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Parrots with 'problems'

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Parrots with 'problems'

Postby Pajarita » Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:39 am

I was thinking and thinking last night about the 'problems' that people usually come to us with: my parrot does not want to go into its cage - my parrot does not fall asleep - my parrot does not want to eat a good diet - my parrot bites me, etc. etc... It is always pretty much the same things over and over so I thought of giving you my honest opinion and I hope that people do not take it badly because I have no intention of offending, criticizing or putting anybody down.

I do not have any of these problems - none, zilch, nada. My parrots go into their cages without a single problem -some of them even go in by themselves-, they eat well and most everything I put in front of them, do not normally bite me, fall asleep without a problem, hardly ever scream, etc. but it is not because I am Dr. Doolittle, a bird whisperer, a magician or have the silver bullet. And it is also not because I do anything different than what I tell everybody to do. The truth of the matter is that if you fulfill a parrot physiological and emotional needs, the parrot will not give you any trouble. I do exactly what I tell people to do. What is the difference? That I do it faithfully the same every day and that I do it every single frigging day of my life! Nothing ever changes - no weekends, no sick days, no Christmas, no exceptions. 365 days a year and year after year after year. And I am here to tell you that it is VERY HARD! I am a slave to my birds. I get up a little before there is enough light for them to be able to see well, I prepare fresh food for them every dawn religiously, I sit, LITERALLY, for hours and hours and hours monitoring their out-of-cage time and giving each of them individual attention, I strive to provide them companions of their own, I don't take vacations, I time my shopping to the times that they are in their cages, I don't receive anybody when it would disrupt their routine, I put up with the occasional breeding season bite and twilight screams, constant destruction of furniture, paintings, tapestries, poop, etc... I have no life and my house looks like a shelter - that's how I do it. And I will be the first to tell you that this is not for everybody... it's not even for me and I wish I had never gotten into this! And I do mean this from the bottom of my heart! But I did and I now keep on doing it because I love them and because I am fortunate enough to have a GREAT family that loves me, understands my love for them and my need to help animals, and not only supports me but also helps me. My husband helps me by supporting me after I quit my job so I could take care of the birds properly, by paying the vet, food, cages, etc bills without complaining, running errands when I have to stay home because the birds are out, power-washes the cages, cleans and repairs the birdroom, constantly replaces the chewed up blinds and protection edges he puts on the moldings, window sills, etc in the living and dining room and even my children and friends help! My US daughter went to stand in line at 8 am this morning to get me supplies at ABBA, my second youngest son gets me vet meds from a veterinarian aunt back home and sends them to me and, during the shortages, I had friends picking produce, grains, frozen veggies, etc and bringing them to me so my birds would not lack for anything. It takes a village and, make no mistake, even then it's not easy.

The sad truth is that parrots are too attractive for their own good because everybody wants one - and it's perfectly understandable, they are incredibly beautiful, super smart, funny and VERY loving- but VERY few people can dedicate their life to them and that is what is required to keep them healthy and happy. Shortcuts don't work, there is no leeway and very little in terms of compromises and that, in a nutshell, is what causes the 'problems'. People expect pets to be not completely but, at least, manageably easy and parrots are not and never will be. And, if you don't do it the right way (which, again, is indescribably hard), they will end up with behaviors you don't like. But it is not their fault. It is ALWAYS ours.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

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