Does r3v know anything about Exotic birds..

[MikeDE]

My wife has it in her head that she wants to get parrot(s), cockatoo(s), or some other exotic bird of the sort.

I already have an idea that they are like 'little' people. They have their own attitude's, hangups, or can get embarrassed, pissed, or jealous. I wanna hear from those that are into it what their take on it is.

The lowdown: We have a decent sized apartment, with a balcony. It's the Wife and I, the dog, and (2) 6yr olds. We have a place where they can go where they wouldn't be stuck in the corner.

Any input, feel free to pose any questions from more info.

[SilberSurfer]

I have a little experience w birds.


I have owned a african grey and have a cousin who owns a
yellow headed amazon.

If you are looking for a talker, and a bird that loves to imitate.
The african grey is the way to go.
There only down side is that they usually only bond with one person and have a tendency to bite everyone else. Kids included.
Amazons are almost as talkative as african greys but i find are just a tiny bit friendlier.
Now.... if you want a friendly bird and are willing to sacrifice a bit on the talking.... a cookatoo is the way to go.
By far the friendliest birds...... these birds love attention.

Keep in mind , all birds are squawkers.... and can make a lot of noise...
cockatoos and macaws squawk REALLY loud !

I am no expert, just have a little experience w birds.

Hope that helps

[A.J.]

I have a goffin's cockatoo, a sun conure, a meyer's parrot, and a parakeet (budgie)...my suggestion for a first time bird owner is start small. My meyer's, conure, and parakeet all have TONS of personality and great attitudes. The cockatoo is an extremely sweet and clever bird, but he's so smart that he gets neurotic without constant attention --which realistically, you can't give (especially with kids, job, etc). It's almost not fair to the bird (cockatoo) to be kept domestically. Same with some of the larger parrots.

The smaller parrots can be just as fun without the hassle. Even the parakeet, with 2 or 3 brain cells, is a fun pet. They're also easier to handle. Big parrots are exteremly strong and they can bite clear down to the bone. I'd leave the cockatoos, amazons, and macaws to hardcore bird owners. If you find you absolutely love parrots after owning a smaller one, then go for a big one.

Anyway, just my two cents. Hope it helps.

[Joe G]

yup, buy ear plugs.

[KenC]

Get ready for noise complaints from neighbors.

[gr8skyr]

Ditto w/ A.J. comments.

My wife (we) have a Goffin Cockatoo and a Patagonian Conure. The Conure is pretty easy. He likes to walk around the house and likes to chew up any wood he can find, furniture, cabinets, etc. So needs supervison and redirection ( and lots of stuff to play with and chew up. but is content to hang out mostly in his cage. Ours can both fly, so have to balance their need for exercise with danger of flying out a door or into a window. So far, they both have been safe. We've clipped their wings once, but then they just flop to ground- pathetically. Since they both flew before we had them, they seem to be more content to be able to go out and about.
The Goffin is a small Cockatoo, but she is busy and a handful. She's a genius and speaks a few phrases in context. Never has had an accident on anyone because she says "gotta go potty" and we put her on her cage and she goes - always. But needs lots of time out of the cage and demands to reside on a shoulder for many hours a day when someone is home. If too much time ignored, plucks herself bald in her cage. I would not recommend for a pet. They are just too busy to be cooped up. She is very sweet, give nice bird kisses, says "bye-bye!" when she's flying from place to place. But needs way more attention than most can probably give.

That's my two cents.

[MikeDE]

Even the parakeet, with 2 or 3 brain cells, is a fun pet.

Lulz

Thanks for the comments guys, keep 'em coming.

[ohthejosh]

I had a parakeet that liked to bang his head on the side of the cage, he died that way.

but the other parakeets were fun, especially if you let them fly around the house and let them chill on your shoulder. I had one that would just sit there and watch tv with me. They arent too loud either.

Now I have bulldogs. Irrelevant or is it?

[Shangsta]

I have had my fair share of birds and I agree with starting out small and seeing if they are for you. The bigger birds require alot of attention and when that is not given can lead to a very miserable time for you and the bird.

[e34john]

I also suggest something smaller. An Indian ringneck parakeet would be something good to start off with. Big enough to have personality but not big and loud like the bigger parrots, they still are pretty loud though, most birds are. And ringnecks aren't too hard to find and not too expensive. Feeding cost is a lot less than the larger hookbills too.

[b*saint]

I know they don't taste as good as pheasant.

[e34john]

I have two phesants! Red Goldens, they get noisy too during mating season.

[Nsquared97]

Good friend of mine has a Macaw (sp?), and as stated he can be incredibly loud if provoked, or wants attention, etc. Also keep in mind a bird like that can live a very long time (up to 70 years according to my friend) so it's a long term deal.

[OniKyan]

If you want any kind of Cockatoo make it a Cockatiel. The rest are just annoying squawkers.

Don't get me wrong, Cockatiels are noisy but they usually just imitate sounds.

Also, bigger parrots/cockatoos live for around 70 years. Are you going to be alive this long to take care of it?

[Farbin Kaiber]

I know not to put a hot Teflon coated pan under their cage.