Starter Birds | WHAT'S A GOOD FIRST BIRD? WHAT BIRD SHOULD YOU GET?

Great video. Non-birder here. You and Dave make owning birds look so easy, but it's obviously incredibly hard. I shall continue to live vicariously through your channel.. :P

I will live vicariously through all these wonderful bird parents. I will remain a doggie parent- I just re-homed 4 mixed tea cup chihuahuas. I have lived with pups most of my life- I have always loved birds- but, I know I can’t give them their best life. This was a great video! Thank you for your incredible knowledge an information! A note to all, think of the quality of life that the bird will have instead of the desire of having one. And, remember, one can always love and admire from afar! ❤❤❤❤

Such an absolutely informative and realistic video! I'm referring to any kind of a 'pet' when I agree with you by saying that so many people do not understand the commitment, or do any research what-so-ever before hey even lean towards acquiring one. I'm a former African Grey owner. And I do want another bird. I may never have one. Whether I adopt one from a rescue or acquire one form any other means, at my age, I don't have anyone who can continue the commitment to leave it to in my will. That's my first concern. Anyway! I absolutely LUV your videos! Thank you for sharing your life with birds with us, your followers and viewers. ❤

I thought it would be such a fun idea to go to a bird sanctuary/ rescue after watching this video but sadly there are none near me :(( if they are, its like 3-4 hours away 😭

Squealer T Jones! Middle name is trouble. They can live over 20 years. My cockatiel was hatched in 1971 and passed away in 2002.

Conures are awesome too they’re small to medium sized birds with huge personalities some talking abilities and they are extremely smart to the point my bonded conure I’ve had for 10 years now me and him can actually communicate on a verbal and non-verbal level I can ask him “hey want water?” And he will tell me non verbally what he wants and I can read it on him. It’s an amazing bond

Birds are so much fun!

Me and my parents lost one week ago our beautiful blue amazon bird Klara. We are heartbroken, she was not old at all. I'm already fantasizing about getting a new bird, but one that doesn't live as long and are "easier" to manage. But I know it's way too early, so I'll not take the step until I'm sure about it. I really liked your idea about visitting someone with a parrot or volunteering in an animal shelter. That way I can both help parrots and try be with parrots before considering getting one myself. If I do take the step, I'll only adopt a rescue bird and not shop for one.

The cockatoos with the smallest beaks are cockatiels, not galahs

Too long didn't watch. Which bird?

Budgies are the best starter birds

Which brid is the calmest

I run a small parrot rescue in Boise Idaho! There is not much here for parrots, our humane society calls me because they don’t know how to handle these birds. I saw a need and am doing what I can. We have 3 Littles myself and my husband and we run it from our home. It’s so important for people to understand that just because a bird looks cool on a video does not mean that’s what it will look like in their home! We work really hard to make sure all that fill our adoption applications have the knowledge and understanding of these birds. Thank you for your videos, they are very helpful 🙏.

I got chickens.

This is why I have 3 greys rehoming :(

I wish I could get a bird but I do not trust my cats and I won’t risk it.

Quakers are GREAT starter birds if you’re looking to later on get a more “intermediate” bird.

I had a conure as a 10 year old child, he was great. As an adult (I’m 27) I really wanted an Indian ringneck but decided to start out with a little green Quaker parrot as a first bird for different reasons. He has been great, and I plan to get a ringneck in February when breeding season starts back. Not long after that I want to get a Caique, and then sometime when the time is right a macaw/ and or an African grey is my end goal :)

Maybe I’ll cave and get another conure, everyone raves about cockatiels but I’ve never been a fan of any bird in the cockatoo family except for the galah….

But yes I HIGHLY recommend starting off with a Quaker parrot. Or conure. Depending on what you expect/ want and to do research on both. Also remember to never speak in absolutes with any species! they are all different and have their own personalities. Every single bird.

