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Originally Posted By: Donald
The cat, not sure, I think he is just letting me stay in his house.
Haha AWESOME!
The cat, not sure, I think he is just letting me stay in his house.
Haha AWESOME!
Anybody have a parrot? Do they make good pets?
- Thread starter andyd
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Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
I have 5 of them. It was mostly my wife that wanted them, but since she passed away they're all mine to take care of now. They're really not that hard to take care of, but they do make a big mess and they can be very loud at times. Food gets expensive with 5 of them, and a large amount gets wasted because they throw it everywhere.
This one is a Yellow Naped Amazon. She's the only one that we bought from a pet store. The rest are all rescues.
This one is a male Eclectus. The females are red with a black beak and purple under the wings where he has red.
This picture is the Amazon on the left. The two in the middle are Indian Ringnecks, and the one on the right is a Sun Conure. He died a couple years ago of a heart defect.
This one is a White Bellied Caique. For size comparison, she's a little bigger than the Indian Ringnecks but quite a bit smaller than the Amazon and Eclectus.
I wouldn't recommend the larger birds for someone who doesn't have experience with birds. Indian Ringneck or Conure would be better for someone who is inexperienced with birds. They're smaller, make a little less mess, eat less, poop less, and don't bite nearly as hard. The larger birds can inflict some pretty nasty wounds if they decide to bite. The bites from the smaller birds aren't nearly as bad, but even they can break skin.
Another thing to consider is veterinary care. Most regular vets don't provide care for birds. Avian vets can be few and far between, and tend to be expensive.
They're absolutely beautiful! Very photogenic,as if they know you're taking their picture and "posing".
I have 5 of them. It was mostly my wife that wanted them, but since she passed away they're all mine to take care of now. They're really not that hard to take care of, but they do make a big mess and they can be very loud at times. Food gets expensive with 5 of them, and a large amount gets wasted because they throw it everywhere.
This one is a Yellow Naped Amazon. She's the only one that we bought from a pet store. The rest are all rescues.
This one is a male Eclectus. The females are red with a black beak and purple under the wings where he has red.
This picture is the Amazon on the left. The two in the middle are Indian Ringnecks, and the one on the right is a Sun Conure. He died a couple years ago of a heart defect.
This one is a White Bellied Caique. For size comparison, she's a little bigger than the Indian Ringnecks but quite a bit smaller than the Amazon and Eclectus.
I wouldn't recommend the larger birds for someone who doesn't have experience with birds. Indian Ringneck or Conure would be better for someone who is inexperienced with birds. They're smaller, make a little less mess, eat less, poop less, and don't bite nearly as hard. The larger birds can inflict some pretty nasty wounds if they decide to bite. The bites from the smaller birds aren't nearly as bad, but even they can break skin.
Another thing to consider is veterinary care. Most regular vets don't provide care for birds. Avian vets can be few and far between, and tend to be expensive.
They're absolutely beautiful! Very photogenic,as if they know you're taking their picture and "posing".
Fortunately a very good avian vet is nearby, you are right they are few and far between and yes they are expensive even for small things like checkups and shots.This is my grey and blue fronted Amazon..
Great true story and I had no idea there was a wild parrot population in SF before the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill".
[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
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[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
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Originally Posted By: Blaze
Great true story and I had no idea there was a wild parrot population in SF before the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill".
[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
Also a couple of species gone feral around London.
I have seen them here, where you might think survival would be easier, but those may have just been escapees rather than established populations.
Great true story and I had no idea there was a wild parrot population in SF before the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill".
[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
Also a couple of species gone feral around London.
I have seen them here, where you might think survival would be easier, but those may have just been escapees rather than established populations.
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Maybe its just me, but I don't see the point of owning a bird to keep in a cage 24/7.
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Great true story and I had no idea there was a wild parrot population in SF before the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill".
[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
Also a couple of species gone feral around London.
I have seen them here, where you might think survival would be easier, but those may have just been escapees rather than established populations.
