Advice and Alex's

[Fifi28]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the site and looking for advice on Alex's. I have owned budgies and cockatiels and looking to go up the scale a little. I have 2 kids aged 1 and 4 and want a parrot to suit us. I have been looking at lot's of different kinds and at the mo the conures seem a high possibility for family life with us, however today I came across this breed which is showing promise. Could anyone give me any advice on this breed and how they suit to family life?

I am going to read through the posts on here to, but any additional advice would be lovely.

Thanks,

Fiona

 

[weco]

Hi Fiona...welcome to the forum.....

Sorry, I can't help with Alexandrine info, but could recommend conures as I've had a few of those.....

As an aside, over in dogdom & catdom, they refer to theirs as breeds, but the purists over here might might correct you that they prefer that parrot types be referred to in species.....

Glad you decided to stop in.....

 

[Fifi28]

Haha, thank you for your advice weco, I will keep that in mind. lol.

 

[MrSquak]

I only know the one alex parrot, but I can share my experience.

Pros:
Excellent companions, tango really wants to be "in the middle of things" if theres a group of people standing around talking, tango wants to be in that group contributing to the conversation as best he can

Good talkers: they can learn a good vocabulary and have funny sounding voices

Hardy: They aren't generally prone to disease and they don't have complicated diets

Good eaters: They'll eat pretty much all fruits and veggies and pellets. It's not hard to get them to eat a healthy diet.

Size: They're big enough to have a real presence, but small enough that you can keep them flighted in a normal house without knocking things over. I live in a 120 square meter apartment in China and he has no problem navigating the house. A bigger bird probably couldn't without breaking things.

Cons:

CONSTANT Chewers: You cannot leave an alex alone for 2 seconds because they will ruin valuable things. (like macbooks and jewelry) The things you like the most are the things they most want to chew on and ruin. Bird-proofing your house is key, because they could chew through a power cord in seconds.

Not really cuddly...tango loves to perch on a hand, head or shoulder, but isn't really a cuddly bird.


Summary: Tango is a great little friend, and I really like the species on the whole. It's a good first bird in my opinion (my first as well) and you can really have a good relationship with them. You have to watch them at all times when theyre out of the cage, especially if they are flighted.

 

[Akraya]

I agree with what MrSquak has said, especially about the chewing part, Nimbus will beeline once something catches her interest and chomp down.

I have an Alex and two conures so hopefully I can help a bit. Nimbus (alex) is a very gentle bird, has her frustrated moments as all birds do, but I would trust her around anyone, she also isn't cuddly. She doesn't vocalise often but when she does it is ear splitting!

My two conures I don't trust around other people, they are prone to being nippy and my two are certainly testament to that fact. But they can be goofy, affectionate and cuddly when the mood strikes them. My conures are much more vocal than the alex.

My advice is don't get more than one bird, so it'll bond to humans a bit easier... hopefully.
I can't really think of other advice right now, just got up so my brains not quite there yet.

 

[MrSquak]

Interesting you say nimbus isn't very vocal. Tango is a talker and a whistler. As a baby he would do screeches and squawks but now just whistles like a little songbird. Then again Tango also doesn't have a tail and is half yellow, so Tango is definitely just a weirdo.

 

[Fifi28]

Wonderful folks, thank you for your advice. I was going to go with conures but the breeder told me they are nippy to so I may not get that species. The Alex is looking quite good.

 

[MrSquak]

Hey Fifi, my girlfriend has a green cheek conure at her mom's house in the US. Pete's a good bird, very affectionate and cuddly, but a little headstrong and nippy.

I think both those species are pretty good choices. I'm partial to alexs obviously because I have one but I think conures are great too. Tough to make generalizations, there are so many different personalities of the alexs on this forum, about the only thing they ALL have in common is their status as chew-hounds.

We have a grey as well, got him about 6 weeks ago, maybe 5 months old and he needs a LOT of attention, much more than tango. Talon is only happy if he is being pet constantly, a much more challenging bird to raise.

 

[Akraya]

Nimbus still begs for food sometimes, she's a spacehead. She does the weirdest things with our computer monitors too, she acts like a cat and chases the cursor, I'll post a video when I can film it without her getting distracted and wanted to eat my phone!

 

[khaiqha]

Keep in mind that birds are individuals that don't always hold up to their stereotypes. I leave my alexandrine out in my room all the time. I took some precautions to bird proof it, but he doesn't chew on anything. He's mostly quiet (except mornings) and he's very affectionate without being cuddly. The one thing he's very consistent on is being gentle. He'll put on a big show and bluff that he might bite, but call him on it and he'll just fly away. The only time his beak has hurt me is when he gets over excited chewing on something I'm holding, like my cell phone.

