Hi! New here and need help trying to make a decision...

[VampireHeart82]

Hello everyone! I have joined here in hopes of getting an idea of what kind of bird to get!

I had a budgie that passed away last fall. She was 9 going on 10 years old. I took it really hard and am just now ready for another. I can't get another budgie though as it is still a sensitive area for me but I miss the companionship! A little more about me... I am 29 a stay at home mom and we have 3 children. Our daughter is 8 and she was as devistated as I was as our budgie Shamrock has been here her whole life. Our boys are 1 1/2 and are too young to miss her. My husband works 10hrs a day 6 days a week so I am at home almost 24/7 and have plenty of time to work with a bird but I want to make a decision on a bird by what would be the best fit for us. Our boys would not be handling it of course as they are not old enough to be gentle enough with one. But my daughter and I would. My husband has never been into messing with them but he does like to talk to and look at them. I have been researching and and am torn between three birds... A blue Quaker, a sun conure and a jenday conure. I am looking a pros and cons of all and am still torn. Also I have access to all three right here where I live and they all cost around the same $250 mark so that isnt a reason one way or another. There is a jenday that is ready to go. There are 2 sun conures that will be ready to go in a week. Then there are three blue Quaker babies that will be ready to go the beginning of August. All are hand raised and all come from different breeders. I am leaning towards the blue Quaker for several reasons. The first being that the lady that breeds them has offered for me to come to her house and meet them and their parents to see how she cares for them and to see the dispositions of the parents. I have been told that they have very good dispositions and very few bad habits. They are both hand tamed and are her pets and not just breeders. They are 6 and 7 years old. She is also having the babies DNAed and screened before selling them. The babies are incubator babies so they have never been in contact with their parents but I do know that temperment are genetics that are passed down. As for the other birds the breeders only seem interested in selling them and don't care to take the time that the lady with the Quakers is to get to know me and let me know her. Aside from that I know that Quakers tend to be a tad bit less noisy than conures but can be more territorial of their cages. But conures from what I have learned seem to be easier for multiple people to work with and Quakers can very one person birds and jealous. I have the time and patience to work through any issues with any of them though. So basically I would like to hear from people about their birds and any opinions on which way I should go. Thanks a bunch!

 

[henpecked]

Hey and welcome. I know that early socialization is a major part in having a good family pet. I'd go with the quaker lady,she seems to want good homes for her babies and cares about where they go. I'm sure she can help get you started down the right path. I vote the quaker. However if asked i'd say a baby cockatiel would be a good choice also.

 

[VampireHeart82]

Thank you for your input! I had thought about a cockatiel but I have not found a local breeder that completely hand raises them here. It would come from either a commercialized pet store (which I am not found of getting birds from) or a couple of breeders around here that hand feed but they only do after the first couple of weeks and I was told they were tame but when I went to see them their cages were not clean one looked sick and they were not nearly as tame as I was told. I think they just had to many birds going to do it right so I ruled them out a couple of weeks ago.

 

[VampireHeart82]

Oh! I wanted to add that I am wanting a bird that will be around for a long time as I am not the kind of person that takes death easily. I have a very good avian vet and am prepared for the expense of one of these birds. I was told when I got Shamrock that budgies can live 15-20 years. I have known for a few years now that that is not really true. Even my vet informed me that 10 years is about the max and most don't live that long. No one else I know has had one more than 3-4 years. I did read through the "which parrot is for you" thread and it didn't really help as I have read up on these birds for a while and have read every single thing online I can find about them. It is a great thread and sums up about everything I have read about these parrots. The lady with the Quakers has sent me pics of every 2-3 days from day one of them hatching! I am amazed at anyone that can handfeed from day one! The colors of the conures especially the jenday are just incredible! But I am trying to make a decision on personality and fit as opposed to visual appeal and I do not know how the parents or baby conures are personality wise. I would love more feedback from anyone I can get it from. Though I am leaning greatly to the Quaker. I have narrowed it down to these three birds for several reasons...
1) temperment (playfulness, affection, quirkiness)
2) size (smaller than other types of parrots)
3) convinence (locally bred and raised)
4) lifespan (one that will not need planing for when I die but will live long enough for me to have a life companion) I will have a plan incase something ever happened to me of course but I am trying to be positive and hope I don't die in the 30-40 years lol.

Not necessarily in the order posted. They are all important points for me none of them are less important than the others.

 

[ConureCrazy]

You seem pretty set on the quaker. If you do end up with one of those conures, keep in mind they can be very noisy. (Green cheek conures are about the quietest conures you can get, those two might be the loudest...)
I was going to get a Quaker since they're the greatest little birds until I found out they were illegal where I live. I don't think you can go wrong with one. I think the only cons is that they may (I said may) become one-person birds. That could mean it only likes you and dislikes your daughter, but sometimes it just means the quaker likes your daughter but loves you.The lady who sells the quakers seems very nice. I say go for it!

