Just another new guy.

[DrDolittle]

Hey All,

Just thought i would poke my head in and say HI!.

I do not own a parrot yet, but I am looking to adopt one very soon. I have worked with special needs birds for many years, and i thought it time to get a parrot of my own. Currently I own 4 Chickens, 3 Ducks, 13 Quail, Some fish (one being a Fahaka puffer), and a bunny . I am a HUGE animal lover.

I am an artist as well as a stay at home dad .

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Thanks

Don

 

[Mamanda]

Welcome! What kind of parrot are you thinking about getting?

 

[DrDolittle]

Welcome! What kind of parrot are you thinking about getting?

I want an African Grey for it's ability to speak, My daughter is autistic, i would love to teach it to speak, so my daughter would learn from the parrot

but I really like Cocktoos as well, A friend of mine has one and it love's when i come over, he will climb on me and won't leave LOL! and get's very upset when i leave.

I even have a nice spot picked out right next to my work station, so he/she can watch me draw

Don

 

[lexx510]

Hi Don!

Welcome to the forum = )

 

[Tammy]

Welcome. What kind of ducks do you have? We have ducks at a certain bridge that stick out the winters here because enough people feed them. I buy 50lb bags of corn & feed them year-round. I love when the ducklings come out in May.

 

[oled]

Welcome and good luck finding the perfect Perrot for your famely

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum! Eclectus have wonderful abilities to speak as well! Our best talker in the house is JoJo our Male Soloman Island Eclectus. He's a really good talker. Used to be a closet talker, but now he talks infront of us now. They're wonderful birds to have!!!

 

[mtdoramike]

I agree with Mikey. Here in central Florida Eclectus parrots are kind of a rare thing. So when I adopted mine a while back, I didn't really know what to expect. But Mac is one of the smartest birds that I have ever had the pleasure to be around and one of the best talkers. He speaks so plainly that anyone knows exactly what he is saying. He isn't shy about talking either. I can have him sitting outside and he will be chattering away.

 

[osnyder]

Welcome! I wonder if there are any studies on autism and animal therapy? I bet there may be! Do you have access to a university library system's Ebsco Host? Now you've got me curious.

I have heard just on the board that the noise level and sudden movements of bird companions has actually become a problem for their autistic children, so I'd do a lot of research on how to prepare your daughter, if those types of things bother her. Of course it seems like she's very accustomed to being around animals

Best of luck.

 

[Kim444]

Please note that any parrot will not just sit quietly and WATCH you draw. They will want to be out of the cage and once out they will want to interact with you. They may also destroy your stuff, possible your hard worked on pieces of art. I had my laptop next to my cockatoo's cage, and he would SCREAM at me cause he can see me and I am not picking him up. So I actually had to move my laptop to another room. But then he walks to me(his wings are clipped from pervious owner)when i ignore him so that gets frustrating as well. And cockatoo's are very demanding and they have one of the strongest beaks of all the parrots, my kids are not allowed to hold my cockatoo, only feed him seeds and talk to him. At first I allowed them to interact with him and my older 2 were bitten and bled. I would not get a cockatoo as a first parrot especially with an autistic child. Cockatoo's do NOT like sudden movements or loud noises. Some cockatoo's are exceptions, but most are like this.

Please read this:
The cockatoos, by Johanne Vaillancourt

Good luck with your parrot search.