People enjoy bird-keeping, and some of the most popular birds are parrots. This encompasses a wide variety of species, from tiny parrotlets to giant cockatoos and macaws. But this is not the right choice of pet for everyone, and researching your future pet before adopting one is crucial.
An extremely long lifespan is one thing to be considered. Larger parrot species such as macaws and cockatoos can reach more than a hundred years old. Given this length of time, you will likely need to find an owner for your bird when it outlives you. Even tiny species can reach 20 easily, which makes them quite unsuitable as children's pets unless the parent also wants them.
People with immaculate homes are probably not good matches with these birds. Much of the food a parrot is given will end up on the ground, and some of it is bound to fly outside the cage. Messiness is a parrot trait, and there is no way to change that. Think about this before you decide to bring one into your nice, clean home.
There are some species that are not that loud, but these are typically the smaller birds. Larger birds can make you unpopular in the neighborhood if they spend a lot of time screaming. And many of them will, because this is not always an unhappy sound for a bird. Sometimes they scream in delight. But your family, you, and others who can hear the bird may not be as delighted as they are.
Flocks are the natural social groups of parrots in the wild. Some people attempt to make their birds happy by getting them another bird as a friend. This works-- but the birds rarely remain tame after bonding together. In order to keep a tame bird happy, the human in his or her life needs to take over the role of the flock. This means spending lots of time with your bird, interacting and just hanging out.
For people who can afford the time and energy a parrot takes, there's also the question of the cost. Exotics vets, which parrots need to visit should they get ill, can be quite far away and expensive. Cages are required, and these are also not cheap. And the birds themselves rarely come at a small price, with the possible exception of small and common species such as budgies.
Living with a parrot can be a great experience, for the right person. But do your research before getting a bird, so that you can figure out ahead of time whether that person is you or not.
An extremely long lifespan is one thing to be considered. Larger parrot species such as macaws and cockatoos can reach more than a hundred years old. Given this length of time, you will likely need to find an owner for your bird when it outlives you. Even tiny species can reach 20 easily, which makes them quite unsuitable as children's pets unless the parent also wants them.
People with immaculate homes are probably not good matches with these birds. Much of the food a parrot is given will end up on the ground, and some of it is bound to fly outside the cage. Messiness is a parrot trait, and there is no way to change that. Think about this before you decide to bring one into your nice, clean home.
There are some species that are not that loud, but these are typically the smaller birds. Larger birds can make you unpopular in the neighborhood if they spend a lot of time screaming. And many of them will, because this is not always an unhappy sound for a bird. Sometimes they scream in delight. But your family, you, and others who can hear the bird may not be as delighted as they are.
Flocks are the natural social groups of parrots in the wild. Some people attempt to make their birds happy by getting them another bird as a friend. This works-- but the birds rarely remain tame after bonding together. In order to keep a tame bird happy, the human in his or her life needs to take over the role of the flock. This means spending lots of time with your bird, interacting and just hanging out.
For people who can afford the time and energy a parrot takes, there's also the question of the cost. Exotics vets, which parrots need to visit should they get ill, can be quite far away and expensive. Cages are required, and these are also not cheap. And the birds themselves rarely come at a small price, with the possible exception of small and common species such as budgies.
Living with a parrot can be a great experience, for the right person. But do your research before getting a bird, so that you can figure out ahead of time whether that person is you or not.
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For those of you who enjoy parrots, we know you should know about parrot training. We have some simple techniques for you to start using right now.
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