New to parrots

[Amycallaway29]

Hi all,
I am thinking of getting a parrot (I'm still very much in the research stage). My nan had a lovely African Gray when I was growing up but other than this I have very little experience. I do think it would be lovely to have a parrot join our family but want to ensure we make the right decision so I'm not rushing into anything. I've been researching and so far I think a green checked conure might be a good choice. We have 2 children (6 and 2) and both work, so it needs to be good with kids and ok on its own from 9 to 3. I would like it to be affectionate but not too loud. Idealy it would be out for most of the time in the evening.
Any thoughts and advice would be lovely.
Thanks
Amy

 

[Classy]

How much time can you give it? I know you said in the evening, but how long does that include? Birds need a lot of time and attention.

 

[Amycallaway29]

We will be in from 3 and go to bed around 10. Do you think that is enough to ensure a parrot is happy? I am a teacher so have a lot of holiday and we are home at the weekends and on a Wednesday. One of my concerns is the birds wellbeing when we are not there.

 

[brighterdaysaviary]

How much actual time will you be able to spend one on one with the bird? I am sure when you get home you have to do other tasks like feeding your children, cleaning, grading papers, preparing for your next classes, etc.

 

[Amsterdam]

How about parakeets?

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome! Green cheeks are great little birds, they love attention and interaction. My husband and I both work, and have birds - so I feel that it can definitely be workable. I do set aside the majority of the evening to spend time with the birds and am committed to them getting a good chunk of quality time out of cage daily. A large cage with a variety of toys and activities helps to keep them from boredom during the day while I’m at work. I don’t have kids, so can’t say much about how GCCs are with children. Tons of great information in the various threads on here

 

[LaManuka]

Green cheeks can be an absolute joy but they do tend to bond more closely with one individual. Mine HATED my husband but adored me (made him a pretty poor judge of character!). They can also get very nippy and may not be suitable for little kids as those beaks pack a real punch and would draw blood for sure. They also require a LOT of time and attention otherwise serious behaviour issues can arise.

You may be better considering a cockatiel, they are very hardy happy little birds. While he will still bond more closely with one household member they will be more easygoing with everyone else.

Good luck choosing, although in my experience it’s usually the bird that does the choosing

 

[texsize]

What kind of work do your children (6 and 2) do ?
I hope they are well paid, they must be very talented. LOL

 

[Flboy]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Scott]

Welcome aboard, Amy! Thanks for researching to preclude an impulse decision. I'd recommend searching through the species-specific forums for ideas. Spending time at sanctuaries/rescues, breeders, large pet shops, etc will help narrow the search.

 

[itchyfeet]

Can you take your bird into the classroom? Situation, parrot dependent and what not...is it a possibility?

My green IRN spent his first 7 months in a class, best thing ever - he's a social wee lad and not much phases him!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Lots of good stuff to think about!

GOOD FOR YOU for planning and reaching out!

 

[Morty]

What kind of work do your children (6 and 2) do ?
I hope they are well paid, they must be very talented. LOL

I had to re-read this a few times as well hahaha.

 

[Morty]

Anyway, I will say, as much as I love my Green Cheek is VERY nippy and it actually is quite painful. He hasn't drawn blood yet but when he gets really annoyed at something I do it can hurt. He does realize that when you say "hey" or "no" that he is being too hard and to stop, but for a child it might be too much.

 

[PCash]

I have two green-cheeked conures right now and a five year old son. I'm a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, but we're often gone larger chunks during the day for swimming lessons/shopping/volunteering at a bird rescue, etc.

Our routine consists of eating breakfast together. I serve my birds their chop (veggies/beans/quinoa,etc.) on a buffet and/or Island a short ways from our kitchen table in the morning. I usually try to give the birds about an hour, though sometimes it's shorter. Then I load their cages up with foraging opportunities (toys that you can hide their pellets and millet in). They go back to their cages and work on finding the stuff and taking naps through the morning. I might talk to them, and my son and I hang out doing school in the same room as them, but we're not really interacting with the birds since we have other things to focus on and/or we end up running errands.

Around 3pm in the afternoon, I get the birds out for some one-on-one training time. Each gets their own time. It isn't long, maybe five to ten minutes for each of them (focused training times shouldn't be that long). Right now I'm clicker training them to step-up, allow themselves to be handled, and recall (fly to my hand when I call them). Their cage doors are left open most of the time I'm home (except when I'm cooking). The one has a play tree to hang out on. The other doesn't have one yet.

