Help us choose our future parrot!

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[Vincent_V63]

Id say its an understatement about nippy. All females(8) I know have drawn blood, of the males(13)...1, when very upset and having to be caught. The girls can really br a force to be reckoned with and they are not afraid to use their beaks. But you can often make a pretty accurate guess kn behaviour if uou observe for a while. And in case you wrongly guess male, it might be laid back female which is nice too.
egg binding is scary indeed, I prefer males because of that.
I think having siblings would be cool, I have never ecperienced that before as I have mostly rehomes, I think that would work well With most species

Oh wow that's a huge difference, only one male drew blood ever?? I think I could do with a male one then haha, but a laid back female sounds great too if they're chill after maturing. What would I have to look out for when observing, any "tells" on the genders? We will have time for them either way to train and get used to our hands, we would like to handle them as much as they accept.

 

[Vincent_V63]

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I've seen quite a few amazons in particular imitating toddlers it's so funny (on video haha) we would have to be careful with what noises we do or play in the room.. they will always pick up on the weird ones for the funniest reasons.

 

[Illigers]

Oh wow that's a huge difference, only one male drew blood ever?? I think I could do with a male one then haha, but a laid back female sounds great too if they're chill after maturing. What would I have to look out for when observing, any "tells" on the genders? We will have time for them either way to train and get used to our hands, we would like to handle them as much as they accept.

Yeah in my experience they are really different. Females are much more like, calculating? Observant? I love them, they are not mean at all, but they have big opninions. And avoiding a deterimened nip is part of everyday life with the girls, males, eh just act normal as you would around any parrot and it will be fine. Males do too, they may nip(I know 3 males that sometimes nip, rarely leaves a mark, and that subsides 90% at about 3, at least with the ones I know) It is hard to tell over text what to look for, I will look for somevideos that maybe show a clear difference. The females often do more like head movements, more deliberate and slower than males who just act as they please.

 

[Vincent_V63]

Yeah in my experience they are really different. Females are much more like, calculating? Observant? I love them, they are not mean at all, but they have big opninions. And avoiding a deterimened nip is part of everyday life with the girls, males, eh just act normal as you would around any parrot and it will be fine. Males do too, they may nip(I know 3 males that sometimes nip, rarely leaves a mark, and that subsides 90% at about 3, at least with the ones I know) It is hard to tell over text what to look for, I will look for somevideos that maybe show a clear difference. The females often do more like head movements, more deliberate and slower than males who just act as they please.

Hmm sounds interesting, learning their boundaries is important, I feel they'd teach me fast what to do around them or not haha! There are so many interesting bird species out there it's hard to narrow down a list. I've also been looking at white-bellied caiques as well now but they seem a little bit ~extra~ but still an alternative hmhm

 

[Illigers]

Hmm sounds interesting, learning their boundaries is important, I feel they'd teach me fast what to do around them or not haha! There are so many interesting bird species out there it's hard to narrow down a list. I've also been looking at white-bellied caiques as well now but they seem a little bit ~extra~ but still an alternative hmhm

Hehe extra is a good word for it. In my erxperiences the girl lovies when for example chilling on your shoulder can give really hard, to bleeding nips, and switch fast from chill to something set me off. I rarely get nipped/bit by my own girl, but if she is nibbling my arm I can almost guarentee that at some point she will nip harder, may draw blood. She is one of my two birds that have drawn blood on strangers hahaha. With watching their behaviour and respecting them you can indeed avoid most, but still she is the one bird that consitently nips me hard, less than once a month but still, if you are jnterested in adding a lovebird it would be great to spend some time with both genders. I think the girls are often a tad more smart, and they mimic more noises, and in general are often very interested in what you do. While the males are a little more temperate.

My caiques, they can get really wounded up but that is obvious, so handle with more care. But indeed their behaviour is..different This morning I was in a meeting on my laptop and one of my caiques was just playing with my hands for 20 minutes, biting the (protected) cords, rolling on her back, throwing the mouse, eating the keys. Way more interesting what I do then the foot toys I kept offering. This behaviour is typical of all parrots, byt caiques make it really hard tk actually get anything done. My lovebirds used to sit on my shoulder during meetings, maybe go after the keys for a bit, but then focus on a toy I offered instead. With lots of caiques it is more of a beaky, rolling, hopping flurry of events than a calm affair.
One of my macaws did something similar for a little while, going after the keys, getting mad he couldnt, then went on to play with something away from me after I gave him a foraging actibity. The caique I had to cage for a bit, as she was getting over excited and then it becomes a bit iffy, and I could only half pay attention to her.

 

[Vincent_V63]

Hehe extra is a good word for it. In my erxperiences the girl lovies when for example chilling on your shoulder can give really hard, to bleeding nips, and switch fast from chill to something set me off. I rarely get nipped/bit by my own girl, but if she is nibbling my arm I can almost guarentee that at some point she will nip harder, may draw blood. She is one of my two birds that have drawn blood on strangers hahaha. With watching their behaviour and respecting them you can indeed avoid most, but still she is the one bird that consitently nips me hard, less than once a month but still, if you are jnterested in adding a lovebird it would be great to spend some time with both genders. I think the girls are often a tad more smart, and they mimic more noises, and in general are often very interested in what you do. While the males are a little more temperate.

