Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Bird Food/water Bowls
- Bird Perches
- Bird Toys
- Parrot Cages
- Parrot Food
- Parrot Treat
Step1
Know how much space you have available for a cage in your home. Birds must be able to spread both wings inside a cage. If you don't have much space, choose a small parrot, such as a lovebird.
Step2
Decide how much time you have to devote to your bird and how much noise you can tolerate. Larger birds tend to be noisier and require more social interaction. Smaller species of parrots (such as cockatiels and lovebirds) cost less, are easier to care for, and use a smaller cage. Larger species require more care and are more expensive.
Step3
Decide if it's important that your parrot talk to you. Gray parrots are most likely to talk, although all parrot species have some vocal capabilities. Grays have a greater ability to understand words. Smaller birds tend to talk less.
Step4
Determine how much you can spend on your parrot purchase. Prices range from $10 to several thousand.
Step5
Consider any experience you've had as a bird owner. Look for a bird that has the characteristics you liked in your previous bird. Avoid characteristics you disliked.
Step6
Think about how a parrot would fit in with other members of your household, including pets. If a child will be the primary caretaker, buy a smaller, more manageable bird.
Step7
Read a book or Web site that describes the different species of parrots and their characteristics. Make a list of the types of parrots that fit your requirements.
Step8
Go to a local pet store and spend some time looking at, listening to and interacting with different types of parrots. Buy a species that you interact with well.
Step9
Talk with the pet store owner about the decision.
Comments
gpcs said
on 1/5/2008 How to see Wild Parrots in the US of A by Geogre Sommers: yup, it's true!
-George
hosie said
on 5/19/2007 Parekeets!They are not just a pretty little trinkit to stick in a cage and forget about!My mother made this mistake many years ago.Like all parots, these tiny birds are flock animals.They need human interaction just as much as any parot.They can be emotional and will eventually die if they do not get the attention they crave.Parekeets love to be held and played with. They are cheaper than other parots and don't live as long but they too deserve to be treated as part of the family.Don't neglect your pets.Just because it's a tiny bird doesn't mean it's not a BIG commitment!
hosie said
on 5/19/2007 When adopting an exotic bird or any pet for that matter, don't take it for granted!You're taking home a living breathing creation from god that has a mind and personality of it's own, not a new pair of name brand shoes.Most any parot can be a wonderful companion for anyone who is aware of the challenging responsebility of owning one.For anyone who is planning on getting a african gray just remimber that they are the ONLY parot that has the intellectial I.Q. of a 5 year old and the emotions of a two year old.But all parots are highly intellegent in their own way.Remimber that if you want a bird that will be social and cuddly around strangers, then the smaller timneh african gray would be a better choice.Congo grays are often nervous around stangers and will sometimes get aggresive if a stranger or someone they don't like gets too close to their human or humans.
tiels4ever said
on 3/8/2007 THE ABOVE 3 COMMENTS (ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE) NEED TO BE READ IN ORDER TO MAKE SENSE. Please start with the first one, which may be on the next page, and then read the other two. THANKS!!!
tiels4ever said
on 3/8/2007 to whether the pet would fit in your home. The noise level also varies, so it's best to have a house, not an apartment, for the larger, more vocal birds. Hope this helps. ;)
Also, NEVER TRUST the warranties on the side of fragrance aerosol cans. FEBREEZE was marked “safe for pets” and killed many, many huge parrots within moments of being sprayed into the room. Apparently, the company did not try it around birds. NEVER USE ANY KIND OF SPRAY AROUND BIRDS. They are very very sensitive (remember how the coal miners used to gave canaries with them so that they would know if they entered an area with too much carbon monoxide. The bird would die first.
Again, before you buy the bud, red everything you can about it, including which plants are poisonous to it. (They like to eat plants if you let them. DO NOT believe that they can tell what is not good to heat. They can’t.
You can call the company and ask what kind of testing they have done and if they know the effect on birds. But unless you talk with someone in the research department who has actually been involved in the research don’t believe what they say. A receptionist trying to be nice is likely top give you the wrong answer. And joining a listsev of people who own those kinds of birds is also extremely useful for that reason. They can pass on mistakes NOT to make – and if you pay attention, you can learn how to avoid mistakes you might otherwise have made.
Other than that, if you don’t have any children of your own cockatiels make WONDERFUL PETS. If I had known that, I would have bought a bird in =college a grad school. You don’t ever have to be lonely again when you have a birdie buddy. But buy them in two’s, if possible, so that the bird is having fun with his mate/brother/sister while you are too busy. If you have a hand-fed cockatiel and have worked with it yourself, I will still believe that you are Mama Bird, and be interested in interacting with you in a pleasant, affectionate way. But when you’re gone it will also be able o to entertain itself with other family members. (If you buy them from the same brood, it’s far more likely that thy will get along together.)
So, good luck, hope this helps!
P.S. I DO know how to make paragraphs, and I DID make paragraphs in the treatise above. SO SORRY TO EVERYONE that it is so hard to read when they take out the formatting! i just wanted to add the most important elements missing so far... I LOVE Birdie Buddies, and hope that everyone choosing one or two will show utmost care and responsibility by researching the area in depth before making a bird your own. Have fun!