Can anyone tell me the pro's and cons of each and any other good pet parrots around the same size? I wont be getting one now, I wouldnt be allowed, but for future use. I wouldnt get a macaw.
I have 3 budgies in a huge cage at the moment, had canaries and 2 weavers in an aviary and a brilliant tame cockatiel, I know loads about birds so don't worry.
Answers:
First off: Right now very few birds are being importated, especially if you buy from a breeder. Breeders breed birds that are tame one because that is what buyers want. People don't want wild caught birds as pets...they bite scream adn aren't suited for people. Now a days that's rare, very very rare. African Grey's make good pets, but only if you have 2-5 hours a day to spend with them. They are prone to pluckign and screaming. But they are intelligent and smart adn fidn ways to make you laugh that many birds don't. Though they aren't always cuddly they can form strong bonds with their family. But beware: They tend to be one eprson birds if not socialized and you may not think that is bad: But it is. It cna cause problems when your bird is attacking your mother all the time. Bad idea. Amazons are the same way, can become one person birds but they aren't as prone to plucking but they tend to be louder than a Grey. An amazon will sound like %26quot;OW OW OW OW OW!%26quot; like a kid screaming, it gets annoying after awhile if you don't like noise. http://www.centralpets.com/pages/similar... Here is a list of some birds around that size, just clik the name and you get the basic info. I don't recommend cockatoo's unless you ahve had a larger parrot first because cockatoos are very sensitive, and very very complex and intelligent. They are the most emotional of all the bird species and they are very hard to keep. Even the small Too's can be a pain if you don't know how to care for them. Budgies and tiels don't compare to the larger parrots, Grye's, Amazons, and Cockatoos as well as macaws(even the minis) Can test even the most deicated bird lover's patience. Start small and go up, you cna always add more. I'd start with a large conure something like a Cherry head or mitred. Thye are about 15 inches long and about that size of an amazon and are loud too, but they aren't on that extremem level. Conures are cuddly clowns while amazons, that are loving may not be cuddly.
After I saw how they capture parrots %26 ship them to the countries that want them as pets I wouldn't recommend ever owning one. If we stop the demand then they won't need to rip them from their nests, capture them in nets %26 ship them in bulk in dark containers where half of them die before they get to their destination.
We had an African Grey one time that every time it heard the sounds of the jungle went absolutely mad. He couldn't be tamed and we ended up giving him up. If you find an aviary that breeds them that would be a different story. Remember parrots live to be over 100 years old so they are definitely a life time pet.
Generally speaking, the larger the bird, the bigger the problems. Greys, cockatoos, macaws.are a whole new world from what you currently have.
I learned the hard way after raising conures and quakers for years, I made the jump by trading for a grey and cockatoo.
In my opinion, these birds can not be kept happily in a cage. They are too intelligent and easily develope serious behavior and mental problems. (starvation, plucking, continuous noise, biting, self mutilation, exclusive bonding)
Check out bird rescue sites and see how many large parrots are available---this should be a warning to everyone.
Work your way up gradually. Small parrots have some of the same attributes while avoiding the problems. Try a large conure, quaker or lori.
Leave the big birds to the true experts.
If you're not buying from a pet store, but from a private breeder, you really don't need to worry that much about illegal capture and shipment of wild parrots. I am friends with an Avian vet here locally and she breeds all of her own birds and has acquired all of her birds from other breeders - so these are a long line of birds that have been raised in a domestic sense - not snatched from the rainforests.
Either way.. I think it's a lot of personal preference on your part as far as what you think you'd enjoy in a parrot. Both are extremely excellent, are great talkers, and if given the attention and love they desire they're both extremely affectionate towards their owners.
I think Amazons are a little less likely to become agitated biters or impatient as far as attention is concerned. But - I've noticed that Amazons use their mouths a lot more than Greys. Maybe look into the smaller greys (Tymnehs) or maybe even look into Red Bellies?
I think Red Bellies are great and if I didn't already have 4 finches with barely any room to add another bird in my apartment I would definitely snatch one up. They're not AMAZING talkers but they will talk - they're not huge parrots so you can get away with a medium sized parrot cage.. they're extremely comical and they're also gorgeous.
Note to Lucy: In the USA we do not import wild caught birds. Birds here are domestically bred, sold and raised. I agree, I too could never own a wild caught bird.
Presently I own an African Grey, hatched in Florida 14 months ago. I can't speak for other parrots but from my experience ( I've owned her for 13 months) she is smart, funny and lovable. She enjoys singing, copying songs she hears me sing or play. She loves her toys and is a very good eater, all good things, fruits, veggies, grains and pellets. I too have raised a variety of different birds, canaries, parakeets, doves, homing pigeons, chickens but never a parrot. I choose an African Grey because of their intelligence. For that it cannot be beat. At four months she could identify colors and shapes, at 12 months she was talking. She loves every member of our family (four of us), she does not get frightened (as I was told she would by changes) in fact we are re-modeling our home around her and as long as we're in the room, she wants to watch. We took her on vacation with us, drove 8 hours to our vacation home and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy the adventure. What came as a suprise to me was that she recognized our neighborhood and got visually excited as we approached our home. I cannot tell you what a joy she is, words could never adequately express our affection for this precious bird. We look forward to a very long life with her and my sons are already vieing for her as an inheritance.
african grey parrots tend to have the mind of a 4 yr old human, they can tell colors, shapes, have a vocabulary of about 8,000 words and are probably the smartest you can find.
macaws and cockatoos have the mind of about a 3 yr old human, their vocabulary is a lot smaller, but they are still very smart.
i have a red macaw at the moment, and my sister has a cockatoo...so if you have any specific questions feel free to email me
Why not use your PC and do research yourself and join some yahoo bird groups.
Please don't buy any more birds until you make the effort and take the time to learn about all captive birds needs and this includes diet and behaviors.
Do it for yourself and do it for the bird.
Also know that each birds personality is different in any one species like humans are.
I see that nobody mentioned Senegals, so I will. They are much smaller than an Amazon or Gray. Very nice looking. They don't talk as well as the other birds though. They make up in personality what they lack in speech.
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