I know a guy who has one. He will stand on his perch, flap his wings and say "I'm a fuckin' eagle" ...lol.. Quite the character!

I relate this TRUE story to you only as a source of info to help you in your decision-making.

I was roommates with a girl once who had a Blue & Gold Macaw. His name was Bill, & Bill's bill was a destructive force beyond measure for a creature his size. He gnawed his way into, or out of anything he had a mind to. He ate through the sheet rock (both sides) to access a room he was locked out of. He can-openered his way into a roll-top desk, & even broke a couple of welds on his wrought iron cage. They probably weren't good welds to begin with, but still. Dude was a badass.

He had a ton of personality too, but it was all asshole. One night I was awoken in the middle of the night hearing the neighbor kids out back riding their dirt bikes at 3:00am. I made my way to the back door to scream at them & no one was out there. I turned around to head back to bed & as I walked by Bill he cackled his little laugh, & quietly but very clearly said "fuck you" in his wicked little voice. As I shut my bedroom door he started back up with the dirt bike noise. "Ring-ding-ding-ding going up through the gears. It would have been comical if he wasn't such a pain in the ass.

I didn't last long at that house.

Don't do it. You will regret your decision, for a really, really long time. There is a reason why there are so many bird rescues out there.

ETA they are noisy as fuck and bite really hard. If you yell at them, they will only mock you.

Parrots and parrot-like birds may live anywhere from 40 to over 70 years.
Most suffer terrible anxiety when their long time owners die or seperate from them after having established long bonds.
They pluck out their feathers, don't eat and harm themselves in other ways.
Please consider this when buying such a bird.

Consider maybe a Cockatiel or Quaker parrot. Much smaller and don't live as long though Quaker parrot can still live to around 30. We have both and like them a lot. Our Quaker, who was a rescue bird, parrot does not talk but he does cough, bark, and laugh. If you do consider either be sure to get hand raised. It can also be hard to find a good vet for birds. We are lucky to have an outstanding avian vet we use. My Quaker parrot only likes me but is tolerant of other family members and never had a problem with him chewing up furniture. He is a very smart little bugger. If he gets impatient with my wife he may nip her and when she screams he knows he is in trouble so he flies to his cage, goes inside, and closes the door LOL.

https://www.thesprucepets.com/...uaker-parrots-390854

I dated a girl in Grad school who had an African Grey and was extremely smart and could carry on a conversation with you.

The bird loved her and she would let it fly free in her home when she was there. She also let it sit on the top of the windshield of her MG when the top was down in the city...quite a site.

She had to go to New Orleans to get he Masters License (Unlimited) for about two weeks and asked me to take care of the bird. Suffice to say that when she was gone the bird was a complete Asshole and made a mess and tried to attack me every time I tried to clean the cage...I ended up buying a pair of welding gloves in order to stick my hand in the cage...Yikes!

My aunt had an african grey for decades. That bird just looked psychotic. I never once dared to attempt to stick my finger anywhere near him.

I’ve owned parakeets and cockatiels as a kid. I’ll never own a bird again.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
Do you really want the parrot to sound like your MIL?

I call her "Ninja MIL", she cleans, cooks, takes care of the boy...without making any noise. She is learning english but speaks russian primarily. I understand a little russian so....unless it says "хочешь пива" I really don't care

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
If you buy a Norwegian Blue, be sure to read the fine print on the warranty.

But they have beautiful plumage.....

Thinking I will just get allergy shots...

I own and highly recommend a TIMNEH African Grey as opposed to a CONGO African Grey. African Greys are in general much quieter in volume than Amazon parrots, Conures, Macaws, and most definitely quieter than Cockatoos.

Most of the noise mine makes is lots of talking. I would guesstimate he knows 150 plus words and many sentences. For instance, He calls the dog, calls the kids by name, asks me how I slept, how my day was, requests blueberries, etc. Blows kisses too. Suffice to say highly intelligent.

If you get one, get a parrot that is still young and has been hand fed.

Whatever you decide definitely do lots and lots of research. They do live many decades and really become a part of your family.

My kids are 5 years, 11, and 14 and they know how to interact.

To own a bird, you REALLY need to be a bird person.

I have always been fascinated with birds of all kinds. I am willing to accept whatever Roxy can dish out as she is not domesticated and will always be a wild animal that has been forced into my environment.

I've had Roxy 25+ years now. When I got her, I was barely 25 years old, completely clueless of what I was getting into. However I promised her I would NEVER abandon her no matter what.

There is absolutely no way to domesticate something that has a single offspring with an unpredictable set of traits that only manifest after several years.

You must learn flock behavior and accept that the pet may only bond with a single family member. My cockatoo absolutely adored my ex wife. After 10 years divorced, my beloved pet still misses her and the ex wife never loved Roxy back.

Roxy WILL destroy a hat if she can get near it, she munches your buttons off as if it's a game, she will gnaw through the wall with little effort to make a nest every year, unless she can get to the clothes dryer and nest in that.

With the difficulties comes a reward that no other pet can give you, a lifetime companion that can actually communicate with you.

