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| Alright, I have to make a decision here and I am having a heck of a time picking so here it goes. I am a very experianced bird handler. I bought my first bird when I was 12 years old, by the time I was 18 I owned 27 birds. I started working (training birds) at the local zoo when I was 14, however when I turned 20 I was forced to relocate to a different zoo (and a different type of animal). The combination of the move of about 500 miles and housing restrictions when I got there sadly forced me to sell/give away all of my birds (took me FOREVER to find them all good homes). That was 5 years ago, now I am just itching to get another bird... I just can't take it anymore. The house is far to quiet... BUT now I have a wife and a baby. My wife has never owned a bird and the only experiance she has had was with a super aggressive Lesser Sulpher Crested Cockatoo that a friend in her home town had. She has told me I can get whatever bird I want, therefore the search began! Now heres my problem. I have narrowed down my search to: 1) Umbrella Cockatoo - I love the cuddle-factor, have plenty of time (so thats not a problem), and had great luck with them before in regards to training them various tricks, but obviously not a wonderful talker... which is a factor. 2) Congo African Grey - Love the intelligence, the "not a screamer" mentality, but not a very cuddly bird, and I am a little worried about having a "I hate the wife and baby" syndrome. 3) Blue & Gold Macaw - Love the "kinda cuddly", fairly intelligent, moderate talking ability, and playfullness. Midline on the screaming, but obviously a very intimidating looking bird for an inexperianced person (wife). I need to decide which breed to go with, I guess I am pulling towards the cockatoo at the moment, but just thought I would throw it out there for discussion (hopefully get some good feedback). I hope to get a bird that will give my wife a good first-time experiance so she allows me to get more birds in the future  . And before anybody goes there... yes I know that finding a good baby is important, and that every bird has their own personality... I am just looking for some generalized advice. I am very VERY picky when I actually start going to the breeders to meet prospective new family members... and so far I have never had a "Bad" bird... a few with "interesting" personalities, but I have had great luck. Alright... your turn... shoot.
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| Might want to consider one more... Have you thought about a mini macaw such as a yellow collar. Lot less intimidating. Still decent talking ability and great outgoing comin right at ya personality.... Good luck... Scott
Come visit us at www.Tangosflock.com
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| Not a huge fan of the mini's to be honest. Just never have loved the way they look... not really sure why. However I have now added yellow naped amazons to my prospective list.
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| Hi, These arent even close to some of the birds you've named, but Pionus are really nice and not intimidating, in my opinion.
Stacy Shue
Blake Aviary
www.blakeaviary.com
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| I would totally discount any 'Too or 'Tiel simply for the high rates of allergy to their 'dust'. I have only had experience with one of this breed, but I would definitely consider a Severe Macaw. Despite what I have read, my Severe was excellent with children, to the point that he would go to visit Second Grade when they did the "Rainforest" module, and would wear a harness and leash to come meet my kids at the bus stop in warmer weather. The more kids around him, the happier he was, even exposing under his beak to get scritched. Guess it helped that my kids were not toddlers when he came into their lives, or them into his, and from day one they were responsible for changing his water. They would practice their reading to him, as well as their viola and clarinet. He even helped with math homework by tossing dice for them. Consider the minis. They have great personalities for families, without the size intimidation factor.
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