Good luck!! ❤ parrots saved my life. Hope this helps someone somehow. :)

I took your advice so I'm babysitting a Quaker right now and it's an awesome experience. Day 2 and he's already stepping up without biting and he's talking! Doesn't mean I want to own a bird but it's sure fun to have one in the house for a week and not feel trapped or committed.
I get that it's hard. I wouldn't choose a quaker likely, I think they can be major brats, and mean to people that isn't their 'person.
I would likely get a pionus or senegal, or even a parrotlet or budgie (I had budgies years ago)>
I may just become a part time bird sitter and never own a bird, or maybe a foster bird mom! That way I can experience all types of birds, it would be hard to pick just one.

I’m so happy I came across your channel!! I grew up with budgies and I’ve recently been wanting to add a bird back to my life. I thought I wanted something else but I really don’t think I do haha what’s not to love? And I personally would rather have a small bird. Especially one with so many vibrant colors. Thanks for sharing! I’m definitely going to keep watching 😊

I've been looking into different types of birds, not just parrots. But yeah, after doing some research, my conclusion is that I want to work with birds before considering adopting any.

Thank you for educating people including myself and in so saving more of these lovely birds from getting damaged.
🦜🦜

Rewatching this video 4 years later. It is still so good and worth watching again.

I watched this 4 years ago, didn't listen to her. Started with two cockatiels and somehow have 31 parrots right now 🥴🥴🥴. Listen to her guys. I've gone through hell in my life but nothing could turn my hair grey but my birds managed to do it 😂

Been obsessed with the idea of having a parrot.

No bird sanctuaries near me that rehome (unless it's into the wild) and not any aviary vets in my immediate area...

But seen hundreds of budgies/ cockatiels/ etc in pet stores where they're selling a LOT of colourful seed mix and teeny tiny cages...

I have seen your videos with Blueberry and he's wonderful! But my mother has had cockatiels as a child and recommends those!

Either way... waiting for my very much beloved but territorial pudding cat (he's decimated the local birds in the area!! No way am I gonna share the poop out of a poor lil bird by putting it in Toby's face) to finish his life before getting myself a bird! I have a wee while to decide.

Only issue is my husband isn't keen on it. He doesn't have to be obsessed with it... but I want him to be able to handle it in emergencies (flight trained, step ups, and held in the hand- not sure what else I'd consider essential at this point)

I recommend a cockatiel as a first bird. My first was a budgie he was amazing but I would still recommend for a first bird a cockatiel

Do you love your bird or pity it?

Chickens are definitely the easiest beginner bird lol.

I have been putting off getting a bird, cause i dont realy want to have alot of cleaning, i'm not so great at that , but i'm getting lonelyer by the day and i know having 1 will cheer me up , my dad does have birds, he had pigions , kanaries , parkeets , a african grey , and ofcourse i had to help take care of them, thats why i'm also attracted to birds. I narrowed it down to : cockatile, parrotlet , african grey. what would u say is something that i can consider , i dont know how to judge my experiance , but i can tell when the bird is doing good or bad , i can see when there molding , i know a bit of the general deseases , would u say i'm ready to make that dession and what would u pick.

I think about getting a green cheek conure a cockatiel or a budgie. I don't know anything about birds YET. So I am a total beginner. 🤔

I like friendly, intelligent, social birds that don't require to much of knowledge. I of course don't want that he/them (probably will get two) hate me! 😃 🙂