One of my favorite success stories is the family of Buttons on YouTube. This is what life can be like with a properly socialized and mentally stimulated cockatoo.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZLRyR1yJRo

quote:

Originally posted by dewhorse:
Details;
- 6yo boy - he is very loving and gentle but still a 6yo boy.
- good sized house, 2 story
- I will traveling a great deal and my wife works 7-6 daily. My MIL will be home during the day.

Don't get a parrot in that situation. You wont be home, your wife works, and your MIL and son will be stuck with the thing.

They live a LONG time. They can be huge PITAs. Expect the resale value of your house to take a hit when you move from the damage and eternal smell of a bird.

If your wife had a parakeet as a child, get another parakeet. Good news is it'll only last a couple of years.

My 2-cents.

Birds don’t “smell”. If their cages are kept clean, they are pretty frickin odorless. And if well cared for, all will live more than a few years. As Marzy said, you need to be a “bird” person. They reward you for life. I’d never give mine up willingly.
To OP, I’m not saying not to get a bird- just do your research so you get a bird that best suits your personalities- they are all very unique depending on sub species. I have a six-year-old child with three greys and a conure and they do just fine together.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
Birds don’t “smell”. If their cages are kept clean, they are pretty frickin odorless. And if well cared for, all will live more than a few years. As Marzy said, you need to be a “bird” person. They reward you for life. I’d never give mine up willingly.
To OP, I’m not saying not to get a bird- just do your research so you get a bird that best suits your personalities- they are all very unique depending on sub species. I have a six-year-old child with three greys and a conure and they do just fine together.

This +1! No smell.

You can name it Onan, because it will spill its seed.

quote:

Originally posted by Fusternc:
I own and highly recommend a TIMNEH African Grey

Friend of ours had a brother was in the Merchant Navy and had an African Grey - type unknown. This bird could do things that were totally out of this world. You could creep up to the study where the bird was kept when ashore, and over-hear, usually, one of two performances -

1. The Captain's table dinner night - everything was there, from the low-key conversation, the tinkling of silverwear and Grace and the 'Loyal Toast'. It took about twenty minutes to go through and was worth paying money to listen to.

Or

2. The Dubliner's 'Finnegan's Wake', about as realistic as you can imagine. Astonishing to say the least.

However, there was a lot of Kate Bush woven into it, stuff like 'Heathcliff' and 'Running downhill'[?]


The instant you walked into the room they stopped in mid-stream.

My late great-uncle Ted had a female raven living with him. She was not a lot of fun, to tell the truth, but latched on to me when I was coming into my teens. She used to ride on my handlebars when I went down into the village, just like a radiator mascot. She was a mailman cap-badge thief, in the days when Royal Mail posties used to wear a nice brass badge in their hats.

She used to fly away most days for whatever it that ravens do during the day, but always came back around dusk, pecked on the front door to be let in, walked around the house to see that Ted was there, and walked out again to spend the night in the old stone coach barn.

One day she flew off and never came back.

Ted died the next day.

When we were clearing out the house we found about forty or fifty brass cap badges hidden in the eaves of the coach barn.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tacfoley,

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:

quote:

Originally posted by Fusternc:
I own and highly recommend a TIMNEH African Grey

Friend of ours had a brother was in the Merchant Navy and had an African Grey - type unknown. This bird could do things that were totally out of this world. You could creep up to the the study where the bird was kept when ashore, and here, usually, one of two performances -

1. The Captain's table dinner night - everything was there, from the low-key conversation, the tinkling of silverwear and Grace and the 'Loyal Toast'. It took about twenty minutes to go through and was worth paying money to listen to.

Or

2. The Dubliner's 'Finnegan's Wake', about as realistic as you can imagine. Astonishing to say the least.

However, there was a lot of Kate Bush woven into it, stuff like 'Heathcliff' and 'Running downhill'[?]

My late great-uncle Ted had a female raven living with him. She was not a lot of fun, to tell the truth, but latched on to me when I was coming into my teens. She was a mailman cap-badge thief, in the days when Royal Mail posties used to wear a nice brass badge in their hats.

She used to fly away most days for whatever it that ravens do during the day, but always came back around dusk, pecked on the front door to be let in, walked around the house to see that Ted was there, and walked out again to spend the night in the old stone coach barn.

One day she flew off and never came back.

Ted died the next day.

When we were clearing out the house we found about forty or fifty brass cap badges hidden in the eaves of the coach barn.

Damn.

We used to have crows when we were kids. Most would head south every fall come winter, and return in spring. One we called Bomber- went after the mailman (only the mailman) every day.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I dated a girl in Grad school who had an African Grey and was extremely smart and could carry on a conversation with you.

The bird loved her and she would let it fly free in her home when she was there. She also let it sit on the top of the windshield of her MG when the top was down in the city...quite a site.

She had to go to New Orleans to get he Masters License (Unlimited) for about two weeks and asked me to take care of the bird. Suffice to say that when she was gone the bird was a complete Asshole and made a mess and tried to attack me every time I tried to clean the cage...I ended up buying a pair of welding gloves in order to stick my hand in the cage...Yikes!

What about the bird?