Pet Birds

[Tempest]

Maybe this is a stretch, but anyone got birds as pets? What kind? My parakeet just died, but I'd like to get another bird or two. Anyone got any recommendations?

[Spineblade]

Aw, sorry to hear about your parakeet. Birds are great! I don't have any myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone around here has one.

[ZEL]

Depends entirely on what kind of bird you're looking for.

The most popular pet birds are often unfortunately also the most care-intense. Any parrot, including smaller species, can easily live for decades (budgies with their average of 15 years are the lowest end of it), so it's important to never underestimate how long you are going to want this pet by your side. (I always die a little inside when people talk about getting cockatoos. Have fun, these things can outlive you.) They also need lots of stimulation and training, so if you're going for anything parrot-like you should plan in a chunk of every day dedicated to playtime with your bird. Also get ready to learn how to make toys yourself, because they'll destroy them, they'll get bored of them, and you'll have to keep finding them new ones or at least cycle them in and out.

I've kept budgies in the past (or rather, my family had budgies before I was even born, and my mother taught me how to handle birds), and we've also had canaries and quails in a larger aviary in the garden. My father keeps chickens, and when I was younger we got someone's golden pheasants as a gift.
They are very delightful birds, both gorgeous to look at, and potentially tame (usually the females are said to be easier to tame, but our male followed me around when I was in the pen and I hand-fed him). You probably won't want to go for pheasants if you don't have a garden, though.

Personally I think finches are lovely birds. I am actually contemplating getting Java sparrows; they don't require anything near the intense amount of stimulation and socialization that parrots do (or rather, they do like socializing, but keeping multiple individuals is not as cost-intense as multiple parrots are (thus you can try getting them suitable companions of their own species, whereas parrots that are kept alone will treat humans as a sort of partner-substitute)) (but they can be hand-tame, too), and have a significantly shorter lifespan on the average.

I find them to be very enjoyable to be around, but unfortunately I just can't predict my living situation well enough to make a decision to get any pet at all right now.

But seriously, finches are underappreciated. There's lots of really awesome ones. Zebra finches are neat, too.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Ama

[Tempest]

Well, I'm looking at maybe getting cockatiels. My parakeet wasn't too much trouble, although she was gentle and loved to be with me, but still, I think I might get two cockatiels. I'd rather they live longer, and my brother wants them just as much as I do, so I won't be the only one taking care of them.

[Ironbound]

I'm afraid I never had birds as pets. Strictly dogs for me.

I don't criticise anyone, but personally I can never keep a bird; to me, they are meant to be free and flying in the open. Even the most spacious house or cage is still a prison to them. I am glad to enjoy the company of birds outside in my yard, where I arrange for food and water for a number of wild sunbirds, parrots, cuckoos, the occasional peafowl and other assorted creatures one finds in tropical suburbs, and they tolerate me, but I wouldn't like to keep them confined, even if I am aware of the fact that many pet bird varieties are bred for companionship and won't survive in the wild.

Just my two cents, since the question is asked. Please don't take this to mean a critique of anyone or anything. It's just a personal attitude.

[Maelstrom]

Had parkeets. They didn't really last that long. But then the pair we had were afraid of any human contact. I've seen videos where they aren't and are very close to their owners. Like hop around inside of the house and without a cage. A few eggs were laid and stuff but they never hatched. We'd also gotten another pair of parakeets from my great aunt. I have no idea how long she had them.

Cockatiels seems very loud, obnoxious, and time intensive to train if you don't get them very young. And even if you get them young, you have to be ready to be there constantly to train them.

Finches I've seen aren't very interactive with people. They seem to do well when placed with many other finches together though. My grandparents and great aunt had some. No idea what happened to them, but their constant chirping was usually nice to listen to.

Peacocks are loud and annoying. You will regret getting them very soon and your neighbors will not forgive you.

Chickens- chicks are very cute and grow up somewhat swiftly. As chicks we had a couple run around in a very controlled area inside the house. They were kinda messy within their area. As they got bigger, we let them run around in the back yard and I saw them constantly digging and scratching around the garden beds for bugs and worms. Our wall facing the backyard is more like 4 giant windows than wall and while we could observe them through these windows, they almost always seemed to want to come back inside and be with us.

As I think back to what I know personally and have seen, I'd probably recommend newly hatched parakeets and chickens over anything else. Parakeets will need more time dedicated to them but they seem to be very companionable. Our chickens seemed pretty companionable as well but also seemed to do well when left out in the backyard on their own for extend periods of time.