Awesome video! I have to start from scratch as I made tons of mistakes (Food and toys mainly) which make me so embarrassed to even mention any of this😵I am currently 37 years old. And yes, I got parrots when I was living with my parents😅 but keep in mind this was before 2004. Access to proper training etc was not as readily available here is South Africa. I lost some dear parrots to me and I feel guilty as I know I played some part in it somewhere. I wished I could have access to videos like these back then. I would have made better choices and have cared for them better. (I got my love of birds from my grandfather)
Ice and Frost: Blue Ringnecks - Got out of their cage where I moved to after leaving home (Got them as adults, Ice loved to talk)
Ruby and Jasper: Electus Parrots - Ruby died of a heart attack while we had her beak and nails trimmed (5 Years old) Jasper caught bird flu and didn't make it ( about 10 years old)
Roxy: Conure but not sure which one. She was staying with my best friend's parents as we settled into our new house. But it was for some time and my friend's mother bonded with her so I said let her stay there. I can always visit her as she is still there with their African Grey.
Inca: Hahn's Macaw All was great for 4 years then we moved and we have two dogs and it's a complex apartment. Needless to say she was so stressed with the dogs and the cats roaming the complex I made the decision to re-home her to a recommended rehabilitation center. This hurt me the most as I felt like the biggest failure. I miss her dearly but I know she will do better there. She was my last parrot around 2014.
I also had breeding Budgies, Fnches, Koketiels and 2 Sun Conures. My father made the decision to sell all of them when my parents divorced and we all had to move.
I now follow a dedicated group for care and adoptions here in SA whom I am sure follow your channel and many like it as their food and care overlaps a lot with your channel.
And there is a sanctuary we all agree on that is terrific to visit which I will most definitely do.
I guess it comes down to that I need training before I think of getting another bird.
Thank you so much for all your amazing videos🥰🥰

Gee, it is almost as if you were more intent in disuading one from getting a bird. Its like you are saying, "I have one, but not you. Don't get one. You're dumb and have no right to one." Sort of like an arrogant video. You still didn't go into detail of what birds to get and why. Yes, you listed three, but you focused on beak size. This was such a depressing video.

Kakariki are also a great starter bird.

How about a pigeon?

Dove sounds are cute I don’t know why your neighbors are complaining about it what the heck is their problem??

I have been a professional dog trainer and animal guy for many years. Birds totally were too much for me. I failed bigtime. But I have a quail now. Still a bird, but much easier and a nice pet.

I Sticked with a cockatiel as I prefer them, they look cute and can be tamed easily :)

How do I reach you by email?

I had a budgie once. A great little companion. Then I got a rescued conure. He was an ignored bird in a cage and was put in a spare room because he screeched alot. I bought him for cheap. Took me a day for finger training. In a year he said a few words, loved sitting on my shoulder, loved doing a hip hop and wings flapping dance to rock and roll. No more screeching. just wanted some attention.
Conure is a small bird, great friends and easy care. Recommend them to anyone. They are like people. Just want friends.

7 min in, no recommendation yet. no wonder birds bite her, so didactic and annoying, get to a point

Birds are very tough to handle.

Dog people: “I love my dog and you should totally get one!”

Cat people: “I love my cat, my cat hates me, and you should get one!”

Bird people: “Don’t get a bird.”

I had a five chickens once they lived in our backyard they were loud and we got a warning next warning would be a fine so we had to rehoming them chickens can be a good starter bird if you know a lot about them if you want a chicken I would recommend researching a lot about them

@Birdtricks
What do you think about a lovebird

Didn't know birds can out live us?! I guess I learn something new every day🤨

My 1st bird was a cockateil. Until soneone murdered him, he & I went everywhere together. My 2nd bird was a male Starling that fell out of the next, so young he had no feather. He was awesome! I named him Chatterbox, & he, my bitch Retriever, & female Cat were great friends, & often slept together. I use to have a pix of my Cat, Zorro snuggled up to, Velvet, my Deutsch-Langhaar bitch, with my Starling sitting on Velvet's head. Now I would like another bird. I know where there are sone Love Birds, & I have the opportunity to hand feed them early, which I woukd hope would make it think of me as a surraget mother. My question is what's your opinion of Love Birds? Being a widow, I live alone. I am looking for a companion who can go most everywhere with me. Living in a small place, I need a bird that doesn't require a lot of room.

What was the second recommendation? Hyenas parrot?

It's good that I'm wilder than the actual bird. Great match

None. None is good bc birds aren't born to be caged and owned. They're flyers, they belong in the sky and free.

So much info, thank you