Parrots as Pets: Know What You Are Getting Into

Ok, so, you want to go out and spend $1500 or more on a Parrot or one of the other larger birds. I will not suggest to you In this article not to keep a parrot as a pet, but there are many Important things you had better give a lot of thought to before you run out and get your new pet.

First thing you had better know that there is a good chance that the bird you get will out live you. All of the large birds have a very long life expectancy.
Here is a list of some of the popular kept birds.

Budgie 15years, Cockatiel 20 years, Conure 20years, Love Birds 30 years, Eclectus 50 years, Amazon 60 years,African Grey Parrot 60 years, Cockatoo 70 years
And Macaw 80 years. Of course this is assuming that the bird is well feed and kept happy.

These birds will be as a 2 year child in your home. Meaning they will always need your undivided attention. You can not just keep them in a cage and throw food at them each day. In the wild they are flock animals. Companionship is every thing to these birds. If you only have 1 bird and do not spend a lot of time with them they can pick themselves bald out of boredom.

The bigger the bird the more destructive they can be also. At one time I have an Umbrella Cockatoo. Medium sized bird. We keep him in our sun room and would open up his cage each morning. One day he reached up and ripped about 4 feet of molding off of the ceiling. Then he chewed it into a bunch of little pieces. I know a pet shop owner that kept a Moluccan Cockatoo in he bedroom. He opened up its cage one day and went down to his shop. When he went back up to check on the bird it had gone over to his new pine dresser and chewed off about 6 inches of one of the corners on the top.

If you live in an apartment that has more then one tenet renting there you might find your self in trouble with your neighbors because of all the noise. Parrots are very noisy. Or I should say Loud. My Cockatoo would be so loud that it hurt my ears if I was in the same room with him.

The best place to get your life long pet is a bird rescue & bird adoption service. There are a lot of unwanted birds out there. A lot of people have gone out and spent a lot of money to find out that they have made a big mistake. To find one of these agencies close to you, you can go to
http://www.avianprotectors.homestead.com/Rescue.html Most will require you to go through some classes so you will know what you are getting into. They will also teach you how to take care of your new pet also. Plus you will be able to get a bird at a very good price compared to buying one out of a pet shop. Most important is you will be taking an unwanted bird and giving it the best life it can have in captivity.

I hope that I have not scared you off from getting your bird. But it is better to know what you are getting into before you make a big mistake and an other bird has to suffer. Just remember to do a lot of research .