A Good Parrot Choice For My 7 Yr Old Daughter

[Wings]

What do you guys think of mini macaws? I had an opportunity to adopt a 5 yr old yellow collard mini mavaw. The woman's 6 year old could play and handle her. It was 3 hours away and we were not ready yet. I read good things about these guys. I would only do a well socialized rehome if I ever got one since they are up there in price.

Also, what about a Pionus? I've read they are good birds around kids but know nothing about them. Anyone want to chime in?

No mini macaws, they have a high pressure in their beaks, and from what I have heard, are very one person oriented, and may choose someone other than your daughter...of course exceptions to every rule but i wouldn't want one turning on your daughter. As for pionus, they can be very loud, and quiet ones are just as common as the loud ones. If the bird is sitting on your daughters shoulders and lets out a high-pitched screech, it will hurt her ears. I really think you should look into regent parakeets, or lineolated parakeets. If you are worried about a bite, and you are the primary caretaker i would recommend a green aracari, or a toucan. I know it is odd, but they really are great pets, just make sure YOU do a lot of research on them. Here's a great link to a breeder/care sheet,FAQ. Lots of hard work but they are great pets. I wouldn't recommend any toucanets as they tend to be more anti-social if you may.

Toucans EmeraldForestBirds.com

I am not advertising this breeder, but it is a great research to learn about toucans in captivity.

 

[MikeyTN]

Parrolets are very much like Lovebirds, you can encounter the same issues....

Lorikeets, if you get the boys, they can be little boogers....They also don't do well with other birds and will attack them at will!!!! Not one I suggest to children....

BUT if she wants any of the birds, listed, let the bird pick her. That's the main thing! No matter what bad the bird may be, as long as you love'em and they're attached to you, nothing else really matters!!!!

 

[Wings]

Well said

 

[Abigal7]

Your daughter sounds mature and sounds like she has good parents to give her advice and show her things. I had a budgie as a child. When I got older I got both a cockatiel, and green cheek conure. The noise on either is not bad. I will say my cockatiel made more chirps and whistled a lot. I think cockatiels are great birds with a wonderful personalities. I love green cheek conures. I agree with the advice to let the bird come to her. I can understand since she is seven that it would be easier to handle a smaller bird. I heard Pionus are nice birds (and are birds that I have considered). I also heard some people swear conures are good with a mature kid. Though conures such as Sun conures can be loud. It all depends how much noise she can take and if she is afraid of being bitten or not (which is understandable). I am in the in the process of getting a hahns macaw. I think he will be sweet but maybe he will become a one person bird. I do not know the future. If the bird is encouraged to interact with the whole family as a baby the chances of the bird being more tolerant to more then one person is probably going to be higher.

 

[AngelicaandBandit]

ooooo I think she would love a lovebird, they're sooo adorable!!! I've had tiels before and they would brilliant for her too! Show her pics of lovebirds! Theyre so adorable like for real!!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Blanca, when you come down this way, you will absolutely HAVE to stop at Bird Paradise. It won't be difficult for a bird to find your daughter there...the only problem is too many of them want to come home with you. She will get to interact with many different species there as well. They "usually" have Black Capped Caiques there, too.

 

[kendrafitz]

I don't know much about smaller birds, but my first thought was Caique. I have seen/interacted with them at Bird Paradise and they are just so playful and fun.

I agree with Wendy about Bird Paradise. That is actually how we met Rosie. We were thinking m2 or macaw but once we interacted with Rosie, all bets were off.

They have rooms of birds that aren't confined. So you can interact with the different birds and see which bird loves your daughter and vice/versa. Some people bring their children there in the summer to see interact with exotic birds as an activity instead of heading to the zoo.. Just make sure to wear shoes that you are ok with being damaged. My first visit, some conures and cockatoos had a lot of fun taking little bites out of my flip flops and biting my sparkly toenail polish.

 

[Blancaej]

Wow! I never imagined when I started this thread I would get such great advice and so many responses! I thought for sure I would have people telling me that she is too young and I shouldn't get her a bird. Yada yada yada.

But that hasn't been the case at all. I really appreciate how much everyone is thinking this through and giving the pros and cons from each of your own experience or knowledge!

Wings - Thank you for the advice on Mini Macaws & Pionus. No one has chimed in on mini macaws yet so it's nice to hear an opinion on that! Love the "I am a little bird". Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Mikey - Again good advice!

Abigail - Thank you for your thoughts. I too believe if we all interact with the bird from the start we should be able to keep it will socialized no matter what we choose.

Angelica - Lovebirds are her first choice at the moment.

Wendy - I actually was thinking that is probably what we are going to do if I'm down there this September. I'm just not sure if we are attending the trade show this Sept or not yet. But I think that would be a great place to pick out a bird!

Kendrafitz - thanks for your experience at Bird Paradise. I think Caiques are great, just think they are over the budget unless we rehome.

To All - As I told Wendy, I go to NJ once a year for a trade show in Atlantic City. As Wendy and others have told me, they have a great place called Bird Paradise down there. After what everyone has said, I think we are going to go down there and let her interact with the birds and let the bird pick her. I think I would like to stay around $300 bucks or less for her bird.

We used to have a great pet store in NH (Savannah was purchased there 18 years ago by her prior owner) They have gone down hill a bit. We went there last month and they don't have nearly as many birds and the staff didn't seem nearly as knowledgeable either. They even had a 10 year old scarlet with picking issues that they were still trying to sell for $1000! Poor thing. I will say they have dealt with a flood last year and i'm sure the recession is not helping them. It's just sad to see there bird section shrink so much. They had a 1/3 of the toys they used to. I don't have a lot of options up here in VT!

