New Bird?

[Natberry]

Im sure everyone is already sick of hearing the question: What bird should I get? But Im having trouble deciding if I should get another bird, and if so, what kind? Hopefully I can get some opinions from people with lots of experience.
Right now I have a budgie, and hes very happy. I can give him everything he needs and them some.
I do have some idea though, of what Im looking for. I would want a medium sized bird that might be willing for a couple scratches here and there, and is relatively quiet. I do live with my parents, (They love birds as well and dont mind taking care of one when I go to college.) but they wont be able to live with something like a sun conure, it hurts their ears. They can, however, take my budgies squawking in the morning just fine. I dont really care much about the ability to speak.

Heres what I can offer:
One and a half - Two hours a day attention or company.
Im a student, but I have time both before and after school, plus my parents like to talk to my bird during the day.

Experience.
While I only have one bird myself, Ive cared for my neighbors cockatiel for a month while they were on vacation. I also like to play with the birds, and occasionally help clean cages at my local exotic bird and fish store.

I completely understand if another bird is not a good idea, I want to make sure that whatever decision I make, a parrot is going to be able to have what it needs. If I left any vital information out, please tell me!

 

[wrench13]

Not what you want to hear , but I would wait til you education is complete and you have some idea of what your life and free time will be like. Sounds like your a candidate for a small Amazon ( Panama, Yellow SHoulder, or yellow front), one of the mini-macaws or larger conure. None are quiet but at least not loud, usualy, but can never tell. @-3 hrs MAY be OK with a new bird ,then again they may not, and need your attention longer. If you wait, you will hav a better idea if you can devote longer. Also - your buggie may not be to keen on a new face in the house; or the new bird may bully you buggie or even fight with him. One never knows. Will your litte one be OK with 50% less time with you? These are all questions you need to answer to yourself, honestly. ANd keep the welfare of the birds in the forefront of your decision. Good luck.

 

[Flboy]

Ditto, and ditto!

 

[Natberry]

Thanks guys, I do get caught up in birds sometimes, I get a little ahead of myself..
I am in gymnastics which has four hour practices. That takes up much of my time. I think in a couple of years I may want to ponder the idea again, Ill have had to retired gymnastics, learn how to manage school better with my own time. Thank you so much for replying, I love birds more than anything and I guess I need a wake up slap sometimes! Maybe Ill try to volemteer more at the bird store instead, I guess it might prepare me a bit lol

 

[wrench13]

Why not work more with your budggie? They are really smart; the bird with the biggest vocabulary is a budggie, not an African Grey! And it uses them in context. Working and training with parrots is so rewarding; once they know what you want of them, most are eager to learn ( for treats, of course).

 

[Inger]

And in the meantime, stick around here and give us pics of your budgie and learn soooo much from the super knowledgeable people here (not me - I'm busy learning from them too)


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[EllenD]

I completely agree, I'd wait if I were you and I'd really try to devote more of your time with the budgie you already have. Most likely if you got another bird you could not have it out together with your budgie, especially if it's a larger bird that could hurt him badly or kill him. So you must think of it that way; if you only have 2-3 free hours a day for your birds, that's only an hour or so with each bird, and that is not nearly enough, especially for a larger bird like an Amazon or a Conure who needs a ton of contact, interaction, and stimulation. And what ALWAYS tends to happen to people that have a budgie and then get a larger bird, probably one who was hand-raised and likes to be handled and interacts better than their budgie, is that the poor budgie becomes a piece of furniture, totally ignored because the person almost always ends up spending ALL their free time with the larger parrot. I've seen it a lot, poor budgies are considered a "starter" or "beginner" bird for some reason, I can't for the life of me figure out why, and people decide to kind of "graduate" themselves onto a bigger, "better" bird. It's sad because budgies can be just as cuddly, interactive birds as Cockatoos if you commit yourself to them.

The main issue with budgies is that you cannot make a profit breeding them and hand-raising them, so not many breeders, in fact hardly any private breeders at all, hand-raise them anymore. So most American Budgies (good luck finding an English Budgie and if you do it's usually not hand-raised either, same issue) that people in this country have as pets are originally purchased in pet stores as babies, whether it be from a small, private pet store or a large, Big-Box pet store like Petco or PetSmart. And these baby budgies are mass bred and parent-raised, so they are generally not at all tame when they are brought home as babies. And unfortunately people either don't realize that their new baby budgie can be easily hand-tamed, especially if they are still under a year old (but can still be easily done when they're older if you commit to it), or they don't have the time to tame them, or they don't know how to tame them, and they become a nice pet to sit and look at from inside a cage. It's sad.

As a former American and English Budgie breeder of 20+ years, I did it because #1 I was born into a budgie breeding family, #2 I was given my very first pet, a hand-raised baby American Budgie that my mom bred when I was 6 years old, and #3 because as I got older I realized that a lot of people wanted to buy a "parakeet" for their children's first pet, but after they did buy one they never tamed it and it just sat in its cage. My first budgie, Keety, was hand-raised by my mom and I got him when I was 6 years old. Keety was every bit as tame as any parrot I've ever had, including my hand-raised Senegal, Green Cheek Conure, Quaker, and several cockatiels. He lived to cuddle on the couch, watch TV, get scratched and kissed and hugged, he flew to me on command, never left my shoulder and basically was out of his cage if I or my mom was home. He talked non-stop! And clearly! He had a much better vocabulary than any other bird I've ever had, and that includes my mom's African Grey who is now almost 30 years old. So he basically only slept in his cage. He had stands in every room of our house and in my apartment in college. He lived over 18 years and died when I was 24. I was devastated, it was just like having a Cockatoo or an African Grey die.

So my best advice to you is to tell you that you already have an awesome little parrot (they are parrots) who I'm assuming you love and who loves you back, and who has all the potential in the world, you just have to commit yourself to him. You stated that you want a parrot who would want to be handled a little, so I'm assuming that your budgie is not at all hand-tamed? Does he step-up for you? Does he spend any time outside of his cage with you? Where is his cage located in your house? There are reasons I'm asking you these questions, I'll explain once I know a little more about your budgie and what your relationship is like with him. The bottom line is that your little budgie, the one you already have, has the ability to become the pet bird you're looking for. You already have him, and he would very much love to be your best friend if you'll help him. He can live to be 20+ years old, as I said my Keety was over 18 when he died. So if you're willing to commit to working with your budgie then you do not have to spend another penny on getting a hand-raised bird, you already have the perfect bird. I can help you if you want, I've hand-tamed many a Petco budgie. What I'm trying to say is that it would be much more fulfilling for you and your current bird if you turn him into the bird you dream of having. And your bond with him will be all the more strong for your efforts. And if you can educate yourself and end up with a loving, tame budgie who is a member of your family and loves you back, loves cuddling and petting, and who flies to you when you call him, this would be the absolute best experience for you to gain before you get a larger bird in the future, when you are able to not only provide them adequate interaction time, but you'd then have the knowledge and experience to be a great parrot owner.

I currently have 7 pet budgies, they were the last clutch I bred almost 2 years ago. I pulled all of them from their nest at 2 weeks old and started hand-raising and hand-feeding them. And they are treated just like the other 4 parrots in my home. They are free flighted when I'm home, they are 6 males and 1 female so they talk very well, they all fly to me when I call them, by name, and they all jump to the cage doors when I come home because they want to come out and be with me, they all love sitting on me while I'm on the couch reading or watching movies, they all want belly scratches and eat the food off of my plate. They are all exactly the same intellectually and behaviourally as my Senegal, Green Cheek, Quaker, or Cockatiel, they're just a little bit smaller .

"Dance like nobody's watching..."