My caiques, they can get really wounded up but that is obvious, so handle with more care. But indeed their behaviour is..different This morning I was in a meeting on my laptop and one of my caiques was just playing with my hands for 20 minutes, biting the (protected) cords, rolling on her back, throwing the mouse, eating the keys. Way more interesting what I do then the foot toys I kept offering. This behaviour is typical of all parrots, byt caiques make it really hard tk actually get anything done. My lovebirds used to sit on my shoulder during meetings, maybe go after the keys for a bit, but then focus on a toy I offered instead. With lots of caiques it is more of a beaky, rolling, hopping flurry of events than a calm affair.
One of my macaws did something similar for a little while, going after the keys, getting mad he couldnt, then went on to play with something away from me after I gave him a foraging actibity. The caique I had to cage for a bit, as she was getting over excited and then it becomes a bit iffy, and I could only half pay attention to her.

Ooh good to know, they seem really out for blood but has traits I would like as well, dangerous combo! The caiques look like total goofs, like GCC's with 30% more chaos elements (or more?) maybe they would be -too- energetic for what we're looking after, but still on the list for now at least. Not sure how good we would be to properly train/tame something that has very strong personalities but that's what you sign up for I guess!

 

[HarleY 0641]

How are we going on selection critea?? Have you narrowed it down yet??
The bigger the parrot is that you decide on, means nearly everything bigger from your side (guilders, cages, food, time and concern) - from the parrot more intelligence thought, shown, used and abused. Not withstanding your expectations will either fly out the window, or be totally ignored. and training becomes a one way direction, with you the receipitant.
good luck - I have macaws and I wouldn't trade our relationships for the world.

 

[osklvste50]

Every one who gets a species that works with their personality feels the same! I wouldn't trade my Grey for for the world either.

 

[Vincent_V63]

How are we going on selection critea?? Have you narrowed it down yet??
The bigger the parrot is that you decide on, means nearly everything bigger from your side (guilders, cages, food, time and concern) - from the parrot more intelligence thought, shown, used and abused. Not withstanding your expectations will either fly out the window, or be totally ignored. and training becomes a one way direction, with you the receipitant.
good luck - I have macaws and I wouldn't trade our relationships for the world.

We haven't talked much about it yet, however we are going to try meet with a breeder before the December holidays who has 10+ species, going to get some pointers from him towards what could fit our lifestyles! I think my boyfriend prefers GCC, doves & such, while I am drawn more to Quakers, Peach-faced Lovebirds & Eclectus. Though nothing has been decided yet, for all we know we might settle nicely with smaller species then anticipated.

Medium sized birds require a lot and we have finite space in our livingroom right now, so anything bigger then a solomon isle eclectus might be challenging to set up with multiple larger playstands outside their cage. We can build an outside space for the birds next summer so they can get some fresh air and sun as well.

 

[HarleY 0641]

Mmm - keep looking, visiting and become a chaff identity - sort out the grain from the chaff!
I think (and hope) that your choiced bird out there - is the bird that decides to be in your life. I DOES happen- my large Harlequin (Harmony by name) decided I would be her keeper. To get to that stage I was travelling 200 kms every second, or third, day to see her develop, whilst she was being weaned.

 

[Vincent_V63]

Thinking about Meyer's parrot again.. I was looking at them when I started listing down the ones I am interested in but got hooked on the -idea- of an eclectus for a few weeks. I think Meyer's would be easier diet-wise, & temperament (and volume!) Anyone here have experience with them? (Or sennies!)

They aren't too expensive here, about $800~which is perfectly doable, along with a cage size that would fit our somewhat cramped livingroom. Planning on contacting the breeder with a week or two to plan a meeting, I would assume he has meyer's or at least know someone who does so I get to see them in action, along with 600 other birds which will be super exciting. I still think about CAG's on the backburner, but unfortunately we don't know how the dust will affect us long-term. There's a small blue moon of a chance, a lot of things would have to match up-front.

 

[HarleY 0641]

if you acquire a bird of your choice Without the infastructure (i.e Cage - distance to Avian vet, special needs and so forth) your finances will always be all about catching up . . . need to do this, need to do that!
you and your partner have plenty of time NOW to make it easier, when you both bring your bird home. I think the essence of your thinking is on the right path . Any cage of reasonable size in any location in your house restricts movements thereof; both in the rooms 'availability", and the way you both use it. Any bird which is a part of a household forfills a treasured part, but it comes at a cost. Many bird carers will tell you "I wish I had done this, or done it differently.
Believe me when a bird shares the space inwhich it is located can/may become a problem later on, example is I talk all the time to and with my birds everytime we are close. and when I leave my house to take the car and go to an appointment, and the time is very close, I am in a hurry. mistake I made earlier on was I didn"t take into account my birds. after all the appointment was all mine. I forgot in my hurry the importance of imparting to my birds earlier on about when I could and couldn't. Everytime in the past became a lead up to warfare with the birds. . . so in short its important where your bird resides, and wherever that is shouldn't be in a position of thoughafare.
go a little deeper in your selection process please, and read in the forum of how some birds were affected by a change to the family dynamics - either pregnancy, income or just time and effort

