Question about Budgies

[GT_Ridaz]

Hi,

I went to many pet stores today. They all told me that the Budgies do learn to be friendly to humans. I want a Parrot that i can train and play with me and not be afraid of me (walk on my hand, come to me...etc)
So are these birds easy to adapt to humans? or is it impossible?
The guys at the pet store say that regarding of how old these types of birds are, they will get used to you and are easy to train.And what about the cocktails, are they easier, same or more difficult?
Comments please

Thanks
alex

 

[apatrimo94]

Firstly, Welcome to our lovely forum!!! Lots of members here to assist.

Parakeets are great birds. I have one and to tell you, she's amazing, she does EVERYTHING with me from homework to shopping to cleaning.
As for the age, I don't think it really matters, because mine was a rescue. And she had cage aggression issues and would scream everytime I went near the cage, so from my experience, Budgies/Parakeets are great birds to train. Also, if you get a male, they can learn to speak if you have the patience to teach them.

And, to correct your spelling mistake, cockatiels, not cocktails. LOL, it's ok, I used to make that mistake. I also have one, but I just recently rescued her from a shelter. She was cage-bound, aggressive, and did some minor plucking. I pretty much cured her issues, and she loves being with me. We don't have 100% trust yet but we're getting there.

Hope that helps.

 

[GT_Ridaz]

That helps alot thanks
The truth is that i'm planing to get an African grey soon. But thought i would start small to see how my mother will react to the small bird first, since she has Asthma.ANd move to a bigger bird. I thought adding an Air purifier will help alot. Dont know yet, but i gotta try.
So which would be easier to train, cockatiels (correct spelling this time) or Parakeets ?
Thanks alot in Advance
alex

 

[apatrimo94]

Well, in my personal experience, cockatiels because they're more timid than parakeets. It took me over a year just to get my parakeet to kindly step on my finger (I had her for 3 years now). And I just got my tiel in May, and she very kindly steps onto my finger now and she had a lot more issues than my keet. So, in my opinion, cockatiels are easier to train and tame than parakeets, but it also depends on their personality.

As for maybe getting an African Grey. They're the worst birds for people with asthma/allergie issues, but as for the air purifier, I'm not too sure how it'll work out. There are a few members here with Greys who might have purifiers, so we'll let them chip their advice in.

 

[SharonC]

African greys are indeed the worst possible choice for anyone with Asthma. I had a reaction to a TAG, and had to return him...and I have no allergies or respiratory issues with my other birds.

Both Budgies and Cockateils are good choices. Budgies require patience and time before they will trust you.

 

[bogo1]

Hi
I have two budgies age 14 and 16 and two conures. Budgies are timid at first but once they trust you they are delightful characters. I keep mine clipped enough that they can fly in their big cage but if loose in house they don't have enough lift to hit a mirror or window or fall behind a refrigerator or something equally deadly. My conures are young but my old green cheek was 9 when got her as a rescue nearly 21 years ago. She went every place a bird can go and relished new experiences as long as she was safely perched on my shoulder. So rather than graduating immediately to a larger parrot you might want to consider a conure . Many options for personality and color, size and talking ability. Just something more for you to consider. Oh and the ones I have had over the years have always gotten along with my budgies.
Barbara

 

[Aussie Ben]

Both Tiels and Budgies are great birds and can both be trained really well, however from my knowledge, tiels are probably more 'easy going'. What it comes down to is the individual bird, like people they are all different and have their own personalities. The biggest influence will be how you raise it. There are plenty of budgies out there that will display just as much intelligence as larger parrots, simply from how they have been raised and the sort of personality they have. Good luck with choosing, they are both great choices

 

[Spiritbird]

I second what Sharon as written about asthma and AG. I have a TAG with one of the best air filtration systems on the market and you should see the feather dust it takes out of the air. It is amazing.

 

[GT_Ridaz]

Ok so i almost got everything down. Cage, Bird, seed mix (food) and air purifier. I read somewhere that you guys use a certain spray with these birds, but i can recal forwhat exactly !?
Do i also need to put vitamins in the water?
what else do i need?

Thanks