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Hi there , my name is Amy and I have four children (ages 6 , 4 , 2 and 1 yr) . My oldest son and I have horrible allergies to our other critters ( bunnies, chinchillas and guinea pigs) but we really enjoy our two lovebirds! I grew up with many birds including finches (zebras , societies, gouldians) , cockatiels , budgies , a sun conure , a parrotlet, my Mom had an african grey and my ultimate favorite , my sweet blue and gold macaw , Jake . Most of these birds we had when we were stationed in Alaska (Dad was in the Air Force) and had to rehome when we were sent to South Dakota and could not get permits to get them thru Canada The two largest birds we were able to fly to South Dakota and I kept until I graduated highschool and then my parents decided to sell them without even asking me (loooong story , still a little bitter here ! LOL )
So anyways , I'm rambling ,I'm sorry . I've dreamt of having another b&g again , and might finally be in the position to buy one this summer . But I have all these questions with having small children now ! So I would love to hear other peoples stories of large parrots and small children . My children are very well behaved with animals , it is something I work so hard with . But they are still kids I can make an area just for the parrot , maybe not an entire room ,but part of one where the kids would not have access to the cage or area around it . But there will be noisy kids running in and out , I wasn't sure if that would stress the bird out ?

If not a b&g , possibly a green wing ? Otherwise I am also considering a cockatoo ? I met a mullican (sp?) once that I absolutely fell in love with . A lady close to us has an Umbrella that is a certified therapy bird that is so neat . I don't know , I can't make up my mind yet until I see if this is evan a possibilty with small kids .
Please let me know what you think and thankyou so much in advance !
-Amy

WOW, i do hope you do some reading, cause Greenwings- not for kids and Moluccans- not for kids. Cockatoos get very excited and can do ALOT of damage. My kids dont mess with my birds they learn to respect them. As a parent I PRAY you learn all you can about birds before you actually get one, cause it will be another child in a cage that destroys stuff and can actually destroy(mutilate) itself if unhappy or fustrated. Not to mention really hurt your kids or you. READ all you can the birds you want are NOT for beginners, get a puppy. Seeing someone eles bird doesnt gaurantee that the bird you get will be like that. Birds are a 1 person bonder and that causes alot to be rehomed, we have all 3 you speak of and no way would they love to live with small children they get wacko when I vaccum or need to get stuff done and not be attentive when they want.Maybe go with a cockatiel and work up as kids grow.

B&G macaws are usually happy, easy going birds. Moluccans IMO should not be kept in captivity and surely not around small children. Greys can be too high-strung to tolerate children healthily. These are generalizations, but that's what your question asks about. Ideal would be to work with a rescue organization to find a bird who has a history of doing well with youngsters. Many encourage fostering with the plan of adopting if all goes well.

If that can't happen where you live, find people in your region who have MATURE B&Gs you can visit, kids in tow. Not ideal but better than anything else I can think of right now. People with healthy birds usually enjoy letting prospective parronts see their birds -- it helps everyone. IF your kids are well-behaved, and you've all bathed and shampooed since being around any other bird, AND the visit is reasonably brief, you might learn valuable things. And meet some good people!

You might use your local avian vets to find bird people who would agree to your visit. No avian vet in your area? GOOD reason to rethink this plan

Have you considered trying to track Jake down and see if he's in a situation from which you could buy him back? I would suggest that for the grey also except for your allergies. Greys are very dusty birds. Jake would remember you, and you already know something of his temperament. Even if you're unable to get far in your search, the effort might help you unload some of that longterm bitterness and, who knows, you might have a miracle unfold! Birds often go through SOOO many homes in their lifetimes

Good luck, Paca

Okay, I am no macaw expert, but this is what I was told and found to be true with my friends...

Scarlets generally do not do well with children.

B&Gs may be more social, like children, and like more activity. A friend with a B&G has two boys. Her boys were a little older though than your children, perhaps 9 & 10. Her bird only cuddles with her, but he'd rather play with the boys. If either of the boys comes running into the house and into their rooms without stopping to say hello to the bird, he will let out a scream. He really likes all the activity going on in their home.

Every bird is different though so it really depends on the bird and your children. I've heard that macaws can go through a "terrible twos" period between 1 1/2 to 3 years, which can be pretty difficult. Some of the other macaw people might be able to fill you in on that.

I appreciate everyone's replies !

I have searched for Jake for years now ,still no luck but I always keep an eye out .I'd give anything to get him back!

I was hoping to get a larger parrot but maybe this dream will just have to wait until the kids are older ( as well as my dream of sleeping more than 3 hours at a time ! LOL )

This parrot would not be for the kids , the kids already have a puppy ,thankyou very much It would be for me and my husband , whomever it chooses to bond closer with is fine.

