# best bird for my son



## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

my son really wants a bird - he is talking about cockatiels as a possibility - the thing is he is at school during the day and if he does get a bird it would be in his bedroom and he would only be with it when upstairs in the evening for a few hours.

Now I think that cockaiels would need more attention than that = is there a bird that would work under these circumstances or will they all need more company than he can offer?


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## Malagasy (Nov 27, 2011)

What about a type of finche maybe a zebra or java finch


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## white (May 16, 2009)

how about a budgie?


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

As youve already pointed on your concerned about it being left for long periods of time in the day and only having a few hours attentnion in the evenings, look at getting a pair of budgies. 

Zebra finches etc are ok, and again would need to be kept in pairs however im sure your son will want something more handleable than a finch so a budgie would be ideal.

Even if you can spend all day with it, a budgie is better with its own kind. Having a pair of budgies from young off a breeder, and given the appropriate time they will still be happy to be handled. 

As you have mentioned the issue of it only having afew hours a day with your son, please dont get a single bird and get a pair.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Lineateds are great, very quiet, bit bigger than a budgie, friendly by nature. Good starter bird. I agree cockatiels can drive you bats whistling and do need interaction.

Personly I find budgies the same especially when the seasonal mood takes them, never found it with lineateds though.

I keep spectacled parrotlets now they are very quiet and true parrots. Very hard to find though. Celestials are everywhere but not spectacles.

Give the lineateds a look. If you can find them the canary wing or tovi are also in my top 10

John


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

thanks - he is also interested in love birds - how about these?


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

Arcadiajohn said:


> Lineateds are great, very quiet, bit bigger than a budgie, friendly by nature. Good starter bird. I agree cockatiels can drive you bats whistling and do need interaction.
> 
> Personly I find budgies the same especially when the seasonal mood takes them, never found it with lineateds though.
> 
> ...


is there another name for Lineateds when I google it comes up with woodpeckers


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

sharpstrain said:


> thanks - he is also interested in love birds - how about these?


Lovely, fun, entertaining little parrots. They can't speak as such but can learn words and sort of sing them, it's hard to explain but they can be pretty noisy if they feel like it. The bedroom is the last place I'd ever want to keep them.


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## Malymaz (Oct 11, 2010)

sharpstrain said:


> is there another name for Lineateds when I google it comes up with woodpeckers


Try googling lineolated parakeet Mate as already said nice quiet lovely birds


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

We keep budgies and cockatiels in an indoor aviary.

However, wherever you keep them they do generate a lot of dust from their feathers and we are forever walking seeds up and downstairs and into the other bedrooms! We have parrots downstairs as well so do suffer from a dust problem.........

They also poo up the wall, but that said they are fascinating to watch and certainly all live happily together as a community.

Birds in bedrooms are not ideal because of the dust and of course they can get "night fright". They do wake early - 4.30 ish in the summer and even now I hear the first one about 6 am chirping away, which soon turns into a dawn chorus! They also do tend to go to sleep as soon as it is dark outside so we put their blind down, not ideal if they are in a bedroom with your son.

I would never be without them though as the above does read somewhat negatively!


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## Lotsofsmoggies (Nov 21, 2011)

sharpstrain said:


> thanks - he is also interested in love birds - how about these?


Parrolets (celestials) are like lovebirds just without all the noise and are imo a little bit more 'fun'. They are lovely.

As a owner of 10 budgies inside in a indoor aviary I can safely say they can be noisy buggers, but a budgie was my first bird as a child and I'll always love them. Back then I had a single bird but they do like company and a pair would be better.


As for tiels if they are to be in your son's bedroom you could always just shut the door on their ear piercing whistle that would be calling for your son to come home from school as he would be part of their 'flock'. Cockatiels get attached to members of their 'flock' and will not settle easily if one member goes away.


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I'd say and you've probably gathered by now that a very important consideration before getting a bird is will the noise be an issue? As has been mentioned they'll most likely be awake and making noise hours before the rest of the family is awake, especially in the summer. Also if you have neighbours attached then you need to consider sound travelling. 

I'd suggest you go around a few places that sell birds, have a look and a listen to get an idea of types of noise and volumes but bear in mind you'll most likely be hearing more than 2 at once and try and imagine that noise at 4am on a summers morning.

