First Time Owner

[Aelle]

Hello =)

I'm hoping to find some help with picking out the right type of bird for me. I have no experience raising birds (aside from a crow with a broken foot that I nursed back to health when I was younger), however I do have experience with exotic pets who have special needs and diets.

Please, please don't recommend a bird to me simply based on it being a "starter bird". A starter bird is fine, but I'm looking for a pet that fits my personality and lifestyle, not an animal to use for "practice". I'm also a research oriented person and I prefer to know everything I possibly can about an animal before taking it home, so I won't be unprepared if it requires more care than I'm used to.

I only have one deal breaker: this has to be a bird that I can handle. I am an affectionate person and I love to hug and snuggle and make embarrassing baby noises to my heart's content. I will never be able to form a bond with what equates to being a decorative pet.

Mid-sized birds are preferred-- I am so very afraid of having fragile pets, so the smaller they are, the more nervous I am. Noise is not an issue; I'm half deaf from my German Shepherd barking directly in my ear, anyway. Expense is an issue. I can't afford more than $500 for start-up costs, including bird, cage, and toys. Availability is also a bit of an issue because I live out in the middle of nowhere and the closest breeder is two hours away, and I just don't feel good about having a bird shipped to me. Lifespan is also a big deal for me...it breaks my heart when I lose one of my pets, so short lifespans equate to me being very, very depressed.

Here's a quick overview of my living situation:

I'm a college student who lives at home. I currently have two large dogs and two cats, all of which have lived with smaller animals before and respect their boundaries (my cats used to sleep on my sugarglider's cage before he passed away from old age, and my dogs used to lay near it and watch him play). Because of my classes I don't have a regular schedule, and the bird would have to be alone for hours at a time. However, I do spend the majority of my time at home in my office which has a perfectly free cage-shaped corner, and an unused room that can be easily converted into a playroom (with all the cables in my office, I would be afraid it would chew on them and get hurt if they were out of the cage in there).

It will be a few months before I actually make the purchase, so I have plenty of time to learn what I need to know. But first I need a starting point...I've looked into conures, parrotlets, ringneck parakeets (my favorite so far), and caiques-- not the best choice for a beginner, I know, but I just love their bossy little personalities...unfortunately they're out of my price range.

Any tips, suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

[ShellyBorg]

My biggest tip would be to find a rescue and spend some time there as a volunteer. I vol. at a zoo for years. That gives you the best idea of different birds and care. Then adopt the bird that picks you.

 

[Nocturnal]

Well--- for a more inexpensive bird, that is readily available I would have to go with green cheek conures -- although they are very small. I would also reccomend a single, handfed lovebird for a cuddly bird-- but again, even smaller than a green cheek.

Unfortunately you will not find many "medium" sized birds for less than $500 startup costs + bird, otherwise I would reccomend an older cockatoo--- possibly a goffin. Cockatoos in general love cuddling, and you will KNOW you are getting a wonderful cuddly pet if you purchase or adopt an adult who has already gone through it's troublesome and hormonal stages in life.

 

[Aelle]

My biggest tip would be to find a rescue and spend some time there as a volunteer. I vol. at a zoo for years. That gives you the best idea of different birds and care. Then adopt the bird that picks you.

Unfortunately that's not an option for me. There are no rescues within a reasonable driving distance.

Well--- for a more inexpensive bird, that is readily available I would have to go with green cheek conures -- although they are very small. I would also reccomend a single, handfed lovebird for a cuddly bird-- but again, even smaller than a green cheek.

Unfortunately you will not find many "medium" sized birds for less than $500 startup costs + bird, otherwise I would reccomend an older cockatoo--- possibly a goffin. Cockatoos in general love cuddling, and you will KNOW you are getting a wonderful cuddly pet if you purchase or adopt an adult who has already gone through it's troublesome and hormonal stages in life.

Cockatoos are one of the few birds that I've actually spent some time with (a friend of mine has an aunt with a cockatoo). I just don't have enough space for a large bird...the rooms in my house are fairly small, I'm just afraid the poor thing will feel cramped. =(

There is a GCC at my local pet store, however! I spent some time with him before and fed him some seeds. He was incredibly quiet and he seemed excited that someone was paying him some attention-- there are signs up saying the birds bite so I doubt many people try to interact with him. He never bit me though, just nibbled very gently on my finger a few times. I always feel sorry for animals in pet stores...that's how I ended up with my first sugarglider. The poor guy looked so miserable that I had to take him home with me.

 

[ShellyBorg]

GCC is a great bird. One that is a lot of personality and they do like to cuddle, for the most part. Every bird can be different. See if you can spend more time with it and see if they will take a deposit to hold it while you make up your mind.

