anyone know about BIRDS? I want to buy one.

[Heather in Neverland]

I have never owned a bird. I don't know the first thing about them except that we want one.

 

What is a good starter bird for newbies that is colorful/pretty, fairly easy to care for, and FUN???

[mazakaal]

We got budgies for ds last year. One was very quiet, but also very tame and willing to be petted, but he didn't do very much, so we got a second. He was much more 'chatty,' but wouldn't let us get near him to pet him or anything. The first one died when he was only around 6 months old, but we still have the second. He's lovely to listen to and not too much trouble to look after. Ds handles feeding him and changing his water. I need to help with the cage cleaning, but we only do that about once a month. I think he's a lovely pet, but ds was a little disappointed that we couldn't get him trained to stand on his finger or talk.

 

I have a friend who was given a conure that had already been trained. He's fantastic, very personable, will respond to you, stand on your finger or shoulder, talks. He's even been trained to do poo before leaving his cage for a play time. But he would probably cost several hundred pounds to buy him.

 

I've also had experience with a macaw, and didn't really like that bird. He could be really cranky and hard to handle, so I don't recommend macaws, though some people love them.

 

So, if you've got the money, go for a conure. If you want a pet on the cheap, get a budgie.

[DarcyB]

*advance warning - I grew up with birds, and hate them. I'll never own one - and I can say never - but I have advice.

 

Decide, before you get one, why you want it. Do you want two small chattery birds to tweet to you, or do you want something like a parakeet that you can actually train to talk to you. Even though I hated most of the birds at our house, we had a conure that I actually loved. He would talk to us just like a parrot, and was 'loving' in a weird bird way.

 

That being said - be mindful. Birds can be loud, they're up early, they're messy, and they do need attention. They aren't really animals that you can purchase and just leave in the corner. Most birds like having a buddy. They need fresh water all the time, and you need to be sure to have chew toys or sticks or blocks for them. You'll want a cover for the cage if you're not morning people. Trust me on this one. lol

 

Also be aware of the lifespan of birds. Parrots can live for a VERY long time - 40+ years or more.

[kewb]

Did you not see that Alfred Hitchcok movie? No birds for me. My parents had friends who had 2 little love birds. Cute as could be. They used to sit on the dad's shoulder and chitter chatter away.

[HollyBee]

We tried to get a couple of parakeets a few years ago. We have a dog, but I'm allergic to cats (and actually *slightly* allergic to dogs, but not much). Turns out ds and I were both allergic to the parakeets. Not in a sneezing and wheezing kind of way, but in a more subtle, hard to sleep, major snoring when sleeping kind of way.

 

Since he wasn't getting any sleep due to my snoring, dh made us take Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia back to the pet store.

 

Just wanted to give you a heads-up in case you or anyone in your family has allergies. I never expected to be allergic to a parakeet! :001_huh:

[Sandsam]

I have had parakeets and a cockatiel. The parakeets are less expensive and smaller (and arguably easier pets), but the cockatiel was smarter and thus more interesting. For a starter bird, I would get a parakeet or two.

[Jmac]

I have the sweetest green cheeked conure named Coco. I spent probably $250 on her plus at least $100 on the cage and then had to buy toys and treats. I also bought a playstand for when she is out of the cage. Then I had to get rid of all my teflon pots and pans and switched all my cleaning supplies because I read that fumes could kill her and I just shelled out a lot of money and wasn't going to lose it making dinner. She is super sweet and loving but probably takes more work than any of my other animals (fish, dog and two cats) I have learned that she loves fresh fruit but she splatters it all over my walls and carpet and she takes a bath everyday and soaks whatever is next to the cage. All that to say I love having birds and want more, just make sure you research and are willing to put in the work. Know what you want. Do you want a companion or decorations. I had parakeets for less than 24 hours. I thought they were annoying and I wanted a bird I could train and play with. Hope that helps :)

[kwickimom]

I have a Senegal Parrot. He is loud and messy, but is a member of the family. I hatched him out at a pet store I worked at and have had him for 13 years.

