WHAT am I DOING!? Parrotlet or Conure!?

[Sand]

I would like a companion bird, my buddy, one who won't see my two Budgies and wanna get friendly with them & ignore me like they do (though I LOVE LOVE my Budgies, let's get that straight!) .
I have read up, and was thinking Green Cheek Conure, Parrotlet, or a Goffin Cockatoo.
when i call breeders i hear, wean them yourself, don't wean them yourself, they're ALL loving, they are ALL DIFFERENT, GO TO A BIRD SHOW, DON'T GO TO A BIRD SHOW NOT EVEN FOR TOYS, and they all say their breed is the nicest.
WHAT AM I DOIN' I DON'T KNOW HELP!??
I am home a LOT, and I have scads of time on my hands.
I need a bird who is NOT too big or Husband will not like it.
I want a fun friendly bird who loves me, cuddly is great!
My 1st Budgie was great until 5 months in I got him a buddy, I am now a space alien and they must keep to the far side of the cage when I refill food cups! Heck I'd get another hand raised Budgie (mine were not hand raised) but I KNOW he'd hear the call of his Budgie Brethern and I'd be "The Stranger" again.
Also I don't care about coloring, I care about personality & it would be a bonus if I could maybe train him/her to potty in a certain place instead of my hair. i am gone to work 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts, but hubby is home after 8 hours on those days, and if i work a weekend then he's home all day.
I welcome your experienced thoughts.
XOXO Sand

 

[legal_eagle]

GCC sounds perfect for you. My GCC wouldn't have anything to do with my budgie, even when their cages were next to each other, although the budgie would follow the GCC around.

 

[Sand]

thank you!
could you recommend a breeder who will feed and raise and ship?
or i could feed/wean too.

 

[MikeyTN]

One of my top favorite breed of all times is Cockatiels! My least favorite are actually conures due to reasoning, their screams I can not stand. But green cheeks are better about that. Always get one your most comfortable with and one that chooses you!

 

[Mariahh0721]

Personally I don't like parrotlets the one we have is quite nippy. Although it doesn't draw blood it still hurts. I've heard from many people that they are nippy also.
As for conures I love them, I have a sun and a green cheek. My sun isint loud at all she only screams if something scares her. Which isint often. As for the green cheek he's very quiet, but he can be nippy at times

 

[crimson]

I've had both. Parrotlets will undoubtedly will hurt or attack your budgie, but it really depends on the bird. I've seen parrotlets and budgies who grew up together, and get along, but that is unusual.

conures tend to be somewhat more tolerant around different birds, where parrotlets tend to be more confrontational.

cockatiels will get along very well with your budgies as well.

 

[Sand]

if i take one Budgie out of the cage, then out of the room, the other Budgie can and will SCREAM as loud as ANY bird, it's HORRIFYING!. Or if I hang my makeup mirror up on the outside of their cage for a day (I do this once in awhile), they will SCREAM BLOODY MURDER because there is only room for one of them in front of the mirror, er, so now I put two mirrors up once in awhile, to stop the scream fighting, lol.

 

[Sand]

I've had both. Parrotlets will undoubtedly will hurt or attack your budgie, but it really depends on the bird. I've seen parrotlets and budgies who grew up together, and get along, but that is unusual.

conures tend to be somewhat more tolerant around different birds, where parrotlets tend to be more confrontational.

cockatiels will get along very well with your budgies as well.

oh my God, well CRAP no I won't get a Parrolet then!
I have NO intentions of keeping them together,
you mean a Parrotlet would go TO my Budgies cage and maybe try to hurt my darlings?

b4 i was married, my cousin had a cockateil, what a love! I watched him once and let him sleep with me, well he refused 2 go in his cage, i didn't care, so i said goodnight and turned out the light. he flew over to me and slept on the edge of my pillow, lol, lol, lol all night. i grabbed a few tissues from the nightstand and placed them under him *wink*

 

[FreddyCheeks]

b4 i was married, my cousin had a cockateil, what a love! I watched him once and let him sleep with me, well he refused 2 go in his cage, i didn't care, so i said goodnight and turned out the light. he flew over to me and slept on the edge of my pillow, lol, lol, lol all night. i grabbed a few tissues from the nightstand and placed them under him *wink*

What ever you do I would not recommend doing this again. I lost a cockateil this way. It was MY first bird and went everywhere with me(rode on my bikes handlebars). One night I forgot to close the cage and he landed next to me. I roll in my sleep so that was that . I was and still am sad/upset about this. I refuse to even lay down when Freds with me as I'm afraid of passing out and harming or killing Fred.

Just a word of warning as I would hate for anyone to have to go through that.

 

[Kalidasa]

I have a green cheek conure along with 2 budgies. The budgies were here first, and they have virtually unlimited access to the house. The conure is getting there no issues so far, I even got the GCC and one budgie to eat sprouts out of the same dish. Their cages are next door, it's not a problem. They're not crazy about each other, but they don't hate each other either. I think it's a good combo. My one budgie Gadget is somewhat jealous, but I give him lots of attention and he calms down.
But you definately could not house them together. They must have their own cages.

