Are parrots good pets?

Question

Are they easy to take care of. can you teach them to talk easily as well?

Answer 1

They are neither easy to care for or to teach to talk. Parrots are notrious for being difficult to care for, and if you don't provide them what they need, be it social interaction, or a proper diet, your bird will develop very bad habits.

They are not a pet to be chosen lightly, as they require heavy interaction, a good diet, and excerise.

Answer 2

Hi there.Scientists have found that parrots are more intelligent than once thought comparing their intelligence to a 5 year old child. With this comes the tasks of training, communication, interacting, and socialization. Proper nutrition, cage size,training among other factors requires commitment. Some are known to be better talkers than others, but there are exceptions. Some known to be great talkers never talk. Many parrots live a very long time with proper care. Just like children, they can be messy,demanding, uncooperative, fussy and destructive.Most problems can be solved with time,patience and perseverance. Do your research and see if you have the time required to have a well adjusted, trained,and social bird.Good luck on your search. May you find a good match for your needs as well as the pet's.Take your time and have fun.

Answer 3

Parrots as pets? Well I don't know. My parrot isn't my pet, he's my little buddy, my companion. I have a sun conure and he's easy to care for. Parrot food isn't very expensive. For about ten dollars you can buy your parrot enough food to last for several months. Mine is real easy to care for, as long as I stay on top if it. Some parrots will not talk, no matter how hard you try to teach it. Some parrots, like the African Grey, you need to watch what you say around it. You won't have to teach greys to talk, they pick it up all on their own. If the bird talks or not, just show it lots of love and the parrot will return the love ten fold.

Answer 4

parrots are like children, they are alot of work, they need constant care and the cleaning can be a big chore. i would not trade my parrots for the world. there is a lot of satisfaction i get from my parrots. my grey is the first one that says hello to me in the morning, not my husband or my children. it depends on what type of parrot you get on how hard it is to teach them to talk. my Grey's were not hard at all. they started to talk when they were ready. some parrots are just not gonna talk no matter how much time you spend teaching them. owning parrots is not a decision any one should take lightly.

Answer 5

No, not unless you are a serious parrot person. The little ones like parakeets and cockatiels are easier, though.
The bigger parrots are basically very intelligent wild birds that have been raised in captivity. They can be wonderful companions for the right person, but a parrot is a real responsibility and not for everybody. You have to learn a lot about them. Plus, they may outlive you, so you need to provide for their future.

Answer 6

Easy to take care of? Not in the slightest.
To skim over very briefly and generally their needs, they need a cage at least twice the size of them with full wing span to allow flight and proper exercise should a time come when you can't let them out. They need a fortified diet of pellets, some seeds, fruits, vegetables, grains, and pastas. They need a specified veterinarian who studied avians specifically, and these are usually more expensive. They need a variety of toys that can satisfy mental stimulation and chewing needs along with foraging needs. They need a variety of perches to avoid food pain and arthritis. Your eyes have to be open constantly to look for sickness or injury, because all birds will hide them. They need time out of the cage to interact with you to stay friendly and happy, as parrots are very social creatures who normally live in 'flock' settings. The messy statements are definitely true. If you have carpet, expect to be whipping out the vacuum everyday or every other day and expect to get poop on it. If you have hard floors, whip out the broom or a hard-floor vacuum and again, much poop. Birds have tiny systems that run quick metabolisms, so some birds will poop as much as once every 10 to 15 minutes.

Some birds come with a little extra baggage, just as a part of personality or species-specific behaviour. Some are notoriously chewers, shredders, and little hole punching machines disregarding the difference between every important and unimportant document you have. Some are terrible screamers who have an ear-drum-blowing squawk that could echo two blocks away. Some are much less cuddly and playful, some will be nippy, some will be lazy perch potatoes, some will be prone to tumours, egg-binding, and various other health issues.

It takes a lot of time, dedication, and obviously money to care for a parrot, but if you're a devoted person who's really into getting a parrot, you know exactly what you're getting yourself into (up to and including a decade to century long commitment - the shortest parrot life span is about 10 to 15 years), you have exhausted all of your research resources (books, magazines such as Bird Talk, other literature, avian communities, avian veterinarians, avian breeders), and have studied the parrot species you want in specific mind-throbbing detail, a parrot could be the pet for you.

Some species will talk well, some will mumble, some will repeat whistles, some won't make a sound aside from their natural call. African Greys, for example, have the potential to learn to speak very well and are very emotionally sensitive, large birds while budgies/parakeets are small, fragile birds who are known to mumble or at least try to mimic human language. Then there are birds such as lovebirds who are not at all known for speaking very well, and from owning 5 lovebirds over 6 years, none of mine have mumbled or spoken a word. I don't think speaking capability should be a basis on getting a parrot or not.

You should ultimately focus on what would fit into your life and home. If you're constantly moving or changing situations, you'll want a bird who is adaptable and can cope with it - not a bird who will freak and begin to pluck, become destructive, and self-mutilating or fearfully aggressive because of it. You'll want a bird that you enjoy the personality of. I say if you're really interested, go into an avian rescue (ie. Mickaboo http://www.mickaboo.com is a great rescue) and meet some of the birds. One may click with you, and the bonus to adopting an adult bird is that you don't have to deal with "terrible twos" or sexual maturity, where the birds can become clingy, mean, aggressive, territorial, and overall very hormonal. Adult birds will already have set dispositions and you'll know the temperament of the bird before getting yourself into a mess.

Answer 7

They are messy, loud, and difficult to care for. On another note, they are a pet for life since they average a life span of 40 -75 years depending on what type of parrot. And hard to teach to talk. But when they are taught to speak, you cannot teach them to shut up. You better love parrots if you wnat to get one. They are also expensive so if you change your mind about them, you may be stuck with them for a while.

Answer 8

That really depends on what kind of pet you are looking for and the space and time that you have available to care for a bird. Parrots are high maintence and require a lot of space and a house (especially the louder ones like Macaws). they take a lot of time and care but in the end are the most rewarding pets in the world. Check out www.parrotscience.com to read an expert's opinoin on why not to get one

Answer 9

They are messy, hard headed, noisy, jealous little creatures who own you lock stock and barrel. I give my parrots, gratefully, hours each day. They make me laugh out loud all the time. They take all my worries away. They love me and make me remember to take life not so seriously. I would just die without them. I have to clean a huge mess all the time. Seems like they are forever out of food. They get on my guests nerves. (can you say no one stays overnight now? yay!) I adore them. They are worth everything, every dime, every minute, hour. I have them potty trained when they are out. They know where to go to poop. They are intelligent and they keep me on my toes. If you are ready for a life change, to give yourself unselfishly, go for it. If you are wanting a puppy in a bag to show off, get something else.

Answer 10

yes but tons and tons of work they need lots of attention and are very expencive i think its best to start out with cockatiels there like little parrots you can hold them they will talk if you teach them and there much less work look into it cockatiels are alot of fun but they have feelings and deserve good lives.