I don't know . I think I will broadan my search and look into smaller parrots as well . I was just hoping someone here actually had some experience with this but I guess most just wait until the kiddies have grown
Thankyou again !
-Amy

petdiva> Where in SD are you ? I live in Belle Fourche

Allergies and big bird just don't mix, especially cockatoo's and grey's. Stop and think how many birds from finches to macaws are rehomed because of allergies. Please don't be another statistic!
You also would have to be watching the bird and the kids 24/7 to make sure there are no accidents. A lovebird bite is one thing, a macaw bite is something to be afraid of with small kids.
I'm not trying to be mean but in MHO I'd wait until your kids are alot older before I'd risk getting a large bird.

Our kids have grown up with large birds. Always have had birds before they were born. We never allowed them to run through the house, outside is for playing in the house is for inside stuff. I think it is great having pets and teaching kids to respect and learn about them. I bought a Umbrella Cockatoo from a women that was raising her grandchildren due to a tragedy and the 6 yr old would carry the Too around and actually slept with her, they loved each other. If I was you Id research which youd love to add, and go for it. TOO's love to dance and hop, kids can dance with them. Now our kids are 11 &15 one loves the birds the other helps but has better things to do. They will both inherit our birds and will care for them as we do. As far as allergies, I get migraines and allergic to down but with cleanning daily and air purifiers We have no problems what so ever and with having them for 25+ yrs.

I am not worried about the allergies ,I am not allergic to birds , just critters like Bunnies , Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas .I've never had problems with birds ,thank God !

FeatheredAngel > I really appreciate your post , it gives me hope ! I am not planning on just going out one day and buying the biggest bird I can find ,or anything like that .I am just in the research stage now. My kids are well behaved and know that either their playroom , or outside is for being wild . They love animals as much as I do and have much respect for them.

Thankyou everyone ,I will continue with my research and let you know how things go

You will know when the right bird comes along! Keep us posted on what you bring home and pictures!

Hi There My childern ,4 girls were raised with birds. If you are going to get a bird, I would get a young weind B&G. My girls use to play with our baby b&g when they were 5 ,3 ,1. We taught the girl how to play with Baby and it was so fun to watch. Baby would go to anyone in the house to get her head scatched. You will have to keep a close eye on the bird ,they love to chew and need wood. Also B&Gs are clowns and love to roll over on there backs when playing. as far as cockatoos They put out more dust than anyother parrot . Alot of childern develope ashma from it. Just something to think about. Birds and children can be done but need alot of suprevision. Go for it and have fun. Macaws do go through the bad 2's . Ive always treated them like my girls. Baby is with my 28 yr old daughter now. Some bonds last for ever.

marky > Thankyou so much for sharing your experience with me ! I'm thinking with our allergies that we will most likely not be looking into an cockatoos , I am afraid we will develope allergies to it later . Still very interested in a b&g . My Jake was such a clown and just loved everybody . I will definetly start looking for a breeder now , anyone have any reccomendations (or is that against the rules here ?) ? There are nice folks close to me that breed them but they refuse to sell anything larger than a cockatiel to us because of the kids

horsepoor21 wrote:... I will definetly start looking for a breeder now , anyone have any reccomendations (or is that against the rules here ?) ? There are nice folks close to me that breed them but they refuse to sell anything larger than a cockatiel to us because of the kids

I have great respect for any breeder who puts the welfare of their babies above profits, even if their judgment might differ from mine. I consider Wendy Craig one of the best breeders in the country: http://www.wendysparrots.com/html/about_us.html She often has a waiting list for specific birds, so you might want to hurry to get onto the list even while you're still mulling options.

Paca

I have a 5 month old Greenwing and she is so gentle with my kids.They are 10 and 12--the oldest one is autistic. The beaks are so big that,with my kids anyway,it commands respect. I am making sure that she is around and will go to anyone--no one person bird in my household and I have 4. They all go to everyone. I think,especially with my older son,having animals around him all his life has really helped him communicate.The birds are a recent addition--5 years ago I got my first--an eclectus.I did my research and found that eclectus' are known as great family birds.They aren't loud at all except for their contact calls and they have what I would call a "soft" beak in that mine can't even open an almond. I have to give him peanuts when the other birds get almonds.I would suggest a male if you do consider an eclectus--the females can be quite grouchy I am told! Anyway, I absolutely adore my greenwing and I think with supervision anything is possible. My birds love our rowdy household.

I hope your GW is always as gentle and friendly and adored as she is now. It's important to Amy, as she gathers recommendations, to recognize that a 5 month old GW is the equivalent of a year-old human infant. Babies are usually gentle and friendly to everyone. The fact that your older 3 birds are so good with your children is more valuable information for Amy at this point.

I'm glad she's such a well-loved baby

Paca

Now that our GW is 8 NO WAY would I ever expose any child to her, even though growing up with kids- she isnt a kids bird, Male eclectus is the only calm bird I have ever encountered in 27 years. We have only 1 everyone bird and even he gets a mood when he feels so, Blue & Gold.