Children owning Parrots

[ParrotsForLife]

Do you think children should have a parrot as a pet? Yes or No
To be honest I don't think children should own a parrot unless of course they can provide everything for the bird Cage,Food and other supplies including vet fees.I am 15 years old and started off with a Budgie named Joey and sadly he died of a heart attack after that I had 3 budgies and started training since then and now I own 2 wonderful cockatiels and a beautiful Plum headed parakeet and even help others who want advice or a little help training their Parrots.Not all children are the same I pay for all my birds supplies Food,Toys and vet fees if needed and if however something went wrong and I needed help paying for a very expensive vet fee I have a Mother who would help any of my birds as she loves them all just as she loves her own.There are Children who own Parrots and other pets that maybe they were able to buy the parrot but their parents bought everything else or they got the Bird as a present for their Birthday or Christmas.Parrots are not easy to take care of and I don't think any child should own one unless they can really pay for everything! And if you are new to owning parrots the best thing I did was join a forum for birds and I learn something new everyday.Feel free to comment your opinions there is no right or wrong answer.

[Pajarita]

As with anything else, if I had to make a personal decision of whether to give a parrot to a child, I would do it based on that particular child's case and circumstances and the parrot itself but if I have to give a general answer, I would say No. I actually think that parrots should not be kept as pets by humans, period. Forget about age. I find the practice to be completely one-sided as, because of the impossibility of fulfilling their needs, the only party that truly benefits is the human. But, when it comes to children, it's even worse because keeping a parrot takes such a long term commitment and amount of knowledge and work that a child cannot possible cope with it and have a normal childhood, too. So the practice ends up been not only unfair to the bird, but also unfair to the child.

[ParrotsForLife]

Exactly where did owning pets come from? There is simply no need to have pets.They are great company and all but they had their own lives and now lots of animals are kept as pets.There are a lot of people out there that don't even care about the parrot they are buying like those men who were gonna take Rio and were trying to get a cheaper price and then as soon as they seen Rocko on my shoulder they asked for him and I said no he is not for sale and they said you can get a new one and I said no and I didn't let them take Rio either they definitely were not the right owners.And in the end I gave him away free and he went to a nice home and he is still looking happy everyday.

[JessiMuse]

And yet here we all are, a community filled with people who have with several feathered pets of their own. Ironic, isn't it?

As for me, it depends. I do not think young children should have parrots. 12 and up might be ok IF they show that they are responsible enough, but I would not trust a younger child with the responsibility that comes with owning a parrot. I honestly would not trust them with any kind of pet, as it's a big responsibility. Reason I say that, is that I've had pets at a very young ante, and when I look back on it, I was a pretty irresponsible kid. It didn't help that some of the pets I had were exotic ones that my parents didn't know much more about than I did. I eventually started growing some sense around age 13, and started doing research of my own.

Also, while having parrots as pets can be seen as pointless, it can be argued that there is use for for animals like dogs and horses, as there are some breeds that are bred for work (Some horses bred to pull carts and carry things on their backs, some dogs are bred for herding livestock, guarding territory, hunting, etc.). Chicken are also bred for food, as they lay eggs, goats, cows and some other livestock for milk, sheep and alpaca for wool, etc.. We have found many uses for animals, so we can't really call them useless. While I do agree that some exotic pets should be kept wild, there are some that have gone through generations upon generation of domestication and artificial selection, that it's not really possible to reintroduce them to the wild.

In fact, if it weren't for these animals, aside from learning to grow food, we would most likely still be hunter-gatherers, and not have advanced as much in society as we have.
Well that might be an over exaggeration, but something about society wouldn't be the same.

[Chantilly]

When i was born my family moved from NSW to QLD and bought acerage. We have over 40 acres of land, and only about 8 is not bush.
I have always grown up with pets, Horses, Goats, Dogs, Cats, Fish. Me and my younger brother have always loved animals, and eventually when i was around 8 Me and my siblings got our own pet each, a baby chicken. Now allot of people would go 'Ha you have a pet chicken' or 'Why would you name it... Its food'. My sister was intreseted till they were 6months old and then really just started to stop helping. Eventually my brother lost intrest too, though it took about three or so years and he still does offer to help, just not with a smile, so that leaves me to do the cleaning, feeding, and catching whoever decides that the dont want to go in the pen for the night.
We have had fish over time (including a betta that lives for three years ), but my elder sister didnt get or want one.
And there has been several other animals we gotten since. My dad, brother and I got a reptile, but still, my sister showed no intrest. Tilly is a family pet, Mum and I clean her, and I chop her vegies each day, but my sister does not help anything that she does not see will benifit her (which really annoys me!) and when she holds her she will be bored of her within 10 minutes.
All I can say is that my sister is happy to have the good jobs, but leaves the dirty work, her life revolves around sport, working, social media friends, and 'boys'.
Im not saying parrots should have been taken from the wild, but kids owning pets can be ok, so long as they respect the animal, listen to it, and are responsible, which my elder sister spends to much time with friends to be. But that is her choice, and her loss. Friends are often not real, but pets are always there for you, so long as you are for them.
Also ever scince grade 2 i have been homeschooled, mabye that also helped me be more responsible rather than a hypo sqealing kid.
I am a teen now, but i do remember how thrilled i was to have my own birdy to care for, even if it was a chicken, and it was my first step into a life with birds, now i cant get enough of them. Having that one baby chicken who I named Mango (passed on Anzac day 2013) convinced me to be be vegetarian as a soon as i got her, and i have been ever scince.
What I was getting at was it depends on the individual, their behaviour, priorities, and lifestyle in general. You learn so much from having pets.
I couldnt imagine a life without my pets, i would be lost, because they are such a big part of my life. Having them i must sacrifice allot, but they are, to me, worth it.
But i dont think just any kid should have a pet /parrot or not/ it really does depend on that one person.

