Parakeets are generally easy to hand tame...........I have hand tamed some of my friends' keets in just an hour or so, but they were very young. It really depends on how much you play with/handle them. Parakeets make very sweet pets, but they do prefer to have the companionship of another bird, and while they do love to interact with people, from my experience, other birds (cockatiels, lovebirds, conures, etc.) enjoy spending time with people more. They *can* learn to talk, but I believe its rare in comparison to larger parrots.

As for being *messy*, I think all birds can be messy, but it all depends on the care their owner provides. Birds do enjoy throwing their seeds around, but getting food bowls with covers can greatly decrease the mess.

Are you planning on getting one?