Anyone got one/a pair?

My son wants a canary for his birthday but I'm thinking I should get something a bit hardier - and cuter,

I used to have a pair - shy little creatures

I have had parrots and parakeets as well as finches and canaries

and 2 really cool cockatiels

I started enjoying birds when I was around 7 and had them up until about 3-4 yrs ago

So do you recommend a pair?

I've had lovebirds before, 2 pairs and they are pretty, but timid and due to this harder to handle then canaries or budgies.

I prefer canaries because of the singing.

JustErin said:

For a little one

Does he just want to look at them or does he want physical interaction ?

JustErin said:

I don't. I do recommend cockatoos, canaries or budgies especially because it's for your son and he will want more interaction then lovebirds can offer.

PanthaGirl said:

lovebirds are timid and do not usually like physical interaction

parakeets and cockatiels seem to be a better small bird for that kinda thing

PanthaGirl said:

He won't be handling it at all. He understands that he is too young at this point. I don't want any kinda of horrible accidents.

He really has his heart set on a canary but I'm concerned that if that thing gets out it will be impossible to catch and I have a cat...

Mach said:

So very true, I love birds I wouldn't want to live without one in my home. My last canary 'Robbie' passed away about a year ago (named after my childhood friend that died) so I'm on the hunt for a couple of new birds. Maybe a combination (?) I'll have to do some serious searching.

JustErin said:

LOL yah I have a cat and a dog but when my canaries got out if was a bit hard to get them back in but I had a net for that reason and normally only take a half hour to do so. It becomes easier with time and managing ways for them to not escape the cage. In regards to my budgies 'Rocky I - VI' I would eliberately let them out because they are very friendly and enjoy being perched on peeps shoulders and hands and are playful.

PanthaGirl said:

I just want to make the right decision because once I get a pet I do not give them away if things don't work out as well as I wanted. Animals really become a part of our family and I think it's really important that my son learns very early that pets are not disposable.

I had budgies as a kid - I really like them but my son is adamant about not getting one. I have no idea why.

I'm just glad I was able to convince him that a ferret is not what we want. His second choice was a bird so here I am trying to figure this all out.

JustErin said:

I hear yah lovely and appreciate the attitude U have towards pets because they are for life so that's refreshing. Seeing as ur son has specified he does not want a budgie then I can only suggest a canary, a male one if he wants it to sing otherwise stick to a female as they do not sing. Hope that helps somewhat.

JustErin said:

P.S. Ferrets are definately a no-no, very messy and smelly, lots of maintenance involved. Also I don't recommend snakes, spiders or tortoises especially the african sulcata.

JustErin said:

We had a cat and two parakeets. The parakeets were in a locked cage behind a closed door. The cat opened the door, got into the cage, and killed the birds. We got home to the most horrific scene: Feathers and little blood splatters all over the floor.

And the creepiest part: The ripped-up body of one of the parakeets, with two of the little wooden poles from their perches on top of her body in the shape of a cross.

We have cockatiels and peach ring-neck doves, both are good options. Tiels are great if you get one that has been handfed, they are fairly sturdy and love people. They do require quite a lot of attention as they are smart and easily get bored. You probably have to play with them at least three hours a day. More would be better.

Doves are tame from birth and don't require as much interaction. They are sturdy and smart too I have three cats and a couple other cats that visit often, plus two dogs. There hasn't been any problems except making sure the other animals aren't in the room when the doves are out of their cage. Some of the cats sit right on top of the bird cages and the birds aren't even fazed.


There are smaller diamond doves that are beautiful, but they are fragile and generally aren't handled very much.

Small children aren't as intimidated by the doves as they are by the cockatiels.



http://www.youtube.com/wa...H1Bcx2b8jw

http://www.youtube.com/wa...vg_4mUSaAA

PunkMistress said:

Eeeek that's ominous. Poor lil birds.

JustErin said:

I'm sorry that's not funny at all.

Birds freak me the fuck out.

PunkMistress said:

Mari did it.

I have a horrible baby bunny massacre story as well...but I won't get into it here.

So...so far I can't find any lovebirdies for sale.

that reminds me of the time my dog, cat and iguana were all locked inthe bathroom together, and,,,,,

lets just say the iguana didn't fully make it out alive

My Mom use to have a couple of lovebirds that I inherited by default. Sweet little guys, but I hate the whole cleaning the bird cage bit and they always seemed to get the birdseed everywhere.

I could send you some frogs.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

I have a feeling that my dog will eat any spillage - he seems to want to eat everything.

shellyevon said:

Thanks for the info!

How much are they??

Last time I went to PJ pets they were expensive. They are cute. Feed it, water it, clean its cage.

I think a pair would be great rather than one. Some stores might recommend getting two instead of one.

luv4u said:

I dunno, I'm seeing everything from $50 to $150 each.

JustErin said:

There you go!

We had birds when I was growing up. We had cockatiels, several kinds of cockatoos & an Eclectus Parrot.
When I was about 22 years old I got a male love bird. I had a cat and was living in an apartment so I wanted a smaller bird than we had growing up.

The love bird was an ok pet, kids seemed to get bored with him quickly though. One day I came home and saw that the spare bedroom door was open. I always kept it closed when I was not home just in case the cat got any ideas. I walked in and the top of the bird cage was on the floor, the base still on the stand. So I had to search the room for Bo the Lovebird.
I looked over at the day bed and saw the cat backed in the corner looking fearful and Bo standing in front of him with his wings out.
I am not sure how long he was out but he managed to scare the cat by moving his wings and threatening to fly.

Birds can be good fun, especially the talking ones. I had fun teaching my mom's cockatiel lots of words.
He was a character, lived a long time.
The downside is the messy cage. Oh and all of the dogs loved to clean up the seed and veggies that the birds dropped on the floor.

I just found two looking for a home at the local humane society!

MrsMdiver said:

I just think they are so damn cute!