[Chantilly]

it's even worse because keeping a parrot takes such a long term commitment and amount of knowledge and work that a child cannot possible cope with it and have a normal childhood, too. So the practice ends up been not only unfair to the bird, but also unfair to the child.

Thats why I everyone looks at me like im a wierdo!

[Wolf]

I don't believe that there is just any one thing that led to animals becoming pets. With dogs they scavenged around our camps and served a very real function of cleaning up after us and therefore reduced disease, sometime after that we realized that they also warned us of the approach of other humans intent on harming us, then we learned that they could protect us from these other humans and that they could help us to hunt. Some where in there we learned that other animals could help us first as a food source and then for work and transportation. Certain animals took on esoteric attributes and were first hunted and then kept for religious reasons. With these development we started having larger villages and towns and part of early society transformed and commerce was born. It was at this point that I believe that some animals began to transform into status symbols and became pets and companions.

I can't honestly weigh in on children having any pets as I really don't think in those terms. Many of you are young enough and I am now old enough that you are children to me. I look at how people treat each other and how they treat other animals so their are many people that may be young that exhibit the qualities that are required to keep animals and care for them and others that it does not matter how old they are that should never be allowed near an animal of any kind.

[Pajarita]

Animals kept by humans did not start off as pets. Dogs were domesticated to work for man (keeping cattle or flocks safe, hunting, retrieving, fighting, guarding, carrying, catching vermin, pulling, etc. - even as foot warmers!), same as horses, elephants, llamas, etc. Other animals were domesticated to provide food or other products like cows, sheep, goats, pigs, vicunas, etc. And some were either the embodiment or the messenger of a deity so they were actually revered (like in Egypt with the cats and the falcons). The 'pet' thing started later, most likely, with a few ones that would become companions instead of a working animal like the one they found in Siberia that ate human food and was buried like a human 7,000 years ago, or the Imperial Dog breed used by the Chinese emperors and royal family to warm their feet and which were carried by the owner in their sleeves, or even maybe a dog that was so good at what he did (hunting or shepherding, maybe?), bringing such pride to its owner that the owner allowed it come into the house and developed a personal relationship with it... Nobody really knows.

But, nowadays, the 'pet' thing has really gone out of control. Mind you, I am not saying that pets are not great and that we should do away with them like Peta believes! All I am saying is that undomesticated species that have complex needs we cannot fulfill should not be kept as pets. It's selfish and self-centered to do so.

[ParrotsForLife]

And yet here we all are, a community filled with people who have with several feathered pets of their own. Ironic, isn't it?

As for me, it depends. I do not think young children should have parrots. 12 and up might be ok IF they show that they are responsible enough, but I would not trust a younger child with the responsibility that comes with owning a parrot. I honestly would not trust them with any kind of pet, as it's a big responsibility. Reason I say that, is that I've had pets at a very young ante, and when I look back on it, I was a pretty irresponsible kid. It didn't help that some of the pets I had were exotic ones that my parents didn't know much more about than I did. I eventually started growing some sense around age 13, and started doing research of my own.

Also, while having parrots as pets can be seen as pointless, it can be argued that there is use for for animals like dogs and horses, as there are some breeds that are bred for work (Some horses bred to pull carts and carry things on their backs, some dogs are bred for herding livestock, guarding territory, hunting, etc.). Chicken are also bred for food, as they lay eggs, goats, cows and some other livestock for milk, sheep and alpaca for wool, etc.. We have found many uses for animals, so we can't really call them useless. While I do agree that some exotic pets should be kept wild, there are some that have gone through generations upon generation of domestication and artificial selection, that it's not really possible to reintroduce them to the wild.

In fact, if it weren't for these animals, aside from learning to grow food, we would most likely still be hunter-gatherers, and not have advanced as much in society as we have.
Well that might be an over exaggeration, but something about society wouldn't be the same.

I wouldn't call a working animal a pet and the people that own them don't call them pets they are just using them to work.

[ParrotsForLife]

it's even worse because keeping a parrot takes such a long term commitment and amount of knowledge and work that a child cannot possible cope with it and have a normal childhood, too. So the practice ends up been not only unfair to the bird, but also unfair to the child.

Thats why I everyone looks at me like im a wierdo!

I would be very different without my birds they make me smile and laugh everyday they are great company.I cant even remember the last time I was out with my friends but we still talk but my birds mean a lot to me and I love them so much.I am more responsible than my older sister and I just grew up responsible.I wouldn't mind if my child wanted a pet bird or any pet as long as they were responsible and respected it and took care of it and didn't depend on me to help.