hand fed baby or adult budgie

[momto3]

I am trying to decide if it would be better to get a hand-fed baby english budgie or a hand-fed 5 or so month old english budgie? Would it really make a difference or should we just go on personality? I am leaning towards an older bird, but the idea of a freshly weaned baby is appealing too.

 

[IcyWolf]

It depends, has the 5 month old be handled regularly since it has weaned? If not then it may be almost like a parent raised bird, I'd go for the freshly weaned baby but ultimately it depends on the bird your family clicks with.

 

[cdog]

It doesn't really matter, especially if you get one that's not older than 5 months. Even 30+ year old birds can still bond to new people. I say find one that you like and make sure it likes you. Age is nothing but a number.

 

[Mayden]

I agree with cdog, I've had baby birds and older birds and really it's all about the effort put into taming and training. Meet them both and see which you 'click' with better. Even if the 5month old is a little scared, just think how you'd feel if you were them, patience is key.

 

[Joeyx]

i'd go for the baby only if it was weaned and properly socialized. but yeah, go meet them
both and spend some time with them. see which one likes you more and make up your
mind then! ;p

 

[momto3]

Thanks. I am torn. The older bird is available now--and 5 hours away--and the baby won't be available for a month. It would be nice to be able to have my daughter meet each one, but one or both will be gone by the time we decide. Best case scenario would be to find someone with a selection and see which one seems to be a good fit. The older bird sounds nice, but what if I drive 5 hours and it isn't a good match? I guess it is a gamble either way. The older bird is parent raised, but handled. Finding the right bird is tough--especially when this is a pet for a young child.

 

[MikeyTN]

It doesn't really matter, especially if you get one that's not older than 5 months. Even 30+ year old birds can still bond to new people. I say find one that you like and make sure it likes you. Age is nothing but a number.

With Parakeets this is not completely true! Like Icy said, unless they were handled regularly they will go wild! Very few stays tame after 5 months with no interaction. I raised them for a pet shop years ago and they failed to follow my directions and my babies became really mean. I go in to do trimming for them and I couldn't hold my babies with them drawing blood and I raised them....