Adding a new bird to the crew?

[Wings]

as you might have read from some of my previous threads, I have been wanting another fid. I want to hear everyone's thoughts as many of you have much more experience than I. After some long research hours, and some self assessment, these are my preferences. I want a medium-large parrot, with a sqaured off tail. I want this because I have hear horror stories of the tail feathers breaking, and thd bird bleeding to death...yikes... also, talking ability does not matter, as it will be my companion, not an impression tool. A unique bird would be nice, so as I get more experience, I can breed them and conserve the species. I already have a cage for medium-large birds, although not macaw or a large cockatoo. Some birds I am considering are, black lories, vasa parrots, rare amazons, galahs, and toucans. I also want to take classes to have my birds learn freeflight, in case they get loose, or ann emergency happens and I need to let them loose, as I will also have an outdoor aviary. I cannot spend more than 2000 dollars on just the bird or birds themselvs. Not including supplies, and am on a 5000 budget. Please help me make this decision as I am bad at it...lol....

Thanka for reading my chunk of text... I am typing on my tablet so please excuse my spelling issues.

 

[MonicaMc]

Even short tailed parrots may break their tail feathers! So I'm afraid this doesn't help you narrow down any choices!

If you want to help conserve a species, you are probably going to need a lot more money than that! And you are going to need connections to the right people! If you don't know the right people, certain species can be difficult to get! And even if you know the right people, there's no guarantee that you can get the bird(s) you are wanting. Breeders can be stingy about selling certain species, especially to someone who has no experience breeding parrots and does not currently have a setup to breed.

Black lories and vasas are easy enough to come by. Lories do require a specialized diet and vasas are *very strange* parrots that also have a unique diet. During breeding season, females go bald! And their mating behavior and ritual is like no other parrot species that I've seen! Galahs are considered pests in Australia and farmers are known to shoot them out of the skies... so not rare. Amazons would depend on the species you are looking at.



Please understand that if you want a pet bird, don't expect your pet bird to become a breeder. If you want breeders, please do not expect them to be pets as well.



My first birds were budgies. From there, I got a cockatiel, a month later a cherry headed conure, a couple months later a lovebird, bourke parakeets and a turquoisine... later down the line, more budgies, more cockatiels (birds that were given to me, not ones that I went out to purchase!), then a mitred conure and now a red throated conure. My flock currently consists of no budgies (I ended up rehoming the last ones), 1 bourke parakeet, 4 cockatiels, 1 mitred conure and 1 red throated conure who is my newest addition.

My suggestion would be to go with a medium/small species... conure, poicephalus, pionus, mini macaws or maybe a small amazon species. Get one bird and learn how to care for it and handle it. If you are still in school, make sure you have enough time for school and the bird. If you are working, make sure you have enough time for the bird with work (I don't know your age but you sound young).


If you want to become a breeder of rare species then you need to learn the pros and cons of being a breeder and you'll need to know how to hand raise. Start looking for local breeders now who could mentor you and show you what to do in case of emergencies. If you are serious about this, then they can help you along the way! If you decide that this is not for you, well, at least it would be a good learning experience!

 

[mtdoramike]

First things first, what is your living situation like? This will have quite an impact on which bird is best for you. It really doesn't come down to which bird you want, but rather which bird is best for you and your situation. It's great if you can meet both your needs and wants at the same time, but that is rare. I have two birds and neither of which I was really searching for or even had an idea that they were the birds that I really wanted when I got them. But circumstances caused me to adopt them and I don't regret a minute of it or my decision. Did I set out on a search for a Senegal or Eclectus parrots? Nope, I didn't. I had never seen either bird in person before. They aren't really common around where I live.

If you can check out a local breeder or rescue center that has a variety of birds that you can interact with would be the ticket. This way you can spend some time getting to know the different species. How are you about noise? The bigger the bird the noisier they can be.

 

[MonicaMc]

Forgot to ask, what size cage do you already have? As you mentioned having one.

 

[Wings]

61x48.5x73.5 extra large corner stainless steel cage.... got it for 50 dollars at a garage sale....lol it was great

 

[Wings]

I am going to get a companion bird to flight train, and later down the line I wil l begin breeding. I understand a companion cannot become a breeder at the same time. I have connections. I understand the ups and downs aswell.. I cannot get small bird as I have got a huge cage, hope I narrowed down some more! I am out of school, and I work from home.

 

[Wings]

I needn't worry about noise, and have a stable living condition, nothing too hectic.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

What about a Hawkhead ? My Charlottes a doll . Ive had her since she was a baby. She speaks very clear ,a great eater,very gentle snuggles with me every night. I met another owner who said her female sounded a lot like mine.

 

[Wings]

Stunning bird. Not a lot of info out there though.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

You were interested in rare companion birds with short tails

 

[Wings]

Yep, I love hawkheads, just magnificent, don't they easily get over stimulated?

 

[henpecked]

i raise amazons, there's nothing easy about raising them or cheap.I learn something new everyday and i've been at it for almost 40yrs.This is not something to be taken lightly, it's a life long commitment. Lots of heart ache and trials/tribulations. I'd learn all i could about a species before getting involved in something like this. If you want to learn ,then great, but be careful about biting off more than you can chew. Forget about having a life outside of your flock.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Yep, I love hawkheads, just magnificent, don't they easily get over stimulated?

Mines really gentle [that's why I thought of her] Shes nothing like what the internet says about them . I just had her out, she could be on me all night. Out of my 12 birds ,I don't have to pay attention [meaning trust] she could climb all over me and I know she wouldn't hurt me.

 

[MonicaMc]

Thanks for the additional information! Knowing that, well, I feel that if you do your research that you could very well be a great home for a larger parrot!

Do the research, go and interact with a variety of species and perhaps one will choose you! Or go with your heart and choose the species you most desire that you can afford and take care of!

 

[mtdoramike]

Yes, Hawkheads are quite stunning and also hard to find as well. An Eclectus fits your bill as well. It's a large bird, one of the best talkers in the bird world. Mine follows me around the house like a puppy. They have short tails. But I wouldn't concern myself with large birds with long tails breaking a blood feather. The odds of that happening are quite slim as long as you have a big enough cage for them. I would concern myself more with finding a bird that connects with YOU. This will make training much easier.

 

[Wings]

Eclectus are beautiful birds, i like the vosmaeri eclectus the most