My daughter was there last week, Kensington Gardens.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Great true story and I had no idea there was a wild parrot population in SF before the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill".
[URL]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/[/url]
Also a couple of species gone feral around London.
I have seen them here, where you might think survival would be easier, but those may have just been escapees rather than established populations.
My daughter was there last week, Kensington Gardens.
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
I'd get a male Boxer(dog) from a rescue, incredible pets. Avg life span is 13 yrs or so. A Boxer is half Mastiff and half Bulldog. Although very high energy when young but they calm down after a year or so. Very good indoors, gentle, smart, strong, etc...
I admit not the best looking but GREAT personality. Clean, don't stink, short coat, super patient with young children, etc.
I want either a boxer or American bulldog, but the shelters are full of pit mixes so that'll probably be what we get.
Boxes are good looking dogs, but as you said, full of energy.
I'd get a male Boxer(dog) from a rescue, incredible pets. Avg life span is 13 yrs or so. A Boxer is half Mastiff and half Bulldog. Although very high energy when young but they calm down after a year or so. Very good indoors, gentle, smart, strong, etc...
I admit not the best looking but GREAT personality. Clean, don't stink, short coat, super patient with young children, etc.
I want either a boxer or American bulldog, but the shelters are full of pit mixes so that'll probably be what we get.
Boxes are good looking dogs, but as you said, full of energy.
I was dating a woman in FL. that owned one. His name was Fred. She set Fred on my shoulder and told me to let him kiss me. When I did that THING clamped onto my bottom lip and then flew to her! I was MAD! I told her she better hide that THING, or his new name will be KFC! I still have the scar/bump on my inner bottom lip.
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
I was dating a woman in FL. that owned one. His name was Fred. She set Fred on my shoulder and told me to let him kiss me. When I did that THING clamped onto my bottom lip and then flew to her! I was MAD! I told her she better hide that THING, or his new name will be KFC! I still have the scar/bump on my inner bottom lip.
Makes you look rough and tough. Just dont tell people it's from a parrot bite!
My brother has a scar on his hand from a rooster I had years ago.
I was dating a woman in FL. that owned one. His name was Fred. She set Fred on my shoulder and told me to let him kiss me. When I did that THING clamped onto my bottom lip and then flew to her! I was MAD! I told her she better hide that THING, or his new name will be KFC! I still have the scar/bump on my inner bottom lip.
Makes you look rough and tough. Just dont tell people it's from a parrot bite!
My brother has a scar on his hand from a rooster I had years ago.
My Dad raised parrots/greys/cockatoo and just about any kind of tropical bird you can imagine. From that, I've learned I will NEVER own a bird. Noisy and messy are just the start. Parrots are considered "life" birds. They get attached to you and view you as a mate. Get very jealous around others that are close to you. They are a maintenance nightmare. They tear things up and will demand things from you. You have to trim their beaks and nails from time to time and that is NO fun. You'd better get a pair of thick leather gloves because they will bite. And it hurts. A lot. You'll need to get a big, strong cage. Those small ones that just let the bird move around some, will not work. They will start pulling their feathers out....and if you got kids and that bird goes body bald, it's a freaky site. Besides cleaning out the cage from the poop, they are also very messy eaters. Seeds will fly all over your house. If you think you're going to teach'em to talk....you better be a patient person. It takes a long time to get to the "polly want a cracker" stage. If you got the time, money, patience and need a pet companion, then a parrot is for you. Like others...nothing beats a good dog. When Dad passed in 03, the birds went crazy. It was so bad that his wife just simply gave all those birds away. She couldn't handle it. Threw a LOT of money away. Birds are very expensive.
Didn't see them that tame when I lived there but they are pretty smart so I suppose its not surprising they've adapted to the opportunity.
When I covered the early shift on the dealing floor, requiring an early morning tube trip when the trains aren't busy, I quite often saw pigeons travelling by tube from station to station.
When I covered the early shift on the dealing floor, requiring an early morning tube trip when the trains aren't busy, I quite often saw pigeons travelling by tube from station to station.
