Jun 04 2007
Parrots
So, why make another page about parrots, you may ask? Several different reasons that I can think of. Yeah, there’s lots of other parrot pages out there. Lots of them have good content, some of them have usable information, but there’s also many out there still that have crap. Pure crap, that really shouldn’t have ever been brought to the web. Not to mention that a lot of the information that is available is largely aimed at folks who own smaller birds - budgerigars, cockatiels, conures and quakers all seem to be rather well represented on the interweb. And yes, there are some great big bird resources out there, but there’s not the same richness and completeness of the information. I hope to provide another resource that people can turn to for assistance in caring for their parrots; to correct misinformation that may be out there, provide links to references that I use as well as present knowledge that may not be available online at this point in time.
What’s my qualifications? In the grand scheme of things, I’ve only been working with parrots for a fraction of the time that some of the bigger names have - I started working at a bird store in 1999 and purchased my first bird in 2000. I had been exposed to birds occasionally before that although they wouldn’t have been my first choice in pets before I met Marlette, my yellow-naped Amazon hen. Six months after Marlette came home I met Pixie, my Umbrella cockatoo. Four years later I met Shalamar at a rescue I volunteered for and she joined the flock six months later. The girls and I have been through local and cross-country moves, airplane flights, emergency vet trips, egg laying, cage upgrades, toy making experiements and all kinds of other events. We might not have made the right decisions all the time, but we’re still together and we’ve gained lots of valuable experiences from our adventures.
One thing that I’ll be blunt and straight-forward about right from the beginning is that not all parrots are pets for just anybody. A good friend and former roommate frequently tells friends that parrots should require that the pet owner be liscenced, similar to falconry requirements in the United States, so that the owners are required to learn what their feathered companion requires before accepting the responsibility of caring for them. I largely agree with him. Like falcons, parrots take a lot of time, effort, and in some ways lifestyle commitments to be able to be a worthwhile family companion. Parrots aren’t as easy to care for as many people would assume - it takes more than just a cage, some seed, and a perch or two to take care of a parrot. But with a little foresight, some patience, and a lot of dedication, great relationships with your parrot are possible.