In September of 2000 I ended up sharing my house with a new animal (to join the two budgies, two dogs, and guinea pig). An unwanted African Grey parrot named "Data" landed in my household. This paper is my personal observations and contemplation's on parrot ownership initially written after about 1 1/2 months of ownership and revised numerous times since.
The story begins at a party celebrating my friend's birthday held in the house of someone I did not know. I admired her parrot; she told me that she really no longer wanted it because she did not have the time necessary to devote to it. I offered that I was currently training two dogs and also did not have time to take on a parrot, but I wouldn't mind living with one (as long as someone else was the primary caregiver).
My wife Carolyn was standing next to me. Without dropping a beat she offered to be the primary caregiver. As a professional speech/language pathologist the notion of having a pet capable of learning human speech really appealed to her.
As we were going on several short vacations over the next several weeks we agreed to return to pick up the parrot in 6 weeks. During that time I read several books from the library on parrots and contacted behaviorist Michelle Karras to arrange for an in-home visit. I was very anxious to know how to introduce the bird to the dogs so that I didn't come home one day to a room full of blood and feathers (according to what I'd read most pets other than ferrets can be taught to peacefully coexist with a parrot).
Unlike books on dog ownership, the books on bird ownership I read were in substantial agreement on both food and training.
Okay, so we eventually brought the bird home. Two days later Michelle came to show us how to train it. It was a great relief to me when I learned that African Grey parrots could not seriously damage a finger by biting it even though they could draw blood. I also learned that some really big parrots (such as a macaw) can crush a finger bone and possibly even sever a finger if it really wants to.
The next week provided an interesting contrast between my wife and myself. The bird bit both of us when we put our hand in the cage. Carolyn would pull her hand away because, dammit, it hurt! I refused to withdraw my hand because dammit, I'm stubborn! Over the next two weeks the bird drew (a small amount of) blood from every finger on my hand (I only offered my left hand because I am right handed). I refused to pull my hand away. When she bit my finger I blew on her through the cage bars immediately and continued ordering her to "step up" (onto my finger). After about two weeks the parrot stopped biting me. Michelle, some weeks later, showed me how a different African Grey had bitten her arm extensively during a training session. There were 8 or 10 bruises between her wrist and her elbow. None were serious but none looked like it had been pleasant to receive.
I learned how to use a perch to force her to step on my hand. I learned how to use my thumb to trap her feet on my hand in what is called an "Egyptian" grip. When she figured out how to circumvent that (smart animal), I learned to use my right hand to trap her feet on my left hand.
After two weeks or so, Chloe Data (her new name) learned two things:
Chloe learned that I was her boss; Carolyn was lower in the pecking order than she. This was very frustrating and embarrassing to Carolyn, who makes her living training damaged children who frequently have less intelligence than this bird. Carolyn is well respected in her field. But, it turns out that although there are many similarities between a high functioning animal (such as a parrot or a dog) and a low- functioning child, they are not the same.
If you get a parrot please start at the library BEFORE you get the bird. If you are allergic to reading contact a vet or bird behaviorist, and expect to pay for their time. Different species of parrots have different personalities. Some talk, some screech. All parrots require some attention, but some require much less if they are placed with another bird of the same species. Some are okay with young children (the smaller parrots), some are not. If you have a rambunctious toddler, inviting a large parrot into the house may prove disastrous for the bird, or the child, or both. An overly exuberant toddler may place a small parrot at risk, but at least the child is not likely to be seriously damaged by a small parrot.
Unlike dogs, parrots have not been inbred for generations. As a consequence, they do not have genetic deformities showing up often. Parrots are generally safe to buy in a pet store. Be sure the parrot is hand reared and not reared by its parents. Hand reared parrots are used to human hands and should easily step on to your hand; parrots reared by their parents are difficult (but not impossible) to train. Fortunately, there are now some very restrictive laws on the importation of wild parrots, so you can now be fairly confident that any bird you legally purchase is not likely to be a wild-caught parrot. Make sure the bird you chose will come to your hand easily; most decent bird books will include a chapter on how to choose a parrot including how to read bird body language. Read it! (I found the "Birds for Dummies" book to be the best I've seen) Plan on taking the parrot to a vet within 24 hours. Before you put out any money verify that the bird can be returned within a couple of days if the vet finds problems.
The other place to get a parrot is from a humanitarian organization. Contact me or an avian vet to locate one (they frequently are run out of someone's home and are hard to locate on your own). These are parrots that owners have given up. Yes, you can sometimes find parrots offered for sale in the classified section of the newspaper. Understand that if you get a parrot second hand you may not know the real reason the parrot is being let go. If you get such a bird make sure you have the number of a parrot behaviorist nearby. If the bird proves to be untrainable you may need to use a behaviorist for a while. Some humanitarian organizations will take birds in from owners and not let them go until they are adoptable; these are a pretty good bet. If a second-hand bird is being sold for a substantial sum (a young hand-raised parrot can range from a hundred to a few thousand, depending on breed and condition if purchased new from a pet store) remember that if you add in the cost of a behaviorist you may not be saving any money. There is nothing wrong with taking in a second-hand pet (both my dogs are from other families, and so is my parrot), but people who sell their pets for substantial sums of money make me nervous. Will they sell the kids next? I guess purchasing bird paraphernalia from the former owners is okay, as long as it is appropriate for the pet. It is different from getting a very young bird (or dog) directly from a pet store or breeder. You might want to hire a behaviorist to come look at the bird with you. There are a limited number of things you can tell about a bird from body language so if the thought of rehabilitating a psychologically damaged bird frightens you don't get one second hand unless you can have a high degree of confidence that the explanation being offered for why the family is getting rid of the pet is accurate. Pets coming from humanitarian organizations generally come with accurate descriptions of their personalities, since the folks in the organization really want their placements to work. Most humanitarian organizations operate at a loss, and their main source of income is charging fees for placements. I suggest there is a difference paying money to an owner getting rid of a pet (who's motives are unknown) versus paying a humanitarian organization the same amount of money since their motives are quite obvious and honorable.
