Comments on: How to Select a Parrot

on 1/5/2008 How to see Wild Parrots in the US of A by Geogre Sommers: yup, it's true!
-George

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!

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.

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!!!

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!

on 3/8/2007 of diseases it might have been exposed to. Besides, if everyone buys from local, caring breeders, perhaps it will convince those mass quantity bird sellers from being in the market. A bird from a breeder will cost a bit more, but NOT when you consider how much less you’ll have to pay when the bird gets sick. The breeder will also be able to tell you the details about the bird and its genetic makeup, and if you have a problem, whether anything like that showed up in that clutch. The mass quantity stores can’t even tell you the bird’s age, and since they are not handfed, they don’t’ make very good pets. You can make them more tame, but not like the handfed ones. (In other words, you get what you pay for or less at big stores.)

Also: The cages they recommend as starter cages are WAY TOO SMALL. So are the ones you see on TV. If your bird is not going to be coming out, it needs at least 3ft by 2 ft by 3 ft. – IF it is cockatiel size or smaller. Larger birds need way larger cages. I have an aviary (it used to be a bedroom), carpeted, plastic-runnered, and let mine out every day when possible. Cover mirrors with paper. Show them the windows (hold them close so they can peck at it and see that they can’t fly through it) so they understand that it cannot be flown through.

Read up on how much space there needs to be between the bars, so that you bird doesn’t get his head stck and ie that way. Also, TRY TO FIND A BREEDER WHO HAS FED THE BIRDS A NUTRITIOUS PELLET DIET, E.G., HARRISON’S ORGANIC, ZUPREEM’S PELLETS. Birds do NOT do well on bird seed, so throw that idea right out of your mind. Always watch your bird to see if he is eating and drinking fresh water enough. Go online to order pet food delivered,. NEVER BUY WHAT THEY SELL IN THE GROCERY STORE. It’s like feeding your bird beer and pasta and chocolate ice cream and nothing else, every day. Since their metabolism is much faster than ours, feeding a bad diet will kill the bird faster than ever – bad nutrition is the chief reason birds die.

If you have a friend with a pet u think you'd like, ask to baby-sit for a week. Then you will get a much better idea of whether or not this pet is ideal for your family.

If you do decide, get on a listserv of people who have that type of bird, and you will learn much more. Never bring a bird home who is not yet weaned. It is very difficult to handfeed, and if you are going to do that, you need a breeder to come into your home and show you, step by step. Film that person and then try it yourself. Feeding too hot formula will burn and kill the bird with a lot of pain. Feeding too cold formula will end up making her sick, and she will die without vet treatment. The margin of error is only about 3 degrees. So don’t try this without in-depth training with a breeder (vets don't always know how even -- but breeders do),

Try to reverse it in your mind. If you were your pet and it were you, how would you feel when you do certain things? Parrots are very much like human. Dr. Pepperberg's African Gray Alex has been solving tasks at a 5-year-old human level, and uses speech as we do -- not just mimicking. The sex of the species will matter – for example, boy cockatiels speak far more often than female cockatiels.

Check out all the sources online if you are interested in birds. Just "Google" the type of bird, and you will find a wealth of information. Bookmark it, save it, and read and re-read it. If you opt to have a pet, you must be responsible, just as if that pet were a human child. Because in fact, that's kind of how they are -- cockatiels adapt well, but African grays or molaccan cockatoos may feather pick when you don't give them enough attention. How much attention they need and whether or not you and your family members will be able to give that level of attention for the next 80+ years is a big consideration. Take your time and reason it out, and try to baby-sit, so you get more hands-on ideas as t

on 3/8/2007 An African Gray, a double yellow-head green parrot, or a macaw can live as long as 80+ YEARS if you feed and care for it properly. Since parrots DO develop close relationships with an owner, make sure that your parrot bonds with younger members of your human family as well as you, and that those family members are resolved to take on this feathered family member when you die. Think of parrots as a feathery human; they get attached and they miss you. They grieve terribly when a human to whom they have bonded dies. If you can't guarantee that the parrot will continue to have a caretaker in the family with whom he has bonded, then consider a cockatiel (life span of 25 years) or a budgie (somewhat less).

Since most people are more acquainted with dogs and cats and their shorter life cycle, you MUST be sure that you consider who will care for your parrot properly after you die.

ANOTHER ABSOLUTE: NEVER buy any pet until you have thoroughly researched that animal and its breed. Bigger parrots make bigger noises, and all healthy birds tend to make a racket at sunrise and sundown. Take that into consideration as well. Lovebirds can turn aggressive after a few months, and they don't know that they aren’t big; their bite is guaranteed to make you bleed. I have 14 cockatiels right now but since the last two are males, I will end up with 16 -- once I buy them wives. NOTE: There is NO Guarantee that they will like or mate with the wives you buy them. THEY CANNOT BE FIXED VERY WELL. BIRDS HAVE VERY LITTLE BLOOD, so any operation like that is extremely risky and expensive, and you may not even have someone around you who can do it. I had my lovebird fixed to stop her from overlaying eggs. = $800 and she died eventually anyway.

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: Avian vets are VERY HARD to find. Find out what vets exist in your area, and what their experience entails. There is only one board-certified avian vet in all of Illinois. And the only emergency 911 hospital that would take birds royally screwed up my last call to where I crossed them off my list. When I have an emergency, I end up calling my vet friend in a different state and asking what I should do. Call around your area, and ask them who sees birds and is also good with them. In Chicago, there are only 3 places -- and all of them require me to drive 90 minutes one way! NONE of them will keep a bird over the weekend. So before you buy a bird, be sure you know what you will do if the bird gets sick. Also, as soon as your bird does anything unusual, they usually ARE sick. You need to study a book about bird diseases. If you wait until the bird looks ill, the bird is probably almost dead. (Birds in the wild try never to look sick, so as not to be left behind from the flock or become a meal for another animal.)

NEVER BUY AN ANIMAL ON IMPULSE. DON'T BUY FROM A BIRD FAIR. You’ll be tempted, as I was, to buy a different kind of bird from what you initially went there for -- e.g., I went to buy an African Gray so I could teach it to talk, and came home with a lovebird, who was friendly only for about 2 months and then began biting anyone and everyone to the point that we could not take her out of the cage. Lovebirds are also so small that they easily get lost inside lights and other enclosed spaces.

DON’T BUY FROM PETSMART OR ANY KIND OF BIRD CHAIN. Instead, buy a copy of “Bird Talk” from such a store, and find a nearby private breeder in the classifieds section. People who raise birds in their homes usually give them a lot of TLC and handfeed them, so they usually become healthy, happy birds with you. Birds who come from Petsmart and other large chains are taken from wild birds that have mated in their enclosures, examined way too briefly by some vet who is looking at hundreds of birds, given a huge dose of antibiotic, and sent to your state in a truck. It’s a horrible way to transport birds. You will never know exactly how old your bird is, or what kinds

on 8/8/2006 I have a macaw and she always acts as if she wants to be held, and sometimes she does, but a lot of the time she just wants to pull your hair out. They can be very aggressive, talk to your bird as if it were a child. If scolding the bird, keep it short but heard. Never hit the bird if it gets out of line, this will cause them to be frightened almost all of the time, or if it is a big bird, then they may become aggressive and vicious.

on 11/22/2005 If you plan to get a very large bird such as a macaw or cokatoo then you must understand the amount of attention that they require, a acoomon problem is that people buy birds and they do not preovde the attention needed, tis can result in the bird becoming distressed and very violent, and large birds can bit hard. another prblem which can arise is feather plucking, the bird will remove all off its feathers over time to attract attention.

on 11/22/2005 Birds are very intelligent and emotional creatures. They require an extreme amount of attention and patience. They can have the average I.Q. of a five year old child. Anybody planning to adopt a parrot (especially a macaw or cockatoo), should do extensive research before purchasing a bird.

on 11/22/2005 Some of these tips may be misleading. A love bird can make ten times as much noise as a bird three times its size. Please, please, always research. Don't buy a bird because it is popular in a movie. And that cockatiel that is so snuggly and cute will have at least 2 extremely loud outbursts per day that can be heard for blocks. Visit rescue shelters and breeders before the pet store.

on 11/22/2005 Toys are going to be the most expensive thing over the long haul. Parrots have the natural need to chew wood, including your furniture! Most birds/Parrots larger than budgies and finches can completly distroy a shiny new wooden toy in moments. Make sure the size of the toy is appropriate for the parrot you have in order to aviod an injury.

on 11/22/2005 Be sure to find out what a parrot's expected life span is! Many of them could live for as long as you will, or longer. Be sure you've made reasonable arrangements for the distant future.

on 11/22/2005 If you purchase a bird for $1000, assume you'll spend at least another $1000 on cage, vet bills, accessories. The bigger (more expensive) the bird, the bigger and more expensive the toys it needs.