So You’ve Always Wanted a Parrot

So you’ve always wanted a parrot?  Every time you see one perched on someone’s shoulder, or talking and singing on some TV variety show all you can think is “How cool would that be?”.  You picture yourself dressed as a pirate for Hallowe’en, a brightly colored bird on your shoulder squawking “Polly want a cracker?”, or cruising the park or beach while the cute girls literally flock around you, amazed at your talking, trick performing feathered companion.  Or maybe you just think they’re neat and would be fun to have in your home.  A pet that won’t vomit on the kitchen floor or track muddy paw prints through the house, or claw the furniture.

Before you rush to the pet store and put out somewhere in the vicinity of or over $1000 for the beautiful bird you’ve chosen, or jump to volunteer to take that parrot or cockatoo that a friend of a friend is giving away, take some time to think about your lifestyle, and do a little research on bird personalities to see what bird would most likely be a good fit for you.

The number of companion parrots that are neglected, abused and passed from home to home is astonishing. Do a web search on the words “parrot rescue” and peruse the 200,000+ links.  A few good sites that come to my mind immediately are The Oasis, The Parrot Education and Adoption Center and Bird Adoption Dot Org.  Cruise around the sites to get an idea of the extent of the problem, look at pics of beautiful as well as neglected and neurotic or damaged parrots.  Consider the weight of the commitment  you are about to take on, whether you choose to buy or adopt.

Did you know that many parrots live to be 60 to 80 years old? 

That companion parrots are all social species that require companionship and 3 to 4 hours of out-of-cage-time per day, and must be supervised during this time? 

That Cockatoos; those cuddly, affectionate, big birds will need almost as much attention as a 2 year old child and will often become screaming, self mutilating broken hearts if you neglect them or initially spoil them and then get too busy?

That even if your chosen breed is one of the “talking” breeds, your bird may never talk?

That seeds are not a healthy diet for parrots?

That birds bite, whether they love you or not, and sometimes seriously enough to require stitches?

That parrots require regular baths or showers for healthy feathers and skin?

These are just a few of the common pitfalls for new bird owners who don’t realize or understand the requirements of being a good bird owner.  Many of the rescued parrots and cockatoos that you will read about if you do a little online research have been neglected and abused almost solely due to their owners not understanding what they were getting into.  Most of these people are good people.  They are not intentionally abusive or neglectful, but parrot ownership has simply turned out to be more than they bargained for, and by the time they realize it, the parrot is neurotic or worse, and the person feels they have too much money tied up in the bird to simply give it away, so the bird is sold in a newspaper ad, and the new buyer is met with an already dysfunctional bird at a “great” price, but in the end, too high a cost for both owner and parrot.

The Macaw who is bitey (Military Macaws, for instance, are very beak curious, and use their formidable beaks to explore and test everything, which often means bloody fingers, missing buttons and broken eyegalsses for the new owner) ends up not getting any out-of-cage-time out of fear of those painful bites during the training period…

The Molluccan Cockatoo that was so cuddly and so fun to hold and pet and play with until the newness wore off begins screaming at ear drum shattering decibels, who gets covered up during most of the daylight hours until she begins to scream even under her drapes and is eventually moved to the garage…

The intelligent African Grey who won’t talk and is then ignored and left cagebound with no toys or interaction to spark her inquisitive mind who begins plucking her feathers out and eventually carves holes in her flesh with her own beak… (Take this quiz if you are thinking of getting an African Grey Parrot)

So please, go to your local library, pet store or look online for sites like Avian Publications. Check out the link list at Avian Resources Online, search Parrot breed profiles at the World Parrot Trust, or peruse back issues of Bird Talk Magazine.  The money and time you will spend will save you and an innocent creature a world of misfortune.

For your own sake and for the sake of these wonderful feathered creatures, please read and research before choosing a parrot.  And after you’ve done the reading and research, and feel that you are ready for a lifetime of joy and commitment, please consider adopting a bird form a reputable rescue organization.  You’ll be happy you did.