Anyway, they did have a few birds for her to handle. Here is a picture of her holding a canary winged parakeet. She held 2 or 3 of them. One bit her but she survived!

They had very little lovebirds and none of them were out and could be handled.

I think the Bird Paradise in NJ would be a great way to have her choose. I am going to take note of all the great advice on this thread and go down armed with info. I hope we can go soon and maybe make a special trip for Parrot Palooza in Oct. But I have to talk my hubby into, LOL!

I will keep you posted!

 

[Jowelbg]

Is she looking for a cuddly bird? If so, I think cockatiels are fantastic birds for kids.

If she wants more of an interactive playmate, my family had a Quaker when i was about that age. It did really with all the activity, although the cage agressive part was a challenge that we didn't really understand at the time.

Have you thought about a Pionus? I didn't know much about them until my 16 year old sister got one. The bird just loves to hang out. I think it would be content sitting on my sisters finger all day (sometimes, upside down).

 

[Wings]

Did you consider toucans, or aracaris? I really think you should look into that. It may be an odd bird but definitely a great bird to have around. Remember No file perches, as they make the nails bleed and no iron, i love having a toucan around.

 

[BirdSquawk]

Wings, do you have a toucan? I would be so jealous! I love toucans and aracaris but am detoured by their apparently sharp nails and unique diet requirements. As to the original question, I would check out doves, they don't bite and can be very cuddly, unless she is sold on a parrot.

 

[kq_fan]

She should get a kind of green cheek conure, they are great, a little nippy but are sweeter then candy. Great size to.

 

[Wings]

Wings, do you have a toucan? I would be so jealous! I love toucans and aracaris but am detoured by their apparently sharp nails and unique diet requirements. As to the original question, I would check out doves, they don't bite and can be very cuddly, unless she is sold on a parrot.

I do not have a toucan, but i took care of an emerald toucanet for a while for a friend.

 

[BirdSquawk]

Wings, how would you describe the toucanet species, as a companion? Also, I just found on animal planet .com a live webcam set up in a parakeet aviary. Thought you might enjoy it, it certainly kept me entertained for a long time!

 

[Wings]

Toucanets aren't as friendly as toucans or aracaris, but very intelligent, and FUN to play with and can teach cool tricks. I taught our toucanet how to do a somersault, and loved to do catch. Their beaks aren't very strong at all, and they can't crunch. They have trouble crunching grapes. They need VERY specifically cut food because they can't bite down. That being said they can't climb on their cage, and their water dishes have to be VERY specialized otherwise the bird will dehydrate. Even though they can't bite down, when they feel angry they bite like a pair of scissors snapping down. It isn't hard pressure wise but sharp and fast. I wouldn't recommend a toucanet. Curl-crested aracari or green aracaris are better pets.

 

[Blancaej]

Jowels - Yes, lots of suggesstions for a tiel. I would consider a Pionus but I think they are out of the price range I will consider. A rehome would be the only way I would adopt a Pionus. You never know!

Kq - GCC are definatley on our list for consideration!

Wings - I'm afraid Toucans are way out of our price range. I saw on one site they are like 12K!

So we went to Petco today and Morgan got to see a GCC and two tiels. She thought the GCC was sweet and didn't really care for the teils until I showed her a book with the Lutino. Now she is interested!

They had no lovebirds and I explained to her they can be a bit nippy and sometimes don't let go. So we opted not to get the lovebird book just yet.

I bought her a book on tiels and conures while we were there. She was very excited and looked at them all the way home! She seems super excited about teils now. Which I'm happy about. We will go through the books together so she can learn more before we take the plunge and make a final decision.

Now I can't wait for fall to get here! LOL!

 

[Wings]

Green aracaris are around $1000, but regent parakeets are great

 

[Blancaej]

I just checked out the regent. Beautful! But are they hard to find?

 

[Wings]

Not that I am aware of, might have to buy one from a breeder not in your locality (make sure it isn't a scam), and have it shipped. They aren't that bad in cost, running for around the same amount of money as a sun conure.. Did you consider Indian Ringnecks? If not, check out "Bowie" the indian ringneck on youtube. He is so cute and excellent talker, sweet, and pretty.

 

[Blancaej]

So I think we might have a pretty firm decision on the bird we are going to go with. After looking at the books I bought Morgan she had decided on a Lutino Tiel.

I decided to do some further research and see if I could find a Vermont breeder. Well I found one that raises Teils, but I also found she breeds lineolated parakeets! She said they are super sweet birds! I told my daughter and we did a little research online and she has made her decision.....

A lineolated parakeet it is! The breeder won't have any babies until the fall but this is perfect timing for us! I am going to talk to the breeder more and make sure the babies on not just hand fed but hand raised. After talking to her today, I feel confident that she is socializing her birds well. My daughter is very excited! And the great news is, the breeder is only about an hour away from my home!

I also have a cage that will be perfect for our future little sweetie. My mom used to have a pretty decent size cage for her budgie. So I think that cage will work perfectly! Here is a picture of what linolated (linnies) look like in case you haven't seen them.



Morgan also started her bird chores today. She was very enthusiastic to start after seeing the linnies online! She helped me sweep up the bird area and clean all the bowls and change the paper. I even had her clean up some bird poop on the floor so she will get used to dealing with that. Washing her hands thoroughly afterwards of course! She did a great job. I think she enjoyed helping with the birds. I told her she has to keep it up, continue to read everyday all summer and keep her room clean and she will earn her bird! I will keep you posted as I talk to the breeder more!