which parrot is right for me? CAG, RB2, pionus, eclect

[oceanica]

Hi all: While we are not ready for a new flock member just yet, we are starting to think about our next parrot(s). I thought I would come here and ask advice. This will be a long post, so please bear with me.
We have had some experience with birds, through my veterinary practice ( it was about 10% avian ). I have not practiced since 1990. We have owned a spectacled amazon, a moluccan cockatoo, a cockatiel and most recently Jade a male eclectus.
We are thinking about a medium to large size bird ( say Blue headed Pionus up to Moluccan Cockatoo size ). My wife is home all day and we have the ability to care for all of the physical needs of most species.
We would prefer to have a somewhat quiet bird, and not too beaky or destructive...so we have ruled out say a large macaw or another Moluccan. Also birds that do not produce really strong pair bonds would be good. Talking not important. Affection, cuddling somewhat important.
Species we are considering are Eclectus, Blue Head Pionus, Red Lored Amazon, Hawk Headed parrot, Rainbow Lorikeet, Rose Breasted Cockatoo, Citron Cockatoo, Severe Macaw, Yellow Collared macaw.
I would appreciate any advice or suggestions, including other parrots we have left out.
Lastly, we are considering getting more than one bird. Is it better to keep two birds of the same sex and same species, or two different species with similar temperament? We do not want babies, or run the risk of egg binding if possible.
Thanks for the bandwidth.

 

[MikeyTN]

Each person will view each individual bird differently and ultimately it is you guys that must decide on which kind to get. I never pick a specific specie as I let them pick me. Any bird can be noisy or destructive. Birds can be kept single or another one near by in another cage as it is easier to keep them from bonding to one another instead of you.

With all that said I would forewarn you on the Lory/Lorikeets. Extremely messy birds due to their diet and they do not play well with other birds.

Go visit a aviary or rescue center where you can view all types of birds for you to choose from.

 

[Terry57]

I have a Blue headed pionus, an eclectus, a Hawkhead and a red lored.

I love Talli, our Pi, so much. He is such a sweetheart, and loves to play with us & can amuse himself as well. he can say a few words, but not a lot. He is loud in the morning, or if I ma on the phone..lol. He loves to cuddle as well.

You have had an ekkie, so you know how great they are

My Hawkhead, Darwin, was parent raised and used as a breeder for her whole life until not too long before she came to us. She is 22. She is a sweetie as well, but she is not nor will she ever be cuddly. We are taking our time with her, and she is worth itI do know other people with them though and theirs are quite cuddly and sweet.
The red lored (Ki) is wild due to no fault of his own, so I can't really comment on him as a pet because of his previous situation.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and MikeyTN gave you some good advice about checking out a rescue. You may very well find that the perfect bird has chosen you!

 

[jenphilly]

So happy to see someone else telling you to go to a rescue

The traits you described can be found in an awesome bird of any species you listed. I think you will end up finding like many of us have, that even if you think you want a specific type of bird, you'll meet another and they decide they want to come home with you! You sound like you have wonderful experience, so any bird would be lucky to be adopted by your family!

I am a Too fan, but they are not for everyone, which I know you understand. We have two bare eyeds, one is an absolute sweetheart, big lovebug, will cuddly up to any warm body... and she's really quiet (my budgie is louder / noiser then her!). Then we have the new adopted bare eyed boy who is a true nut job... granted he has plenty of reason to act the way he does, he's suffered some pretty terrible abuse at the hands of humans in his life. But at this point, he only wants to interact with my daughter. We will work with him over time to interact positively with others, but right now we just want him to settle in and feel safe.

If I was to go out and look for a specific bird, I would probably go for a Galah (rose breasted too). Just love that sweet look they always have on their face

But another bird not on your list is a sun conure. We have a baby that is not very vocal, he croaks more then anything! And at the shelter we volunteer at, there is a single female and a pair of siblings and all of those suns are much quieter then suns have a reputation for. They are awesome birds and well socialized they make great family birds!

We look forward to hearing what happens... I am guessing you'll walk into a rescue or place with birds and someone will let you know they need to go home with you. That's how we got our Ivory, she was a rehome that was surrendered to a store. We walked in and she called out to my husband and just made it clear she was meant to go home with us. And she was right If you had asked me at the time, I would have sworn I'd get a male eclectus, who ever would have thought!!

Good luck!!

 

[MikeyTN]

You see there's no rescue in my area....all of them have gone out of business and sold out their birds. Which that is not what rescue center was about in the first place, not to sell them when your out of business as people give them to you free in the first place thinking they would be set for life. I'm all about the rescue center first but I don't trust nor like most of them. That's for each individual to decide!

 

[thekarens]

I'm going to vote for jardine or cape. They are medium sized, "quieter" and is good self entertainers.

