Celestial parrotlets as beginner parrot or something else?

[BlackRose]

I wouldn't be getting one yet..possibly when Steve has had his transplant or sometimein the future. I have always wanted a parrot.
When I was younger I had always loved parrots and similar birds since having had cockatiels and budgies.
One cockatiel (who passed away two days ago R.I.P Tufty), was bought as a hand reared baby. He was very affectionate and would sit on you for ages and be held. He would fly to you on command, mimic the phone and like to play.
He would only nibble and lick, never bite.
Even being moved to an avairy he stayed tame.

I was looking into possibly getting a cockatiel or budgie, but decided against it. Budgies constantly chatter and cockatiels are very noisy.

I know parrots are high maintinance and I know the requirements and behaviours of each one.
I had been looking into the celestial parrotlet seeing as they are only the size of a budgie, can usually only be kept singly and being quieter they make good apartment pets. Also for me withmy low pain threshold a smaller beak would be better.

Before anyone says anything, I am not looking into getting a parrot for entertainment purposes but to experiencing owning one.
However having done the looking into and knowing I can own one in the future I would like to ask about the unimportant things that many people experience when owning a parrot.

African grey are my favourite, although labelled as a level 3/4 bird. They can talk very fluently. The beak puts me off. I don't fancy losing a finger if the parrots peeved one day.
Parrotlets are not noted for their good voice or vocabulary which is disappointing on that front as I would love one that would talk/ sing/ learn tricks etc.
Again just as extra enjoyment out of the ownership.
Does anyone own one and can you shed any light on just how good these guys are as beginner pets please and how good at talking etc they are.
They're supposed to have a quiet voice and are not as talkative as cockatiels or budgies, also noted for not screeching.
Makes me wonder though if it would be the same as a budgie where you don't hear what they're saying properly. It's more of a mimicar than a talker.

[BlackRose]

anyone?
i know its a long post. sorry

[pigglywiggly]

i had two lutino ones living together happily in my kitchen, they had a mad 15 minutes of lovely singing in the morning, lovely birds but quite shy and sweet.

never kept one on its own tho!

[LiamRatSnake]

Parrotlets are even smaller than a budgie lol. They are nothing like keeping a parrot really, they don't need half as much work. I've noticed with the ones I've met and worked, they seem to have a habit of being terretorial and biting each others toes, but I don't know if they're like that if they live together. They handle well and their bite isn't too painful. I've not noticed that they're particularly intelligent compared to other small birds, lovebirds/cockatiels ect.

[BlackRose]

I heard unless they are male and female you should keep only one celestial in a cage cos they can get very territorial and have a tendancy to attack other birds.
One place told me they will do everything big parrots do and the other place told me they dont do anything...that they are just like lovebirds.

[LiamRatSnake]

Originally Posted by BlackRose

I heard unless they are male and female you should keep only one celestial in a cage cos they can get very territorial and have a tendancy to attack other birds.
One place told me they will do everything big parrots do and the other place told me they dont do anything...that they are just like lovebirds.

I think lovebirds are more intilligent. None the less, parrotlets are fantastic birds and are extremely sweet and gentle, usually lol

[xXFooFooLaFluffXx]

before we got jack the african grey, we had only had love birds and budgies, and jack is very well looked after with a massive 6fttall by 4ft by 4ft cage to live in. im not sayin just get whatever bird but i wouldnt go for a low level bird if you want it because its low level does that make sense? i believe if you do your reading, pick the brains of experienced keepers and can provide the housing etc i dont see why theres any reason why you couldnt get a grey.

[Sarah-Jayne]

I had a hand reared celestial parrotlet. He was lovely and friendly as a baby but for some reason once I brought him home he decided he didn't want to be anywhere near me perhaps I spoilt him too much. He was obviously lonely as he was constantly calling. I had to part with him as I felt bad keeping him by himself and I couldn't risk or afford buying him a girl I felt bad parting with him but I know it was for the best.

I would recommend getting one though, I just think that mine was unhappy when I had him that is all. The other babies from the same breeder were always stuck to their owners like glue lol

It depends how much space you have for a cage and stuff really

I have a black capped conure, he is really funny, he is permanently attached to either me or one of my flatmates lol

[*mogwai*]

parrotlets are lovely little birds but there are other birds that i feel would be suitable for a beginner. you're not limited to parrotlets if you want a smaller bird that's suitable for an apartment.
pionus for instance, bigger than a parrotlet & teil but not as big as a grey & not known for being noisy. they aren't known for talking but mine laughs and whistles 'pop goes the weasel' perfectly.
green cheek conures are another fun little bird. but i think they can have a tendancy to be a bit loud. not got much experience with them so i may stand corrected.

[Sarah-Jayne]

I may have had the exception to the rule with my parrotlet but I was always led to believe that they were quiet, but I can safely say mine wasn't. I don't know if it was because he was unhappy or something but he could beat my conure in a noise competition hands down lol bless him!

I noticed you mentioned about noise, I would suggest finding a breeder local to you and going to see some parrotlets as you may be surprised just how loud they can be. They have a pretty strong beak too but then again all birds can bite if they want to.

That being said I loved my little parrotlet to bits and if I had more money to buy him a friend and no neighbours I would have kept him.

As teshu mentioned green cheeked conures can be loud when they want to be, or at least that is what I have heard. They can also be rather nippy. My black capped is the same, if he knows that I am home and I leave the room he is not happy lol

I would say go for the bird that you REALLY want to get, I don't believe in beginner animals so long as you do your research etc first