Hello and needing advice

[JustMyForte]

Hello, my name is Holly. I am new to Parrot Forums, but not new to owning birds. I have owned finches and cockatiels in the past, but am now looking to add a new feathered friend to my family in the near future.

I have for quite a few years wanted to add a conure to my family, and always told myself when I no longer had my tiels, I would look into acquiring a conure. Fast forward to the first part of the year, I found a baby jenday conure that I was very interested in and fell in love with. I went as far as to putting down a deposit on the baby while it is in the process of being weaned. I really do love this bird, but am feeling like maybe I haven't explored all my compatible bird options and am maybe wanting to reconsider the bird I bring home. Maybe it's a little bit of buyers remorse or bad timing, but I really want to make the right decision. I am a little nervous as what to expect with a jenday once I bring it home. I am able to apply my deposit toward the purchase of another bird for up to a year. We are getting close to bringing the baby home, so I need to make a decision before this happens. Not that I am wanting to bring another bird home right away instead, as I am willing to wait for the right bird to become available if my heart has a change.

Let me tell you a little about me. I have a young 3 y/o child in my home, as well as a few reptiles, dogs, and fish. My child loves animals, and absolutely loves birds. She was so upset when our cockatiel died. I do have a job that I am out of the house for 8 hours a day, M-Th. I work from home on Fridays and am home all weekend long. When I am not home, there is usually someone in my home as we have family come over to watch our child during the day. We don't go on many vacations, if we do it's a short one or two day thing.

I am wanting a bird that is a great family companion, not too large or too small, something child friendly, and am wanting to try out something different from finches and cockatiels. I have had a bit of an interest in Alexadrines, IRN, Meyer's, and Senegals, but am having a hard time finding a lot of info on these species.

What do you all know and think? Any other bird suggestions? Am I overthinking the jenday conure? Please advise what you all feel would be best for me.

Thank you in advance,
Holly

 

[Scott]

Welcome Holly, kudos for thoroughly evaluating your motives and potential selection. I have no conure experience, but they are extremely popular for those wanting a physically larger bird than a cockatiel.

Child-friendly for a 3 year old means absolute and constant supervision when together, requiring a bird with mellow temperament. From what I know of conures, they may be a bit unpredictable, but let us wait for other knowledgeable members to opine!

While there are many threads inquiring for the "ideal" bird for various situations, perusing several species-specific candidates in the sub-forums may be helpful.

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Welcome!
I like your style already... open-minded, responsible.
What Scott said!
Also... are there any rescues near you? If so, you could visit and maybe volunteer. That way, you're meeting and adopting a fairly known quantity, a mature bird whom you can evaluate for suitability. Also, you're rescuing a bird in need.
Green Cheek Conures are extremely popular here...
Stick with us.
Good luck!

 

[smbrds]

What they said. Welcome!

 

[JustMyForte]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! I look forward to learning along with everyone. This looks to be a great group of people here!

 

[Jottlebot]

Hello, I have an Alexandrine, just wanted to say hi and give a bit more information as you said you'd been interested in them. McCoy is 15 months old, he's (don't actually know he's a boy) a fairly typical Alex. Laid back, independent, a ferocious chewer at times and he is loud when he shouts, but only does this once or twice a day for a few seconds. He isn't nippy, but does bite every now and then out of over excitement or general grumpy-parrotness rather than fear or aggression. He isn't cuddly, but I'm just getting him used to my hands as he was parent reared and I was never bothered about getting a bird with a cuddly reputation.

If your looking at a conure I don't think an Alex would be for you. The first reason would be the size and the beak size in particular! There's a huge difference and I would be worried about the damage an Alex could do to little fingers should some accident happen. Mainly though if you feel a conure personality would suit your home then you might find an Alexandrine (dare I say it!?) a bit less...erm...interesting... Don't get me wrong, I ADORE McCoy, but we're both quite happy basically just looking at each other and chatting! Either in his cage or him perched on my knee or arm. He's not the playful little handful that I think conures are. He does quite a few tricks, but the motivation is clearly food rather than just the joy of getting into mischief! Hope this additional information helps.

It'll be great to hear how you get on and what you decide.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. With your situation really carefully consider the parrot first. Hard to say but true. Your child will grow up, a parrot stays a 2 year old for decades. Since you have child care in house, you will want a parrot that will accept multiple people into its flock. Parrots that pair bond would not be an ideal choice, they tend to have one 'person' to the exclusion of everyone else. That 'person' may turn out to be one of the childcare givers!

From a recent post of mine , on parrot selection:

Dont overlook the Brotogeris family of parrots, aka Pocket Parrots. There are 4 or 5 species being offered in the US pet trade these days. Smallish, bigger then a parrotlet, smaller then a cockateil, these parrots may be small but have big parrot attitude - absolutely fearless and very inquisitive. Our Canary or Yellow Wing Parrot, Max, was a real hoot and would bully big cockatoos around when we brought him to the local pet/bird store for wing trims. They can talk a little, but whistle much better, our Maxie did several movie themes , in example. Another big plus is that Brotogeris are one of the few species that actually seek out human interactions. Called pocket parrots for liking of peeping out of ones shirt or coat pockets. Our Max used to shove his head under the hand of anyone handy, to get a good scratching. Small enough so that even if you get a real intense bite, it rarely is serious physically. Downside - hard to find ones that have been hand reared or at least had a lot of human contact. Your best bet is to find a shop that has them, and see if one discovers that you are their "person". Max did that for me - out of a dozen or so, he stepped right up onto my hand, took a look at me and gave me the cutest wolf whistle. That sealed it. Brotogeris can be loud, for a bird their size, if not trained to use their indoor voices. You should develop a quiet 'contact call' with a brotogeris, because they will want to be with their flock! A smallish cage suffices for them, with toys for Budgies up to cockateils - lots of these, as they love to play and hang by one toe.

You have quite the decision to make. I bring up this species because of our first hand experience with them and no one looking for a smaller parrot companion should overlook this group of species. Good Luck!
__________________