitely attractive. Still, it feels a bit like cheating, as though we owed the plum-head to buy it, since we visited it at the store multiple times in the past.
I'm not sure what to do. I know that some birds will never like being touched, and I don't want my mom to be disappointed by getting herself another "distant" bird, nor do I want the bird to suffer having an owner they don't get along with. Even though she seems to be dedicated to the idea, I was thinking whether getting a bird would be right at all. Any advice?
Either way, she's been thinking about buying a plum-head she saw at the local pet store. It's a cute and very quiet bird (supposedly hardly ever makes any noises). However, it's still not tame and will move away when you put your hand near its cage. Recently, the store acquired a hand-reared young monk parakeet that apparently someone was selling due to being unable to take care of yet another one. It was very sociable and wanted both me and my mother pet it. Given that neither of us can dedicate a lot of time to a rigorous training/taming regime, all the birds we've had thus far were half-tame at best (no touching, even with the best of efforts), so an "easier" bird is definitely attractive. Still, it feels a bit like cheating, as though we owed the plum-head to buy it, since we visited it at the store multiple times in the past.
I'm not sure what to do. I know that some birds will never like being touched, and I don't want my mom to be disappointed by getting herself another "distant" bird, nor do I want the bird to suffer having an owner they don't get along with. Even though she seems to be dedicated to the idea, I was thinking whether getting a bird would be right at all. Any advice?