Pet Bird
 

I don't know if this is the right forum, but it's the closest thing i guess. I was thinking of buying a pet bird, something like a finch or a canary. Does anyone here have experience with them? Thanks for any feedback.

My Parents had a set of finches.. Personally, I hated the birds. They were dirty and very noisy.. they had a habit of trying to out talk any sound they heard.. no matter how loud the TV, they'd try their best to out scream it. Most others might have a difference experience, but I wouldn't even consider it.

My grandparents had a set of finches. One warning: Should they ever escape from their cage, good luck trying to catch them. It's much easier to catch a larger bird. Those little things though, they swoop up and down like darts and GAHHH!!! It took us about three hours to catch one of them once, with four people.

Just out of curosity, why a bird? Why not a dog or cat?

birds are smaller

they cost less to maintain

you don't have to walk 'em

they don't throw up on your beige carpet, causing a permanent stain

unless you get something from the parrot family, they're not going to chew up your belongings

they don't get into the garbage

they don't shed on EVERYTHING (yes i know they molt, but ten seconds with a vacuum cleaner takes care of that)

some of them sound pretty - who ever heard of the neighbors complaining because your canary is singing?

MUCH lower vet bills


don't get me wrong - i've got a dog now, and he's lots of fun, but i'd take a parakeet, cockatiel, or parrotlet over a dog any day of the week.

Actually if your bird gets sick the vet bill would be HIGHER.

Birds are considered an exotic because not all vets treat them.

Birds are pretty delicate in some ways, healthwise, they don't have all that much personality unless you get a cocky or a parrot or something, and most of them don't live all that long. if you just want moving scenery, get a fishtank.

well, it's not too much about companionship at all, i just like the chirping for some odd reason, and i like birds in general, they are pretty badass creatures, they fly, swoop, and claw you, thats beautiful man, beautiful.

No, birds as pets from my experiences, suck. They tweet and tweet and never shut up. they aren't cute and cuddly, they eat seeds and spit them all over the floor. they look cool, and thats about it. A cat is more practical, if you are able to have one in your living situation.

I grew up in a house with a persian cat, toy poodle, and aqua parakeet. The cat chased the dog and bossed her around (Cat wieghed 20, dog 6 lbs) The bird divebombed the dog and cat, rode them around the house, and allowed the cat to stalk it until it got close enough and then the parakeet would grab the cats wiskers and yank, sending the cat running for cover.

Parakeets are cheap to buy. Parakeets are bold, small (and consequentially have small poop), smell relatively pleasant, and aren't extremely noisy or harsh sounding. They don't have a squawk, they whistle. If you get one in the spring time when they are babies that is the best time. Parakeets have black stripes across the top of their head. As they age the stripes recede - ;) receding hairline. The youngest ones will have stripes all the way up next to their cere (sp?). Their cere will be pinkish, pale plue when they are chicks, as they grow older it will get darker in color. Females will remain pinkish and males will turn blue or blue grey. Parakeets can live about 7 years. That's about the average that each of our's lived to. One died from pesticide poisoning. They are sensitive to things like that. My mother gave him celery leaves. He got a major stomach ache and died 2 or 3 days later. The vet helped as much as possible but there wasn't much that could be done. He said it was because there had been pesticide on the celery leaves. So if you give them any treats like that make sure you wash things well. Food for the smaller birds is inexpensive and easy to find. If you change the paper in their cage daily there will be little mess. Our managed to always spill a little gravel and seed husks on the floor under his cage but that was easy vacuumed up.

My parakeet that I got when I was a teenager became a great pet. I got him as a young bird and trained him. He came when I called him, he allowed me to hold him upsidedown with his back lying on my hand and he loved when I scratched the back of his head. He learned a few phrases including "Pretty Bird" "Here Cappy" (his name was cappyboppy/cappy for short) and best of all "Here Kitty Kitty". He learned to open his cage door and would perch above my mom's curtains. Most of the time he was allowed to fly around the house. Once in a while parakeets will chew on paper. My Dad actually had to tell his college professor that the "bird Ate it" once but he took the shreaded report in to show the prof. We would usually put the birds in the cage when we left the house - also to protect them from the cat just in case - so they didn't have much opportunity to tear up papers. I would love to get another bird. We have a cat now and I'm just not up to caring for another creature in the small apt we have. Good luck on your hunt.

edit: I think I need to clarify - the kind of parakeet I'm referring to is the brightly colored, green, blue or aqua budgie. We also never trimmed their wings though some people do. We just trained ours very carefully soon after we got them to sit on our fingers and most of them would come willingly when we called.