Boy, there is a lot of stuff out there for birds, and none of it cheap. You'll need a good cage, big enough for your parrot. You'll need a gymnasium, stainless steel food bowls, toys, treats, food. The cage should be a minimum of 1 1/2 wingspans by 1 1/2 wingspans so that the bird can safely flap its wings. Bigger is better, although adding height to a cage may not make much difference (many birds like to stay near the top). The more time the bird is going to be in its cage the bigger the cage should be. Most books will provide more information on cage size (you're really gonna have to read a book before you get your bird). Cages range from about $70 up way past $1000. If you have multiple parrots of different breeds you may NOT cage them together.
Gymnasiums have a similar price range. The gym is where you will keep your bird when it is out of it's cage and not on your hand. You can easily build a decent gym on the cheap. I built one for my bird for about $60. It is made a bit tricky by the following:
The above means you have to choose materials carefully. I bought a Formica countertop, put some legs on it and built a fence made from untreated pine 2 by 4s. I used 1 1/2 and 1 1/4-inch dowels to make perches attached from the bottom with screws (the bird cannot access the screw because it is buried deep within the dowel). The warnings about the birds chewing everything were accurate; she has stated chewing down the 2 by 4s. The gymnasium should not place the bird above your head. Plan on using it a lot; leaving a bird in its cage leads to a very unhappy and territorial bird. Our bird was kept in it's cage nearly all the time by it's previous owners, and we suspect that is one reason it does not react well to Carolyn putting her hand in it.
No.
No sane person living off a farm would get a pet. They consume money, time, and exude foul smells. They return no economic value. That goes for dogs, cats, birds, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, iguanas, and so on.
But if you like company, and want an animal smart enough to interact with you, a bird, cat, or dog sounds like a good choice. Each has something special to offer.
Birds are very delicate. They are quite sensitive to a wide variety of common household products, including bleach, solvents, anything in an aerosol can, carpet cleaners. The list goes on and on. As a consequence you will need to be very careful when you clean bathrooms, or fix stuff with glue, and so on. Large projects (like spraying the house for bugs, or cleaning the carpets) will require that you find a place other than the house to keep your bird for a day or more. I had to cancel my Orkin service because the vet insisted the bird be evacuated from the house for at least 7 days after they came. It's a pain in the tush.
On the other hand, parrots can be remarkably smart. In addition to learning to talk (the ability to talk varies greatly from species to species and from bird to bird) they can manifest obvious affection and trust for their handler(s). Most birds will choose a single favorite human, but the favorite can change from week to week.
Some parrots are also stunningly beautiful. While it's fine to admire birds for their beauty, it is a mistake to think of them as animated furniture. They are pretty demanding pets and if you are considering obtaining one solely for its beauty please think again. Neglected birds can mutilate themselves out of boredom, and can emit loud annoying screeches for a remarkably large portion of a day. They need social interaction, and their cages and gymnasiums need daily cleaning.
My bird is utterly fearless. This is not necessarily a good thing. One evening she was sitting on my finger, all 350 grams of her (about 3/4 of a pound) while I sat on the couch. I have kept my bird and dogs apart when the bird is uncaged, fearful that one of my collies would try and play with the bird the same way it plays with another dog - and thereby killing it. One of my collies (about 80 pounds) came by to see what was going on. He sniffed the bird, fortunately from a distance of about 18 inches. I wasn't really very concerned; they had sniffed each other many times through the bars of the birdcage. She unexpectedly suddenly lunged out towards him and tried to bite his nose!
I would love to explain to my bird that it is not a good idea to attempt to enrage a predator 100 times your own size at an intimate distance. Fortunately, she was too far away to reach my dog. My collie turned around and walked away. It is not difficult to imagine what could have happened had she succeeded. Canine reaction time is remarkably short. Canine noses are sensitive to pain. He could have decapitated Chloe Data with a single motion too quick to see.
The moral: don't let your bird play with your other pets. I have great confidence in my dogs: they are very gentle beasts and well trained. I watched a little child walk up to this dog and poke him in the eye; he just turned his head away. He will spit out a hand shoved into his mouth. But even a gentle dog may react negatively to an annoying pip-squeak deliberately causing significant pain just as most humans will swat at a stinging housefly.
Thanks to Michelle Karras, who helped me understand how to relate to a bird. By the time I got Chloe I had already read 3 or 4 books cover-to-cover on parrots. I don't think Michelle told me much I hadn't read, but hearing it face-to-face really helped it to sink in. Thanks also to Dr. Ruth Etherton for providing me information on what materials I could use to build the bird's gymnasium, and for always being willing to hammer into my thick head just how delicate birds are ("If I use that solvent I have to clear the bird out of the house for HOW LONG???!!???"). Thanks also to the family who gave me Chloe Data, her cage, and her training stand. Finally, thanks to Carolyn for helping with bird care.
This document was written by Gary Hughes-Fenchel beginning October 2000. All rights reserved except as explicitly stated below. You are free to copy and redistribute the entire unaltered document including this paragraph, but you may not distribute copies you know to be altered. Comments on the document may not be embedded within the document, but you may place comments before or after the document as long as such comments are clearly labeled as not written by me.