Didn't see that you're from MA. Dad was in Tennessee and had those birds outside. He kept a heater on in the winter, but a lot of them died when it got cold. In you're area, you're going to have to find a way to keep the bird warm, they do not do cold weather.
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
I was dating a woman in FL. that owned one. His name was Fred. She set Fred on my shoulder and told me to let him kiss me. When I did that THING clamped onto my bottom lip and then flew to her! I was MAD! I told her she better hide that THING, or his new name will be KFC! I still have the scar/bump on my inner bottom lip.
Makes you look rough and tough. Just dont tell people it's from a parrot bite!
My brother has a scar on his hand from a rooster I had years ago.
The scar is on my inner lower lip. It can't be seen unless I pull my lip down and show the inside.
That really hurt when KFC clamped down on it!
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
I was dating a woman in FL. that owned one. His name was Fred. She set Fred on my shoulder and told me to let him kiss me. When I did that THING clamped onto my bottom lip and then flew to her! I was MAD! I told her she better hide that THING, or his new name will be KFC! I still have the scar/bump on my inner bottom lip.
Makes you look rough and tough. Just dont tell people it's from a parrot bite!
My brother has a scar on his hand from a rooster I had years ago.
The scar is on my inner lower lip. It can't be seen unless I pull my lip down and show the inside.
That really hurt when KFC clamped down on it!
We we're at the Bird Kingdom in Niagara falls and they have a parrot in the lobby on a bar over a bench. My friends kid goes over to sit on the bench and the parrot shuffled over and tried to krhapp on him... Then quietly shuffled back to the end of the bar.
It sounds like they would be a good pet if you lived alone and didn't leave the house much and are OK with letting it fly around and have another pet for it play with/torment...
It sounds like they would be a good pet if you lived alone and didn't leave the house much and are OK with letting it fly around and have another pet for it play with/torment...
There's this discount store here, kind of like a Walmart that has parrots in the store. They're not for sale, the owner of the corporation must like them and puts 3-4 of them in the store up by the front of the store. When they squawk it kind of startles me a bit. And I'm not the jumpy type at all. Sometimes they really squawk up a storm. The store by me recently built a nice enclosure for them. The parrots are only in a few stores not all of them.
$1.49 polish sausage.
$1.49 polish sausage.
When I lived in FL. BUSCH GARDENS was about 8-10 miles from my house. Of course everyone knows that BG's is tied to Africa with all of its jungle/safari animals. They have BOOKOO Quakers there as well. And, they are all over the Tampa Bay area as well. I guess they breed very well and have spread out everywhere.
In the mornings right when the sun starts to come up they fly from their roosting spots in the trees and sit on the power lines. As the sun rises so does their personalities. Man, those birds are LOUD! They're beautiful, but LOUD!
When I would go to CREATURE CASTLE in Brandon (near Tampa) to buy rats for me and my sons snakes the owner had a Quaker that sat up near the front counter, no cage or leash (if birds get them???). If you would try to pet it that thing would start that LOUD squawking! Talk about hurt your ears!
In the mornings right when the sun starts to come up they fly from their roosting spots in the trees and sit on the power lines. As the sun rises so does their personalities. Man, those birds are LOUD! They're beautiful, but LOUD!
When I would go to CREATURE CASTLE in Brandon (near Tampa) to buy rats for me and my sons snakes the owner had a Quaker that sat up near the front counter, no cage or leash (if birds get them???). If you would try to pet it that thing would start that LOUD squawking! Talk about hurt your ears!
There's a bar/restaurant next to Kaoshiung airport runway.
Eat, drink, watch the planes go by.
When nature calls, its a bit of a shock to discover that the stalls have a glass window giving on to the aviary, where be parrots.
Seems to hold their interest, too.
Eat, drink, watch the planes go by.
When nature calls, its a bit of a shock to discover that the stalls have a glass window giving on to the aviary, where be parrots.
Seems to hold their interest, too.
Thank you all. I think I'll get a cat
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