# want a bird- first time keeper



## XxLauraxX (Apr 17, 2012)

after finishing college i have now decided i would like to get a pet bird/parrot. I haven't really had much experience with birds other than working with wildlife trusts and handling a variety of birds at college.

What would you reccommend? im planning to house the bird/s in my room and i don't have a lot of space to keep a cage but will let them have a few hours to fly about every day. 

any care sheets you could send me would be great aswell!!


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## white (May 16, 2009)

cockatiel or budgie.


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## aidey07 (Nov 16, 2008)

cockatiel There amazing :2thumb:


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## Denise aka Martini (May 27, 2009)

I would agree on cockatiel they are a great starter bird, if you were thinking of anything bigger you would need a decent size cage and if you are limited for space then it might be a problem, i own cockatiels they are very friendly birds especially if you buy one from young and tame it, they dont make too much mess are relatively quiet.


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

We keep budgies and cockatiels. You really want more than one though. Ours are in an indoor aviary in a spare bedroom

They are noisy, waking as soon as it begins to get light so about 4.30 am at the moment!

They do make an awful lot of dust so if you are sleeping in the same room you will have to watch for this. Whilst "bird fancier's lung" is not common it can cause horrendous breathing problems at a later date.

Plus we have seed husks everywhere it seems. As we have parrots downstairs as well we have trails of seed up and down the stairs as it sticks to the bottom of slippers, socks etc.

That said though - we :flrt: them all.


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## Denise aka Martini (May 27, 2009)

Cockatiels need quite alot of sleep between 10-12hrs sleep i read somewhere so what i do is cover them up around 8pm with a dark sheet then even when it becomes light they dont usually squack, you can keep just one bird but if its going to be on its own for quite abit of the time then i suggest buying another for company, more birds more mess though.
Also as has been said birds give off a dust when they shake their feathers and this can be very harmful to humans so you need good ventilation in a room.
Hope this helps


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## XxLauraxX (Apr 17, 2012)

i reckon a cockatiel sounds better than a budgie as i don't want anything too noisy, dust shouldnt be too much of a problem as i always have my windows slightly open anyway, i will ofcourse get a pair as i know they are social animals  any cages you would reccommend? x thanks for the help everyone!


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## irish_vampire (Sep 15, 2008)

Kakarikis are great first time birds and are always on the go... so great to watch.


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

XxLauraxX said:


> i reckon a cockatiel sounds better than a budgie as i don't want anything too noisy, dust shouldnt be too much of a problem as i always have my windows slightly open anyway, i will ofcourse get a pair as i know they are social animals  any cages you would reccommend? x thanks for the help everyone!


Cockatiels are noisy as they tend to shriek, the budgies just chirp.

We have the windows open fully especially now as someone is in all the time (school/university holidays etc) but it doesn't make any difference.

Ours go to bed about 9pm earlier in the winter and the blackout blind is pulled down. We have now made some window covers (thick card screwed to a wooden frame) that exactly fit the window and go behind the blind, but they are still waking early!

They do also occasionally have night fright where they set each other off. They fly frantically around the aviary etc. If you are sleeping in the same room this is likely to happen as you fidget in your sleep.

Also if you go to bed after them you will need to put the light on and they will wake up thinking its morning and sing along.

You want the biggest cage you can get ideally.

Hope I'm being helpful and not putting you off!


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