Adopting a pet parrot is a relationship like no other. Loving, intelligent and beautiful, it’s easy to see why these amazing feathered friends make the ideal pet. However, owning such a rewarding creature takes a great deal of time, care and commitment. If you owned reptiles, you wouldn’t leave them all day in vivariums, or dogs all day in kennels would you. So, why would it be any different with a parrot?
Parrots can live to 100 years of age!
Adopting parrots and leaving them all day in bird cages, can lead them to suffer from physical and emotional behavioural problems. Remember, parrots are extremely intelligent and as a result can become easily bored if neglected. The relationship between owner and bird is a special one and unlike any other domestic pet, can last an incredibly long time. Surprisingly, parrots can outlive their owners and reach a ripe old age of 100!
Does a parrot fit in with your lifestyle?
It is therefore, so important to be certain that you are adopting a parrot for the right reasons and are able to provide for them a long and healthy life. In other words, adopting a parrot is a lifetime commitment and never an impulse buy.
With this in mind, time and care are two words that are commonly used when explaining the relationship between bird and human. It is consequently vital, to consider your personal commitments before adopting these beautiful birds. A single tame bird will require a lot of human contact and so a busy work schedule or private life that takes you away from your feathered friend for long periods of time is not appropriate. Remember, your parrot didn’t choose to be adopted. So, please, make sure you have researched everything there is to know about the bird before embarking or “emsquawking ” on a commitment that could last a lifetime.
Final thoughts
Finally, owning a parrot is a massive responsibility unlike any other domesticated pet. They require attention, exercise and a lifetime of care. Birds permanently neglected and left in parrot cages, waiting for their life to be over is a shocking and sad sight and not an existence worthy for such an intelligent and beautiful creature. So, if you have even the slightest worry that this will happen, then please let someone else have the chance to provide this beautiful bird with the long, happy and healthy life it so clearly deserves.
Joseph Lewis from Petvillas
My background is from a copywriting perspective and I have created copy for Ford, Cancer Research and The Dogs Trust and also worked on the huge catalogue of pet products that we distribute from our website. I have great experience working in the pet industry. I am also an animal lover and have been rescuing abused dogs and cats since I was a child, so I care passionately about the creatures I write about.
12 Comments
Fantastic well written article! As a passionate bird keeper I wish more people could read this article and take note before jumping in to buying a parrot. So many owners return parrots after finding out they live for over 5o years. Great article.
What an excellent article. Another great one. I care greatly about our winged friends and think too many people rush in to buying parrots without researching the breed first! I do enjoy reading your articles great writer, thumbs (claws) up!!
Great article, very informative.
Thanks guys!
As a veterinarian, it is so sad when I see a once-loved pet who outlived its owner get banished to a small cage outside without any interaction.
It often leads to major behavioural and medical problems. I wish more people would read this article and understand the commitment involved in caring for a bird.
Thanks to this article I have been able to help so many of my customers with the right sized cages. Fantastic article well written. Fancy writing for me?? 🙂
Parrots, turtles, etc are definitely a long term commitment. All pets are a big commitment, nonetheless. Articles like this are great to give people insight and a sense of responsibility when adopting any pet.
http://www.luxpetsitting.com
Great article, very informative. Thanks guys!
I wish so many more people would do their research before purchasing pets! I’ve seen (as we all have) people giving up their pets due to not having the knowledge or not having the time to commit to them. Parrots being one of them. Its amazing how people don’t realize how long they live!
Shannon Cole – Shannon’s Pet-Sitting
Compassionate, Professional, Better Business Bureau Accredited Pet Care.
Serving Suburban Lake, Cook & Kane Counties in Illinois
WEBSITE: http://www.shannonspetsitting.net
BLOG: http://shannonspet-sittingtwilightbark.blogspot.com/
EMAIL: shannonspetsitting@hotmail.com
People definitely need to consider these things before buying or adopting a parrot. I have wanted one since I was a little girl; but at the same time, a parrot could easily outlive you, especially if you’re an adult. As a responsible pet owner, you have to have a back-up plan for the care of your pet.
Wow! Parrots are really amazing. I totally agree with the author, they should be well taken cared of as well. Like other animals they also need exercise in order for their body to be at topmost shape at all times.
People who have interests in having pets of their own should conduct a thorough research so that they would know if the pet is appropriate for their way of life. Parrots are also delicate animals and they should be taken cared of properly.
Well I’m not that much of a fan of parrots but I do love pets and I have rabbits and a golden retriever at my home. I would like to try and have birds someday, but I guess having rabbits and a golden retriever right now takes up so much of my time.