Looking for sources of information on three seperate speices of parrots

[Robyn]

So in about 2-3 years from now I would like to get my first non tiel parrot. The Caique, Quaker and Jenday is in the top three contenders The reason it is going to take so long is because I haven't done any research on them yet and am looking for some good sources of information on them. Any reccommendations?

[spiritbird]

Last week I was in the avian vets office and a lady had her 18 year old Jenday with her for nail trims. She said he was a wonderful bird. He seemed to respond to me too.
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I fostered a poor little quaker for a short while. Had to send him back because he was so dang loud. Never got a chance to know him.

Caiques have the reputation of being the clowns of the parrot world. They are sturdy little guys who love to eat just about anything. They can become obese. I have interacted with two and found them to be so playful and smart. They both were very active and loved all their toys. If I had to choose for myself I would choose one of them. They can be expensive too.


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[94lt1]

Caiques are rough too.. With you and anything else.. But in a loving way.. If that makes any sense..

You may want to consider a conure.. Lots of different conures, each with their own species specific traits, and then the traits are even more varied by the birds individual personality...

You need to decide if you want a playful bird, a cuddle bug, an adventurer... So many things.. Lol

[froggij]

All conure species can be quite noisy, but some of the larger ones (Nandays for example) can learn to speak very well and quite clearly, if that is a consideration. They need a TON of time spent with you if you want them to be sociable, not that all parrot species don't need time spent with them, but it's quite a bit more than a cockatiel. My 'tiel took to me like a fish to water, but my mom's nanday conure Rose is kind of bipolar, and that part gets worse if we can't have her out as much as she wants to be. They can get a bit nippy.

That's it, that's all I know.

[94lt1]

I didn't mention that (time with flock) because IMHO, if you can't give a bird the time and attention it needs, then don't get one.. Pretty simple. Not being snippy.. It's just miserable for them... Not fair..

As far as noise.. Not really true.. A sun conure is a loud conure.. A green cheek isn't nearly as loud, and the pitch of the birds call plays a large part in how tolerable the call is.. The most vocal times for most birds are, in the morning(in the wild they call out to see who survived and get together and share a meal) bad weather, anything out of the normal, the great vacuum.... It's evil. Meal time if your birds are like ours... They consider themselves as part of a flock and if you are eating, they think they need to eat. When you come home, when you leave.. When you have guests, and when the volume level of your house goes above normal..(shouting match anyone?) and of course, all birds have their own personality.. Some are more into mornings, some are night birds... It's odd. Funny, but odd.

But these things that some find as an annoying squawk, it's part of owning a bird, and being social with an intelligent animal. . It's also important to learn the birds behavior, once things settle down. You'll need to learn to look for subtle changes in attitude and tendencies.. And you DEFINITELY need to learn the do's and do not's of owning a bird.. I would assume you already do.. But I've come to learn that this is a huge mistake.. Things like, no nonstick cookware, no bleach, bug sprays, harsh chemicals, you need a birdy first aid kit.. And who's your vet? Are they an avian vet or just "able to see birds"..

[Robyn]

I am quite aware that birds like to be loud at times and the time and that they require time the only reason Riley doesn't have more time out of the cage right now is because the vet told me to keep her in her hospital cage while she is on her antibotics . I use cast iron cookware clean with a vinegar water mixture around Rileys cage and areas she has access too. I currently have 3 birdy first aid kits because I found 3 different ones that had different items I thought could be necessary in different situations. But yes I do know the do's and don'ts of owning a bird. My vet has been an avian vet for over 10 years and is the same vet that a local parrot rescue uses.

[Lady]

Hi Robyn,

I like to look at different sites for information and use this one often, maybe you will find some information here too. Of course you can search each species as well.

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I like this site also:

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[94lt1]

Awesome. Seems your more informed than most... Good luck in your hunt for your companion..

[Robyn]

I know that caiques are considered the clowns of the parrot world but they also play too roughly to be around other parrots, Quakers are good talkers but can be very loud but I know nothing about Jendays which is really the only conure I'm interested in at the moment. Talking is of no importance to me and actually prefer birds that don't talk but I know that most parrots do so I am ok with that.

[froggij]

I didn't mention that (time with flock) because IMHO, if you can't give a bird the time and attention it needs, then don't get one.. Pretty simple. Not being snippy.. It's just miserable for them... Not fair..

No, it's not fair, but sometimes when you end up having an unexpected, sudden hospital stay through no fault of your own, it's unavoidable, and you find these things out. It's so sad when the unexpected happens, because the birds don't understand why some friend of their human parents is coming into the apartment, feeding them, and leaving without giving them some loving attention for a couple of days. They don't know how to react to such a sudden, unexpected change. I'm just thankful that was a one-time deal in my household and not an actual recurring issue. I can't even stand to leave my birds with someone who DOES know how to give them attention if I go on vacation, I call every day like a worried momma, but hey, stuff happens that's not always in a person's control.

You just gotta take the good with the bad, I mean we'd all like to have the perfect life where we could stay home with our birds all day, but sometimes real life happens, and (and I'm not saying you're doing this, I'm just saying this in general, this is absolutely no reflection on you) we can't judge because we never know when it's going to happen to us.

[Robyn]

I think he meant in general. Life happens hell Friday was my second time I was rear ended in 6 weeks but it's not a regular thing. Just as unexpected hospital stays are not a regular thing and once your better you go back to regular routine. I think he was more concerned about a bird not getting regular time out of the cage. Currently Riley gets 20 minutes out of the cage as per the vet until she's off her meds. That doesn't mean she's perminately going to only get 20 minutes once the vet clears her she will go back to 3 hours a day. There are times when you can't help but limit your time with them for whatever reason, but if all they get is 20 minutes of attention and that's their regular routine then thats not fair to them and the owner shouldn't have them.

[2birds]

As far as birds in the size that you are considering, I love, love, love the GCC. I think they are the cutest little guys with their huge eyes.

[Robyn]

The green cheek is popular among most bird onwers how ever the only conure that has caught my attention the jenday.