You're viewing a single thread.
I actually knew someone who died of that parrot disease. Psittacosis? He caught it off a budgie.
Here it is: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis
Holy moly, and I was thinking about buying a parrot to my daughter ...
You can rescue some as I have. Birds are very unique and fun, but fragile and want as much love as they give (which is a lot).
I have two conures, one was "too loud" and ignored in the corner of their garage for a few years until he started pulling out all his feathers and chewing off one of his toes, at which point he was donated.
It took about a month to get him to trust me. He will not stop attacking his own feathers, but now does so in a relaxed, quiet way while on my shoulders. He loves to just hang out with me while I'm doing some design work or programming, calling from the open door of his cage in a certain way when he wants to shoulder surf. He's afraid of everyone else, but I know him, his body language tells me that he likes being around me.
They are a unique gift in terms of a life form. I wouldn't buy one. Go for a rescue, try to sense their personalities as you talk to them.
There's a better reason not to do that. They can live over 70 years.
Depends on the bird type. Budgies live for about 7-15 years, for example.
Honestly i always found it cruel to own a bird as a pet. Birds are meant to fly. All bird owners just either keep their birds in a cage or chained up all the time. They never get to fly their whole lives, or they'd fly away. Imagine being born with your upper limbs with the purpose of flying and never doing it because someone needs a pet bird.
I agree 100%. I would never get a bird as a pet for this reason. I have a huge yard for my dogs to run around in and a dog door so they can go out any time they like. The only kind of bird you could do that with is a bird of prey that you've trained to do falconry with, and even then only for a limited amount of time.
I thought people wanted their pets to live as long them?
Within reason. Long lived animals can get the same sort of neurological diseases that humans do, but without the advantage of language and healthcare.
It’s bad enough when Nana goes senile, but it’s even worse when all she can do is screech, claw, and bite at you, and there are no teams of professionals to help. That’s life with an elderly parrot.
Shit, my family won't able to tell the difference regarding my grandmother's old bird, fucker was born mean
You might be too if your wings were confined to a cage. It’s the ball and chain of the avian world.
That is a pet that has a good chance of outliving you. If you have to will your pet to someone else, you probably shouldn't get that pet. The same reason why I told my 80-year-old mother not to get a dog. She didn't listen to me. At least she didn't will the dog to me.
Dont, they cling to one owner, they live a lot of time and they need a lot of socialization. Its not a humane pet to have.