I had a parakeet and it squawked something awful. It would always wait till Sunday at 9 PM - time for X-Files. He was quiet all stinking day, then just when I wanted to watch my one TV show, here he went. But, I agree that if you can get one that's a few months old and spend quality time training it, you'll have a good bird.

well i have a Peachface, and hes a great pet.
he's got a fiesty character. and he's vicious and nasty. but he's demanding and requires a fair bit of attention.
if you're going for a bird, i recommend parrots... esp Peachfaces (cheaper and smaller) since they've actually got personalities.

We have a severe macaw, a little smaller than the usual blue & gold. She needs a pretty big cage and her own room so she doesn't scream when we talk. She says all kinds of things, knows our names, plays.... almost like having a dog. She will destroy anything around so we don't just let her wander around by herself. They never go to the vet and, I hear, usually only go once and that's it. They do live for 50-60 years. A blue & gold in England belonging to Winston Churchill is 105.

It's a commitment and you need to do plenty of research.

I personally think birds are scary. I would get a rodent if I was you, I have a dwarf hamster and he's soooo cute.

I would get a cocketiel. They're bigger, a bit smarter, but not too big of a dent on the wallet. My opinion.

At present, I have a mitred conure. Also had a blue fronted amazon, but he passed on from a sudden respiratory affliction. Conures are a step up from pet shop sized birds, but still smaller than african greys or timnehs-and way smaller than macaws.

Birds are smart, but the morning event of 'flock calling' is not for the weak of heart or sensitive of ear. (They see you as one of them and call to you) Sam can just about remove paint when he wants to, and sometimes will raise the dead when I want to watch TV or listen to music.

Not unlike cats, birds know bird people. I had a customer some years ago with a goffin cockatoo-she'd sit on my shoulder and play with my hair or earring while I was remodeling a bedroom in their house. Another customer had a janday conure, and that little one could chat up a storm.

Going to a bird specialty breeder is your best bet. You'll pay more for a hand raised bird, but from a quality breeder you'll end up with a true pet quality bird of good health. Do some net research, talk to other bird owners, and select a type that matches your lifestyle and time commitment.

One of the most lovely creatures I've ever seen was a hyacinth macaw-cobalt blue with taxicab yellow eye rings-the largest of the macaw group, adult males can attain 4 foot wingspans, and handfed/raised babies fetch ~$10K. A breathtakingly beautiful bird, though.

I've had some fun with a Sun Conure, an extremely personable little bird. This is the kind of bird that will crawl under your covers and fall asleep on its back in the crook of your arm.

It can be kind of noisy, but it was nothing that really bothered me.

Also, this bird was trained to poop when held over a trash can. Nifty, eh?

I believe a Sun Conure can be had from a breeder for about $300.

Check out this link for more info: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww25eiv.htm

So dude.... what did you decide to do?

Just beware that parrots do have personality, and that can also be a bad thing. We have a rose parrot, and she can can be very tempermental. She'll be sweet enough so you feel safe putting your hand in her cage to let her perch, then as soon as she's almost out of reach on your shoulder, she'll take a nip at your ear or neck and not let go. She loves attention though, and she'll call to us when we're eating dinner in the other room. Rudolph the Red nosed is a year round song in our house :)

Sun conures are extremely friendly, in my experience. Of all the birds I've interacted with, the cockatoos and conures have been my favorite. I've had too many scrunchies chewed up by a blue and gold to be keen to a lifetime of that.

African Grey says

I adore my African Grey but I also threaten to cook her a lot...

Noisy yes but great company and such an attitude!!!!! How can you not love a bird that talks back?

We have a diamond dove and I think she provides the best ratio of love to nuisance of any pet ever. All she needs is new food and water and a new paper towel bedding every now and then, and in return she rides on our shoulder or sits on our wrist all day long, cooing when we talk to her and preening our fingernails. Most people will tell you diamond doves must be in a pair, but that is because they need companionship: if you can provide that companionship (at least an hour together a day, the more the better) then the bird will bond to you as its partner and love you forever. They are not like parrots in that they are too stupid to be angry or petty; they cannot bite; their claws are not big enough to hurt you; their poops are round and dry and can be vacuumed up; they swallow seeds whole, so no seed shells everywhere.

One can't get away from mess as birds generally are messy to begin with...LOL.

Lady Sage, of all the parrots that I have owned (the X has the menagerie now), African Greys are silent compared to cockatoos, amazons and lories...LOL.

I swear she just does it so I will yell at her and keep her company. :lol: