People who have not owned a parrot previously often mistakenly believe a parrot is a decorative, clean, and quiet pet that will require very little attention, talk or perform funny tricks when asked. Parrots or psittacines are exceedingly sensitive, intellectual creatures that require a stimulating and dependable environment. Larger parrots, also called hooked bills (due to the shape of their beak) require more time and attention than the usual family pets, like cats or dogs.
Parrots Thrive on Consistency
Although, a parrot as a pet does not require to be let out late at night or need to be taken for a walk when it is raining or snowing outside, they do require a fairly consistent daily schedule when it comes to playing, feeding, and even sleeping. Most parrots do not do well if their owner is gone for long periods of time or work nights. All parrots need daily scheduled out of cage supervised play time. The more consistent the parrot’s daily life is the happier the parrot. This is especially true for larger birds such as the Congo African Grey (CAG) and the Umbrella Cockatoo (U2).
In addition, larger pet parrots require larger parrot cages, which are more expensive and take up more space in the home. All parrot pets like to play. Parrots need to chew on wooden type items to keep their beak trim and prevent it from becoming overgrown or deformed. Larger parrots need larger toys to destroy (and large toys cost more around 25-30 dollars each). Due to their highly destructive nature these toys need to be replaced regularly as they are whittled down to nothing.
Parrots are Inquisitive and Destructive
Parrots are intellectually inquisitive about their environment. Yet, if a parrot is left unsupervised, it can and will destroy anything in its path, including the dining room chair the bird is perched upon when the owner walks into another room. Cockatoos especially seem to have a particular affinity for the finer woods or irreplaceable antiques in homes.
Both the Grey Parrots and the Cockatoos are dusty birds, their feathers have a fine white powdered dander which coats any horizontal surface, unless the birds are misted gently with warm water or accompany their owner into the shower regularly. Ironically, the white dander helps them shed water and stay dry when living in nature and it is raining.
Parrot Separation Anxiety
In nature parrots rarely separate from their flock. If the flock is separated the parrots immediately begin to whistle or call loudly to each other. They call back and forth to acknowledge or reassure the members of the flock that they are nearby and safe. If a parrot fails to answer when the flock by whistling back to answer, the remaining parrots will continue to whistle and call out briefly and then stop and listen for a response. The flock will continue to repeat this calling behavior, waiting for an answer for hours. When a parrot fails to answer the call of the other birds it is likely the parrot has met with a premature and violent death from a predator.
When a parrot joins the family, essentially the human family becomes the parrots flock. This is why when a human family member walks into another room and is out of eyesight a parrot will begin to call out. The parrot is attempting to find out where its flock member has gone and will usually call out louder and louder until the human answers or returns within eyesight. When the human flock member answers a call in a soft voice or whistle they are simply reassuring the bird that they have not disappeared forever.
Birds are Noisy Drama Queens
When a parrot is calling for their humans and the call goes unanswered the parrot will become louder and louder, until often the owner runs back to the bird beseeching the bird to “Be QUIET!” This drama teaches the bird “My human has now been trained to come when called” and a LOUD bird gets RESULTS! Drama teaches a bird to do exactly what the owner does not want it to do and it only takes one time to create an undesirable pattern of what some bird owners deem as screaming.
Even when a bird is not a screamer they are not quiet pets. Birds are noisy periodically throughout the day. Including when the first light of the day breaks the darkness, and again when the sun is setting and darkness is approaching. This is when birds chitter, chatter, and make birdie noises. At other times parrots make noise in attempts to gain their owners attention responding in a dramatic manner to the noise will only cause the bird to learn to be noisy.
Before making a decision to bring a parrot as a pet into the home answer the following questions:
- Do you have one to three hours a day to devote solely to your fine feathered friend?
- Can you afford a large cage, expensive toys, a variety of bird food and treats and yearly veterinarian bills? Avian vets are more expensive, and harder to find than your average cat or dog veterinarian.
- Are you willing to accept something in your home that will hoot and holler at dawn, then again at dusk, be extremely messy, throw its food, poop on you, leave a fine white waxy dust on everything, believe the sparkly earrings you are wearing are personal toys and act like most three-year-olds who tend to believe the world revolves entirely around them?
If you answered yes (honestly) to all of the questions, then welcome to Parrothood!
Erika Lyn Smith - Erika Lyn Smith - is a Psych RN, who has completed the UMSL Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course, and is finishing a BS in ...
