When deciding to purchase pet parrots many people tend to forget about the subject of parrot care. Well, maybe they don’t forget about parrot care, but the reality of how much care a parrot needs is not generally on the top of their list.
Sadly, many people think that owning pet parrots is one of the easier choices to make for a family pet rather than say, a dog or cat. They erringly think that parrot care is not as time consuming as if they owned a pet dog, but surprise! Pet Parrots generally require more parrot care than a pet dog would need.
Let’s just take a moment to think about the comparisons here.
Dog Care vs. Parrot Care which is easier?
Dogs need to be walked a few times per day
Parrots need to be let out of their cages a few times per day
Dogs need to be brushed and bathed
Parrot Care involves bathing your pet parrots a few times a week
Dogs need to run
Pet Parrots need time outside their cage to exercise and fly (if their wings are not clipped)
Dogs eat out of their food dishes
Pet Parrots love to throw their food around. It’s a foraging instinct that they have. Be sure that you will be picking up a lot of food from the floor if you own pet parrots.
Pet Parrot Care involves a lot of diversity in the parrots diet also. It’s not enough to just give you pet parrots bird seed. They need fruits and vegetables and some pet parrots may even need more specialized food such as suet. Parrot Care is a lot more involved when it comes to feeding than it is with a pet dog.
Pet Parrot Care may involve wing clipping. This is something you should discuss with your avian vet. Many people prefer to clip their pet parrots wings in order to ensure the safety of their pet parrots. This is something you can learn to do yourself, but it can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. Only certain feathers will need to be cut from your pet parrots wings and you must take care not to cut any blood feathers. You will definitely need to know what to look for when doing this so you must take great care not to injure your pet parrots.
If you decide to get this done at the avian vets then it will cost you money. This will need to be done at least twice a year, along with nail trimming. Be sure to add this to your list of things to do for Pet Parrot Care.
Pet Parrots can get caught in drafts and or get sick from toxins in the home very easily. Once the bird appears sick then it is a good chance that it is too late to even save the bird. You will have to get to the avian vet as quickly as possible. Pet Parrots are much more delicate than pet dogs and therefore Parrot Care is a little more demanding and more expensive.
Avian veterinarians are specialist in Parrot Care and usually charge more than a regular animal veterinarian will cost.
Pet Parrots are also very intelligent creatures and need constant stimulation to keep them occupied. This means lots of time socializing with family and plenty of time playing with parrot toys. You will need to keep the cost of parrot toys in your Parrot care budget because they go through toys very quickly because of their strong beaks. They will rip apart anything made with wood and this is to be encouraged. They are used to doing this in the wild and so it should not be stopped just because they are now a family pet. Pet parrots need lots of parrot toys and these should be changed about regularly to keep up the interest in them by your pet parrot. Introducing new pet parrots toys will be discussed in another post as it needs to be done with care.
These are just a few things to think about when considering parrot care. If you don’t think you have time for all that is involved then perhaps you should consider getting a cat instead.