 

I think you first need to decide how much you want to spend and how big of a bird you want. Sunni is a smaller parrot and he was still $800 and his cage and accessories were probably $500. Budgies and cockatiels can be great pets, but I would get a hand-fed one from a bird breeder or a pet store that specializes in birds because if you want to be able to handle them you need one that was trained at a very early age.

 

I would vote cockatiel for a first bird. They are a good size and are pretty easy to train and are not as loud as a parrot. They can get loud, but do imitate as well and do not get ear piercing loud. They are not super expensive.

 

Birds are really messy but they make seed guards and net to catch the mess. The cages need scrubbed often, but they make sprays and wipes for that. I get all my food and supplies from Dr. Foster and Smith

Edited July 29, 2011 by kwickimom

[RahRah]

*advance warning - I grew up with birds, and hate them. I'll never own one - and I can say never - but I have advice.

 

Decide, before you get one, why you want it. Do you want two small chattery birds to tweet to you, or do you want something like a parakeet that you can actually train to talk to you. Even though I hated most of the birds at our house, we had a conure that I actually loved. He would talk to us just like a parrot, and was 'loving' in a weird bird way.

 

That being said - be mindful. Birds can be loud, they're up early, they're messy, and they do need attention. They aren't really animals that you can purchase and just leave in the corner. Most birds like having a buddy. They need fresh water all the time, and you need to be sure to have chew toys or sticks or blocks for them. You'll want a cover for the cage if you're not morning people. Trust me on this one. lol

 

Also be aware of the lifespan of birds. Parrots can live for a VERY long time - 40+ years or more.

 

:iagree:

 

We had a cockatiel (sic?) when I was a kid - I'd never have a bird now knowing what I know! They're messy, noisy, needy and live for what seems like forever. They're not cuddly, they're not cute and they're very fickle. Too much work if you ask me!

[Nakia]

Growing up we had parakeets, cockatiels, an African Gray parrot, and some other kind. I decided quickly that birds belong outside.

[Heather in Neverland]

It's so interesting to read how many people dislike birds as pets. I feel the same way about dogs! Can't stand them!

 

I may have to look into this bird thing a little more if they are awful pets...

[Nakia]

It's so interesting to read how many people dislike birds as pets. I feel the same way about dogs! Can't stand them!

 

I may have to look into this bird thing a little more if they are awful pets...

 

 

Prepared for tomatoes here...

 

I just think it's really sad to see creatures in cages that are meant to fly free. I feel the same way about fish in aquariums though. I'm a big softie.

 

I know people love their birds and treat them really well. They are just not the pets for me.

 

I do have chickens though. You could get some chickens. :lol:

[DarcyB]

Growing up we had parakeets, cockatiels, an African Gray parrot, and some other kind. I decided quickly that birds belong outside.

 

you must've lived in my house, too! LOL

 

 

For me, my parents raised birds..and they let them out of the cage to be free, inside the house, often. Which meant bird poop everywhere. They would walk on the table and try to eat out of our plates. They were loud and squawky as soon as the sun came up, and for a teenager who slept lightly, but wanted to sleep in, they'd often wake me up at the same time :( I disliked having to care for them when they weren't my pets. They were messy and I had to clean it up, even though they weren't my pets., etc. I have issues LOLOL It wasn't just that they were my parents' pets but they often made me do the cleanup work, they just don't belong in cages.

Edited July 29, 2011 by DarcyB

[Blackacre Farm]

Birds can be really fun pets for a family! I don't think they are very hard to care for, although they do need attention. However if you get the right kind, you can't help giving it attention because it will amuse you so much. I also think that birds are pets that children can be successful caring for mostly on their own (with oversight). As children, my brother and I fed, watered, and cleaned the cages quite easily.

I grew up with birds and have also had some as an adult. I have had many parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds, a quaker parrot, and a green-cheeked conure. I would recommend the conure as the easiest, most affectionate, funny little bird. Make sure that you buy one that was hand raised! That way it will already be tame and love people. My conure was a really funny little guy!

