by Barry Young

There are so many reasons that we want to get a bird, and more reasons that we probably shouldn't. Too many times, it is done on an impulse decision. Even I had bought a few on impulse, one within an hour of seeing my Hahn's in the pet store and then pulling out my credit card without any further thought. I HAD already been on the lookout for a Macaw and did my homework reading up on all of the Macaws, although was looking for a medium sized one.

Things that cause TO WANT are:

pretty, talk, whistle, sing, attention getters

Things that should cause us TO PAUSE are:

noisy, messy, expensive, takes space to accommodate them, who pet sits when you want to take a vacation, biting, plucking, chewing

There 'are' some pet stores and breeders who are concerned as to whom their charges(birds) are going to, and will even ask questions to be sure the birds have a chance of survival and love, and there are many others that are mainly interested in selling the birds as a business. That's understandable. There is a lot of time and money involved in bringing up and supporting the birds, but there is also that personal investment in which they should keep in mind as to whom these birds are going to.

How often do we see birds being passed from one home to another due to various reasons? Some good reasons, some not. If the bird and the human(s) just can't get along and after various ways of trying to make it work, it may just be best for all concerned to find them another home in whom the new human(s) can work with the bird. There is no sense in everyone being unhappy (including the bird) if things just can't be worked out. I had given up a few birds (at the beginning) when things just couldn't get worked out. They are now with a happier environment and we are happy for them. We just didn't pass them along to anyone. We wanted to make sure that the bird(s) would be at a place in which things hopefully work out.

Many times, people just don't realize what they are getting in to. We bird lovers/owners are already aware of that, sometimes, the hard way, but, hopefully, we have learned our lessons as to what we are getting involved with when we consider 'one more bird won't hurt'. We like to encourage others to consider getting a feathered companion, but we really first of all need to be thinking about what these possible pet owners are getting involved with, and whether or not they can handle all that responsibility. We don't want to discourage them from something that could give them tons of pleasure and love, but we also need to point out the discouragements as well and let them decide if they can handle it.

These birds need our attention. It's not fair to them if we feed them in the morning, take off for work, then come home to say HI and then do our evening routines. These are our companions. They need to be sharing our lives too, not just an ornament in the room to look at and walk away from. We need to plan to spend an hour or (much) more with our companions each day. If we can't spend the time with them at their location (cage), then we need to bring them with us to 'our' cage (family room, office, etc.) by having playstands or perches around the house for them to join us.

If, after reading all of the above, and you still have the desire to get a bird, you need to spend the time in deciding 'which' type of bird you are interested in. Talk to bird owners, join a bird group, buy some bird books and magazines, read some internet mail groups that relate to birds. DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU GET INVOLVED - Don't just get one because it is pretty or because it talks.

I can tell you that I now have six parrots and love each one of them and don't regret getting any of them. I have the luxury of working out of my home and share the entire day and evening next to them. We can see and talk to one another within the two rooms. Which brings up another thought.

Once you get a bird, can you stop at that point? Or will it end up getting you to want another one, and another one, etc - I hope I have stopped after six parrots. Each bird takes personal time for loving, feeding, cleaning, cage space, expenses. Some might not like the next bird that you get. How much of the above can you spend with each bird? I can do it, working from home. If you work all day and the bird is at home locked up, you might not have that much time to spend with them in the evening, so please keep that in mind when you think 'one more won't hurt'.

About the Author:

Barry Young is originally from Baldwin, Long Island, New York. He has worked for many years computer technical support analyst and he works from his home in Virginia. Barry started out with a Senegal first in 1999 before moving up to bigger birds and he began reading everything he could about parrots, from the internet, bird magazines, mail lists, videos and books. He truly believes that starting with smaller birds and doing the proper research before moving up to the larger species really is the smart thing to do. Barry now has six parrots, including a 9 year old adopted Blue and Gold and enjoys the fact that he works from home and is able to spend adequate time with all of them.