[Halloween]

once upon a time, i had the stupendous pleasure of getting to know Frank, the parrotlet. Frank was an absolute charmer; lived off fruits, fingers and apparently also human dreams since she was quite insistent on constantly waking me up. but despite being able to fly freely in a large house and not having any obvious stress-syndroms, she suddenly dropped dead one morning, leaving me indicated to agree with Viridescent, more out of shock from Frank's ultimate demise than anything else.

my experience with birds is scarce; limited to Frank and chickens, but my experience of pets overall says this: the more intelligent an animal is, the better pets they make. and also, please avoid breeds like grey parrots (which are wildly popular for their intelligence); that humans hunt them to keep as pets is endangering the species in the wild.

i think cockatiels sounds like a good choice! you should be looking for long-time companions, and they seem well-adapted to captive life from what 15 minutes of google could tell me. im happy you're getting 2too. as long as you can afford annual check-ups – that's my requirement for when I'm gonna be able to get a dog; live a year in the same country, and $3500 in emergency founds if god forbid they'd get sick.

i was gonna write something useful here but due to rambling i forgot what woops

[ZEL]

The degree to which finches are interactive with people can vary from species to species and also depends on whether or not the owner makes an effort to socialize with them. Java sparrows are one of the species that are generally considered easier to tame, and they have no issues perching on or being in close proximity to their caretakers. [peep]

Zebra finches can be snuggly as well, though I don't know how easy it is to establish that bond with them.

Birds won't mind being around you if you are calm and refrain from things that would scare them, such as fast movements (especially towards them) or being loud. You can typically help out by rewarding them with food.

That said, someone who is hoping to form a close personal bond with their bird would probably prefer other species over finches.

The reluctancy I have with recommending any kind of parrot is that they often cope very badly with being abandoned, especially if they bonded with their owner. Pet parrots separated from long-time owners/people they were close to can exhibit symptoms of psychosis, often ending up mutilating themselves or engaging in other sadly typical behaviors such as restless pacing or repetitive babbling. They can also experience night terrors.

Couple that with how long these birds can live, and you have a big responsibility at your hands. Some parrot species such as African Greys have been tested to possess cognitive abilities comparable to 3-5 year old children.

They're also not meek and tender - often people get young parrots and find them to be mellow and snuggly, but then struggle with the behavior of the adolescent and adult birds. Puberty is for parrots, too.

What Mael said about cockatiels is definitely true, though: They are loud. They really are. And just like any other parrot, training is necessary.

It's definitely never to be underestimated how intense caring for a bird can be even if it is small.

If you're looking to get multiple cockatiels, you should make sure that you either get an already bonded pair, or test if the two individuals you get really are compatible with each other. Even birds of the same species can be hostile towards each other, especially! over their cages.

As for getting two birds: Cockatiels are definitely one of the better choices if you want to keep them as companions. But do make sure that you don't mistake their nature as flock animals with a need to be together at all times.

It's a common misconception that it is bad for parrots to have separate cages. In reality, most, if not all, benefit from having their own cage - even flock birds need places to escape to when they want to retreat. (More territorial species like Lovebirds are known to attack and even kill each other over sharing a cage.)

So if you want to get two 'tiels, let them have their own cage each, and either position the cages so that the birds can see each other (but also make sure they can hide out of sight). Separating their cages will not make it more difficult for them to be playmates; they will still gladly interact with one another.

Having two 'tiels will also not mean that you no longer need to invest as much time as keeping one: For the birds' safety you should not leave them alone when they're out of their cages for playtime, so even if they have each other to play with, you will need to be there and supervise them, both to make sure they get along as well as to ensure that neither of them gets into any other kind of accident.

As another, unrelated note: Bird-proof your household. Make sure to look up what common household elements are dangerous to birds, and do take it seriously. Besides the cardinal rule of never letting your bird into the kitchen (even if you don't use teflon products there's enough other lethal dangers), you'll have to be very careful about what cleaning products you use (especially for the cages!), what you spray around in the room (best have the birds in another room if you absolutely must spray substances other than plain water), stay clear of candles, research your plants, etc. etc.

This has a nice list of common hazards (scroll down to the "Achtung, birdy" segment)

Cockatiels are lovely birds. If you end up getting one (or two), I wish you a happy time with them.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Ama

[Swampellow]

The only birds Ive ever had much experience with are finches, and those were my grandmothers. From what I know she had 2 pairs of males and females, which she kept out in her flower workshop, they didn't require too much care, I believe they even had a couple of chicks a few times. They were always very comfortable around people, although not as much as other, generally larger birds, but were still quite happy just interacting amongst themselves. They lasted about 4 years, and most likely would have lived longer, but they got roasted when my grandmothers workshop burned down.

[Maelstrom]

wynaut get all of them?