 

[MissTaz]

GCC is an amazing bird we just got one about a month ago and I couldn't be happier. We spent about $600 for the full start up but you can go cheaper we bought a big fancy cage to start with because the pet store discounted all the things we bought with our bird.

 

[SolarCat]

I have a pineapple GCC and she is a joy. GCC's are quieter than the average conure, although I know you said that shrieking wasn't an issue for you.

Sunshine is very much a cuddly clown. She's a small bird with a big attitude. I have two cats, one of whom (Cream) will occasionally climb on top of the bird cage when Sunshine is taking a nap. She's rather noisy, so Sunshine wakes up and will casually bite Cream's paws until she jumps down, at which point Sunshine resumes her nap and Cream hides in a corner because her pride is hurt.

Sunshine loves spending time with me, and loves grooming my hair. When she's in her cage and I'm not in the room she'll amuse herself, even if I'm home, but if she's out of her cage or if the cage door is open she'll start heading my way. She wants to be with me.
She'll attempt to fly across a room to land on my shoulder, and last night she really enjoyed taking a bath in the kitchen sink while I finished putting away groceries. She's also jealous of my cell phone, and is trying to figure out where the voices come from. She also likes chirping at my Mom long-distance, after my mother came up for Mother's Day Weekend. (My Mom didn't feel comfortable holding her, but she did love talking to her, so Sunshine recognizes her voice. She also slept in the same room as Sunshine, and was always complimenting her for being such a good, pretty, quiet bird.)

 

[Aelle]

I have a pineapple GCC and she is a joy. GCC's are quieter than the average conure, although I know you said that shrieking wasn't an issue for you.

Sunshine is very much a cuddly clown. She's a small bird with a big attitude. I have two cats, one of whom (Cream) will occasionally climb on top of the bird cage when Sunshine is taking a nap. She's rather noisy, so Sunshine wakes up and will casually bite Cream's paws until she jumps down, at which point Sunshine resumes her nap and Cream hides in a corner because her pride is hurt.

Sunshine loves spending time with me, and loves grooming my hair. When she's in her cage and I'm not in the room she'll amuse herself, even if I'm home, but if she's out of her cage or if the cage door is open she'll start heading my way. She wants to be with me.
She'll attempt to fly across a room to land on my shoulder, and last night she really enjoyed taking a bath in the kitchen sink while I finished putting away groceries. She's also jealous of my cell phone, and is trying to figure out where the voices come from. She also likes chirping at my Mom long-distance, after my mother came up for Mother's Day Weekend. (My Mom didn't feel comfortable holding her, but she did love talking to her, so Sunshine recognizes her voice. She also slept in the same room as Sunshine, and was always complimenting her for being such a good, pretty, quiet bird.)

That's adorable! I love quirky personalities.

Yeah, shrieking really isn't an issue at all. I live in a noisy house anyway and I'm pretty confident I can take even the worst of a Macaw scream-- so can my mother (she's so used to me blasting my music through the house that she doesn't even notice it anymore). Noise will only become a problem if they shriek during new episodes of The Walking Dead. Noise is not tolerated in my house when The Walking Dead is on, lol.

As for the size of the bird since a few have brought it up already-- when I say small, I'm really referring to tiny birds like finches. Conures are a decent enough size that I don't think I'll have to worry much about them getting lost in the house or (god forbid) crawling into my subwoofer or something. The size is what put me off of parrotlets or lovebirds even though they fit my requirements everywhere else.

 

[Abigal7]

I doubt you can find a medium bird and set up less then 500 dollars. I think a Green cheek conure would fit most of your requirements. They can be cuddly and have parrot like attitudes. I have one and she is the sweetest thing.

 

[Aelle]

I doubt you can find a medium bird and set up let then 500 dollars. I think a Green cheek conure would fit most of your requirements. They can be cuddly and have parrot like attitudes. I have one and she is the sweetest thing.

Well, my budget is flexible given the right circumstances. Anything over $500 would probably delay my purchase because instead of buying everything at once, I'd have to buy bits at a time...maybe a cage one month, some toys and perches next month, and finally the bird on the third month. Normal people would just save their money and buy everything at once, but me...when it comes to cash I'm a bit of a butterfingers

Whoops, I just dropped $50 in your cash register, silly me. Well, at least I have these DDR3 memory cards to remember it by...

Well, the exception being if I wait until fall when I get my student refund, then my budget gets a lot more flexible. Though it's going to be hard to explain to my college how a parrot enriches my student career.

 

[goalerjones]

Depending on your major it might be an easy "sell" in the enrichment department.

 

[Remy]

I'm not sure how you'd find a medium sized bird and setup for that price. I'd check on Craigslist though. I got a great price on my caique via CL, and then a great cage for really cheap. I still needed toys though. With bird, cage, and toys (paid full price for the toys), I wanna say it was around $700-800.

