Am considering getting a Kakariki

pegasus77 · New Member Joined: Jan 20, 2010 Posts: 2

I have been looking into getting a bird or birds for a few weeks now. We have had budgies before so am not completely new to birds.
I was thinking about getting a cockatiel or 2 but when I was in the pet shop I noticed they had a few Kakarikis and I fell in love with them. They were only $90 each too which seemed very cheap.
I don't want to make any impulse decision so I am after some experienced opinions.
We do have a dog and 2 cats (predominantly outdoors). Is this a recipe for disaster? Of course great care would be taken to keep the bird/s safe but would it still cause stress for the bird/s to have them around? Would they get used to it?
We have had rats and the cats were fine with them.

We also have 3 kids aged 3 to 7. Would this cause any problems? The bird/s would only be let out for flight time while the kids are at school and all other animals would be removed from the room also.

We currently have a cage that is actually a ferret cage but am wondering if it could be modified to suit birds. It is 90cmW x 60cm D x 140cm H. I realise the bigger the better but would this be an OK size if the bird/s will have cage free time every day? Also the bar spacing is about 1 inch, is this too wide? If so could I put something around it to make it suitable?

Is it better to keep more than 1 bird? I am thinking it would be. Is it better to have 2 of the same sex? if so which sex?

Obviously there is alot to consider and this is a big decision to make so any advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated. When I have made the decision I will research more thoroughly about diet and basic care. Right now I just want to make sure I have considered everything.

Thanks, Amy

pegasus77 · New Member Joined: Jan 20, 2010 Posts: 2

Doesn't matter now. After much deliberation we have decide to stick with a cockatiel for now and maybe progress to one of these beautiful birds at a later stage.