Then in the evening, we try to get them out and they hang out with us while we watch TV. My male is always eager to get out. My female is a little more tentative, so it's hit or miss with her whether she wants to get out with us. We're patient and let her go at her speed.

We had these guys from youngsters, and have always been respectful and such with them and they have not developed a hard bite. (My sister has four little girls and their two GCCs have incredibly fast and nasty bites. I think it was a self-protection thing, or perhaps improper socialization.) My male GCC doesn't like my son or husband that much, although I insist he be decent with them, so if they push into his space and don't heed his little warnings, he will bite them.

The female only bites when she's scared (like when she has to be toweled to get toenails trimmed), so my five year old son adores her. I have been working with him very carefully showing him how to train her to step up. I do a lot of guiding and its a little hard for him to understand that even a toe touch on his hand is progress. She sometimes will ride around on his shoulder and seems to like that. I have to closely supervise this to ensure that she is respected as he doesn't understand all of her little signals/communications. But he's learning and it's sweet to see their interactions.

I did not realize how much extra time my GCCs would need when I first got them. Growing up my parents had a Cockatiel that stayed in its cage all of the time, ate seeds, and had few toys. I thought I was doing great when I made sure my birds got out every day, fed them pellets, and gave them new toys, but when my GCCs started screaming I realized that something wasn't working.

I adopted a new routine with them, started feeding chop and sharing breakfast time with them, started a set training time, began potty training so I could get them out without poop getting everywhere and placed most of their pellets in foraging toys. They've become lovely additions to our family, but they're certainly not for everyone. I spend at least an hour (or more) taking care of them a day (that's just feeding/packing foraging toys/cleaning up/changing papers/etc.) On top of that they need one-on-one quality time. They're quite sweet and fun to have around. They both love to figure things out and enjoy spending time with us, but they need a lot of supervision with my child and it's difficult to work with them when my son is demanding my time. At five years old, it works. I can tell him to go play by himself for a little. I don't think we would have been able to do that at three.

Sorry for the long post. I thought I would just share about our routine and what has worked for us, especially since I've got a son about your children's ages. Best of wishes on your bird search!

 

[PCash]

Oh, and one thing I will add though, is it's a lot of fun to work on making bird toys with little kids. My son loves it when we get the supplies out.

 

[noodles123]

Your life will change significantly.
You will no longer be able to safely use any household cleaners (aside from vinegar and water or avian safe cleaners--these are hard to find--F10 SC is the only decent disinfectant)..rule out Lysol, Bleach, Windex, Fabreeze etc.
Any/all scented products should be avoided (candles, oils, perfumes, hairspray, nail polish, acetone, plug-ins, car fresheners, markers, paints, stains, air-fresheners, etc)
You will need a bed-time and a quiet room for your bird---I have to be home at a certain time each night to cover my bird---no exceptions...She won't sleep uncovered.
Consider the fact that you may not be able to touch your bird for the first few months (and even if you can, this can change at puberty)...That means that getting your bird out of the cage may not be as easy as you had hoped and if you are up and moving around, your bird will hear you and it will want to be up too.
Most need a minimum of 10 hours of sleep (12-14 is NORMAL)---do not assume you can skimp on sleep---it regulates immune system and hormones and can make your little "angel" into the devil when deprived.
Consider the fact that your bird may hate you, your children or your partner. Conversely, it may LOVE your partner and hate you. BIRDS BITE AND SCREAM AND THEY DO TEND TO PICK A SPECIAL SOMEONE!!!

You cannot use Teflon/PTFE/PTFOA around a bird (hidden in air-poppers, drip trays, self-cleaning ovens, irons, ironing boards, curling irons, blow-dryers, space-heaters, bake-in-a-bag-meals, humidifiers, hot-rollers, some popcorn bags, pots/pans/poachers, slow-cookers etc----TEFLON IS SERIOUS.....DO NOT BLOW THIS OFF...

Plan on spending at least 5x more MONEY on your bird than any website indicates
Do you have a certified avian vet near you?

Think about travel and boarding----it is VERY tricky and can be dangerous for the bird's physical and emotional health.... (birds can carry and spread disease without symptoms, and boarding a bird is a great way to spread/contract illness from seemingly healthy birds)


I teach, and I can tell you that you will have NO free time if you get a bird...
If you already have kids, I honestly don't know that it would be possible to teach, be a mother, be a wife/girlfriend and have a bird.


Also---schools aren't very safe for birds. I have brought mine in, but there are a million chemicals circulating the halls at all times, plus, they can bite etc and if your bird gets too used to constant chaos, then breaks from that can be hard on the bird.