I go to school can I have a parrot?

[kenzie]

I go to school around 6 or 7 hours a day. I have been wanting a parrot for some time now. I am well educated on bird care and behavior. I have had prior expieriences owning budgies and handling large birds. I have time for a minimum of 4 hours a day with the bird on week days and 6 on weekends. I was considering a caique or a goffins cockatoo. My mom will also be home when I'm not. My bird budget for the bird is 800 or maybe more. Do you think the time i have would be acceptable for those types of birds? If not I am open to all suggestions.

Ps. Even though budgies are awesome please don't reccomend them to me

 

[ParkersMom]

I think time wise you should be fine, but I would tend to think about a parrot that is more independent. Also keep in mind that they live a very long time and being that you are still in school your life will more than likely be changing for several more years before you settle in somewhere, birds can get very stressed out by changes, not saying you shouldn't get a parrot but just make sure that you do your homework and consider everything involved...I think as long as you do that you should be fine...also you might talk to some of our younger members about the responsibility of owning a parrot... they can probably give you lots of pointers...Good Luck

 

[mtdoramike]

The question not be "can I get a parrot". You can get anything you want. The question should be "should I get a parrot". It sounds to me like you have plenty enough time for a feathered friend. People who own birds work all the time and have even less time than you and they do quite well with their birds. It really depends on the bird and if not a young bird, how it was raised and cared for before you get it. If the bird was used to having lots of attention and people around all day and a lot of out of cage time, then there could be an issue.

So when you choose the bird, make very sure that it's used to being left alone for hours at a time and seems to be fine with it.

Like my birds for instance, if I had to rehome either of them, I wouldn't consider a student or a house hold where there wouldn't be anyone home for hours because my birds live ina house with two retiree's so they are used to being out of the cage all day every day and constant attention throughout the day.

 

[WeimerHeimer]

I think your "free time" is reasonable that you have to spend time with them for socialization as well as mainteneance.

Is anyone else in your household into birds or is at least around when you're not?

I do not have a Caique nor do I know much about them, but I do own a Goffin 'Too. I also have Amazons, Conures, Senegal Parrot, & Macaws. I will say that a Goffin is like a "Two Year Toddle with ADHD on Crack"! I love my G2, but she requires a lot more time than say other species of exotic birds. Conures are great except a lot of times they will tend to start SQUAWKING A LOT when they don't get enough attention from their owners. I will say the Senegal Parrot is a very nice bird. They are very quiet and probably one of the more "laid back" and require less attention than some of the other birds out there like a G2. That being said, it is NOT meant for them be left in their cage only to be fed and water daily and forgotten about though. NO BIRD deserves that treatment. I'm sure you know that though.

So, my advice is; research your options, go check out as many species as you can (see if there's any Bird Rescue place near you, that way you can see many different species and handle them), and handle as many differnent birds before you make your mind up. Also remember, species have "general" characteristics (activity level, traits, etc...), but each bird is different and has their own personality to them.

Good luck!

 

[Birdlover11]

I go to school too, so you will be fine. I am planning a sun in the future. I would try not to go after the larger species since they need 24/7 care and attention. I think the conure family would be nice for you, they come in different personalitys and colors. Do you like vocally active birds ? The conure family , averagely the price is below a thousand. If your family doesn't like loud birds, I would reccomend a green cheek conure or a maroon.

 

[Customcasket]

Like BirdLover said, noise may be an issue. A smaller conure like a Green Cheek might be best. They can make their share of noise, but they're nowhere near the noise a Sun Conure makes.

From my own personal experience my guys are alone in the house for hours on end. I work full time and attend college full time. While I'm out of the house I leave the radio on for them to listen to. I am out of the house 8-9 hours a day when I'm working and 5-6 on the two days a week I have class. They get some attention in the morning before I go to work/class and then get attention when I come home. As long as you give your feathered friend enough toys to keep him entertained while you're gone and leave a radio on so it's not dead silent in the house they should be fine. I keep a bag of "goodies" for my guys. It's generally just a bunch of toys I switch in and out for them. They're the same toys they've had forever (and some how managed not to destroy) but they have forgotten about them so it's like a new toy when it goes in their cage. That keeps them entertained while I'm gone. They know the sound of my car and the front door. I can hear the "love" from outside when I get out of my car all the way to when I get into the house at which point it gets very loud because they know I'm home and they want their loving.

