What is a good breed of parrot for a beginner?

Leah: What is a good breed of parrot for a beginner?
I have only ever had a parakeet and would like a parrot. What breed would be best for someone who is not terribly experienced with birds?

Size doesn’t matter….

Answers and Views:

Answer by houseplant
african greys are great pets. easy to care for, and they talk like crazy! just remember that parrots need alot of attention no matter what kind you get, they make alot of noise and alot of mess! but theyre so cool!

Answer by forhirepen
Tough one, because parrots are not really good “beginner” birds in general. They live too long for you to fool around with maybe or maybe not. We’ve got macaws but I’d never say they are a good beginner breed. Maybe an Amazon?

Answer by Marilolli
Conures and smaller parrots are good starter birds and will normally run you about $ 300 – $ 600. Larger parrots are normally more intelligent and need more emotional and mental stimulation and attention.
Make sure you get a parrot cage regardless of what bird you choose. A cockatiel or parakeet cage will generally be an easy cage to escape from and wont be designed for the large amount of waste the parrots will secrete (translation: they will end up pooping in their food and water dishes and getting sick). You’ll also want to keep them away from drafty areas of your house since they are tropical birds and will get sick from having big fluctuations in temperature.
On a side note… since I’m a biologist and naturally must be full of too much unnecessary knowledge … I will add that parakeets are actually considered as part of the parrot family, but referred to as mini-parrots. Cockatiels are also included. “Parrot” parrots are normally referred by most people as the larger birds including Cockatoos, Macaws, and so on.
>>PLEASE<< make sure your new bird was born from breeding parents in the US and not captured in the wild. The cruelty exhibited in the pet trade — especially with birds– is nauseating.

Answer by Steph
Contrary to what the previous answer said, African Grey’s are not good first time parrots. Grey’s are very smart, they need a lot of attention and time – plus they usually bond with one person.

My husband and I got a Grey; it was our second parrot – our first was a Green Cheek Conure. The Grey bonded to my husband, but she also was very territorial over him, so any time I tried to touch her she’d bite me.

Grey’s can be tricky…they can lower their head for scratches, but when you go to give him/her scratches they bite.

Green Cheek’s are great first time parrots, so are Sun Conures, but Sun’s are very loud.

Good luck!

Answer by jrmno1
A Parrot is such a wonder. They all have a unique personality. It is a big step a Budgie to a large bird. A grey is a good all around bird, mine follows me around the house. An amazon is a great bird as well for about 9 months out of the year. There are many considrations though. The space in which he will live in is a big factor among other things. Do your research…

Answer by Shortie
I would recommend doing some research and go to local pet shops/breeders and ask them. Eclectus’ are more laid back than the Grey’s or Amazon’s. There are all sorts of parrots. There are smaller ones, such as the quaker and the red bellied. Both of those have the ability to talk. I do not recommend a Grey as a first big bird, that’s just my personal opinion. Whatever you do, do not purchase a Cockatoo. Cockatoos need to be in homes of very experienced bird owners. There are also Lorikeets, although their diet is different from other birds. There are too many to discuss here. www.birdbreeders.com has a variety of birds. Other than that, you just have do you the research.

Answer by mockingbird
no, size DOES matter. if a small bird bites you, it may hurt but you can work with the bird and learn how to train the bird not to bite. if a large bird bites you, you may need stitches. if a mcCaw bites you, you can end up without fingers or eyes. the point is you learn how to interact with a bird (train it and be freinds with it) from a bird that has a good disposition — AND a small beak! I myself would not get a mcCaw, ever, because i’m not *that* good with birds to own one that can rip your whole hand off.
if you mess up and your parakeet gets agressive, or you do something wrong that makes teh parakeet bite you, you will be ok and can work with the bird to make it stop. If a McCaw bites you — you’re going to the hospital. yeah. size is #1 for a first-time bird owner.
disposition is important too.

best birds for a beginner are cockatiel or parakeet.

parakeet: very smart, learns to talk, plays a lot, is fun, but may not like to be touched. some do, but many don’t like to be touched at all and will only sit on your shoulder.

cockatiel female: never talks, but very cuddly and easy to care for. i LOVE my female cockatiel. very forgiving bird — just a gentle thing that wants to love you even for things that other birds would be scared of or hate or be hurt for.

cockatiel male: more fun than the female because he can learn to whistle, talk, and be a bit more active, but i still prefer the females.

2nd best birds (also appropriate for a beginner but not as good for a beginner as cockatiel or bugie/parakeet)

lovebird: needs a lot of cuddlign because in nature they just cuddle with each other. they can make more noise and bite harder than cockatiel or parakeet.

caique or senegal: SUPER playful birds that, when good, are REALLY good. they will lie up-side-down in the palm of your hand and you can just tickle their belly of flip them around and they will cling to your fingers. BUT if you mess these birds up, they can bite REALLY hard.

you can mess a bird up, not just by abuse or lack of socializing, but also by spoiling the bird and letting it think it must “dominate” you. you can learn how to avoid these things by reading a book about birds before you get them.

whatever bird you get, you MUST read a book about birds. ‘guide to a well behaved parrot” applies to all birds and i would recomed you read that now, but they also have books about species, which give more info about one kind of bird.
do NOT get a bird larger than a senegal/caique for your first bird.

Answer by CockatielGal
since you’ve had experience with a parakeet I think you should get a cockatiel because they are almost like parakeets and its a small parrot

Answer by L.C
I say Quaker….

My first parrot was a Quaker that had some behavior issues due to neglect and abuse..I was the second owner

Quakers have huge attitudes are funny, talkative, and can be quite affectionate

The are loud but not anywhere near as loud as the larger species of parrots.. Their bites dont do near as much damage either. They are really demanding of your attention and will do whatever it takes to get it..They are in the top 10 list for vocabulary and comprehension.

Quakers are prone to fatty liver disease so a diet including pellets, fruits and veggies are a must.. A seed only diet or too much seed will do a Quakers liver a lot of damage over time.

They are a smaller species of parrot but their lack of size is made up in personality.

Quakers are more commonly green with grey breast and face but there are blue quakers that have grey breast and face.

I will include the links of a few pictures of my boy.

Answer by Melon-Collie
I say cockatiel….they don’t have huge dependancy issues like some parrots, so even if you don’t get a chance to spend quality time with them for a few days they don’t really care.

I personally prefer females. They don’t talk like males can but I find them friendlier. Males can also go through hormonal changes and become aggressive but the females don’t seem to be affected by this.

Answer by dia ;
Whoever said african greys are great for beginners is terribly wrong. Definitely do not get an african grey! They require a lot of committment with money, food, toys, and also a serious time committment. It is like having a little child.

For you I would recommend a cockatiel or a lovebird, or a quaker. It depends on whether you are interested in getting a bird that requires handling or not, and that is hard to tell because I am not sure if you handled your parakeet a lot.

Answer by op0_619
i would have to say a cockatiel, there are very affectionate to their owners they really enjoy lots of head scratching and if you put the time and effort in they will talk, sing songs etc. 🙂

Answer by Callie
Start with a cockateil, they may not be as impressive as the big guys, but very manageable and if trained they are pretty smart. Do your research, the library is a great starting point. We had our cockateil for 19 years until he died. We now have a double yellow headed amazon parrot, whew, it’s been a ride! Great bird, lot’s of fun, but demands loads of attention, and is moooooody, unlike the cockateil. Glad I started out small!

Answer by lunaticked
You could try with a cockatiel which is larger than a parakeet and requires less of a lifetime commitment. I particularily like Green Cheeked Conures, they’re about the size of a tiel, but with more of a bigger parrot attitude.