[justamouse]

We have a yellow naped amazon and we *adore* him. He is like a two year old but in a cage. He sings opera, talks to us, plays games with us, and is a total part of our family. He *thinks*. He knows how to make a joke. We love him to bits.

 

Here are some:

 

 

 

 

 

our parrot laughs like this, too

 

When I take mine outside (in his cage) to hose him down, he *loves* seeing other birds. he says, "Oh birds! Oh, bird. Hello bird!"

 

He calls my oldest daughter in MY voice, and we play wolf whistle games all over the house where you start the whistle and he finishes it, or he starts it and you finish it. He laughs at jokes, answers the phone, says "Hello? Oh. Oh yeah. Anyway, OK. Ok Good bye!" He greets people when they come in and says goodbye when they leave. Says "Look at you! You're so pretty!" and he sings a BUNCH of songs. And he's only three.

 

If we didn't have him there'd be a hole in our family.

 

eta: ours never screams in the morning, but is VERY loud at about 5-6 pm, then he's in bed by 8. :-)

 

And, as sad as it is that they are in cages, an Amazon in the wild will live 10 years. An amazon in a cage will live 75 years. The stress of living in the wild reduces their lifespan THAT much.

Edited July 29, 2011 by justamouse

[Mrs Mungo]

I would worry about the types of birds legal there and whether you can import them back to the US.

[sparrow]

We took a parakeet from my MIL that was aggressive to her other parakeets. She's not very tame, as she bonded to the other birds and not people, but we've enjoyed her enough that we're considering a cockatiel eventually. We'd like to get a hand raised cockatiel that will bond to us. I've actually always been a little afraid of pet birds, so this is a big step for me.

 

We have not found the parakeet to be too noisy and love it when she mimics the birds outside. Back when BBC America used to play Robin Hood she LOVED the birds in the woods on that show! She'd always try to talk to them, even if we were watching at 11pm. I thought that was really cute :001_smile:.

 

I just suck up any seeds or feathers around her cage with the vacuum hose, so the mess seems manageable (more manageable than our cats :tongue_smilie:).

[mlktwins]

I am taking care of a Parakeet for 3 weeks (for a friend who's on vacation). The first day I fell in love and loved hearing the sound of bird chirping all day. I told my DH we were getting one. A week later, I do not want one although he is a really sweet bird. He is very social and actually quite demanding for attention. I'm giving it to him of course 'cause I can do anything for 3 weeks, but I do not need another thing demanding my attention (6 year old twins is enough :-)!!! Now I'm cleaning the bird #@%$ off the bottom of the cage and I'm done with that -- LOL. So...what I found out is they are a lot more work than I thought (and they stink if not cleaned out) and they are quite demanding.

 

If you get a parakeet, I would go ahead and get 2 so they can be company for each other. Of course, my boys are doing an animal observation study of the birds for school that is a plus.

 

Good luck!

[SweetMissMagnolia]

we have two parrots--a red lored amazon parrot named JABBER and a pacific parrotlet named TWEETER...Jabber's the kind of bird you think about when you think of pirates-the ones that sit on the shoulder of the pirate....tweeter's about the size of a giant marshmallow LOL they can be high maintenance-I mean you need to change their cage lining (newspaper) every day-every other day depending on how big/messy the bird is....they can be loud depending on what kind of bird you get....some bite LOL (ask the husband LOL)-- both of ours have loads of personality-and enjoy petting (if they are in the mood)-all in all we love our birdies--never a dull moment in the house-....:D

[ChristusG]

If you get a loud bird....be sure it won't drive you insane. My sister had a loud bird that screeched and squawked and it about drove her out of her mind. Our friends have a bird that screeches at the top of its lungs whenever we are over there. I would go bonkers.

[oasis]

I used to have Zebra Finches. They were so cute, and caring for them was very easy. They're very colorful, and their chirping is not annoying!

