Adopting baby parrot vs adult

So there has been a discussion in my household for the past few days over the pros and cons of adopting a newly weaned baby vs an adult bird. We are at

Baby Parrot:

Pros
-No bad habits
-No previous bond

Cons
-Facing puberty
-Unknown personality

Adult Parrot:

Pros
-No facing puberty issues
-Established Personality

Cons
-Potential Bad habits
-Previous Bond

I know there are more as we have discussed other pros and cons but for the life of me I can't recall them. Would love opinions of more people just for the sake of discussion. Rehomed vs rescue is a whole other topic so assume a parrot being rehomed for "adult parrot".

I had the same dilemma. All I was really sure about was that I wanted a GCC. I visited two both were for re-homing. The first, a 14 week old flew straight to me and was comfortable straight away. I then went 30 miles away to see another. This one was 4 years old and took fright as soon as he saw me and wouldn't come near. It confirmed something that is often said here. The parrot chooses you.

That is not to say it was a marriage made in Heaven straight away. We had to go through puberty and we struggled at times but here we are 3 years later and we seem to have ironed out most of our problems most of the time. I do have ongoing concerns that he is going to outlive me and re-homing him at a good time has proved problematic. I am now simply enjoying him while being open to meeting someone who would love him and more importantly that he will love too, after I am gone.

A baby or adult? I think it's more a case of finding the parrot who wants to live with you no matter what the age.

You're not considering another bird right now, are you?

Cons of baby -
easy to make small mistakes that last a lifetime/screw them up behaviorally ( inappropriate boundaries, bad habits and expectations etc)
easy to get used to how "sweet" they are, and then feel betrayed when your "baby" changes at puberty
more expensive
unknown adult personality
unknown adult preferences in terms of people, volume etc
encourages breeders to continue breeding more birds when so many need homes

Pros of adult-
Saving a life
known personality
Often know the basics, like step up and some words (even if they don't always do them for new people, it's less teaching if they have done it before)
You already KNOW what their bad habits are and so it's harder to screw them up because they are slightly less "blank-slates" than babies
less expensive
no puberty, fewer surprises,
known preferences in terms of people

A baby who wants to live with you is NOT the same as an adult who wants to live with you. There are plenty of people who get baby birds who love them to bits and then at puberty, those birds change their preferences to another family member. It's not the same at all..Just like a baby human and a teen are not the same.

noodles123 said:

You're not considering another bird right now, are you?

Click to expand...

I'm assuming the question about considering another bird is prompted by how recently I lost Ari? Short answer is yes and no. I met a pair of quakers a few weeks back and fell hard for the species as I mentioned here. Somehow it developed into a discussion over the pros and cons of baby vs adult adoption.

The two conures we had were adopted around the same time. Echo came to us as an adult with behavioural issues. He hasn't really changed in the time we've had him although some of his bad behaviours have been reduced. Others not so much.

Ari was adopted as a 2 or 3 month old baby. When Ari hit one his personality did a 180 flip. He went from a snuggly affectionate bird to indifferent overnight.

Due to tougher restrictions being put back into place here in Victoria we are stuck at home 24/7 at the moment so these sort of discussions help keep us sane.

Talven said:

noodles123 said:

You're not considering another bird right now, are you?

Click to expand...

I'm assuming the question about considering another bird is prompted by how recently I lost Ari? Short answer is yes and no. I met a pair of quakers a few weeks back and fell hard for the species as I mentioned here. Somehow it developed into a discussion over the pros and cons of baby vs adult adoption.

The two conures we had were adopted around the same time. Echo came to us as an adult with behavioural issues. He hasn't really changed in the time we've had him although some of his bad behaviours have been reduced. Others not so much.

Ari was adopted as a 2 or 3 month old baby. When Ari hit one his personality did a 180 flip. He went from a snuggly affectionate bird to indifferent overnight.

Due to tougher restrictions being put back into place here in Victoria we are stuck at home 24/7 at the moment so these sort of discussions help keep us sane.

Click to expand...

My question was related to the cockatoo, honestly. As far as that personality flip at puberty, it is not atypical.
I am sorry about Ari though- I just was thinking you probably have a lot on your plate at the moment.

I can only speak to getting adult birds, as all of mine were 2 or older when I got them. I love the fact that they were all done with puberty when I got them and that their personalities were more settled at their age. I have bonded well with all of mine except Screamer (my cockatiel), who loves my husband and no one else. All of mine have enjoyed learning things as adults - Baby and Tango learned a few tricks, I’m teaching Tee to step up (slowly due to fear of hands), Stanley has learned not to bite and loves to learn new words, Bindi is learning to lay on her back. It’s funny but I’ve never considered getting a baby bird....adults just felt so much more stable and you know what you are getting .

I must admit after having Ari from a baby and seeing the personality change I am more inclined to go with an older bird rather than get a baby. I don't think I could deal with getting another bird and having a dramatic personality shift at puberty. But I also must admit that I would be trepidatious of what sort of neuroses or bad habits would come along with the bird. These are commonly why birds are rehomed.