 

[jenphilly]

You see there's no rescue in my area....all of them have gone out of business and sold out their birds. Which that is not what rescue center was about in the first place, not to sell them when your out of business as people give them to you free in the first place thinking they would be set for life. I'm all about the rescue center first but I don't trust nor like most of them. That's for each individual to decide!

Mikey, I totally understand your feelings... I've had bad experiences with most shelters we've ever been involved with. I raised Victoria to be involved and we've helped with different rescues over the years, this is our first bird group tho (I'm still a fairly new convert!). We were really happy to find A Helping Wing, its one of the rare groups - really nice people involved for all the right reasons and truly dedicated to the birds. We drive well over an hour to volunteer there, but yes they are one in a million

 

[MikeyTN]

This is part of the reason why I started doing rescue cause I don't agree with what they're doing. I'm even willing to pay for them to just get them out of bad situation.

 

[jenphilly]

Big birdie hugs to you Mikey

 

[95talongirl]

I've had cockatiels, blue front amazons, and now a hawk head parrot.

I adore cockatiels. Although, I do not currently own one, I've had many growing up, and I love their personalities. They are always so cheery, and the males are phenomenal whistlers! I always catch myself watching the cockatiels at the local pet stores for a while.... something about them!

I'm now owned by a blue front amazon parrot, Mopar. He is an absolute blast.. and loves to talk. I may have had good luck, as both amazons I've owned have been great birds. Not overly noisy, (they have thier moments), nor aggressive. I owned one for 9 years prior to Mopar, who was a rescue bird. I'd still have this bird to this day if it wasn't for a cyst that required surgery; which she did not survive. Of course all birds are different, but I highly recommend the BFA's.

I now have taken in an older hawk-head parrot. I really have not had this bird long enough to make a recommendation. He can be super sweet, but if you make him angry.... like when I took him to the vet.. watch out!! I have a few nasty bites on my hand, and he charged at my feet. lol! However, he's been pretty nice after he calmed down a bit.

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Kiwibird]

Every bird is an individual, and how they act boils down to their unique personality, experiences in life and what they have or haven't been trained to do. Going completely off stereotypes is silly, IMO, because you can just as easily find a cockatoo (generally looked at as super affectionate) who just wants to be left alone as you can an amazon (generally known for being more hands off), who wants nothing more than to cuddle with you 24/7. No 2 birds are the same. There are also benefits and negatives to both the babies and the older "adoptees". Babies come more or less, completely trusting of people and are much easier to train. They do not come with "mysterious" histories of abuse and neglect from multiple different homes that drive baffling self-destructive or other negative behaviors. Proper love and care from day one can prevent these issues from ever happening. However, many people struggle when those babies hit puberty and begin to display some very negative behaviors seemingly out of the blue and find them much more difficult to correct then when the bird was younger. There is also the issue of a person who is say, 40 years old and buys a baby parrot who will live well over 60 years. Even in the most loving home possible, when that person eventually dies and the bird still has 20,30,40+ years in them, family is not always willing to "inherit" the bird, and provisions must be made in the will for the lifetime care of the bird in a sanctuary-setting. Adoptees on the other hand can vary widely in age, health, and behavior, from the sweetest bird you've ever met in excellent health to some (sadly) downright vicious or very ill ones who need a lot of help from a special family. Though, a good majority of birds for adoption are sexually mature, so when you adopt the bird, you can work from what they are now with no major naturally-driven behavioral changes looming in the future. Plus, you would be giving a deserving feathered friend a good home and a second chance

On a personal note, I am partial to amazons. In general, the are robust, hardy birds who adapt pretty easily to a wide range of family dynamics (children, single, couples, multiple birds, as a single bird ect...). They aren't too big or small, certainly aren't picky eaters and come in a wide range of beautiful colors. They also possess the intelligence to be trained (within reason) to be well-behaved, laid back birds who aren't excessively loud, excessively destructive and perhaps, will even tolerate some scritches and cuddles (if you're lucky, they aren't characteristically big love-sponges). You also see less amazons who suffer from severe behavioral issues like plucking and self mutilation than other species. Whatever you choose, do be sure to do your research into species-specific care and spend time with the individual bird you are considering before committing to make sure he or she is compatible. Best of luck.

 

[oceanica]

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement.
Of course, I realize each bird is an individual, different species do have different tendencies and I thought it wise to reach out and hear from others what their experiences were.
I would still like feedback on the two bird question. Is it better to get just one bird? Two of different species? Or two same sex individuals of the same species? Time to spend with birds is not an issue....
When we rescued our Moluccan, Isaac in the mid-1980's we also ended up with a cockatiel that was left at my clinic. The tiel and M2 became fast friends -- it was hilarious to watch the little tiel preen the M2 -- he would actually try to climb on the M2's head to reach the top!