I haven't had a bird in YEARS but recently have been toying with the idea of having one again.
As a kid, we had a cockateil, and before him- a parakeet.
As a college student I had a monk parakeet that my roomate left behind. The bird HATED me to the extent that once I was moving, since he got along with the latest roomate I had I left him with her
For about 3 years I kept a friends moluccan cockatoo. Very nice, but with the changes in the house I don't have room for a large cage. Once he returned home with his owner I REALLY missed him, but his owner was back from overseas and I knew they deserved to be reunited.
About 6 years ago I took in a splay legged english budgie and kept him through his lifetime, though due to his severe deformities his lifespan was shortened to just 3 years once his quality of life started to fail.
I hate to admit this, but after losing Chance (the boy mentioned above) I bought a pair of Gouldian Finches. Very short stint here, one passed away almost immediatly after I got her home and as the male started to mourn the loss of her I took him back to the breeder, explaining the situation.
So now, I'm considering another bird. I have to admit, I like the parakeets and saw a nice one once at Petco- a pure yellow with red eyes. It was a beauty! I didnt buy it right away and before I decided fully, it was sold.
Anyhow, Im tentatively thinking about looking at getting a parakeet, unless two is a better choice
I have nothing yet for a bird and figure that if I decide to go this route I'd buy a bit at a time so I can do it right and be prepared beforehand.
One immediate question I have is- if I were to get a parakeet, could I use the finch flight cage that Petco sells for it? That seems to be the 'largest' small cage they offer for the value. The others, more for parakeets or cockateils, seem to be awfully narrow in the width, but then they are taller than the finch flight cages. I'll try to look up the size, or I'll stop by petco to get the measurements of the cage... and then I guess, if anyone knows- if it's good for one parakeet, would it be good for two? I wouldn't want more than two birds and consider that ammount since I wouldn't want one to get lonely.