Please help me choose a bird

[oompaloompa]

You are really giving this some serious thought....

the problem is if you want a supercuddly bird - you also get a needy one (in terms of time and attention)

Yup, greys are dusty and messy and cuddly on their own terms (thans goodness otherwise I could not keep up with the demand) but easy-peasy compared the my current macaw (not so dusty, but very demanding, wanting attention alsmost 24/7)

I read you love to give your pets all the space they might need (I applaud you!!)- so forget about cage and go straight to indoor aviary - if your bird is spending the day amusing him/herself let it do what birds do best: fly (a bit) and forage away.
Giving them space wont make them an ounce less tame, but a lot less frustrated because of all the pent-up energy.

(Oh macaws that scream non-stop is just an not-raised-right issue / of maybe hormones in some cases/ The funny thing is that some people have 12 of them and never a *peep* and other have one and the whole neighbouhod knows it. Traditionally they make some noise around waking and going to sleep / so sunrise and sunset, but they will adapt...Saying that: they belong to the more pairbonding birds - socialize their babysocks+ adolescent sneakers off!-> that is a boatload of work the first 7-8 years before you can easy off a little bit)

LOL@ "the girlfriend" ...but - how does she feel about being a co-parront?
My manly-manly friends were somewhat intimidated bij the greys (beaksize mostly)
-it took them a few years, and now they see the macaw they wonder what the <somethings> they were worried about

(just asking because some parrot-keeping-men find the girls in their life do not look kindly to being usurped by a chicken-like being)
.

Exactly true - and I am trying to find the balance between "super cuddly" and "needs to be with you always". It seems like the Jardine's Parrot is a decent balance between these two.

Yes ma'am, I give my animals as much space as I possibly can. IMO, "minimum" is just that - minimum. Nobody should strive for minimum, and I don't typically recommend animals for people unless they can provide MORE than the minimum.
Examples - the rock iguanas have a 180 square foot outdoor enclosure. If I end up with dart frogs again, they will have at least a 180 gallon, maybe up to a 450 gallon display vivarium. My reef tank is 180 gallons, with another 300+ gallons of volume in sumps and filtration. The boa constrictors aren't crammed into tubs - instead, they are all in naturalistic 120 gallon (4x2x2) enclosures, and once my snakes start to reach 7 feet long, they will be moved into 6x2x2 enclosures instead. Leopard geckos all are in about 45 gallon enclosures, as is my milk snake and african bullfrog. And the emerald tree boas get 3x2x2 (90 gallon) enclosures. Phew, I think that covers everyone!
Oh, forgot one - I'm on the lookout for a fly river turtle, if I can find one he will have a 2,100 gallon setup, at least - I've been toying with getting it up to 7-8,000 gallons, but let me find the turtle first

Sorry for that rambling - but case in point, I definitely enjoy giving my animals more space than they "need".
I agree that it shouldn't make them "less social" - I've heard the argument that keeping snakes in tubs makes them "feel safer" and be healthier than keeping them in large enclosures, and I wonder who perpetrated that argument. That is only true with unhealthy animals.

A large indoor aviary, or even an outdoor aviary - would definitely be considered, and probably accepted
The pool is covered, so he/she would get to come outside when we were in the pool. We'd probably put a big perch system out there, maybe with live plants too.

I am not sure on the macaw or not - perhaps an older macaw, past the pubescent stages, would be a bit easier. Like I've said earlier, I've worked with macaws before, but never owned one personally - so not 100% familiar with round-the-clock living with one.

Luckily, girlfriend doesn't mind - she'd have to come meet the individual animal, but she's used to the animals. We've got a rule - my house, she doesn't say anything about the animals, I don't say anything about the clothes/shoes
In all seriousness though, she does enjoy the animals - and she's looking forward to finding the same things in a bird that I am.
If anything - I'll get replaced by the bird, not her!

Drew

 

[chris-md]

here’s the thing with noise: a well cared for parrot will not be a terribly loud pet. Male ekkies tank right up there with the quieter species. Mine only really screams when startled or when he sees something outside.

Unlike sun conures, many parrot species won’t randomly scream for the sake of announcing how happy they are to be alive.

 

[oompaloompa]

Hope bumping is allowed on these forums. Would love to hear what others have to say

 

[Taw5106]

My experience birds are going to get loud and scream because they are so happy. My CAG, he starts screaming, I say Buzz, sing something else and he does, but screaming seems to be his way of expressing happiness. Are you sure you want a bird?


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[oompaloompa]

My experience birds are going to get loud and scream because they are so happy. My CAG, he starts screaming, I say Buzz, sing something else and he does, but screaming seems to be his way of expressing happiness. Are you sure you want a bird?


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It doesn't seem that all birds scream to express happiness.
I think they are more like people in their personalities - yes, you have people that scream and are bouncing off the walls when they're happy.
But you also have people who relax and just enjoy chilling out when they're happy. I am more along these lines - I don't bounce off the walls when I get excited, I certainly don't scream - lol.
Everything is pointing to me looking for an adult bird to adopt though - which I think is my plan.

Build a nice-size indoor aviary (maybe outdoor), and work with rescues to find a bird that suits me. Species not of importance

Drew

 

[MosaicMadness]

We've had a Red Fronted Macaw for 9+ years.. it does NOT meet your requirements. They are LOUD loud loud and messy. They also are very empathetic and REQUIRE attention and play and FLIGHT. Lovebirds, tiels, budgies, lineolated parakeets are all smaller and chattery. Pionus aren't a bad choice but nearly impossible to find. They also are more able to take someone coming and going and not there 100% of the time. What about Senegals or Capes or some of those types? Indian Ringneck or Alexanderine? Go to YouTube videos and google all the types of parrots you are interested in, and find the videos where they are going off, Squawking and screaming. The ones that don't make you want to poke your ears out are contenders LOL.

 

[Laurasea]

We've had a Red Fronted Macaw for 9+ years.. it does NOT meet your requirements. They are LOUD loud loud and messy. They also are very empathetic and REQUIRE attention and play and FLIGHT. Lovebirds, tiels, budgies, lineolated parakeets are all smaller and chattery. Pionus aren't a bad choice but nearly impossible to find. They also are more able to take someone coming and going and not there 100% of the time. What about Senegals or Capes or some of those types? Indian Ringneck or Alexanderine? Go to YouTube videos and google all the types of parrots you are interested in, and find the videos where they are going off, Squawking and screaming. The ones that don't make you want to poke your ears out are contenders LOL.

That's what came to mind for me to a caique , Senegal, a myeres? It sounds like you take wonderful care of your pets. I just have a small worry this is a status thing for you? Any parrot is a lot if time and interaction required for let's say 30 years, whilst in the meantime you will have children of your own, perhaps even reach grandchildren. I too went away to college, and made sure my pets came with me even though this was a huge financial , and time management struggle for me. Maybe having a pair if well cared Avairy birds that you can admire but not interacted with much might meet your needs. Otherwise I support you in making the best choice possible, and commend you for the care of your current pets. I will enjoy hearing how your journey takes you.