What You Really Need Before Bringing Home a Parrot
Often marketed as simple to care for creatures, there’s a long list of demands for these exotic pets.
Pet parrots have long been found as companion animals. Once kept mainly as a status symbol, parrots ranging the chipper budgie (yes, they are parrots too) to the difficult macaw family can now be found in almost any household. Granted — that isn’t always a good thing. Many people have no idea of the commitment they are taking on when bringing home a psittacine pet. Characterized in movies and TV as being able to be kept in a cage in the corner, with pet stores advocating for simply seed diets, proper care for parrots is marketed as much simpler than it really is. What do you need before you can comfortably welcome your avian friend home?
CAGES
The cage is one of the most misunderstood aspects of keeping birds. Cages should not feel like prisons; they should be safe spaces, and while your bird should be excited to come out and spend time with you, it’s ideal for your bird to enjoy spending time in its cage. Often, birds feel stressed out when confined to their cages — because they are much too small. First, it’s more important to your bird to have horizontal space than vertical space — they should have plenty of both, but horizontal space is…
