Starter Birds

[Matt Alyk]

Just a poll on what you guys think. This is not advice for me, just a poll. I have my beliefs set.
My opinion:
I don't believe in starter birds. I think you set what bird you want, research for months, volunteer at shelters and deal with that kind of bird that you want, than adopt or buy. In my opinion, if you want a bird say...a macaw or something, people will definitely say "not a good first bird,". I think quiet the contrary. As long as you've done your research, and spent some decent time around them "volunteering," You would most likely be ready. One of the major problems I see with "starter birds" is once you've had the starter bird for a while and make the jump to a larger parrot, than you have the large parrot, but you also have this other bird that you really never wanted in the first place. Depending on who you are, that could lead to an imbalance of attention. Your large parrot might get all the attention in the world, while the "starter bird may only get a few scratches here and there. Also, using a living thing as a "training purpose" doesn't really sit with me.
As a warrant, my first bird was a cockatoo. Everything was just fine and going extremely well, but than we found my dog was extremely allergic to cockatoo dander. Sending her back to the shelter worked just fine, she was happy to see the caretakers at the shelter again.

So, in conclusion, I just want to see what you guys think. All opinions are appreciated

[marie83]

I don't think the answer is quite as clear cut as yes or no to "starter" birds so I haven't voted. When I was 16 I wanted a macaw and indeed even now there's loads of bird species I would jump at the chance to take in if I could provide a good home for them.

Anyway I don't like the term "starter bird" as it sounds kind of temporary- something to replace for something bigger and better or something that's going to be second best at some point in the future so for that reason I don't agree people should get starter birds in that sense of the word. However in another way I do think housing a less needy bird can help people to understand the level of care they need and that a different species may be even harder (depending on the birds of course).
I know for a fact that for me it wouldn't have mattered how much experience or knowledge I had about macaws back then or even now because they just wouldn't have been a good fit for my life no matter how much I tried to fit with the bird, after all we all have limitations so for now and probably years to come I will only house the birds I know I can do a good job with- no amount of reading and experience can change that.

Anyway in essence I do agree with what your saying, people need to go out of their way to ensure they have as much knowledge and experience prior to taking one on AND I would never say "oh get something that's more likely to be easier first" because in some cases that wont end well for the birds involved but I do feel that volunteering and learning as much as you can doesn't give you the full reality of living with a parrot day in day out. I certainly wouldn't say that it doesn't help though! At the same time I do feel like living with a bird (preferably 2) that's less demanding would give a better picture of how much extra work a more demanding species would be- as long as the person involved is aware of that fact and expecting it.

I probably haven't explained how I feel about it quite right, its hard to put into words. My first bird was a budgie that was pretty much dumped with me. I've worked with budgies before but it was completely different to have a single "pet" budgie to what I thought and what I had read about. I quickly learned that the knowledge I had about budgies was completely false and this poor single budgie needed way more care, time and attention than my sources lead me to believe. If I had gone out and got a macaw straight away I would have been in for a massive shock because back then (and we are only talking a few years really) the information about them was so basic in published books and people with any real experience were so hard to locate in my area. The only reason its so much easier to learn stuff now without knowing someone who can put you in touch with someone else who knows someone who...... is through the internet becoming available to people.

[Matt Alyk]

I get what you are saying. Words cant really explain how hard they are to take care of. And with volunteering, you still don't know what's its like to have a macaw screaming at 7:00 in the morning, and then dealing with the neighbors complaints.

[Matt Alyk]

There, added an option called "depends" for if you think its comes down to the circumstances.

[Lizz]

If you say start you also mean finish. As in: I finished with this one now I want a different one.

If I had had the money - my first bird would have been the Ma Caw that my neighbor got tired of. Then I would have just added the others I wanted.

[Pajarita]

I voted for starter birds. I don't see a connotation of their been temporary in the word, to me, it means a bird that is easier to care for than others more difficult ones, that would do well (as long as it has a bird companion of its own species) even if it doesn't get one-on-one time from a human, that's it's smaller in size and, thus, easier to house and one with an average lifespan much shorter than other species. Why? Because no amount of research, wanting, perceived commitment, volunteering, fostering, boarding, etc will give you a clear idea of whether YOU will become a good parrot keeper or not. It's only when you can't go on weekend trips and need to make 100 arrangements when you go a week on vacation somewhere, when you have to get up from bed even though you are sick and miserable, when you have to prepare fresh food day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year, when you run home because the sun is setting and get up early in the morning even though you did not go to sleep real late the night before or had a bit too much to drink, etc, etc, etc. that you really know if a parrot is for you or not. So, for a first bird, if the choice is between a bird that needs company 24/7 or starts screaming non-stop/plucking/self mutilating/biting/etc, that needs a HUGE cage and a large room to fly, that needs to eat all kinds of veggies, fruits and greens, which is going to be hanging from my neck even though it weights 3/4 lb, has claws that feel like daggers and will live 60 years, and having two small ones that live very happily on their own in an aviary, don't have too many dietary issues and will live a grand total of 15 years, I choose the second if, for nothing else, the fact that a responsible normal person can provide a good life for them while you need to be a borderline masochist to provide a good life for a big one.

[Matt Alyk]

That is true. Volunteering won't tell you what its like when things like moving due to financial problems or such forces you to rehome the bird. However, just because the bird is small and easy to take of, doesn't mean rehoming it or not giving it ample attention is okay. Also, two small, easy going birds that pretty much give themselves their own attention will not give someone experience for owing a macaw or large cockatoo. But, volunteering won't really either. In the end, I think it is a risk you have to take. However, this risk involves living things that are very sensitive, so it must be taken very seriously and very carefully.

[Wolf]

In the end, I think it is a risk you have to take. However, this risk involves living things that are very sensitive, so it must be taken very seriously and very carefully.

And this is precisely what gives rise to the concept of a starter bird in the first place, because this is exactly what the majority of people don't do.

[Matt Alyk]

This is a complicated topic. Everyone has brought up good points. I think if you are not willing to give up your free time for a bird, and not willing to labor everyday with things like cleaning, training and such, and not willing to stay behind family vacations because you have to take care of your bird, no type of parrot would probably mix well. Especially larger, more demanding ones. I think starter bird or not depends on the certain person. If you can manage to have one or two smaller parrots and one or more larger parrots, an easier bird to start with probably would work. If you just want one or two, I think that is when you have to take the risk.

[Wolf]

So much of this depends on the person just as you say and ideally they should do the research that is needed before they acquire their first bird. But depending on the person involved it can work out anyway, although I would not recommend it.
I ended up with a parrot before knowing anything about them, so I had to do a crash course on parrots and everything about taking care of them and can safely say that it is not the way to do it.