In the survey the results show that Cockatiels are the most popular of bird among pet owners and rate at 35% of the pet birds owned by families in America.

Cockatiel

The small pet parrots species of parakeets or budgies actually became less popular in this Pet Survey and fell to 32% of pet parrots owned.

Budgie/Parakeet

The third place is actually a three-way tie at only 8% of Pet Parrots owned are the larger African Gray Parrot, tied in place with Conures and Lovebirds.

African Gray Parrot

Love Birds

Small Sun Conure

Firstly, I would like to mention that whether you decide to own a small parrot or a large parrot they will both require a good amount of attention given to them. Generally the rule of thumb is: The bigger the pet parrot is, the more attention that pet parrot will need. This doesn’t include the goffin cockatoo though. He is a much smaller parrot than the rest of his cockatoo family, but like all cockatoos even this small parrot will require lots and lots of attention. A cockatiel, on the other hand requires about as much attention as a pet budgie.

I am not talking about run of the mill budgie that can be picked up at the local pet shop for a dime a dozen. Many of these small parrots are bred only for the money and not much care has gone into familiarizing them with people to be sociable. Here again though, I don’t want you to think that these small parrots cannot make good pets. They too need attention and the more attention you spend with your pet parrots, the tamer and more sociable they will become.

When choosing a small parrot the first thing you should make sure of is that the small parrot is hand-fed. Many breeders will take the time to hand feed their fledgelings until they are able to eat on their own. By hand feeding these small parrots, they get used to being held and have very little fear of human hands or faces. They will willingly come up on your hand and spend some time chatting away with you and playing silly games.

Small parrots should be chosen if you meet the following criteria:

* You are young -under the age of 21. Small parrots are best for this age group as they are easily handled and if the young person gets bored with them then it is not such a hassle to either take care of the parrot yourself or find a good home for it.

* You are older – over 50. Remember that large parrots can live a very long time and may become heartbroken if you were to pass on before they do. Small parrots have much shorter life spans and so the chances of you being well enough and able to care for him is greater.

Which small parrots would be the best choices for you?

• If you want a talking parrot that is small then I would suggest that you choose a male, hand-fed budgie from a reputable breeder or pet store.
• If you don’t care if your small parrot talks then love birds are cute little birds. They can be a little devilish at times though. They tend to try and escape every time they get a chance.
• Cockatiels are lovely little birds and the males can generally learn to talk a little. Their speech is more like a whistle but it is identifiable.

Remember

• No pet parrots are guaranteed to talk, whether they are small parrots or large parrots.
• You will be much happier and it will be easier to teach your small parrot to talk if you find yourself a male bird rather than a female.
• It is much easier to keep a hand-fed bird tame than it is to tame a non hand-fed small parrot.
• A large parrot may not be advisable depending on your age bracket.

Small parrots are adorable

Remember: Good things come in small packages.