Budgie, cockatiel or canary?

[Brendatheblender]

We are looking for a feathered friend to come to live with us as a family pet with young bird mad DCs.

Me and DP both had birds growing up (a looong time ago) and our family still keep lots of birds so we have lots of experience but can’t decide on what bird to get.

DF and I kept lots of exotic birds whereas DP grew up with finches and budgies.

I would love to hear your experiences with birds as family pets to help us make our decision.

[SuperLoudPoppingAction]

If you go for a cockatiel it is well worth finding a hand reared one.
Otherwise they can be a bit wary of people.
They do emit lots of powder which can generate a bit of extra cleaning.
They're also quite noisy.

I love ours but I get the impression he would be an annoying pet for some people.

Budgies are a bit smaller so a bit quieter as well. They're also tiny parrot types who might bond with you like a cockatiel might.

Canaries sing and chirp but won't ever sit on your shoulder or eat from your hand as far as I know.

A finch would go in the Canary category as well, for me.

I would maybe make it a family decision but steer away from a cockatiel unless everyone was passionate about them and wouldn't mind the noise.

[Brendatheblender]

Thank you for your reply.

Noise isn’t too much of an issue. I grew up with one who imitated phones to perfection, many a time I ran to answer the phone for it to be the bloody bird

DC and I are edging towards a budgie, partner towards a canary.

[SendYouUpinFlames]

My African grey would do that. Oh I'd looove to get a bird.

Good luck OP!
Please upload pics once done lol love bird photos!!

[Brendatheblender]

I would love an African grey, bearui birds.

Will definitely upload pics.

DS asked if the bird could have its own YouTube channel

[Brendatheblender]

*beautiful even.

[SuperLoudPoppingAction]

A green conure is very interesting and playful if it gets enough attention and expert care. They're small and probably couldn't remove a small-person finger.

My cockatiel sits on my laptop and pulls the keys off if I let him (don't usually let him, but at first I was so glad he wanted to be near my hands) but his bites don't hurt and he doesn't claw me.

[jarviscockatiel]

My cockatiel is currently sleeping on my shoulder giving me a welcome break from stopping him ripping off the laptop keys - so glad I'm not the only one suffering.
I second the idea of getting a hand reared one. Ours was totally able to be held the minute we opened his travelling case. He's got such a huge personality for such a tiny creature. Totally recommend them.