If you are thinking about purchasing a parrot, then suggesting specific breeds here can only be a personal opinion. If however, you are looking for a single, hand-tamed bird then you are probably better to go for an English bred, preferably hand-reared bird. It is still possible to tame an older imported bird but it is obviously more difficult and will take much more time. English bred birds are already adjusted to our climate and are generally fit and healthy.

An African Grey will probably make the best talker but a young Amazon can also learn to talk well and will be very playful and entertainining and a Cockatoo will also learn to speak well but if it has been hand-reared it will be the most demanding of your attention and can develop all sorts of neuroses if their requirements are not met !! The larger species such as Umbrella and Moluccan Cockatoos tend to be extremely noisy.

If you are looking for potential breeding birds it might be better to opt for older birds and in this case there would be nothing wrong with choosing a recently imported bird, provided of course that it is healthy.

The most expensive to have to buy for your parrot will be the cage. Parrot Cages are available in a range of shapes and sizes and as your bird will probably be spending a lot of time inside its cage it’s important to choose the correct type for him. Parrot Cages tend to come in 3 main designs - Gym Top, Open Top and Solid Top.

Gym Top Parrot Cages have a separate tray and perching area built on top of the cage and are a brilliant idea if your Parrot spends a lot of time out of the cage or you don’t have a separate Play Stand.

Open Top Cages are similar but have a much simpler design - generally the top panel opens up in 2 halves and you can fit a perch across the top.

Solid top cages are fine if your parrot doesn’t come out of its cage very much or you have a separate play stand for him.

The Parrot Cages on ideas-4-pets site are available in a powder-coated finish which involves an electro-statically charged coloured powder being applied to the cage which is then baked on at high temperature. This method produces a smooth, high quality finish
which is then finished with a non-toxic paint resulting in a long lasting and safe environment for your parrot.

The parrot cage and it’s contents must be kept in pristine condition at all times to ensure a happy, lively, healthy and long living pet parrot.

It’s also important to choose as big a cage as you can afford or which will fit in your room space. Try and make sure that each dimension is at least as big as the bird’s wingspan as they enjoy exercising their wings and you would not want them to hurt themselves on the bars if the cage is too small for this practice. Remember to allow for toys, perches and other cage fittings which will take room up in the cage !!

Most Parrots will be much happier in a large cage that gives them plenty of room to swing from toys, hang from the bars, flap their wings and generally have lots of fun.

You must also make sure that the bar spacing (the size of gap between the bars) and the bar diameter (the thickness of the bars) is appropriate for the parrot you have chosen to purchase.

One last thing, feed your parrot on a good quality food and supplement him with the occasion treat but remember that although we tend to love chocolate it is toxic to birds !!