 

[Wdlodge]

I've had both. Parrotlets will undoubtedly will hurt or attack your budgie, but it really depends on the bird. I've seen parrotlets and budgies who grew up together, and get along, but that is unusual.

conures tend to be somewhat more tolerant around different birds, where parrotlets tend to be more confrontational.

cockatiels will get along very well with your budgies as well.

oh my God, well CRAP no I won't get a Parrolet then!
I have NO intentions of keeping them together,
you mean a Parrotlet would go TO my Budgies cage and maybe try to hurt my darlings?



b4 i was married, my cousin had a cockateil, what a love! I watched him once and let him sleep with me, well he refused 2 go in his cage, i didn't care, so i said goodnight and turned out the light. he flew over to me and slept on the edge of my pillow, lol, lol, lol all night. i grabbed a few tissues from the nightstand and placed them under him *wink*

Parrotlets can be lil fire crackers, but so can any bird. I have a 4month old pacific green female who is delightful. she loves to cuddle, get her head scratched and sit in your pocket. Hense the title pocket parrot. She can be demanding and a lil over bearing but that just adds to her charm. Yes, she will tell you off and won't have a problem doing it. Parrotlets are a true parrot, easy to take care of, not too messy.

 

[MonicaMc]

The Problems with Mirrors



Even adult, untame budgies that are flighted can be worked with.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx81WHTUwk]1 Bird in hand Leads to Many - YouTube[/ame]



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSm4uFZzVU]More Budgies!!!! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Abigal7]

I will tell you that it sounds like a green cheek conure or cockatiel might be a good bird for you. I had a cockatiel as a child and he was a friendly sweet bird. A cockatiel or Green cheek conure most likely will ignore your budgies or at best enjoy seeing them. A green cheek conure would have to have it's own cage. I also recommend a cockatiel having it's own cage. If you want a bird with more of a parrot personality the green cheek conure would fit that description better. Green cheek conures are not as loud as conuers such as Sun conures etc. I personally love both green cheek conures and cockatiels. The cockatiel will produce dust and while not a loud bird I found the tiel I had as a child more chatty then a green cheek conure. Monica is correct that you can with some time tame a wild budgie. I had to tame one when I was a child. You can look at birdbreeders.com. There may be a breeder not very far from you. (You never know). I will also add reputable breeders make a habit of selling weaned babies. There are only exceptions to this if the buyer is near and the breeder trains them (not common) or they sell a baby to another experienced bird breeder/etc.

 

[crimson]

I've had both. Parrotlets will undoubtedly will hurt or attack your budgie, but it really depends on the bird. I've seen parrotlets and budgies who grew up together, and get along, but that is unusual.

conures tend to be somewhat more tolerant around different birds, where parrotlets tend to be more confrontational.

cockatiels will get along very well with your budgies as well.

oh my God, well CRAP no I won't get a Parrolet then!
I have NO intentions of keeping them together,
you mean a Parrotlet would go TO my Budgies cage and maybe try to hurt my darlings?

b4 i was married, my cousin had a cockateil, what a love! I watched him once and let him sleep with me, well he refused 2 go in his cage, i didn't care, so i said goodnight and turned out the light. he flew over to me and slept on the edge of my pillow, lol, lol, lol all night. i grabbed a few tissues from the nightstand and placed them under him *wink*

you mean a Parrotlet would go TO my Budgies cage and maybe try to hurt my darlings?

yes they will. they can very easily crawl on your budgies cage and given the chance bite their toes. lovebirds will do the same thing, for some reason both types love biting toes and attacking other birds, unless raised together

 

[tweety]

I say the green cheek conure I have 2 an my oldest is a pearly an he is cage trained so he doesn't poop all over the place. neither one of my gcc are loud that's why I love them they r very sweet an easy to train. I have finches to an they don't care abut them. they even copy the way they sing. I say check around an find one who chooses you an you will have a great bird friend for many years

 

[MonicaMc]

Conures can also be toe biters!


A green cheek conure is not the same as a pearly conure, unless it's a hybrid.

 

[ConureCrazy]

Tiel or a green cheek sound perfect for you. They both make very little noise, too, which us great.

 

[IBBean]

Hi! When I read that you want a "buddy", a bird who loves you no matter what, and also that you are not particular about color the first that came to mind is an umbrella cockatoo. They are a little on the big side, however, they are VERY cuddly and lovey. I had one for many years and have been bird-sitting for the past three years and they truly are an awesome bird. However, they will want to be with you ALOT so be prepared for that aspect of owning an umbrella. My next pick would be a grey, a little more independent, but a good companion bird as well. I don't have any experience with conures, but have heard they can be pretty nippy. Take your time in choosing and good luck!