Acquired: Pet store
Gender: N/A
My memories of our bird are vague, considering I was still young when he passed. I remember him being very vocal and social, happy to come out of his cage and fly around our heads - to our delight! When we got him, we called him Fred, since it sounded like a perfectly good name for a bird. His cage was very convenient for cleaning, having a tray that would pull out from underneath. Shredded newspaper makes a great bottom of a bird cage and is virtually free!
After having Fred for some time, we woke up one morning to a surprise in his cage....an egg. Being only children, my brothers explained to me that the egg meant that our Fred was a father!! My parent's went on to explain that maybe we were wrong to call him Fred, and we should change it to Fredrika!
Fred/Fredrika only lived until I was around 7 or so, but he was a very family friendly pet from what I recall.
If you are considering a bird as a pet, I would recommend this breed. I would not recommend having a bird around very young children, as they can be unpredictable and they will peck at you sometimes, but school age children - that can be taught not to poke fingers in the cage - would be appropriate.
Another tip for anyone considering any type of bird would be to cover their cage at night - unless you are able to fall asleep to bird songs!
I would rate my experience with Fred/Fredrika a 10/10, and I would recommend a Budgerigar to anyone looking for a feathered friend!