We dont have one now but in the summer we plan to start looking for one. We are either gonna get a macaw or an african grey. We want one that can learn to say quite a bit so I imagine we will get a grey. Can macaws learn to say quite a bit? When I have researched about good talking ability it is always the greys that are mentioned. I really love the look of the macaws though

Make sure you get your bird when it is a baby. Go visit and hold it everyday and you will have a friend for life. I bought a 5 year old Umbrella Cockatoo, He ended up only liking my husband and my older daughter. He would fly at me and bite hard. and my other daughters as well..Even when we clipped his wings he would climb down his cage and run over to me and bite. We gave him to a lady who rescues parrots . She is near us so my husband stops in and Haans remembers him...

i have a gray
 

:thumbup:her name is spencey, she can talk ,bark , and do some tricks. i used her for pet therapy. the residents loved her.:D

BridgettesMomma- I do not have a cat but I would imagine so that if brought up from baby they would do fine. Kiwi is pretty bossy but does enjoy playing with Stormy. My MIL breeds mini pot belly pigs and when she had a litter in the summer we bring a few babies home with us to find homes in our area since MIL lives 4 hours away. We had one that was 4 months old and Kiwi would actually ride on the piggies back around they house and scratch his head, the piggie loved it and kiwi actually liked the piggie alot too! I would suggest just like with finding a pup, do your research. Look online and find a breeder. I had to travel about 2hours to get my Kiwi from a good breeder who breeds them. I got to see the parents and the siblings. I paid $150 for mine which is a great price considering they range from about 150-250. They also have sun conures which are SOOO beautiful but will run you around $500. Do not buy from the pet store thats for sure I seen them at Petsmart and they were WAAAY over priced. A good breeder should sell you the baby around 12 weeks I believe and give you a hatch certificate and also stay in contact with you for any further questions.

double post ops!

If your are thinking about getting a larger bird, I would suggest getting one that has just been weaned from hand feeding, as they are bonded with people already, you can also finish out the hand feeding if you feel comfortable about doing that. both of mine I hand fed from babies. the smallest bird that I have hand fed from the time it was hatch was a love bird.
Look for a breeder in your area, or either a bird club. there are bird fairs where they sell ever type of bird from all ages, I would be careful at one of these though unless you find some from your area that you can call if you need help.

you ask about mawcaws they do talk some better then others, my sister has one and she talks but mostley screams, they are loud.

I have 2 greys, both over 20 yrs old. One I've had since he was about 1 week old, the other I adopted about 4 yrs ago after he was attacked by a raccoon while with his previous owners. They didn't like the noise or mess so kept his cage outside where during the night, the coon reached through the bars and caught him by the foot. He lost all but one toe on that foot and most of the use of it. Greys use their feet as hands to eat so he has a really hard time with daily life. I don't let them interact with the dogs because although my original grey has been raised with them his whole life, he's very bossy with them. He loves to sneak up on them and give a quick pinch to the tail, ear or anywhere else he can reach. He talks constantly and can imitate ANY sound he hears. It's like having a 2 yr old that never grows up. We do a lot of traveling with our camper and everyone goes along. They definitely attract attention everywhere we go.

What do you think of parrotlets?
I would like to get a bird (or two) and I'm torn between a pair of lovebirds or a parrotlet...
I've been told that GCC's are good....but I like smaller or bigger birds in different colors.

