by notscaredtodance » Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:27 pm
Alright now I'm just going to HAVE to retype that reply. Maybe more concice this time.
1. A starter bird, as pchela said, implies that this bird will basically be a "test" bird, and starter birds, for most, tend to mean cheap birds, like parakeets and cockatiels. These birds, if they die in 2 years, weren't a huge investment and although they might be missed, it is not a huge loss. So people feel more comfortable just "winging it", no pun intended. These birds will get the bulk of owner mistakes like cages with guillotine doors, wing mutilation (the extreme version of clipping), no vet care, an all seed diet, and losing the bird through an open door, a dog/cat attack, whatever.
2. It also has to suffer in terms of enrichment. Just because a smaller bird for the most part won't screech and feather pluck because it is neglected, doesn't mean it isn't suffering. Some budgie owners are great and very aware of their bird's needs, but most, me included when I had them, just let them chill in the cage with a mirror, some plastic bell balls, and a bowl of food and water.So if a person "successfully" keeps a starter bird, then goes to an african grey, no, i don't think they'll be prepared for what a grey needs.
3. For more species related problems and interaction (cockatoos being needy/likely to feather pluck, amazons being aggressive, macaws being loud) a person should be researching heavily, vising breeders of the species they are interested in, avian vets, and really getting to understand the good and the bad of that species. They should also be mildly aware of body language and sensitive to an animal's comfort level. I have recently started visiting an aviary consistently and can handle the quakers all the way up to the macaws because I respect the birds
4. For more mechanical things like not aware of the diet needs, clean up, noise, if a person isn't ready for that, they're not ready for most pets.