Good small birds?

[spaceparrot]

So I was thinking down the road I want to get more birds (my boyfriend calls me the crazy bird lady already!) but I don't know which ones are good options. I have only ever had success with cockatiels since it was hard to tame the budgies I used to have. What are some good smaller birds who don't mind being held and would be a good addition to our family?
I may get more tiels but I'm not sure how our residents sqawk-rockets would feel about it. Especially Sharlett if I ever got another female. That's one reason I shied away from having two or three more tiels. Obviously this will be down the road a long ways but it's good to plan ahead. Birds have brought so much joy to my life and I want to try and rescue a smaller bird sometime in the future!

What parrot or even dove or pigeon would you guys recommend?

 

[MonicaMc]

I've had my first cockatiel for nearly 17 years. I say nearly, because she's about to turn 17! She was an only tiel for a long while, and had bonded with my first conure (a month after getting her).

The conure has since passed on, and I've had other birds. Although she has never bonded to any other bird like she did my first conure, she has lived with other cockatiels which she considered to be a part of her flock. Her behavior has never changed with how friendly she is with humans. Those cockatiels have now either found new homes or have passed on, which has resulted in her being an only cockatiel for several months.


About a week ago, I took in two cockatiels as fosters and there's a chance that one might be staying. I feel she's pretty excited that there are more tiels around again, although she's been fine on her own as well.


There's no guarantee that your current tiels would take well to another bird, regardless of species. There are bourke parakeets, conues, pionus, pois and many other species. It's hard to say what species would be a good fit because each persons likes varies. I've seen many small bird owners say they can't understand how people can own such large and loud parrots like macaws and cockatoos! Large parrot people on the other hand can't understand why someone would want a small bird that makes noise *all the time*!


If you can find local rescues or sanctuaries near you, it may help to visit them to get a better idea of the various species and perhaps you'll come across a bird that would be a wonderful addition to your family!

 

[EllenD]

Whether or not a bird is able to be handled/petted or is cuddly/friendly doesn't have anything to do with the species of bird it is, but rather how they are raised by their breeder. The reason that most Budgies nowadays are not tame is because 95% or more of them that are sold are not hand-raised at all, but rather parent-raised and have little to n contact with people before they are sold, and this goes for not only the Budgies that are sold in pet shops like Petco and PetSmart, but also most Budgies that are bred and sold by private breeders. It's impossible to make a profit hand-raising Budgies, and the same goes anymore for Lovebirds, Cockatiels, etc. The profits in bird-breeding come from the species of parrots that you can sell hand-raised for at least $300 and up, which is why most of the sweet, loving, cuddly pet birds you see nowadays are the Conures, Quakers, Poicephalus, and any larger parrots.

I have 8 of the sweetest, most cuddly, most loving Budgies that you've ever seen, every bit as cuddly and able to be handled as my Green Cheek Conure or my Senegal Parrot...but that's because I bred them and hand-raised them myself from the time they were 2 weeks old..So this goes for all species of birds; if you go and look at parent-raised Green Cheek Conures, Sun Conures, Macaws, Greys, etc., they will not be able to be handled or petted either...

So the question that you should be asking yourself isn't "What species of small bird will be loving and cuddly and able to be handled?", as that applies to any and all of them...The question you need to be asking is "What species of small bird has the personality that will fit with me and my family? What species of small bird will have the energy level and needs that my home, my family, and my lifestyle will accommodate?"

Once you narrow it down to a specific species of small bird that you and your lifestyle and living situation are able to accommodate and that you think will be a great fit to add to your family, THEN you need to make the decision as to where to get the bird and what you want it to be like when it is brought home: #1) If you want it to be sweet, loving, cuddly, easily able to be handled, etc. right from the moment you bring it home, then you need to find a Hand-Raised baby of that particular species that is fully weaned and ready for it's new home, or #2) If you are willing to commit to hand-taming the bird yourself and are okay with bringing home a bird that is not able to be handled and that isn't cuddly and loving right from the get-go, meaning that you'll have to put in the time every single day to tame/train him, and are okay with the fact that it may very well take months or longer to accomplish this, then you can look for either a parent-raised baby or adult of this particular species, or you can look-into finding one at a bird-rescue and adopting...

If you decide that you want a hand-raised baby, your options, or at least your best option, is to search for a private breeder of that specific species online, and call around until you find one that has weaned or soon-to-be-weaned, hand-raised babies, and make arrangements to go and see them and interact with them. The other option for finding hand-raised babies of a specific species is from a pet shop who breeds and hand-raises their own birds IN-HOUSE, and this definitely rules-out Petco and PetSmart. Though Petco and Petsmart both sell hand-raised Cockatiels, Green Cheek Conures, Sun Conures, and Jenday Conures, they do come from "mass-breeding" situations, so sometimes they still require a bit of work to be able to be handled, and other times they are sweet and cuddly right off the bat...But as far as the Budgies that Petco, Petsmart, and most other pet shops sell, they are all mass-bred in huge warehouses and parent-raised, and typically they don't even interact with any humans until they are boxed-up and trucked to the pet shops...that's why you had such a hard time taming Budgies, as this process can take years to accomplish...

So the bottom-line is that you can find any species of small bird that you want that is cuddly and sweet and able to be handled right away, if that's what you want...What's more important is that you find the correct species of bird for you, your family, and your lifestyle first, then go from there....

 

[Inger]

I’m obviously a fan of parrotlets, but they can be nippy and territorial to both humans and other birds. As I write this, Bumble is sitting on my hand snoozing and being a lovebug, but I think one should be wary of having them with other birds as ties could be in danger.


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