What birds would be good for a responsible 12 year old?

Question

I wa thinking a lovebird or a parakeet..

Answer 1

maybe a parakeet, or a cockatiel, they are the easiest birds to have i think. cockatels in my opinion are a better choice they live longer and are more affectionate, and loving.

Answer 2

Yeah, definitely parakeets. I got a conure when I was 9 or somewhere around then, and I didn't really know how to handle him. my litlte brothers both got a bird (one cockatiel and another conure) a year after that and they don't really know what to do. Now I'm 13 and taking care of all 3 basically on my own with a little bit of help from my parents. My cousins kinda copied our family and got 2 parakeets. They're definitely doing alot better with them. parakeets are quieter, take less attention, and don't bite as hard. I'm not saying I don't like my birds, just that I should've gotten something smaller. But DON'T GET A FINCH!!! They don't cooperate at all, and they fly everywhere. every time I go to a pet store with birds or a bird show, I see the employees or sellers always having to go after at least 5 of them with a net and they always run into something. It's a little funny, but I don't think anyone would want to have to do that at home.

the point is get a parakeet. Lovebirds are good too. Thing is they get attached to one person easily, take a while to get used to any more people, and when they go to the other people, they get aggressive with the first person. At least that's what happened with my uncle. Maybe If you want to get a lovebird or any other kind of bird, take care of the parakeet for a year or two and then add on to your pet 'collection' and get another bird.

Answer 3

I would say and agree with a parakeet. Parakeets are fairly small and are a great pet for children. Lovebirds sometimes bite, they have a beak that makes it uneasy to hold. So I think a parakeet is the better choice.

Parrots and cocktails and other "large" birds should not be given to a 12 year old.

Answer 4

I've never had a love bird but a parakeet makes a great pet. Just be sure that she understands that a parakeet needs love and attention every day. The bird should be aloud to fly out side of its cage for exercise everyday. Parakeets, if given time, can become loving , friendly pet.

Answer 5

Finches if the kid only want to watch the bird and not touching or playing with it. If not, parakeet or a lovebird would be a much better choice. I personally prefer budgies as they cost less and they are just as spunky and trainable in personality. Get a hand-reared parakeet, they are much easier to train and your kid will be hooked!

Answer 6

We have both parakeets and cockatiels.

My 13 year old is the owner and caretaker of the tiels, and my 11 year old has the keets.

The tiels are a lot friendlier, as they tend to be hand raised by breeders, and so are more human bonded when you get them home. Our keets have been with us for nearly a year and still won't come to the finger, but are at least not freaking out when a hand goes in the cage now.

Male tiels can learn to talk and mimic various musical whistles. They are a load of fun. I'd say get her a male cockatiel and a nice BIG cage. (At least 24 inches square).

Answer 7

Have you thought about a Caique?
(It's pronounced: "Ky-eek")
There are 2 types: a black headed Caique and a white-Bellied Caique.
They are absolutely wonderful and are considered the Clown Princes of the Parrot World.
They adore lots of toys and will spend time on their backs with a toy in their feet playing with it.
They are small-ish in size, a little bigger than a cockatiel, more the size of a Quaker Parrot.
Here are some websites:
http://caiquesite.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caiques

http://www.caiquecapersandmews.com/

This will at least give you an idea about the species.

If you don't think a Caique would fit in, please considering adopting a parrot. There are so many wonderful parrots available that would love to have a good home.
As I don't know where you live, I'll list a few websites. If you contact the one closest to you, they might be able to direct you to a reputable one nearest your home.
http://www.aeras-parrots.org/index.html

http://www.clevelandpeac.org/CMS/

http://www.fosterparrots.com/

http://www.parrothelp.org/

http://www.phoenixlanding.org/

http://www.thegabrielfoundation.org/Home/

http://www.maars.org/index.php

http://www.peac.org/

Any one of these would be more than happy to help you.
Good Luck with your search!

Answer 8

I only have had parakeets - if this child can socialize with it when they come home from school and some one is home a bit during the day so as to have some action and some social activities around it - then baby handfeed one because it will be easier to socialize to have one to play with and somewhat of a companion. If you get the reg. aged ones that most pet stores have in their cages they will be harder to retrain to be as social with humans-the longer they are with other ones the more difficult it will be to have them bond with humans. Not all Pet Stores have hand reared Parakeets or Budgies but you could check in the classifieds or on the internet for breeders or familys who breed and sell the younger ones. They also may be cheaper then the Pet stores. Here in Canada its $15 to $20 for Reg. ones and $50 for hand reared ones. If you can find a household who sells babies from there own Pet Budgies then they would be alot cheaper.

You can get one use to you with the appropriate steps and add another one later if you want to and sometimes they still will pay attention to you as you have orginally bonded with it but have another one to keep it company if people are gone during the day.

Answer 9

You'll laugh, but I'd say a chicken. They are friendly, easy to tame, fun and hardy. You can pick them up. Banty hens are small and nice. They also live a long time, and their care is relaitively easy.

Although lovebirds and parakeets can make wonderful pets, they must be hand rasied from babies ( the breeder does this) to be really friendly.

Answer 10

Absolutely. It would be hard to decide which one. They are both precious. I have only had experience with parakeets, so I am in favor of parakeet, and get a male. You can tell by the color of their cere, located just above their beak. The male has a blue cere. Females have a brown cere. Males learn to mimic sounds faster than females. I prefer the bright blue parakeets. They seem to be more gentle.

Answer 11

I can see most of you say parakeet, which I agree with. I have one myself.
His name is Birdi, and he's adorable.
Parakeets are hilarious, friendly, bond with you, and can be taught to do fun tricks that everyone, including the parakeet, can enjoy. It's extremely fun listening to them whistle, chirp, and copy a lot of sounds, not to mention talk if they learn how to talk.
For example, Birdi can drop a bell into a cup, ring a bell when he wants attention, lay in the palm of my hand, and he loves socks. As you may have guessed, he lo-o-o-ves bells. He goes beserk without this purple and green one.
They have to, of course, be taken care of, but generally they don't require a ton of work, and if you take good care of them you won't have to pay tons of vet bills.
Hope you're able to get one, they're very enjoyable, as almost all birds are. =D