 

If you have a male and female, they will raise clutch after clutch! You're only supposed to allow them to lay 2-3 clutches a year (so the poor female doesn't run herself to death), so you just remove the nest to give her a break. I used to sell the baby birds back to the pet shop, so the finches were making a little money, as well!

[Robyn]

My mom always had parakeets growing up. While I would never get one myself because the noise makes me crazy, they weren't bad pets.

 

When my husband and I first moved in together he had a conure and it was a nasty, nasty thing. It was loud, messy, and it bit. Actually it more than bit, it would randomly dive bomb and attack people. We would have to be sure to lock him in his cage anytime we had company. He was very attached to my husband and very jealous. When I was pregnant with my oldest, we got rid of the bird.

 

Now I know that is not necessarily the norm, but it has definitely made me not a pet bird lover!:lol:

[myfunnybunch]

Ds bought a parakeet, cage and all, with his own money. It took him a long time to save for it, but he did it. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but I really like Polly. She's sweet, easy to care for, not too noisy, interactive, and she wasn't expensive at all. Ds often lets her fly free in his room. (We can't let her out in the rest of the house--cats and we're afraid of a door left open accidentally.)

 

Ds's younger brothers liked Polly so much that they pooled their Christmas and birthday money and bought finches. I don't care for the finches. They are cute, but they're noisy and they fling seed everywhere.

 

Make sure you've got a large enough cage for whatever bird you choose. Each bird needs a certain amount of flight room. Parakeets are social birds, so they need to be in a main room (one bird exposed to people regularly will be more social with people) or you have to have two birds (in which case they tend to be less social with people).

 

The birds need clean food and water daily, fresh food (like greens, veggies, seeds) daily to supplement the bird seed, and cages cleaned regularly. My sons clean their bird cages thoroughly once a week. We can leave the birds for 1-2 days w/o having a sitter, if we leave extra water, but any longer and they need someone to care for them.

 

I think a bird is a fun and fairly easy pet. :) Way easier than the dog and the cats!

 

Cat

[justamouse]

I used to have Zebra Finches. They were so cute, and caring for them was very easy. They're very colorful, and their chirping is not annoying!

 

If you have a male and female, they will raise clutch after clutch! You're only supposed to allow them to lay 2-3 clutches a year (so the poor female doesn't run herself to death), so you just remove the nest to give her a break. I used to sell the baby birds back to the pet shop, so the finches were making a little money, as well!

 

I *love* finches. I love the happy sounds they make. It's like having a rainbow in your house all the time. I want them next. :D

[Jryanbass]

We have a yellow naped amazon and we *adore* him. He is like a two year old but in a cage. He sings opera, talks to us, plays games with us, and is a total part of our family. He *thinks*. He knows how to make a joke. We love him to bits.

 

Here are some:

 

 

 

 

 

our parrot laughs like this, too

 

When I take mine outside (in his cage) to hose him down, he *loves* seeing other birds. he says, "Oh birds! Oh, bird. Hello bird!"

 

He calls my oldest daughter in MY voice, and we play wolf whistle games all over the house where you start the whistle and he finishes it, or he starts it and you finish it. He laughs at jokes, answers the phone, says "Hello? Oh. Oh yeah. Anyway, OK. Ok Good bye!" He greets people when they come in and says goodbye when they leave. Says "Look at you! You're so pretty!" and he sings a BUNCH of songs. And he's only three.

 

If we didn't have him there'd be a hole in our family.

 

eta: ours never screams in the morning, but is VERY loud at about 5-6 pm, then he's in bed by 8. :-)

 

And, as sad as it is that they are in cages, an Amazon in the wild will live 10 years. An amazon in a cage will live 75 years. The stress of living in the wild reduces their lifespan THAT much.

 

 

Is yours not a one person bird? My MIL has Cici, a yellow amazon nape, and that bird is HERS and HERS only. She HATES other people, screams at strangers, and BITES! I have been married to dh for 7 years and she will still try to bite me if I get close to her, UNLESS MIL is gone for a few days, and then she is nice to me because she knows if she isn't she doesn't get fed. She is incredibily smart, and LOVES MIl. Its everybody else she doesn't like.

