Do you have a pet bird? Or have had one?

[Aimeedyan]

DH and I are discussing getting a bird... I am researching it right now, actually. We are looking at either a Finch, or a Parakeet. We priced them, and cages, at PetCo tonight.

What kind have you had? Tips? Would you recommend one? Are they hard to care for? Are they worth it? Is it really expensive to care for one?

And share anything else about them, please!

Thanks!

 

[Octoberbride03]

DH and i have a cockateil named Rally. Dh has had him for about 3-4 years now. When i moved in after the wedding he became mine 2. Rally is about 5-6 years old, we're not really sure since Dh rescued him from his first owner who let her grandkids poke the stuffing out of him.

Anyway, we really enjoy him. He's a bit odd, but fun. We never know what he's going to do next. Dh has always treated him well, but since we got married he gets treated a lot better. Cause i like buying stuff for him. Just got new toys and grooming stuff last week. He's never had birdy soap sprayed on him till i did it last Saturday. He liked it, but won't admit it.

i don't think its hard to care for him. Mostly he cares for himself. We get him fresh food and water daily and bring him outside in his cage when its warm enough. He sings quite a bit, but not all the time.

I don't know much about finches or parakeets. But i remeber friends having them and they were way too nosy for my taste. When Rally dies we'll get another cockateil. The only drawback to owning a cockateil is that htey are very dusty birds. But there are items to keep it from getting too bad.

Here's a link so you can do some more research. Good luck with whatever type of bird you get.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

 

[kaabost]

I am a very happy bird owner as you can see from my name icon thing. I have a blue gold macaw and a conure who are both high energy and high maintenance birds. If you are trying to decide between a parakeet and a finch, I would go with the parakeet if you hope to actually have a relationship with this bird. If you do go with finches, I would definitely get several of them (so they are happy). Birds can be very messy but since you are considering a parakeet, the mess shouldn't be too big of a problem (small bird=small mess). Birds also make alot of noise but luckily parakeets are not generally loud. My birds, by the way, are very large, messy, and loud........and I love them for it.....most people don't understand why (there is this stereotype that "bird people" are wierd.....I don't know where it comes from). OK, so the biggest consideration that you should make about getting a bird is play time. These birds are highly intelligent animals (even tiny little parakeets). There is nothing more sad than seeing a lonely and bored bird.....which is unfortunately what happens to alot of pet birds. So the big thing to consider is how much time you can spend with the bird. They require alot of attention. If you can put alot of time into a pet bird, they are the best pets ever.......if not, they are horrible pets who will be eternally miserable. If you decide to get a bird and then later decide that you cannot spend much time with it.....do the bird a favor and get another bird so that they will entertain each other. Good luck!

 

[catsrule]

Had a parakeet named Pretty Boy. He talked and talked, it was amazing. I loved that little guy alot and I miss him.

 

[mommytotwo]

We have had and still have many birds. We have/had parakeets, lovebirds, cockatiels, mynah bird, finches, and a conqueir. I would recommend either a cockatiel or a parakeet.
The plus part of having a bird is that you can teach it to talk, you can put it on your shoulder and it can go around in the house with you, and it will be a faithful campanion.
The down side would be that you will not be able to travel cause your pet will need to be taken care of, and you will need to end to it's seeds daily.

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

Used to have finches...they were cute but what a pain to catch if they got out of their cage...hehehehe, fast little devils. I think I would get a parakeet.

 

[ebaynut31]

I had parakeets growing up. I personally don't like birds. I love them in the wild but won't ever have one as a pet again.

They are noisy, messy, if you don't want them flying you have to have their wings clipped (which I always hated doing, just didn't seem right) and so many had eggs impacted and that cost too much for me. Had to put them to sleep because it was so bad.

I have friends that have had great bird pets.

Good luck in whatever you decide. It's nice that you are looking into it before getting one.

 

[aprilgail2]

I've had parakeets and cockatiels and I would never get one again. They are extremelly MESSY, seed flys all over the place outside their cage, the cockatiel was very noisy too.
As far as traveling when you have a bird I found that was the easiest pet to have if you like to travel. I wouldn't leave them for a week but leaving them for 3-4 days was never a problem. We had the big automatic seeder and water dispensers that held a lot of seed so it was never a big deal filling them up and going away for a long weekend.

 

[epcotfan]

I had a budgie (parakeet) growing up and he was one of the best pets I've ever had! He was finger tamed. He was ALWAYS with me. I taught him to talk. He could say "pretty boy." I used to be able to leave him in my bedroom and he would play on my bed. He wasn't messy at all. I even took him over to a friend's house to meet her parakeet. They actually had a "play date." He used to let me give him baths in the sink. Every once in awhile he would fly into the bathroom and sit on my knees while I was taking a bubble bath. When I came home from school for lunch he would be clinging to the side of his cage waiting to come out. He lived to be 7. He was extremely affectionate. He gave lots of kisses and loved attention. We were the best of friends.

If you are seriously considering one, please do lots of research on nutrition and care. Try to get a young bird that can be finger tamed. Take lots of time to tame him or her and be patient. Birds are easily scared and require a lot of care. Best of luck.

 

[JESW]

Ummmm...we have 10 birds! 7 parakeets and 3 cockatiels. I just love my birds! I just woke up and I'm here in their room and they are trying like the devil to get me to let them out of their cages. (I have 3 different cages and they get let out all day)

Two of the cockatiels are tame but the rest of the birds do their own thing. It's amazing that they all have their own personalities. If you want a parakeet and want it tame, only buy one - but make sure you can pay a lot of attention to it since they are social creatures. If you buy more than one at a time they will bond to that other bird before you. I knew that when I bought mine and I love watching them as a flock. I have 2 females and 5 males and they can be hysterical to watch - just like a soap opera!