You also need to keep in mind that regular checkups are important for birds. You don't have to do it right after getting it, but within a few months. Should cost something around $250-400 with blood work and grooming, depending on the vet. You will need to replace toys periodically, but to cut down on cost you can order parts and make them yourself.

Other than money, you sound like you will make a great parront.

 

[Aelle]

Now, vet bills is where it gets pretty cool for me...our local vet knows that we mainly take in strays and rescues-- this is actually the lowest number of animals I've had in years, my house is usually a menagerie-- so we take everyone in at the same time and they give us a very hefty discount.

I should also explain that it's not like my financial situation is tight...because I still live with my mother and she had the final say on whether or not I could have a parrot, the deal I made with her was that the start-up costs and vet bills are my responsibility. I take on a full course load during the school semesters so I can only work in the summer, which means I only have three months to earn what I need throughout the year (supplemented by student refunds during fall and spring) including helping out with bills because, well, I live here for free.

Basically what I'm saying is that if birdie needs something and I don't personally have the money, my mother won't have a problem helping me. I don't want that to happen though, because I did make a promise, so I'm trying to stick close to a budget that I can afford on my own. My student refunds are usually pretty hefty-- I actually make less money in three months of hard work than I do by just going to school-- but part of that goes to groceries, mortgage payments, etc. The reason why I set a limit to $500 isn't because I can't afford the start-up costs for a more expensive bird, it's because I'm making the assumption that the higher the start-up costs, the higher the maintenance cost.

I just don't want anyone to get the impression that I'm taking on a pet that I can't afford and therefore won't get the care it needs. I'm just trying to manage my money so that I can continue helping my mom with the bills and I won't be sticking her with any extra expenses.

 

[cdnbirdlover]

My lovebird's "start up costs" were probably close to $500, including the initial vet check. I don't even want to consider how much I've spent on toys in the year he has been with us. Lovebirds are big personalities in little birdie bodies. He is cuddly when he wants to be and noisy when he wants to be. I would consider all birdies "delicate" even the big ones because of their sensitive respiratory systems and bone structure. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Aelle]

Guys, I am heartbroken.

I went back to the pet store to take another look at the parrots. The conure was gone, but that's not the source of my heartache.

This little guy is:

As soon as I came up to the cage he scooted closer and pressed his body against the bars, so I scritched him for a while-- I've never scritched a cockatoo before. He felt weird but delightful. He fluffed out his feathers for me and raised his wing so I could scritch under it, and threw the cutest little tantrum every time I walked away from his cage to look at the other birds (he squawked at me, bounced a few times and then angrily threw one of his toys on the ground until I came back).

He grabbed my fingers with his foot and held my hand.

I am smitten. But I cannot have him.

He's $1800. ;-;

 

[cdnbirdlover]

He's beautiful. Of course you are heartbroken. He doesn't know his price tag; he just picked you.

 

[goalerjones]

You should spend more time with stuffed animals...attachment is cheaper

 

[xreinx]

I know how you feel Aelle... the same thing happened to me when I was 15 and a naked African Grey named sunny did the same thing, baby crying after me and calling to me, telling me to " come back" ... I begged my mother for days and she firmly said no, I still ache for that bird.. If you can.... get the bird, it picked you.. I havent gone a single year without looking for "my bird" and I know Ill never find him now.

 

[Aelle]

I know how you feel Aelle... the same thing happened to me when I was 15 and a naked African Grey named sunny did the same thing, baby crying after me and calling to me, telling me to " come back" ... I begged my mother for days and she firmly said no, I still ache for that bird.. If you can.... get the bird, it picked you.. I havent gone a single year without looking for "my bird" and I know Ill never find him now.

It's impossible, unfortunately =( It would take my entire summer earnings just to afford him and his cage, and I have medical bills that I have to pay back, too. Otherwise I would take him home with me in a heartbeat. The sad thing is I would have been willing to go up $1000 (I'm a computer enthusiast so I usually make a big purchase like that at least every two years), but the extra $800 makes him completely out of my price range even including my refund check in the fall.

I'm so sorry about the African Grey! I can only imagine how sad you were, not to mention how sad Sunny was. I probably would have broken down crying to hear him say "come back" knowing that I couldn't.

 

[xreinx]

I feel your pain, though I too understand your goal being out of reach, maybe you can talk to the owner?
I was 15, I had never experenced a bird like that before, but I was drawn to animals and my aunts love bird cherry was a big bright spot during my summers at my grandmothers so I spent years looking up birds and knew what african greys were vary smart. .. and Yea.. I broke down crying when I walked out, .... I wont tell you what he did when I left to spare you the tears but....

I really dont know how you managed to turn around and walk out, If that happened to me today, Id do everything in my power to get that bird, including selling my car.