[Jennifer3141]

I did parrot rescue for years and although I think birds are awesome companions, they should be expensive as heck to maintain and they are the most returned/abused "pet" out there. I think Hitler was probably reincarnated as a sun conure - one of the most gorgeous birds out there UNTIL they scream and the calmest, most sane person in the world wants to slaughter them.

 

DH is noise sensitive. I do not recommend getting a bird unless everyone in the house understands the noise and the mess.

 

And if you are all on the same page, find one your whole family will fall in love with and buy from a GOOD breeder.

[justamouse]

Is yours not a one person bird? My MIL has Cici, a yellow amazon nape, and that bird is HERS and HERS only. She HATES other people, screams at strangers, and BITES! I have been married to dh for 7 years and she will still try to bite me if I get close to her, UNLESS MIL is gone for a few days, and then she is nice to me because she knows if she isn't she doesn't get fed. She is incredibily smart, and LOVES MIl. Its everybody else she doesn't like.

 

He loves my daughter most of all, but he's sweet to all of us.

 

I hand fed him from a baby.

[unsinkable]

What about when you leave Malaysia? What would you do with the bird then?

[Starr]

Where are the birds from in Malaysia? Would you be getting one bred in captivity or are they brought in from the wild?

[Jryanbass]

He loves my daughter most of all, but he's sweet to all of us.

 

I hand fed him from a baby.

 

Ah. Cici was hand fed, but fed by the breeder. And the fact that she could live 75 years terrifies me. If something happens to my MIL that bird is going with her!;)

[CalicoKat]

Sounds like a noisy cat with a beak.

 

 

 

I vote for a cuddly, quiet, kitty. :D

[skirch]

We have a 10 year old African Grey. We had a friend who was a bird breeder and when she got her first African Grey egg, dh decided it should be ours. I did not want a bird. I'm a reptile girl :D and already had my hands full with an iguana, tortoise, bearded dragon, snake and chameleon. Not to mention 2 dogs and 2 cats. This was going to be HIS bird though.

It's what he wanted.

 

10 years later, I am the only person the bird likes. He hates everyone. Especially dh. He bonded to me. So I'm the one who has to play with him and interact with him. I still make dh clean his cage and feed him though since it is HIS bird after all.:tongue_smilie:

 

As funny and entertaining as he is, he is noisy and messy. The constant noise grates on me. He likes to talk "over" me. It's especially annoying when I'm on the phone.

 

And as mentioned before, they live forever. The family joke is that the reason we finally had a baby (we were childless for 17 years) was so we'd have someone to inherit the bird when we die. I was teasing dd recently and told her when she grows up and moves out she had to take the bird with her. She burst into tears and wailed "But I don't WANT him!"

 

I say get a nice, quiet lizard instead.:D

[Heather in Neverland]

What about when you leave Malaysia? What would you do with the bird then?

 

Before we buy I would research which birds I can transport back to the U.S. You can take certain pets back and forth between countries.

[Robyn]

 

I vote for a cuddly, quiet, kitty. :D

 

Then don't go for a Siamese! I must have the world's loudest cat.:lol:

 

 

I say get a nice, quiet lizard instead.:D

 

My bearded dragon is the easiest, quietest pet we've ever owned. But she is horribly boring in her old age.

[Heather in Neverland]

Where are the birds from in Malaysia? Would you be getting one bred in captivity or are they brought in from the wild?

 

I am not sure yet. They have really nice, elaborate pet stores here but I am not sure where the birds came from originally. If we decide to go through with it, that is the first question I will ask. Although I am a little scared from all the negative reviews here!

 

My favorite pet is a cat but baby girl is allergic. I hate dogs with a fiery passion. And pets like fish and turtles, etc. just seem so useless. And I love going to aviaries. We love to play with our neighbor's bird. But if they are that much of a nightmare then I am going to think about this a little longer.

 

Good thing I asked!