Beginer birds

[jonnygti]

Hi guys just wondering if anyone could sugest a good beginer bird species that isn't a budgie, i want something that isn't too noisy also as it will have to live in front room, also mid sized and quite colourful. Bet i'm asking too much really.

[Sarah-Jayne]

I think there are a few you could choose from...

Green cheeked conures aren't very big and providing you do your research I don't think they are really hard to look after

Lovebirds are nice and come in some lovely colours

I have a parrotlet and he is fantastic, he can be noisy....but not too loud (does that make sense)

I would say go for something hand reared from a breeder though, then you can get it out regularly and stuff

[Sarah-Jayne]

There are probably loads of others to consider by the way....just can't think of any right now haha

[Zoo-Man]

How much money are you willing to spend on a bird first? This will give us more of a clue as to what to suggest.

[cooltom28]

celestials or lineolated come in a range of colours

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by jonnygti

Hi guys just wondering if anyone could sugest a good beginer bird species that isn't a budgie, i want something that isn't too noisy also as it will have to live in front room, also mid sized and quite colourful. Bet i'm asking too much really.

Gouldian finches? Not noisy, very colourful and smallish. Lovebirds?
What exactly do you want? A hand tame pet, or a couple of smaller none touchable pets to sit and watch? There is sadly no such thing as a quiet parrotlike bird, all make noise, all make mess, most leave clouds of feather dust whenever they shake their feathers. I don't actually believe in 'beginner' birds as this smacks of someone wanting something cheap to 'practice' bird keeping which won't mean a financial loss if they manage to kill it or if they get fed up with the noise and mess after a month or so.
What are your expectations when you imagine having a bird?
If in the front room you know you cannot use air fresheners, plug ins, candles, incense sticks ect and that nobody can smoke near it.

[ditta]

[quote=fenwoman;2776528]Gouldian finches? Not noisy, very colourful and smallish. Lovebirds?
What exactly do you want? A hand tame pet, or a couple of smaller none touchable pets to sit and watch? There is sadly no such thing as a quiet parrotlike bird, all make noise, all make mess, most leave clouds of feather dust whenever they shake their feathers. I don't actually believe in 'beginner' birds as this smacks of someone wanting something cheap to 'practice' bird keeping which won't mean a financial loss if they manage to kill it or if they get fed up with the noise and mess after a month or so.
What are your expectations when you imagine having a bird?
If in the front room you know you cannot use air fresheners, plug ins, candles, incense sticks ect and that nobody can smoke near it.[/quote]


is this true for all birds.........and the reason being???????.............the obvious???!!!

[Zoo-Man]

[quote=ditta;2778210]

Originally Posted by fenwoman

Gouldian finches? Not noisy, very colourful and smallish. Lovebirds?
What exactly do you want? A hand tame pet, or a couple of smaller none touchable pets to sit and watch? There is sadly no such thing as a quiet parrotlike bird, all make noise, all make mess, most leave clouds of feather dust whenever they shake their feathers. I don't actually believe in 'beginner' birds as this smacks of someone wanting something cheap to 'practice' bird keeping which won't mean a financial loss if they manage to kill it or if they get fed up with the noise and mess after a month or so.
What are your expectations when you imagine having a bird?
If in the front room you know you cannot use air fresheners, plug ins, candles, incense sticks ect and that nobody can smoke near it.[/quote]


is this true for all birds.........and the reason being???????.............the obvious???!!!

Hey Ditta,

Birds are extremely susceptible to fumes & aerosols. So smoke is a big no-no around birds!

[fenwoman]

[quote=ditta;2778210]

Originally Posted by fenwoman

Gouldian finches? Not noisy, very colourful and smallish. Lovebirds?
What exactly do you want? A hand tame pet, or a couple of smaller none touchable pets to sit and watch? There is sadly no such thing as a quiet parrotlike bird, all make noise, all make mess, most leave clouds of feather dust whenever they shake their feathers. I don't actually believe in 'beginner' birds as this smacks of someone wanting something cheap to 'practice' bird keeping which won't mean a financial loss if they manage to kill it or if they get fed up with the noise and mess after a month or so.
What are your expectations when you imagine having a bird?
If in the front room you know you cannot use air fresheners, plug ins, candles, incense sticks ect and that nobody can smoke near it.[/quote]


is this true for all birds.........and the reason being???????.............the obvious???!!!

Firstly, birds lungs are a little different to ours inasmuch as not only they have lungs but air sacs throughout their bodies. Any fumes get drawn into so much more of their bodies. All air fresheners, plug ins, candle, incense sticks, cigarette smoke and the like isn't just breathed in but actually leaves a coating on the feathers which the birds ingest when they preen themselves. They have such tiny bodies that it only takes a little to considerably shorten their lives, cause cancers etc. If you smoke, don't do it near birds and if you handle them or indeed any pets, wash your hands after you've had a fag. I used to smoke but now don't, unless I visit Nerys and I buy a pack of 10. However, if she offers to let me hold one of her animals, I wash my hands first out of habit, would never hold an animal in one hand and a fag in the other. If I choose to poison my body that's one thing, I wouldn't want to inflict it on an animal or bird.
Visitors to my place are allowed to smoke in the scullery but not in the parlour where I have my lizards, not in the study where I have birds.
I personally hate air fresheners in any case. It seems crazy to me to pay good money to pump chemicals into your home where they get on your skin and into your lungs causing who knows what problems later in life. Keeping the house cleanish, not having carpets (nasty smelly unhygienic things) and opening the windows first thing in the morning for a good blow through even in winter even if only for 10 minutes, will go a long way to freshening the air in your home without that ghastly sickly overpowering synthetic smell. It makes me heave when I go somewhere they have them and my clothes stink of it. so I have to come home and shower to get rid of it.
My mother <spits> gave me one of those memory foam mattress topper thingies which she had bought only 3 weeks previously. I put it on my bed and the whole thing reeked of her glade plug in thing. I had to hang it out of my bedroom window for nearly a week before the stink started to abate. People don't realise that everything gets permeated by the chemicals, not only dense memory foam but your clothes, furniture, the fur and skin on your animals and the feathers, lungs and air sacs of your pet birds.

[Lucy_]

Like all have said it depends on what u want to pay etc...
My first was a cockatiel, but these are VERY vocal and their squarks can go through you at times, everyone is different because you will get some people who absolutly hate cockatiels and will never own one, and the same goes for other birds so really its down to you and what sort of bird you are wanting.
Canaries are nice little birds, and dont tend to bite either and they come in so many different colours and 'styles' lol like the gloucsters which have a cool hair-do lol, also lovebirds but these at times are also very vocal, but you can get some gorgeous colours.

another fantastic bird is a black headed cague, but these are alot more expensive than your £20-£40 type, they are very tolerant and sociable.

If u give us a few more ideas as to what you want from a bird and what price you are wanting to pay then it will be easier to help