Ideal family-friendly parrot! Explore species like Budgies, Cockatiels, and Lovebirds, considering size, temperament, and care requirements
Parrots can be rewarding pets to the right owners due to their intelligence and desire to interact with people. Most are affectionate, cuddly, and offer hours of entertainment to people they trust.
However, parrots also require plenty of attention and love. Think of owning a parrot as having a perpetual toddler (2 to 5 years old). For this reason, these birdies do not make the best family pet.
If you have never owned a parrot before, I suggest getting a dog or cat as your family pet.
Now, it is not entirely impossible to have a well-mannered parrot as a family pet, but I suggest you start with a small or mid-sized species.
Large parrots are too aggressive and can readily draw blood from kids and pack a set of claws and jaws that are pretty destructive.
Essetnailly, if you want a bird as a family pet, consider small budgies, cockatiels, or mid-sized parrots like conures, Quakers, and Rose ringnecks.
Steer clear of large parrot species such as African greys, Eclectus, Amazon parrots, Macaws, and Cockatoos.
Make sure you know what you need to care for your new pet properly as well.
Conures make great family pets as they adapt well, are reasonably priced, and enjoy socializing. Their playful nature, curiosity, and spirit are desirable traits in a pet bird.
Is A Parrots A Good Pet for A Kid
I know this is disappointing for most people looking to purchase a pet bird for their young one, but no, parrots are not ideal pets for kids. They are too aggressive, needy, and need a lot of stimulation and concentration to maintain successfully.
Yes, most parents would want a pet to teach their kids responsibility, but a parrot is not the answer. Your child would have to be very responsible and reserved, not engaging in most kids’ activities to bond with his (her) bird and meet all of its needs.
Now, assuming your child can hack having a pet bird, please get him a small species like a cockatiel or budgie at first. Most large parrots come equipped with claws and beaks as weapons.
They can easily hurt your child even when engaging in normal play activities.
A larger parrot also causes more messes and destruction around the house, meaning they have quite the workload if your child has to clean up after it.
Having said that, parrots are intelligent and gentle birds that will keep your child occupied at all times. When well maintained and stimulated, the parrot will not show aggression, and he won’t bite unless startled or provoked.
Parrots are prey animals and even the tamest pet may bite or fly off if spooked.
Otherwise, the rest of the time, he will show discontent by grabbing your hand with his beak and pushing it away or throwing a tantrum.
What is The Best Parrot for A Child
We’ve already seen parrots are perhaps not the best pet bird for kids, but it’s not expressively prohibitive.
You can certainly get one for your child if you trust his (her) capacity to handle a feathery pal.
However, some species are more suitable than others.
You do not want a parrot that’s too large, aggressive, or strong for your kid to handle.
A few parrot types you can consider for your child includes:
- Budgie
- Cockatiel
- Quaker
- Lovebird
- Finch
- Quaker
- Dove or Pigeon
Are Parrots Good Pets for Beginners
Parrots may not be the ideal pet for kids, but there might also not be the best option for beginner pet owners. The person best suited to own a pet parrot is one with experience keeping house animals that need a lot of care and attention.
In my opinion, I would recommend keeping a dog, cat, or fish first, before you try keeping birds, and more so parrots, or other exotic pets like reptiles.
Gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pigs are ideal beginner pets as well, particularly for younger owners.
If you must keep birds as pets, I recommend you start with modest species like pigeons, doves, canaries, or finches, then slowly level up to small parrots like budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds, lories, conures, ringnecks, and Quakers, before your try keeping Greys, Amazons, Eclectus, Macaws, and Cockatoos.
Moreover, if you want to dive right into the parrots’ world, starting with the smaller, less demanding species like budgies helps you learn the basics and dynamics of keeping parrots with relative strain.
That way, when you graduate to keeping larger parrots, you will already have honed a few tricks and hacks of your own for dealing with any test your birdie throws at you.
What is The Most Family-Friendly Bird to Keep
Certainly not a parrot, yes?
To be fair, cockatiels and budgies are pretty subtle and will make an ideal pet for a family with members of all ages. Finches, doves, and pigeons are not to but either.
A lovebird is not too bad either, as long as there is someone he can trust in the family. Quakers, conures, Pionus, and Meyers parrots are perhaps not too bad as well, but they can be a lot of work..
, plus some like sun conures are certified noise makes…
…and quakers, borderline nuisance for not very patient owners.
Nonetheless, if I dearly wanted a parrot as a family pet, below are the 4 (or so) birdies🦜 I would consider.
#1&mdashBudgie (Parakeet)
Budgies are colorful parrots, with the intelligence and personality of a large parrot but in a tiny, easy-to-groom, and care-for body.
Thease parakeets can tolerate handling and are not too aggressive hence safe around kids of all ages.
Budgies have a gentle personality and often bond with members of their owners and other family members. These birdies are a tad quieter than other parrots making them ideal even for families living in apartments.
The only downside of owning a budgie is they are not as long-lived, plus the tiny physic makes them susceptible to accidents, injury, and predation around the home.
#2&mdashCockatiel
Cockatiels are a little bigger than budgies, but they are equally good (if not more) for kids and families. They are gentle, adore cuddles, and are easy to look after.
They can learn to talk, whistle, and do tricks, making them a delight for children. Even so, cocktails need more care and time, thus best for families with older children.
#3&mdashDove (or Pigeon)
Dove and pigeons may not be the go-to pet birds for most people, but they are not any less exciting to own. Plus, they are much easier to care for than parrots.
A dove is an easy way to learn how to care for birds at home and a perfect place to start before moving on to parrots. They will teach you the basics of owning a feathery friend, including diet, housing, ailments, and social requirements.
Doves also have a sweet and gentle disposition and rarely try to bite, making them a better pet for both young and older kids than parrots, though they can be a plate-full for toddlers.
Pigeons (and doves) need to be allowed free flight as well, hence need a present owner or family member every day.
#3&mdashFinch (or Canaries)
Finches are perhaps the easiest birds to care for of those mentioned in this list. They are also the safest and can be pretty entertaining, even for young kids and babies.
These little tweeters are a lot quieter than parrots as well and will only sing soothing tunes at dusk and dawn.
Finches and canaries are less hands-on and independent, although you will need to let them out of the cage every day for a regular dose of flight exercise.
Having said, a few other parrots like lovebirds, Quakers, Conures, Pionus, and Poicephalus like Meyer’s parrot are hackable family pets, but keeping them is far from straightforward.
They come with a ton of checks and balances, and the amount of work and effort widely varies among individuals.
That’s all for this post🔚.
Happy birding🦜🦜🐦.
See you in the next one🙋♂️🙋♀️👋.