I don't want to put you off the idea but you don't really grasp how noise can impact your life until it's happening. 

I love my lovebirds but sometimes I wish I could gag the little sods.


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## Lotsofsmoggies (Nov 21, 2011)

_simon_ said:


> I love my lovebirds but sometimes I wish I could gag the little sods.




:roll2:


You could always invest in a black out blind and cover the birds up at night, which is effective for the dawn chorus in the summer, however just a little hint of light and bird song coming through an open window and oh dear awake birdies.


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Lotsofsmoggies said:


> :roll2:
> 
> 
> You could always invest in a black out blind and cover the birds up at night, which is effective for the dawn chorus in the summer, however just a little hint of light and bird song coming through an open window and oh dear awake birdies.


It's more the random bursts they do whenever they feel like it or just as the lights go off at night and you're trying to watch some tv in another room. I've had them a year now so I'm used to it, but little gags would be excellent lol


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## Lotsofsmoggies (Nov 21, 2011)

Yeah you turn off the lights they go quiet for a few seconds then carry on chattering for a bit longer. I don't have the luxury of tv in another room, I watch it with the birds. I've learnt long ago the higher the telly sound goes up so do they. My lip reading skills and guessing what is going on is fantastic I can tell you. :lol2:


Another thing they like doing is flapping about late at night, I rush down thinking I have left a cat in the room and no they are just moving about.....


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Stephen P said:


> We keep budgies and cockatiels in an indoor aviary.
> 
> However, wherever you keep them they do generate a lot of dust from their feathers and we are forever walking seeds up and downstairs and into the other bedrooms! We have parrots downstairs as well so do suffer from a dust problem.........
> 
> ...


Lol, my two cockatiels are more annoying than the African grey and the Senegal combined; it's impossible to express how piercing their little shrieks can be! :devil: All four birds also think that shredding their paper and chucking it and seed husks out on the floor is the best wheeze *ever*; the cat then joins in on the fun by happily spreading it around. As others have said, I would never get rid of them, but they are probably not the best option if you are houseproud or easily annoyed by noise. Parrotlets, on the other hand, are gorgeous...:flrt:


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

Ron Magpie said:


> Lol, my two cockatiels are more annoying than the African grey and the Senegal combined; it's impossible to express how piercing their little shrieks can be! :devil: All four birds also think that shredding their paper and chucking it and seed husks out on the floor is the best wheeze *ever*; the cat then joins in on the fun by happily spreading it around. As others have said, I would never get rid of them, but they are probably not the best option if you are houseproud or easily annoyed by noise. Parrotlets, on the other hand, are gorgeous...:flrt:


Our African Grey is a real "Essex" boy, but our Senegal is much quieter and genteel.

Funny you've got the same birds minus the budgies as us!


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Heh, Rills can produce a much louder noise than Lexi, but somehow neither of them are as irritating as the cockateils. Amusingly, amongst Rilla's large selection of sayings, he shouts 'SHUT UP!' whenever any of the other birds get noisy. He also swears. A lot. Dunno where he gets it from...:whistling2:


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## Lotsofsmoggies (Nov 21, 2011)

Anyone any thoughts on Bourkes as indoor pets? I've always liked them or how about Kakariki's? They aren't that noisy either.


Just a few more suggestions.


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

We had a Kakariki, another rehomer. When we got her she had lost a lot of feathers as apparently she was always laying in the breeding Rosellas (I think it was) nesting box and they didn't like it.

Sadly, her feathers never grew back, but she was a lovely little bird. Fairly quiet and gentle. We lost her a couple of years ago. We always got used to her baldness, but when I saw one with a lovely plummage it was a bit sad.


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## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

I saw some people recommend parrotlets as they are quiet, but I used to have a parrotlet and he was so loud I had to sell him as we got evicted from where we lived because of the noise! so not all parrotlets are quiet lol


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## yorkielass (Dec 8, 2011)

I think that whatever you decide on you will need a couple of birds. It would be cruel to keep a bird by itself with very little human interaction, they live in flocks and so require company.

Good luck, hope you find some little friends for your son soon


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