Things To-Be Parrot Owners Need To Consider: Discussion:

[Chantilly]

Things To-Be Parrot Owners Need To Consider: A message to Those Wanting A parrot as A Pet
upon the following threads I was inspired to make a thread on the things somebody getting a parrot needs to take into consideration first, hopefully this will be interesting
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=15451&start=30
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=15408

What do people need to take into consideration upon the consideration of becoming a parrot owner? I am going to list my top on the list, please continue it on. A the end of each year I have to give a presentation for school, *sarcastic 'yay.* ... so I might end up piecing something like this up for that *yet another sarcastic 'yay.*
Here we go:
-Not every parrot will talk, or sing, or whistle or dance or do any tricks, so please, please, pretty please, do not get a bird if this is what you are looking for. A parrot is a living creature, it is not some creature to be used for the amusement and entertainment of yourself or others, they are like teenagers, they are not going to do something just because you ask, there has to be a strong loving bond and this takes time and effort (even with this not every bird will end up learning to talk or do any tricks).
-A parrot is a LIFE TIME COMMITMENT! Different species can and do live for 20-100 years. That is a LONG time!!! Take this into consideration before buying any parrot, and with everything else that will be listed, you will have to put up with it all for that long life.
-Parrots are expensive!!! Like, seriously, they are REALLY expensive, and I am not talking about the price of the actual parrot, no I am talking about what comes after that. The price of a decent cage to start of with, species depending $200+, Ican expect to spend $30 on toys alone each month per bird, $10+ on perches and other accessories, and then on top of this the cost of their dry diet which for me is amount another $10 a month (they will need soft foods too.)... And its a hit and miss, last week I spent $120 on toys for my two (6 toys, 3 each.), and they have not touched any of them, even with me showing them how to play with them and pretending to be obsorbed with them. It is like trying to buy clothes for someone without them being there to try them on.
_______Please continue on _______ <(^~^<)
Mabye this was a lame idea, everyone here already obviously already knows of all these 'responsibilities', but 'ay, mabye this will change something for someone passing through considering getting a bird without actually realising they are not just stunt performers or copy cats. Also this is not meant as a 'no one should get a bird they are just plain awful' speech, it is meant as a 'do you really want a bird? are you really prepared.' And I thought it would be interesting what other top ideas would be suggested
-dont get me wrong I love my babies to the death,

image.jpg (98.34 KiB) Viewed 4128 times

Because this is a bird 65% of the time, the other 35% is sweet little cuddle bunny time, which for me has always been worth it all.

[Pajarita]

I would put 'Consider your lifestyle' at the top of the list. Parrots cannot adjust to the lifestyles of 'normal' people so the most important thing to take into consideration, in my personal opinion, is whether you will be able to keep the bird at a solar schedule and give it a minimum of 4 hours a day of out-of-cage time as well as 2 hours of one-on-one (and these two hours cannot include training, they are just for company and nothing else) for the duration of the parrot's (or your) life.

[seagoatdeb]

Chantilly, making your own toys for parrots is much cheaper, and they usually love the toys right away, because they watch you make them.

You have to think of parrots almost like kids, except they never grow up. They are a big responsibility, and they give you joy like kids do and they also give you the hard time kids can too.

[Chantilly]

Chantilly, making your own toys for parrots is much cheaper, and they usually love the toys right away, because they watch you make them.

You have to think of parrots almost like kids, except they never grow up. They are a big responsibility, and they give you joy like kids do and they also give you the hard time kids can too.

Agreed, I always make them toys using coconut hust, shell and natural wooden blocks from branches outside and well dried,boiled corn husk (safe trees and everything heat treated.) and butcher paper and the birds are straight at these toys shredding them completely within a day or two... I cut my peices in bulk amounts then sanding them off and drilling holes through them, but by doing big amounts I have found that mold is a problem which means you have to put one of those moisture thingies next to them all.
My schoolwork has been so hectic lately and even though I always hold the birds during school time I am not finding heaps of spare time for toy making- which really sucks.
Thankyou seagoat, can I ask what you would use for your homemade toys?

I would put 'Consider your lifestyle' at the top of the list. Parrots cannot adjust to the lifestyles of 'normal' people so the most important thing to take into consideration, in my personal opinion, is whether you will be able to keep the bird at a solar schedule and give it a minimum of 4 hours a day of out-of-cage time as well as 2 hours of one-on-one (and these two hours cannot include training, they are just for company and nothing else) for the duration of the parrot's (or your) life.

That is a really good one, definately belongs to the top, thanks Paj

[ms pato]

Great post Chantilly
As a first time parrot owner, I'd have to add "patience". If you don't have the time or the patience to bond with your parrot, then just don't get one.

Next, get a parrot only if you can be a responsible bird owner. Think of it as a feathered child, previous and demanding but fun to be around

[seagoatdeb]

Chantilly, making your own toys for parrots is much cheaper, and they usually love the toys right away, because they watch you make them.

You have to think of parrots almost like kids, except they never grow up. They are a big responsibility, and they give you joy like kids do and they also give you the hard time kids can too.