The cockatiels are very social also - you can usually find me in the house with one or two on my shoulder. Ziggo even likes to take a shower with me at times.

Birds are messy and loud - make sure that is something you can live with. I need to vacuum up here every day. They have their times of lots of noise (like now in the morning) and then they will act as a flock and rest at the same times.

I don't know anything about finches, but to me they are too much like a "wild" bird. I love the different colors of all the budgies. Two of my 'tiels are greys and one is a pied.

I would suggest a budgie (parakeet) or a cockatiel.

Check to make sure there is a local vet who will take care of your bird if something goes wrong. Unfortunately, one of our budgies broke his leg soon after we got him and I had to find a vet quick - many won't care for small animals. (at least in this area)

If you plan to let your bird out of its cage, clip its wings or you run the risk of having it escape. This room is above our garage with a door so when mine our out they can't get outside. I have to make sure the windows aren't open!

Good luck with your decision! Birds can make great pets! Watch your chosen one for a while to see what type of personality he or she has.

Jill

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I had a parakeet named Petey. He was so great. He lived many years. He talked so much and would listen to me very carefully when I talked and would pick up many words. I took even took him camping with me and in the summertime he would pick up other birds sounds and repeat them. I didn't think of him as messy and loud. He sang beautifully. I changed his food and water 2 times a day and cleaned his cage once a week. I would open the cage during the day and he was free to go wherever he wanted. At night I would put the cage down on the floor and he knew it was time for bed and would come to his cage then.

I had a cat for the first 2 years I had him and he would immitate the cat and meow. Quite a few times we thought our cat was stuck somewhere so we would go searching and it turned out to be my bird. I loved that bird. When I get settled into a house I will get another one.

Definitely get a parakeet.

 

[MeanLaureen]

we have a few birds.. just 16 of them

Well.. make that 14.. I forgot 2 of them moved to Pennsylvania!

It didn't start out that way. We started with 5 parakeets and a cockatiel.

Just so happened we had two parakeets that reallllllly like each other a lot and have had a total of 9 babies between them. We gave away 2 so far and we lost one when it was young - not sure what happened but she got hurt in the cage

Anyway - I've had finches before, canaries, and a Quaker.

Finches are nice but you don't handle those birds. They are purely to look at and listen to. Plus they like to breed a lot (at least the Zebra finches do!

Parakeets are cool little birds. I recommend males because they are not biters as much as the females and they are more likely to whistle or talk (although don't expect every parakeet to talk - it's an exception more than the rule)

I would recommend saving up for a hand raised baby cockatiel (about $100) They will be very affectionate and love people. If you get a male than more than likely he will mimic some - whether sounds in the house or talk.

When you get a cage, make sure you get one with the right spacing on the bars. You don't want to get one with a big gap between bars for parakeets - they could stick their heads through and get it caught and choke. And if you get a cockatiel you don't want a "wimpy" thin barred cage that they could possibly break by chewing on it.

Hope this info helps some. Yeah birds can be messy - but you can also have a lot of fun with them

 

[MinnieMe2]

I have to agree with the suggestion to get a hand-raised baby cockatiel. That's what our little Trilly was. Trilly lived in a corner of our kitchen and was my dearest little friend. She would 'talk' to me, 'dance' when I asked her to, ride on my shoulder, and in general, had a lot more personality than I ever imagined a bird would have. She did lay lots of little white eggs, which I decorated for Easter and Christmas!

While she was a messy little thing (I used to tell her she was a pig dressed up like a bird ), the mess paled in comparison to the large space she filled in my heart. We lost her a few years ago, at the age of 12, and while now isn't a good time to bring another bird home, I hope to one day have another little cockatiel in my life.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I'm glad you started this thread actually. Seems those of us who have featherbabies never really get the chance to talk about them here. Its always the furbabies who get the attention.

Anyway, as far as cages go, a good pet store should have them labeled as to which breeds are appropriate for each cage. That's how our pet stores do it. We have a local 1 and a PetsMart, but no PetCo.

And when i think about it i suppose my cockateil is rather messy, but then my DH is just as messy with his own sunflower seed habit, so it makes no difference to me.

And i do reccomend having the bird's wings clipped if you don't it flying around all the time. BUT have a vet do this for you at least the first time. Our poor Rally's wings were clipped by his first owner and she permanently handicapped him because she did it wrong. As a result, he can fly but not land without banging into something most of the time. So he likes to stay on or near his cage. I'm always afraid he's gonna break a beak or something when he takes off. He hasn't yet fortunately.

As for the seed mess, there are ways to minimize it or cancel it altogether. 1 way is to buy a seed catcher that goes around the bottom of the cage. This'll catch the empty husks and leave your floor or carpet pretty nice. 2nd way(and this would be my choice if Rally were younger) is to feed your bird an exclusive pellet diet. Then you don't have to worry about seeds. Just when you get them for treats.

But like the others i say you might want to look into a hand-raised cockateil. rally is not the most social of birds due to his early experience, but he is happy, and he has adopted me and Dh as part of his flock. He occassionally will nip at our hair and try to preen us. Though with me, he doesn't want me to think that he likes me yet.

As for traveling, Dh and i travel quite a bit to go visit my parents. We find a neighbor who is willing to check on Rally, and change his seed and water cups while we're away. Its worked out well so far since we have nice neighbors.