Where do you get talking parrots from in England and how much would you expect to pay for them?

Question

Many people get them from other countries. Also are they hard to look after? I wanted to get my 9 year old niece one for her birthday.

Only problem is: She and her elder brother argue alot so something tells me that the parrot will constantly be saying something like :Sara is a dog! Sara is a dog!

If this happens does the parrot have a long memory because I'm sure their mum would like the parrot to forget this quickly in front of guests

Sorry, I didnt think- I don't want to trap a bird that should be free. It can be any bird that can talk that is a domestic pet. I didn't know cockatoos could talk.

Thank you for all the advice. I don't mind anybody saying it is the wrong bird for a child or actually berating me, it helps me make a decision. From the answers it seems to be a cockatiel or a budgie but I will have to diuble check with them to make sure they look after it, the kids will but their mum is the biggest kid, she will complain and kick her heels the most when it messes up her new house. If they don't look after it right I will look after it.

Answer 1

Hi

A parrot is a lotta lotta work and not really suitable for a child pet. They take a lot of care and attention, are very expensive - and are not suitable for novice care.

Budgies are always popular as children pets and so lovely to look at. Cockatiels can sometimes talk too though I think they can sometimes be vicious.

Most people would say that you should never buy a bird for its talking ability anyway as some never speak anyway.

Hope this helps and good luck

Answer 2

you don't buy a talking parrot. You buy an english bred hand reared parrot and teach it to talk. A parrot is an exotic demanding pet. Not suited to a child. They will scream and are unpredictable and can bite hard enough to take a child's finger off. They cannot be kept in a small cage all day long and fed on pet shop seedmix. They are absolutely NOT suited to be a child's pet.
They are difficult to look after inasmuch as you should be cooking suitable food, offering a good mix of mainly vegetables but some fruit also, daily, you also need to be sprouting stuff for them. You cannot smoke around them and the louder the household the louder they will be. I am horrified that anyone would even DREAM of buying one as a pet for a small girl. Most of the popular parrot species like some of the amazons and african greys cost around £600.
Has this girl actually SAID that she wants the challenge of caring for an avian species?
Apart from the parrot question, I am horrified and stunned that an intelligent human being would even consider bnuying a live animal as a surprise for a child. These are living beings not toys.
I suggect you buy her a barbie doll instead. At least she cannot kill it.

Lindiane: "something small like a cockatoo"???? You mean like one of my 16" long umbrella cockatoos? or the 14 inch ducorps? Both with screams so loud that they can be heard outside my double glazed house and right in the village 1/4 mile away in summer with my windows open? Cockatoos do NOT make good pets for anyone let alone a child. Whyever do you think they are small?

James: good info apart from the average ages. If your cockatiels only live 5 years you are doing something badly wrong. I have cockatiels here over 15 years old.Most of the larger parrot species live up to 60 years with macaws and cockatoos even longer.

Answer 3

No big parrot is a good idea for a 9 year old child. If the mother approves, a tame or hand raised budgie is a much better idea as a starter bird. Budgies do sometimes learn to talk although they talk very quickly which makes it difficult to hear. A budgie is part of the parrot family, he is a small gentle version, who loves to be part of his family. Big parrots as a rule do not like children. A larger parrot is also like having a 2 year old child in your home for the next 80 years. It requires a lot of attention, care, and due to high intelligence it requires stimulation or it may resort to self mutilation. Parrots are also most often 1 person birds and may not like the person they belong to but choose someone else. A larger parrot may also intimidate a child. They do not stay the cute babies. Cockatoos while very loving can also quickly become self mutilators in the wrong hands. They do bite.
Another starter bird is a cockatiel which is a mini version of a cockatoo. Conures make good birds for teenage children and require a bit more care and attention than a budgie or cockateil. I do not want to sound to negative but a large number of birds need rehoming because owners do not know what it means to care for a large bird when purchasing a baby.

Answer 4

This is not a good present for a nine year old as they are demanding animals and take a lot of looking after. I have two young children and three avairies of birds in the garden and a Jenday Conure in the house, I have also been breeding birds for over twenty years and my children have grown upwith them. Even the best hand tame birds will sometimes give a nasty nip when they have had enough and with a medium sized bird such as an African Grey they can break fingers quite easily. The larger you go in the parrot family the easier it is for them to cause more injury on small children. Look for the local pets suppliers shop in your area and then ask them to recommend someone to you for you to look at the birds before you buy one. I would recommend something like a cockatiel to start with as it will learn to talk and if it does bite it is not so bad on the hands of the children. They also live a lot less than the parrot would. average age of a parrot 25 years, cockatiel 5-7years. Good luck and hope you make the right choice.

Answer 5

Dont buy a parrot for a nine year old. Parrots are very sociable birds and require a lot of attention and looking after, they can live to about eighty years old. A nine year old will become bored with it. I have a hand reared African grey who learned to speak quite quickly because of the attention she got. Parrots can also give you a nasty bite if theyre not sure of you. try her with a smaller bird first.{so long as mum/dad is willing to step in if she does get bored with it]

Answer 6

I'd look in advertisements in the newspaper or something...I've never been to England so I wouldn't know where to get one.But parrots can be difficult because they are so big.If you're new with birds,why not try something smaller,like a cockatiel or a cockatoo?They can talk,but aren't as big.A bird as big as a macaw or a parrot can easily take a finger off if they get irritated.If you do decide to get one of these birds,be sure to get one that's already been hand-trained.

Answer 7

a parrot isnt a suitable bird for a child , i have a green amazon he is very noisy, messy and can and will bite really bad,my floor always has bird seed on it.i also have a cockatiel and would say this is a far nicer bird for a child,it now talks better than my parrot who for some reason no longer talks just squawks

Answer 8

My mother has a parrot and my lil bro and sis always fight using bad language an the parrot remember the words they said and said it infront of my parents guests then we gave the parrot to a another family and we got a cockatail and its just the cutest my sister taught it how to do the sexy whistle and every morning it does it even in front of people its really cute .

Answer 9

African Grey's are the best talkers, very clear with both accents and sounds. Very expensive to buy around 600 pound sterling.

Answer 10

I think they are a endangered species If not they should be They belong in the wild not stuck in a cage for someone to play with.
get your niece a dolly or dolls house