I know everybody has said it before, a bird is a commitment. You will have them with you through whatever school you have left and then possibly college if you plan on attending. That means you can't go away to school and live in a dorm. When I was applying for college I chose to stay local where I could commute because I knew living on campus in a dorm was not an option. It limited my choices, but it was worth it because of the birds. Off campus living is always an option, but might not be feasible because of the cost.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

It sounds like you have reasonable expectations and know the work that is involved. For being a student, hey, i work full time and i just make sure i have time for Gilbert on a daily basis.

He seems perfectly happy with the situation. I give him plenty of toys, he has a good sized cage, i take him out and talk to him in the morning when i'm cleaning his cage and feeding him, then in the evening when i get home from work is when he really has his playtime, dinner with me, more focused attention. On weekends he obviously gets more.

I find my Blue Crown even more than my Sun is content playing independently with toys. He really entertains himself well. Georgie tended to want ME a lot more (and it was likely just her nature, not all Suns). And in response to other comments--my sun conure would squawk like crazy if i didn't give her enough attention because of a particularly busy week. But my blue crown is not a squawker at all.

I also love caiques but don't have much personal experience with them to comment.

Whatever you decide, i would even spend less on the bird and MORE on the cage and accessories. The bird has to spend a lot of time in there, so making it a happy home with plenty to do will be a safer bet.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Sounds like you WANT to spend time with the bird, so that's great. Please do consider future years. I don't recall reading what year of school you are in, but please do consider that if you get a young bird, you will be responsible to take care of him/her for about 60 years with the Goffin Cockatoo and hopefully 35 years or so for a Caique. So please do consider what your plans are for the rest of your years of schooling and where you'll live if college is part of the plan, and then after that. Please also consider you plans for whether you think you will want to travel a lot, join the military, etc. These are all things that will affect the stability and happiness of your bird.

 

[Parrotdise]

If you get a Caique they can be very head strong, and a little tempermental but fun and loving. Daisy Jane is like a baby kangaroo, she hops all around and will fetch a ball. She also loves to cuddle =) I would do lots of research on them because they can be a little more difficult than other birds even though i feel there are more positives than not. They have a lot of energy and require a pretty large cage. Daisy's cage is 30 X 30 and quite tall. I don't know where you live but Daisy Jane comes from Shadypines.com Gloria Balaban is a wonderful breeder. I personally think the black headed Caiques have a little better temperament than the white bellieds.

 

[Jtbirds]

I go to school and manage many parrots happily so I don't see it being an issue at all!

What could be is the types you are picking... Both of the parrots you have picked to want are very high energy and high Maintence, and head strong.. So make sure you do plenty of research or post things on these very forms asking about them. I'd be more worried about the cockatoo just because it would be smaller does not mean it doesn't have the same attitude as the bigger toos, cockatoos can be very noisy and have a lot of issues depending on how they are raised and what there past is like, so be sure to research this extensively.

Caiques get in there missions and don't want stopped, they are very animated and playful, but there missions and how head string they are can make them quite the difficult characters to deal with in certain situations.

If you have your mind up, fine, but reasearch a lot and ask questions on here. But if I can change your mind I'd say go for a different type of bird.. A conure would be nice or maybe a very mild mannered amazon or something along those lines, not such high Maintence for the first bird you get.

 

[Kiwibird]

I think a bird is an excellent way for you to learn responsibility, compassion and have a fun pet (if you already like birds). My biggest consideration (assuming you are in middle or high school) with a parrot is when you go to college, they may not accept pets in the dorms nor do many "starter" type apartments. Unless you plan on staying at home, your mom needs to also be on board to care for this bird for a few years when your older until you can resume its care in a stable home. Keep in mind, medium parrots live 20-30 years, large parrots 60+. Many young people are perfectly capable and willing to care for a bird while at home, but too often the process of growing up leads to the bird being rehomed. So long as this has been discussed and agreed upon with your mom, I think time wise you are able to give a bird a reasonable amount of attention.

As for species, a medium sized bird (conures, caiques, Indian ringnecks, Quakers ect...) would be the logical "next step" up after budgies. Full size cockatoos are among the most difficult birds to keep, and only very experienced parrot owners really have the skills required to care for a too. If you really like full size cockatoos, then perhaps a cockatiel would be a good choice for you at this point in your life. They are still very neat little birds, are still a bit larger than budgies, but don't quite require the level of experience their larger relatives do. Owning a goffin can be a long term goal for you, once you are older, stable and completely ready for that level of responsibility (large parrots are like having a baby in their care, expense and time needs).