Hey y’all!
I’ve been reading and following this forum for a few months now because my family and I are considering adding a parrot to our family and would appreciate a suggestion on what species/breed of bird would best fit into our family.
About me: I’m a 27 year old married mom of a 3 year old daughter living in a 3 bedroom house. My husband and I both own a small seasonal business out of our home and currently have only 2 aging rescued rats. We are looking to adopt a cockatiel, green cheeked conure, or quaker parrot in the next 6-12 months once our rats pass away. I’m taking this process incredibly slow because I’ve watched so many friends/family members rush into adopting a parrot only to rehome him/her and I want to avoid that. I’ve done a lot of research on my own and my main concern to finding a bird that won’t be distressed by my 3 year old daughter. She isn’t loud or a crier but she is 3 and has her moments. She won’t be directly handling or be unsupervised will the bird for obvious reasons. I have some experience will birds throughout my life and am not looking for a large bird because I recognize my limits and wouldn’t be comfortable handling such a large animal. I grew up will a cockatiel that my family adopted when I was 6 and passed away about 10 years later. I handled him daily and he was an amazing little bird. My dad had a roommate that adopted an amazon parrot but I never directly handled him because he was quite cage aggressive. My dad also adopted two birds, and AG and an Umbrella Cockatoo and I lived with him during this time. I did handle the Umbrella Cockatoo quite a bit but he was rehomed to a rescue by my dad after about a year because he kept attacking my stepmom (my dads fault due to his handling of Buddy, he was sexually frustrated and saw my stepmom as a threat) after I moved away. The AG passed away about 5 years later from unknown reasons and I was out of the home at this time.
I’m now in a place where I can provide financially, emotionally, and physically with all aspects of a parrot (cage, food, vet care, toys, etc.) My only concern is finding a species/breed that will fit well with our family.
Is it unreasonable to expect to adopt a bird with a young child at home? What do y’all think? Any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Thank you so much.