>>1985468Okay so maybe this will give you an idea. When I wake up in the morning I get my cockatiel out of her cage and let her hang out with me on my hip/shoulder/desk/sink while I do morning stuff and give her a few minutes of head-scratching/nuzzling attention so about 15 minutes in the morning before work.
After work my wife gets her and the parakeets out of the cage (they all share a cage and get along but she doesn't specifically play/preen with them usually) and she spends the rest of the night either on the chirpy happy stick/branch end-table next to the couch with the parakeets or hopping around on the couch and playing/nuzzling/preening on us for the rest of the night when we put them all back in the cage.
Food and water everyday, swiffersweep your floors more often than you would otherwise, take an hour or so out of your schedule to scrub the cage and toys clean every week. That's about it, they're way less of "pervades every area of your life" type of pet than cats and dogs are in my opinion, and they never smell bad, unless you completely neglect keeping their cage clean.
Also, if you want an energetic thing that you can teach to do tricks, get a male, if you want a cute soft companion thing that really likes to be cuddled, get a handfed female.
That's just my personal experience, hope it helps.
