Gosh what a lovely amount of replies. Thank you all for your contributions. My daughter is 11 but realistically I will be the primary caregiver because I work from home so it will be me that it entertains as I try to work. The messiness is something to consider as we will be moving house and liked the idea of getting a really large cage to put in the main hall, but flying liquid crap may not make it the most appealing entrance! Although we are novices with caged birds, we are very well versed in domestic birds and animals so understand non-verbal language. I do classical dressage with my horse and this involves reading their minds and them reading mine, I find animal/human communications endlessly fascinating. My daughter is an introvert and all species seem to warm to her quiet gentleness. I work from home, and all my animals are at home, and my husband is in and out throughout the day as he works outside but at home. So they would have constant company.