 

[Fifi28]

Yeah I have read about their really gentle natures and this is very appealing. Very appealing. As I have 2 young kids. Hmmmmm, this may be the parrot for us. If you have any experiences with Alex's and kids to share, then I would love to hear them.

 

[Ian]

I think Alexs make brilliant family pets but there are a couple of issues I would bring up which are common to all parrots:

1. Some of them just don't like certain people or males or females and they hold very long grudges. Alexs are less prone but they are no different. Our 10yr old is devastated that our birds won't play with him because he tried to show them his toys 2 years ago and they got scared.

2. As sad as it is because I would wish a good home for any parrot that needs rehousing, I would never consider adopting. If you're going to spend 30-40yrs living with a bird and the first 6mths is critical to setting up the personality then I'd want to do it myself.

3. They don't technically require much more looking after than a budgie but they do need proper 'parrot food' and plenty of fruit/veg so the looking after is something an adult definitely needs to take part in.

If you want a low maintenance family parrot they are definitely up there in the top three for all the reasons in the other posts. If you get just one I'd personally go for a DNA tested male for top entertainment value (there's no way definitive way without DNA testing, just indicators and lots of scammers)

 

[Akraya]

Nimbus will let my 2yr old nephew pat her, but she doesn't like it if he moves really quickly and gets too excited around her. I'd trust her around other kids as long as they understand the meaning of gentle!

Be prepared to spend lots of money on food and toys, and they need a fairly big cage. But you'll get to all the nitty gritty details once you make up your mind on either species =)

 

[MrSquak]

Nimbus is really cool and friendly then, Tango usually flies away from a new person...unless of course that person has sunflower seeds

 

[Akraya]

Her vice is almonds, buy almonds!!! And yellow capsicum, oh AND arrowroot biscuits. Never has a parrot be more determined to get somewhere than when these three foods are presented.

 

[MrSquak]

Yeah Tango also loves almonds, so does the Grey. They are the almond brothers.

 

[Devann]

My Alex, Vino also LOVES almonds! My grey not so much.
Anyway, in my personal experience with Vino (who I adopted at 6 years of age):
-very smart but she doesn't talk, she apparently did up until the death of her former owners amazon. She does whistle etc and communicates quite well
-loves me but only me. HATES my husband, will tolerate my daughter sometimes
-will eat/chew just about anything - including furniture, clothing, jewelry etc if not supervised closely when out of her cage. But really enjoys sharing a bit of whatever we are eating
-likes to be held, ride on my shoulder etc but not overly "cuddly" (my grey is a serious cuddler)
-she is just absolutely GORGEOUS!

I wouldn't recommend an Alex for someone with kids unless you've raised it from a baby but that's just my personal opinion. They are awesome companions though, I love Vino more than I ever thought possible

 

[MrSquak]

yeah greys need lots of attention. Talon will soak up any affection offered and still want more.

 

[gemini84]

alexs are beautiful intelligent birds and considering i have 3 of the amazing creatures its not hard to see im a little biast.
it is so true about all birds being different and not being able to generalize. for example.

Prince, 3.5yrold male. very cuddly, affectionate and has to be in the middle of everything. he loves getting scrathes and pats and will folliw you every where. loves playing with his toys and chewing on ropes and other soft things.

Bruno, 1.5yr old male. will happily sit with you, wetger it be perched on your hand, shoulder, legs, lap, head or the back of the lounge. loves giving kisses but wont allow you to touch him. he is an avid chewer and is slowly turning theur playstand into toothpicks and thanks to him i need to replace the perches in the cage on a weekly basis.

Oxy 10month old, sex not determined. oxy is quiet and peaceful. he goes thru different phases daily. one day he will just want to sit on the jungle cage chewing on the palms and playing and the next he wont want to leave yoyr side (those days are my favourite). when he is in his cuddly mood ge will give kisses, sit and play with toys on your lap get scratches etc, on his quiet days he will step up, but as soon as he gets a chance will fly back to the playstand or one of the cages.

but all 3 are very gentle and will go to any one after them being here for about 10min. i am yet to cop a nasty bite from them but no mater what bird you have its not a matter of if, but when you will get bit.
bruno and prince can talk and make the funniest sounds, oxy is trying but not yet talking.
on the most they are pretty quiet but uf they get excited can make a noise.
the key to a great bird is socialisation and to accept each for their individual personalities and not have expectations of them due to stereo types.

i would recomend alexs to anyone and everyone.

if you wish to see an insight on how loud they can get, check out my thread on here... my alarm clock, but keep in mind that there is 3 birds.

good luck in your research and i hope you find tge oerfect bird for your family.