Impulse buying a pet parrot is a recipe for eventual disaster, but one that happens in pet stores on a daily basis. Impulse buying any pet can be a mistake, but people generally have some idea of a dog or cat’s basic needs. Few people understand the needs of a parrot unless they take the time to read up on the matter.
Pets and Décor
Pet birds are, unfortunately, quite fashionable (that’s unfortunate for the bird, not the buyer). It’s not uncommon for someone to go to a bird or pet store and buy a parrot to match her home décor.
Parrots are not interior decoration solutions—forces of interior destruction, maybe, but not décor solutions. If you want a majestic macaw or cockatoo to match your décor, by all means buy a picture or painting of one. A painting won’t eat the rest of your décor.
Parrots scream. Parrots explore. Parrots chew—everything they can get their beaks on. If your idea of interior design includes chewed up wainscoting, holes in your curtains and bird food thrown across the room then by all means, a big macaw will complete your room. If you want a pet that doubles as a piece of art or furniture, consider an aquarium.
Cuddly Cockatoo Syndrome
Buying a pet based on its ability to be cute and cuddly isn’t unusual—a snuggly kitten or friendly puppy is almost irresistible. The same “cute factor” applies to baby birds. There’s nothing as endearingly mischievous as a sun conure, or as eager to snuggle as a baby cockatoo.
People understand that puppies grow up to be dogs, and kittens into cats. The change is subtler with baby parrots. A baby cockatoo, once it’s been weaned, is about as big as it’s going to get. The baby bird looks pretty much like an adult parrot. People buy baby parrots unaware that their new baby will change—often drastically—as it matures.
Are you prepared to deal with a pet that, while still very cuddly, goes into hormonal overload every breeding season, may bite unpredictably and considers you its lifelong mate to be defended against all comers? Because that’s what many of those cute baby macaws and cockatoos turn into unless they’re lucky enough to have devoted or experienced owners.
Parrots are Low Maintenance Pets—Yeah, Right!
How hard can it be to keep a parrot, right? Before you decide to buy a parrot, go to on of the many online parrot forums and ask the posters how much work pet parrots are. Then ask yourself if you’re willing to:
- Accept if your parrot never talks or learns cute tricks
- Cook for your parrot (a healthy parrot diet is much more than bird seed)
- Forgive the parrot when (not if) it bites you
- Handle and play with the bird several hours a day
- Provide for your parrot in your will (a macaw can easily live into its eighties)
- Provide your pet with a spacious cage that you clean several times a week
- Spend hundreds of dollars a year on parrot toys
- Spend hundreds of dollars for an avian veterinarian’s services.
Someone once suggested that a parrot, taken care of properly, is more work than a dog, cat, and aquarium combined. When parrot owners call their birds fids—feathered kids—they’re not just talking about how much they love their pets. Caring for a smart, inquisitive parrot is, quite literally, like adding a child to the house.
Polly Wanna Extensive Vocabulary
Buying a parrot based on the bird’s ability to talk is also common—one reason African Grey’s are popular pets. However, you probably noticed the list above mentions parrots don’t always talk.
An African Grey may develop an enormous vocabulary . . . or it may never say a thing. The world record for number of words spoken by a parrot is held by a humble budgerigar. Just because a parrot species has a reputation for talking doesn’t mean individual birds will be quoting Shakespeare.
Don’t mistake a lack of vocabulary for a quiet parrot. Parrots are very noisy, whether or not they learn to talk. A screaming macaw can be heard for miles, which can make you real unpopular with the neighbors. Nor is size always an indication of noise level in parrots. A sun conure is no bigger than a cockatiel, but loud enough to be heard for several blocks when unhappy. Or happy—parrots often scream for sheer joy.
Bigger is Not Better
Large macaws and cockatoos are often bought for prestige, much as some people purchase the largest or most expensive dog breeds. A macaw suggests a certain wealth and social standing in addition to the sheer size of the bird.
Buying a parrot for prestige is—not to put too fine a point on it—incredibly stupid. Much like buying a parrot that matches the decor, buying a parrot because it makes the owner look impressive is an incredibly shallow reason for owning a pet. It’s also a decision that can come back and bite the buyer—literally. Inherent in the purchase of any pet parrot is the risk of biting. A small conure can deliver a painful nip. A bite from a medium to large-sized parrot can leave owners permanently disfigured.
There are good reasons for buying a parrot, and even better ones for adopting a bird surrendered to one of the many parrot rescue organizations. The sheer number of birds surrendered to parrot rescues, however, indicate that many people are buying parrots for all the wrong reasons.
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