question for any bird owners

We are considering getting a bird. And starting to look into what kind and what needs it will need. My first choice was a parakeet since thats what I grew up with. My husband is interested in a cockatiel.
I have 3 kids ages 8,9 and 11.

I guess my question is for those that have owned both what are your prefrences. My husband is worried cause we always let our paraketes out of the cage once the were trained to sit on your hand, shoulder ect. I would do the same for either birds (in a room with out the cats). My husband is afraid of them pooping if we take them out as a kid i dont remember mine going to the bathroom out of the cage.

This isnt something I plan on doing right away i want to make sure we have everything set up and decide what kid first. How are cockatiels with children/cats?

ANy advice would be appreciated.

Birds and cats basically don't mix, however used they are to each other it only takes one swipe from a cat to kill a bird, and cat saliva is toxic to birds.

This doesn't mean that you can't have both, but don't ever let them interact with each other! Our parrot is in a room that is off limits to the cat.

Both budgies (parakeets) and cockatiels make good family pets as they are easy to tame and although they may bond with one person more than another, they don't bond with one to the exclusion of all others, they will be friendly to all the family.

As far as children and birds go, how old are the kids? Young children should obviously be supervised when handling birds as birds are quite fragile and can't take rough treatment at all. Also all birds bite sometimes, budgies can be quite nippy and can draw blood, never been bitten by a cockatiel so I don't know what that's like!

Make sure you find an avian vet, general vets get very very little training about birds and cannot offer them good veterinary care.

Here are some links for you for good sites to have a look at:

Parrot Parrot

Winged Wisdom

Some links about toxins and health hazards for birds

Avian Vet listings for the US

With children, either a budgie or a tiel would be okay. I wouldn't get a larger parrot with children, though. If I were you, I'd do a cockatiel. They are easier to find hand-fed and easier to keep tame, plus they live longer than budgies. My cats are um... let's say intrigued by both my tiels and budgies, so I strongly suggest making some strict rules to protect whichever you get.

Those are some good links Epona provided... good luck!

Originally Posted by Epona

As far as children and birds go, how old are the kids? Young children should obviously be supervised when handling birds as birds are quite fragile and can't take rough treatment at all. Also all birds bite sometimes, budgies can be quite nippy and can draw blood, never been bitten by a cockatiel so I don't know what that's like!

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We have a bird room too! It works quite well when we remember to shut the door. Make sure you get a large secure cage in case your cats decide to become bird anthropologists (like mine have... heh).

One of my tiels is a sweetie and she has never bitten me, but the other one (although he sings quite nicely) has bitten me when I trim his nails... those little beaks have a lot of power! If it is tame, they don't see humans as a threat as much and don't bite as hard. Warning nips are pretty common though, but they don't hurt at all. It's more of head butt on your hand to warn you that you're doing something wrong.

Budgies constantly chatter, while tiels (males) sing and peep only in short bursts throughout the day. If noise is a factor, it depends on what kind of noise you can tolerate. I like budgie chatter, but it's annoying when I'm trying to study or take a nap.

I had a sweet little cockatiel named Ducky until July. He was only 2 years old when he died. He got a crop infection and we didnt know it. He was eating and acting normal one morning he was just dead. Brought him in to have a necropsy done. And they said he had the worst crop infection the vet had ever seen. He was my baby I had handraised him from the time he was 2 days old because his parents werent caring for him and his "breeder" said she didnt want to spend the time doing it. I loved him to death and he was the sweetest boy. He got grumpy when he was tired though. I would go with a cockatiel. They are much easier to get already tame and IMO are much nicer then all the parakeets we had growing up.

I have never had a budgie but tiels are my favorite bird for a reason. They are so sweet and little characters. I would get a hand fed one from a breeder since this is your first bird in a while. Pet store birds usually arn't as tame because they don't really give them as much attention as they need and it seems like they don't bother as much with smaller birds like tiels and budgies. Plus some pet stores sell sick birds so you are better off getting a tame, healthy one from a breeder or a tame rehome. They are just great little birds and I will always have one ( or a few lol) around. They do poop outside of the cage but they have such tiny poop its not a big problem...just keep a towel or paper towels around when they are out...after a while it just doesn't bother you.
You can train your cats to leave it alone with a spray bottle....but training only goes so far. Cats will be cats so you can never trust them with small birds. I would keep the bird in another room atleast at night time so it can be safe from the cats. You can get a cage that hangs but I would rather have a big cage and you can't really hang those from the ceiling.

I got my first tiels when I was around 10 or 11. I think your kids would love to have a bird...but just watch them with it.

I have 6 tiels and a 5 year old kiddo. She doesn't like them and they don't really like her. The problem is that she moves too much and too fast for them. My daughter doesn't like the "claws". She is whimpy when it comes to their nails but she lives to give them scritches as long as I'm holding them.

Birds do and will poop out of the cage but it comes right off. I just change shirts right after. Water and vinegar does wonders on everything else.

I put my cats up when i let the birds out. Like someone else mentioned, look for birds at your rescue. I adopted 2 from a rescue or look on your local bird club, I got 1 that way and the other 2 from an elderly friend.
Coconut I bought from a breeder, they are much much cheaper from a breeder and you will know for sure that they were in a loving home.
She is a lutino and I got her for 35$ when petco sells tiels for 140$.

Their diet is varied, seeds, some pellets and lots of veggies. Tiels and Parakeets will make loving pets. I know more about tiels although i had keets growing up.