Talven said:

I must admit after having Ari from a baby and seeing the personality change I am more inclined to go with an older bird rather than get a baby. I don't think I could deal with getting another bird and having a dramatic personality shift at puberty. But I also must admit that I would be trepidatious of what sort of neuroses or bad habits would come along with the bird. These are commonly why birds are rehomed.

Click to expand...

All birds come with that risk though--- If an adult bird picks a person, it generally sticks to some extent. I would bring everyone along if you are looking and remember, an adult bird (as Ari demonstrated) can show strong preferences toward a specific person, where a baby tends to be cooler with everyone, but rarely does that actually last. I am not saying all adult birds are one-person birds, but some are, and they definitely are programmed to find a mate, so you want to shoot for a bird that seems somewhat sociable if you can and just remember that a sociable baby doesn't necessarily mean a sociable adult. Even if a bird doesn't like everyone in the family, some will learn to accept others with time. That having been said, there is always the risk of jealously etc with any bird post-puberty--the babies get there eventually too.

If you get a baby, it's easy to create your own bad habits..
Birds can develop neuroses even when well cared for well...and lots of birds at rescues are there because their owners died or went to college etc (it's not always behavioral)

I am not saying that hanging out at a rescue gives you a complete picture of a bird (because obviously rescues are high-stimulation environments when compared to a home) and any environmental change will often freak a bird out for a period of time....especially during that "building trust" period...BUT, if you talk to the rescue people and visit often, you can get a semi-decent idea of what many birds will be like (excluding those with super high needs for attention/action etc, because a rescue is way more active than a home..and because certain birds put on a show for attention, even if they don't actually like you that much lol).

The key with an adult is trust and patience-- You probably need to figure out the whole out-of-cage situation if you are getting an adult, because with them, they aren't going to trust as quickly as a baby, and sometimes that can take months....A younger baby is going to let you touch it more easily in many instances, but an adult bird is still going to need to get out and about (even if it won't step up). So if you do get an older baby or an adult, I would make sure you have a plan regarding how to safely let it out (because again, building trust can take longer, but you don't want them getting super neurotic about their cage in the meantime). Even an adult bird that picks you MAY be more hesitant in a new environment, so just keep that in mind.

Also, remember the importance of a 45 day quarantine in a separate space, and the fact that a new bird may upset your other birds etc.

A wonderful adult bird could easily turn into a nut PITA in your home.

No guarantees with this. However...

I am definitely in the camp of getting a young bird, OR an adult one who seems cool. Not trying to rehabilitate a monster.

I have lost my Neptune as you might have read.....
I’m definitely a big fan of Quaker’s, they can be loud... Neptune was very loud all the time,
Penny my rescue was at the time of my seeing her a real mess , screaming, biting, in horrible conditions, traumatized. I rescued her regardless nit knowing how she would rehabilitate. She alternate between screaming and biting and being sweet in the beginning, now she is very sweet and so very funny, she is loud occasionally. I took in a rehome Quaker offered on this forum, and he was a live from the very beginning and is a very quiet Quaker. Both are cage aggressive, but out if the cage love bugs.

As far as it being to soon or not after your loss , that’s only up to how you feel. I git Neptune shortly after the loss of my green check who passed as an older bird who has health issues... it wa the right time for me and just worked out that way...
I have come across a Quaker in nit a good situation while looking to see if Neptune happened being posted by anyone.... I did make an offer fir her , but they wanted to make a big profit off her and really don’t care about her she is in a terrible small cage with one perch only and us plucking and chewing herself... and they want a very high price fir her, I wish I could save her....

I have had no problem with bonding with my rescue or rehome

I hope you are able to make the choice that works for you sbd I’m so sorry for your loss . I’m tormented by not knowing the outcome of my Neptune,

Well so far it certainly seems to be that older birds are the preferred choice. Not having to face puberty and the potential for a personality shift certainly seem to be a big pro for the adult birds.

Does anyone have a different view?

I would agree with the view so far, but I have another reason I suppose. I would be looking for a larger, longer lived bird and so I would prefer an older bird.

I got my Alexandrine when I was 32 and I hope we have a wonderful 40 years or so left in us. That's why I decided on the species actually, as well as the size and reputation, which I loved. If anything were to happen to him though I would probably want another medium to large bird, but I'm just so uncomfortable with the thought of it outliving me. Maybe if I had children I would feel differently. I got McCoy as a youngster who was only a few months old, but well past weaning etc... we've gone through his puberty and his personality has remained the same thankfully, with the addition of hormonal plucking this year anyway!

It sounds like you'd like a smaller species and I assume that as they are smaller they have shorter lifespans so it probably isn't such an issue, but just thought I'd add it as something for people to also consider.

That's a very good point and one we hadn't even considered. The longevity of a parrot vs the amount of years left in us. Although with covid-19 as rampant as it is I'm not sure years is the right value anymore.

There are never guarantees in life....
I’m a big believer in second chance parrots