cats and parrots
 

Answer to question about cats and birds, you can train them not to poop on you. I trained my macaw very easily,he never pooped on me, might poop on someone eles but never me lol
I would play with him and after approx 15-20 min return him to the cage or stand and wait until he was just about to poop, i would say rocky go poop and,give plenty of praise a tit bit and back of the cage to play.
It didnt take him long to figure out what the word poop meant. I think the art of that one in my opinion is timing and, catching them at the right time and, quickly putting them back to the cage, if there already in the cage or on the stand, every time you see them just about to poop, say the birds name and say poop as with pups, plenty of praise.
Cats,I used to rescue cats and had 10 altogether, they have all past away now with age. I do have 1 stray cat now that has moved itself in but, i would never leave a cat in a room with any bird, you can never say never. I have heard of so many people saying how there cat gets along with there bird and have been brought up together, there cat would never harm the bird and desaster strikes, so much for my cat loves my bird and gets along just fine with it. My birds are all in my lounge now, my partner and me are both trained very well to shut the door and put the catch on when we leave the room. they used to have there own birdy room before i got devorsed but, this new house isnt as big as my other. Im not saying people with cats shouldnt have birds, but I dont agree with leaving a cat in a room unattended with any bird,it is asking for trouble, cats are cats. Pups have to be trained also to respect the birds to, not only can the pup get seriously hurt but so can the bird, the same goes with young children. I have been bitten, the greys bite is very painfull and they can crack a walnut with there beak, but the worst bite ever was a cockatoo, not mine my friends it hated women, wont tell you what i shouted there could be children presant lol phew that was a long answer i have my talking head on:D

parrots and talking
 

Hi, I can say that both the macaw and the greys are wonderful birds but, you can not know if there going to be great talkers unless it is an older grey, macaw that already talks. I have 3 greys billy age 14 is ex, he talks like me and learns from me, he can say baa baa blacksheep all the way through, i cant list how many things he can say there are far to many. He knows each dog by there names and knows which dog is which, he tells them to get from under the cage and get on there bed, he shout be quite when the other birds are talking, tell you to turn the light on when its getting dark, i could go on and on. MY grey mango is not an ex talker, he can say a few words and sentances but he is more of a mimicker, he will copy any noise, you cant tell the differance between the pups and the bird. MY grey coco does not say much at all, she is I think 5yrs now, she says a few words like hello coco, she will say anywool but i cant get her to say baa baa black sheep at all, as soon as i start she finishes the sentance with any wool. if there not great talkers they make up for it in many other ways, like micking can drive you mad though when you;ve run to pick up the phone and its not the phone lol My macaw was a very good talker for his age before he passed away. he used to ask what i was doing, when i gave him food he would ask if it was nice, when playing if he got a little bit to rough i would say firmly, thats not nice and he would gently put his beak around my finger and say, is that nice, I would say thats better,bless him he really was a fantastic friend, they all are and i still cry over the loss of him and my umbrella cockatoo. MY amazon doesnt talk much either but she makes up for it with her gently nature and, love that she gives. I do have to say though if this is your first parrot I would defo go for a smaller parrot first, macaws are a very large bird as im sure you know but, they can also frighten the living days lights out of you, when they reach the age of 2 they can become a handful and you really do need to be kind but firm with them. a friend of a friend lost his eye and the tip of his ear, he had parrots for many yrs and was very ex, that day i dont know for sure what really happend. Another thing that allot of parrots do to is to bond with 1 person, my billy lvs me to teach him new words, play tug on his toys but he wont let me stroke him under any price, he loved my ex and has now bonded to my boyfriend, im just her maid and i accept that,it was billy that once asked me for a kiss which she did every morning, then she decided to bite through my lip, looked like someone had given me a thick lip lol hey wasnt fuuny at the time, i was just on my way to work and all my work mate took the micky and didnt it sting lol good luck anyway.

Im glad you told me about your friend and the macaw. I am just researching now but I dont think I want a bird that is that powerful. I have an 8 yr old and shes the one that really wants a bird that talks. We almost got a parrotlet awhile back so that may be what I look into even though they dont talk. I have also been researching quaker parrots because they are smaller also. Whatever I get I will have to wait awhile because I first have to replace all my pans because they are teflon. Sso we need to do more research and preparing for a bird. I am so glad you posted though

I have a hideous Macaw named Hector ['he' laid and egg recently] he's 12 years old and barks louder and longer than my dogs. He talks too but not
nearly as much as he barks

Oh I forgot that when Papi is ready to do something mean like bite or fly at you he start this evil laugh..hahahahahaha. I wish I could discribe his tone. It sounds like the devils laugh...

If you want a bird that talks I would really go with the GCC, they do not get very big and they aren't totally small. I had a pair of lovebirds and they are LOUD and very very sneaky little buggers! I really would love a macaw too but from what I have read you need to have alot of experience with big birds since they are so powerful and they are not good birds for beginners, starting out small is a good way to learn how to take care of a bird.