Opinions?

[jaimmorr]

The following was posted on a different (bird/parrot) forum. A woman had asked about acquiring an Amazon parrot. This was one of the responses:



If you look in the Too section you will see that no one thinks you should have one as a starting parrot. If you look in the macaw section you will find people who dont think macaws are good for first time parrot owners. If you look in the Grey section you will find the same. So then what large parrot should you start with? (with the exception of the male eclectus - no ever has anything bad to say about them but stay far far far away from the females). No small bird will ever fully prepare you for a large parrot. So if your going to get one, it needs to be something that you absolutely love. You need to meet as many different parrots as possible to find the one that is just right for you. A pet store or most breeders will sell you anything (the reputable ones are sadly few and far between), they are looking for profits and need to move birds. A good rescue will look at your life situation, your personality and can match you up to the right breed (doesn't mean that you have to have a rescued bird, just picking the right type of bird for you). You need to make sure that you can stand next to them while they are making all kinds of noise (preferably their most annoying) and not be bothered by it. For instance, I am immune to the M2s scream, not sure how, when she sounds off I stress more about what the neighbors think (because yes, even when shes inside they can hear her inside their house) but it truly doesn't bother me. Your parrot that you will get, will more than likely live with you for the rest of your life. Take the time to meet several in person, in all kinds of different areas before making a decision.

My first parrot was a Too, my current parrot is a Too, they both worked out lovely because I made it work and they were right for me (unfortunately I'm a Too person, there are days where I'd rather be an any other kind of parrot person). No matter what parrot you get you will have to put tons of work into them, they all make a mess, their all destructive, they all take up a lot of time and they all cost a lot of $ to maintain. There are horror stories for every type imaginable. You've been doing the research by reading and have picked this type for some reason (maybe its your gut), now go out into the field and find what fits for you. Meet them and see what you think.


Do you agree or disagree?

[pennyandrocky]

i agree my first was an and it worked out well for me.i don't believe in starter birds it's about what each person can handle,their home,and how much time they can spend with a bird.people come to my house and see sweet well behaved pretty birds and say they want one,until i tell them what it's really like.
when i was speaking to the rescue i adopted mya from i was told to read everything i could before i could even visit her, i found a breeder website the only thing true on there was size and color fortunately i spoke to the man fostering her for 2 weeks and knew what she was really like from him and hearing her in the backround.

[Saerphe]

I agree on the part about meeting as many individual birds as you can. Since every bird's personality is different, you could very well end up coming across one that, as a species you may not have originally considered, but as an individual meshes better with your lifestyle.

Some people get lucky in this way with the large birds. You can't depend on getting lucky every time. That's why people need to do tons of research and know their limits BEFORE they commit to the bird. I've met and handled a lot of Amazons that I absolutely adored, but I know I couldn't handle one as my first large parrot. Living with the bird and handling it occasionally at a pet store or rescue are two totally different things.