Steps To Select A Pet Parrot

It seems exciting to see a friend have a feathery pet sitting on his shoulder and asking him for a cracker; however it is best to know that parrots though excellent companions are also high on maintenance, have specialized nutrition needs, with  most parrot species differing from one another in temperament and personality.

Steps to take before getting a pet parrot:

• Adopting different species of parrots like conures, macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels and budgies requires doing some homework. The information about these parrots can be got by browsing the net and going to specialty "enthusiast sites”; however sometimes "enthusiast sites” may not give you the right picture. One good reference book is "Birds for Dummies."

• Do not take your decision to own parrot specie very lightly; consider that most species live for 20 years or more with some living for 50 to 80 years and most species bond very strongly with their owners. You would be smart in making several visits to a local pet parrot store to know about the different species of parrots.

• Once you have decided to adopt parrot specie, it would be best to talk to other parrot owners about their personality, needs and commitment of time. You could also gather information about parrot species that are loud, and the amount of human interaction needed on a daily basis. Most parrots require at least a few hours a day outside their cages to interact with the family.  

• Think over and decide where you are going to put the parrot specie you adopted; it is best to remember that all parrots are messy and they would not suit a neat freak. In addition you will require ample space for parrots of the medium or large size; cages of about 24x36" wide and 36-60" tall or more with some kind of perch or play gym outside the cage is needed.

• It is also important to realize that it is impossible to engage your parrot all the time; toys help to keep the parrot mentally stimulated, give them something to play with and explore and keeps them entertained. It is also good to note that all parrots get bored easily with toys, so it is very important to keep the toys fresh and rotate them many times in a month. It is also significant that getting toys for small parrots is easy, while it could be expensive for large parrot species.  

• Last but most important it is best to remember that parrots are wild animals and were not selectively bred to be domesticated or kept as household pets like cats, dogs or farm animals; so you can never expect them to be as predictable and docile as cats or dogs. You need to train your parrot with guidance; at the same time you need to learn how to adapt to their unique personalities.

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