Agreed, I always make them toys using coconut hust, shell and natural wooden blocks from branches outside and well dried,boiled corn husk (safe trees and everything heat treated.) and butcher paper and the birds are straight at these toys shredding them completely within a day or two... I cut my peices in bulk amounts then sanding them off and drilling holes through them, but by doing big amounts I have found that mold is a problem which means you have to put one of those moisture thingies next to them all.
My schoolwork has been so hectic lately and even though I always hold the birds during school time I am not finding heaps of spare time for toy making- which really sucks.
Thankyou seagoat, can I ask what you would use for your homemade toys?

I use pine slabs in an assortment of sizes, because mine like pine to chew the most. I dye them with food grade food colouring. I have lots of lilacs in the yard so lilac branches become perches, playgrounds, ladders....etc. I get cotton dog ropes from the dollar store, and they become orbits, atoms, boings, and ropes for climbing. I use coffee filters and cupcake filters to hide crinkled paper and almond treats, I add all kinds of chewies to seagrass mats and untreated wicker baskets. I use tea tree rings and clamp them together to make swings. I use all kinds of things to make foot toys, In Canada, Things for wings has a lot of cheap toy making supplies, so they have the odds and ends, and often on sale. My daughters conure needs smaller toys than my pois, so when i make something for him he gets thin pine, balsa.

If you are having any trouble with mold, which doest happen here because we are so dry, you can always bake in the oven.

[~Karen]

I knew nothing about parrots before I found myself at the vet with my first one. I was way behind the curve...my bird knew more than I did about his care. I'd like to think that since then I've caught up, but some days I wonder.

#1 for me; I didn't realize how much my schedule would change and be such a strict one. Mandatory was that I was needed to get my birds up in the morning on time, get them to bed at night on time (my birds are in cages for the nighttime) and be there for 2 meals a day! I am an integral part of their flock.

[Chantilly]

Thankyou everyone

Great post Chantilly
As a first time parrot owner, I'd have to add "patience". If you don't have the time or the patience to bond with your parrot, then just don't get one.

Next, get a parrot only if you can be a responsible bird owner. Think of it as a feathered child, previous and demanding but fun to be around

Agreed thankyou ms pato! Yes they are very demanding, and they take so much patience!

I knew nothing about parrots before I found myself at the vet with my first one. I was way behind the curve...my bird knew more than I did about his care. I'd like to think that since then I've caught up, but some days I wonder.

#1 for me; I didn't realize how much my schedule would change and be such a strict one. Mandatory was that I was needed to get my birds up in the morning on time, get them to bed at night on time (my birds are in cages for the nighttime) and be there for 2 meals a day! I am an integral part of their flock.

Yes! Aww I hate getting up early, I am a night person, but I have been getting up 6:30-7:00 (sun up) to the point of automaticly waking then, gosh it is hard during winter, just want to keep warm under the blankets

Thankyou Karen and ms pato

[Chantilly]

Chantilly, making your own toys for parrots is much cheaper, and they usually love the toys right away, because they watch you make them.

You have to think of parrots almost like kids, except they never grow up. They are a big responsibility, and they give you joy like kids do and they also give you the hard time kids can too.

Agreed, I always make them toys using coconut hust, shell and natural wooden blocks from branches outside and well dried,boiled corn husk (safe trees and everything heat treated.) and butcher paper and the birds are straight at these toys shredding them completely within a day or two... I cut my peices in bulk amounts then sanding them off and drilling holes through them, but by doing big amounts I have found that mold is a problem which means you have to put one of those moisture thingies next to them all.
My schoolwork has been so hectic lately and even though I always hold the birds during school time I am not finding heaps of spare time for toy making- which really sucks.
Thankyou seagoat, can I ask what you would use for your homemade toys?

I use pine slabs in an assortment of sizes, because mine like pine to chew the most. I dye them with food grade food colouring. I have lots of lilacs in the yard so lilac branches become perches, playgrounds, ladders....etc. I get cotton dog ropes from the dollar store, and they become orbits, atoms, boings, and ropes for climbing. I use coffee filters and cupcake filters to hide crinkled paper and almond treats, I add all kinds of chewies to seagrass mats and untreated wicker baskets. I use tea tree rings and clamp them together to make swings. I use all kinds of things to make foot toys, In Canada, Things for wings has a lot of cheap toy making supplies, so they have the odds and ends, and often on sale. My daughters conure needs smaller toys than my pois, so when i make something for him he gets thin pine, balsa.

If you are having any trouble with mold, which doest happen here because we are so dry, you can always bake in the oven.

Awesome thankou! It is great to know that baking again will help rid it of mold

[Wolf]

While the dry heat will stop the growth of the mold and most likely kill the live mold, I am not sure that it will kill the spores., and you still need to clean the item to get rid in the mold on it. I Know that bleach will kill the mold and I think that it also kills the spores. So I would wash the items, if possible in bleach and then rinse and clean all of the surface mold off and then bake at 425 F, for one half to one hour.

Also you mentioned using butcher paper for making toys, I don't use butcher paper, but do use the white packing paper that I find at Wal Mart on occasion. I do not use the butcher paper because of the wax coating on the one side of it.