Indoor Pets: Is a Bird a Pet for My Home?

Many American homes are accented with the beauty and grace of household birds. Caged birds, in the home, range from small parakeets to large parrots. However, before considering a bird as a household pet, there are a variety of advantages and disadvantages the potential bird owner should consider. As a delicate domestic animal, birds require much time, attention and care. Understanding the basics of bird healthcare will ensure the potential bird owner makes a properly educated decision prior to purchasing a bird as an indoor household pet.

Advantages to owning a bird are numerous. Offering companionship for many years, birds, in some cases, will outlive their owners. With beautiful chirping voices, birds offer an opportunity to relax indoors while enjoying the beautiful birdsongs normally heard outdoors. In addition to bird songs, bird offer some home protection as chirping levels tend to fluctuate at the sign of danger or entry by a stranger. In this regard, birds may for non threatening indoor pets but work well as alarms especially for the elderly who may live alone.

As with any household pet, there are disadvantages to owning an indoor bird. As stated earlier, the birdsong can be a beautiful addition to a home. Unfortunately, in some bird families, the bird's chirping is quite loud and can be consistent with some periods of what is known as "screaming". Unable to train the bird to chirp is often a complaint of many bird owners and results in the birds losing privilege of living in the home. In addition to excessive noise, birds are also quite messy creatures. Unable to control the mess of the cage, bird feces and food is generally scattered about without regard to the surroundings. In addition to these disadvantages, birds also require time outside of the cage in which to exercise. As a result, it is not uncommon to find bird feces within the house. For bird owners unable to maintain clean cages, unable to provide an area for flying within the home and owners intolerant of uncontrollable noise, the option of owning a bird may not be an optimal pet choice.

In addition to these advantages and disadvantages, prospective bird owners should be mindful and prepared for the cost involved with owning a bird. Such costs include the initial purchase, often ranging from $12 to an amount in excess of several hundred dollars. Bird cages and interior bird cage supplies, which range in price from a small unit of $35.00 to very large cages, with size dependant upon the type of bird selected. Additionally, rare species of birds may require additional nutritional supplements outside of the standard bird feed. While some birds may be good eaters, others tend to be relatively picky in the items agreeable to eating. For these birds, selecting feed and water bowels which are wide, rather than deep, provide for a more pleasing and inviting meal to the bird.

With these considerations and costs in mind, before purchasing a bird, weigh the decision carefully. When choosing a bird for your home, consider size, nutrition requirements and potential life span. Once the bird is chosen, adapting to a new life, at home, may be quite difficult at first but, with love and patience, coupled with proper diet and exercise, the indoor bird will adapt to his surroundings in a relatively short period of time.