 

[Vincent_V63]

if you acquire a bird of your choice Without the infastructure (i.e Cage - distance to Avian vet, special needs and so forth) your finances will always be all about catching up . . . need to do this, need to do that!
you and your partner have plenty of time NOW to make it easier, when you both bring your bird home. I think the essence of your thinking is on the right path . Any cage of reasonable size in any location in your house restricts movements thereof; both in the rooms 'availability", and the way you both use it. Any bird which is a part of a household forfills a treasured part, but it comes at a cost. Many bird carers will tell you "I wish I had done this, or done it differently.
Believe me when a bird shares the space inwhich it is located can/may become a problem later on, example is I talk all the time to and with my birds everytime we are close. and when I leave my house to take the car and go to an appointment, and the time is very close, I am in a hurry. mistake I made earlier on was I didn"t take into account my birds. after all the appointment was all mine. I forgot in my hurry the importance of imparting to my birds earlier on about when I could and couldn't. Everytime in the past became a lead up to warfare with the birds. . . so in short its important where your bird resides, and wherever that is shouldn't be in a position of thoughafare.
go a little deeper in your selection process please, and read in the forum of how some birds were affected by a change to the family dynamics - either pregnancy, income or just time and effort

I've made a savings account just for the bird, but we won't get a bird this year or maybe not even the next, it really depends on what my partner wants since we have a lot of animals right now & need to fix up small parts of our house. Just getting all info ahead of time along with a juicy savings account so we have everything ready to go! We don't leave our house often at all, but the livingroom is where everything happens, also connected to the kitchen so a lot of bird proofing is needed as well. We do not foresee any major changes in dynamics other then The Economy being funky right now, but we manage well into each month considering.

 

[HarleY 0641]

sounds to me like you both have good directional thinking and actions. keep it up!!!

 

[osklvste50]

One thing all birds produce some type of feather dust. That's normal. The amount varies species to species. That's very easily overcome these days.

 

[Vincent_V63]

One thing all birds produce some type of feather dust. That's normal. The amount varies species to species. That's very easily overcome these days.

I've found a HEPA no ozone air filter that we may have to get depending, there's a lot of dust here on average due to the AC and carpets so we need to stay ontop of the upkeep either way. My chihuahua had allergy symptoms earlier but it has waned now with strenghtened cleaning routines for their blankets and floor wash.

 

[osklvste50]

Sorry hit wrong button. A hospital grade hepatitis filter. It removes 99.9% of air particles. Make sure hospital grade hepatitis filter with cleanable and replacement filters. There's a ton of imitations out there.

 

[Vincent_V63]

Sorry hit wrong button. A hospital grade hepatitis filter. It removes 99.9% of air particles. Make sure hospital grade hepatitis filter with cleanable and replacement filters. There's a ton of imitations out there.

Oh yea I've seen a few that sneakily advertises as one thing but leaves out the other, ozone particles that can kill the bird and whatnot.

 

[Illigers]

Thinking about Meyer's parrot again.. I was looking at them when I started listing down the ones I am interested in but got hooked on the -idea- of an eclectus for a few weeks. I think Meyer's would be easier diet-wise, & temperament (and volume!) Anyone here have experience with them? (Or sennies!)

They aren't too expensive here, about $800~which is perfectly doable, along with a cage size that would fit our somewhat cramped livingroom. Planning on contacting the breeder with a week or two to plan a meeting, I would assume he has meyer's or at least know someone who does so I get to see them in action, along with 600 other birds which will be super exciting. I still think about CAG's on the backburner, but unfortunately we don't know how the dust will affect us long-term. There's a small blue moon of a chance, a lot of things would have to match up-front.

Not a lot of meyer's around, but I know some sennies. They chew a good amount for such a little bird(which makes it easy to occupy them, rather than struggling to find something they like. But it also means you have to watch them well in the house). They can do super cute whistles. I have heard that some talk in contexr but have no personally witnessed that. I have seen sennies and red bellied really get into swinging on swings, which is highly adorable. Some are more comfy with strangere, others more shy. A decent amount gets possesive to one person, some senegals also attack other birds in the house, different species usually. I think a lot can be mitagatef by letting them have a partial natural upbringing, so they dont imprint on humans too much. I visit a rescue with an aviary of about 30 senegals, a meyer, a cape and two jardines sometimes. These are all ex companions. It is one of my favorite aviaries, they are bold and cute. Sometimes I even scritch one through the wire. Only other type of bird that happens with, is all cockatoos basically. They have loads of amazons, greys, macaws, pyrrhura conures, mini macaws, lovies, budgies, quackers, caiques etc. Thr quackers, caiques and senegals always stand out as open to interaction. Apart from the cockatoos, which is a given with them and rather sad it is much more healthy with the other three species. Although, as is typical of caiques, they can get too excited and lash out at their flock mates. Sennies arent nice either when a more confident bird wants to move a less confident bird, but with them it is jist the way it is, and not excitement related.