 

[Mozzie]

I have never had a Quaker parrot, but have heard really good things about them. I do have a sun conure and a Jenday conure. They are very fun parrots and very beautiful. They are real clowns and keep me laughing all the time. However, like was mentioned earlier, they can be very loud at times. For some people that is a problem. Mine are pretty good most of the time, but still have their loud times. They love to be held and are very playful. (especially my Sun, my Jenday is a little more serious but still has his playful timesl ) good luck deciding!

 

[henpecked]

I think another thing to do is visit the quakers and pick the one that picks you. Like i said earlier, early socialization is everything when getting a family pet.Good luck, i just sold my Blue Quakers (Breeders) to a lady in Colorado, She's in Aurora and i called and checked , she and family are good,just a little shook up. Sorry got off track there.

 

[ConureCrazy]

I think another thing to do is visit the quakers and pick the one that picks you. Like i said earlier, early socialization is everything when getting a family pet.Good luck, i just sold my Blue Quakers (Breeders) to a lady in Colorado, She's in Aurora and i called and checked , she and family are good,just a little shook up. Sorry got off track there.

I agree with henpecked, let the quaker pick you.
What happened in Aurora was horrible.

 

[VampireHeart82]

Thank you for your responses! I am going to meet the babies on Monday! I am so excited! I had planned on meeting them and picking one out that way. I agree and could never pick out a bird without meeting them first. I did decide to go with the Quaker mainly because of the breeder. It would be a much more difficult decision if the conures breeders cared as much as the lady with the Quakers. She is also open 24/7 to call in an emergency and will help me with any future problems with my bird. It's all in the contract. She also will always take her birds back if needed though I do not foresee and reason for it. But if something ever happened to me and my hubby and daughter couldn't care for it it can go back to her. The other breeders don't even have any kind of contract! It's just cash for the bird and that's it! I still love the sun conures and will get one someday when I find a good breeder but not for a few years at least. I may wait to get one of those when my kids are all grown and I'm alone lol... Well except for the Quaker. But I will think about that then I still have about 20 years before that is an option lol. I can't wait to meet the babies! Yes, I plan on letting the Quaker pick me out and putting down the deposit before they all go on the market lol! I want first chance as it would be a shame if I went had a conection with one and it be spoken for already. I would probably leave without getting one and wait till she had more if that happened then try again. Anyway, I will keep everyone posted on what happens. I will post pics of our visit too. Thanks so much everyone!

 

[VampireHeart82]

I went and met the babies yesterday. It was a harder decision than I though! All three were as sweet as can be. One was easy to rule out because it didn't really want to step up for me and when it did it would try and get back to the playground as quickly as it could. The other two though we're much more difficult. They were both really sweet and had no problem visiting with me. One of the cockatiel babies stole my hear though! It kept coming over and climbing on me! It was so adorable and sweet but it has already been bought after they warmed up to me though the other to little blue Quakers starting responding to me. The third never did. Out of the two I ended up picking the one that sat with me the longest and made the most vocal sounds to me (of course it would also be the one that pooped on me 3 times lol) it was the smallest of the three. I will find out in a week or two if its a boy or a girl. I already have a cage and starter toys and food for it. She is weaning them to pellets so that will make my job much easier! I may go ahead and take it once it's weaning and finish it out. She is starting to use a plastic spoon instead of a syringe and a spoon I can do! She has started mixing the pellets in but we are going to make sure it is completely comfortable with the food mixed and eating from a spoon first which is why she is keeping them another week or two. I am so excited! I can't wait to surprise my daughter! She wants us to get another bird so bad she talks about it everyday! It will be the biggest surprise in a long time! She wants a bird of her own so bad but she is only 8 and she is having a hard time understanding that she just isn't old enough. I really think she needs to wait until after collage before anything. Of course once she turns 18 I can't say much but I hope us sharing this bird will help her wait.

 

[kc_y0]

Congrats on picking out your new little bird, the wait to bring a bird home is exciting and feels like a LONG time lol! That breeder sounds lovely and helpful too, always nice to see! Look forward to hearing about when you bring the little one home!

 

[DebsFlock]

Congratulations! Please post a picture when you can!

 

[dawnkyung]

I had a quaker parrot and he was a sweetie. He definitely had lungs though! Maybe not as noisy as a sun, but man, he could really belt. Good luck! Can't wait to see pics.

 

[evesta]

Congrats!!! I keep going back and forth on a quaker or a GCC. Hmmm....now you are making me rethink it again

 

[aliray]

congrats on your new baby. You can't go wrong with a quaker in my opinion. we have a little green quaker named sweetie pie and she or he is a lot of fun . he just turned one year on july 18. he loves to be held cuddled, gives kisses and is a general busy body, loves his toys once he decides that it is not going to hurt him. Alison and sweetie pie