Best bird for doctor's office

[Free as a bird]

Quite a few Parrots are native to non- tropical climates (places with fairly cold winters) like Argentina, Paraguay, New Zealand, etc.

True. Many parrots are south of the tropics. Most of Australia is non tropical. I wonder why there are no native parrots north of the tropics. Europe has none either as far as I know.
I remember going to NZ on a snowboard trip and seeing Keas in the snowfields trying to get food from people. That was so cool. It was the last place I expected to find a parrot, in the snow

 

[wrench13]

No parrots North of the tropics has to do with people killing them off. North America used to have a few species, but they were hunted to extinction. I'm pretty sure Europe had some too, but were likewise hunted off (remember - Europe has been populated by man a lot longer then North America and far far more densely too).

 

[DonnaBudgie]

No parrots North of the tropics has to do with people killing them off. North America used to have a few species, but they were hunted to extinction. I'm pretty sure Europe had some too, but were likewise hunted off (remember - Europe has been populated by man a lot longer then North America and far far more densely too).

I don't know about Europe (I'll look it up) but unless the Native Americans in today's US and Canada hunted all the parrots to extinction before the arrival of Europeans in the 1600s (or the Vikings hundreds of years earlier) the only parrot type birds native to the US have been the Thick-Billed Parrot out west and the Carolina Parakeet east of the Mississippi. Either that or the literature is lying to me! I kinda doubt it because they had no guns.
Before the last Ice Age there were lots of now extinct birds and maybe more parrot types lived in what is now Europe and North America.

 

[texsize]

The Carolina parakeet was hunted for its decorative feathers and to decorate hats.
Farmers slaughtered them by uncounted numbers because whole flocks would fly into their orchard and bite all the budding fruit off the tree leaving them no harvest.

This is what caused their extinction from what I have read.

I seen some documentry on a program to reintroduce the thick billed parrot. It’s a mutual program Mexico/US.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I don't know about Europe (I'll look it up) but unless the Native Americans in today's US and Canada hunted all the parrots to extinction before the arrival of Europeans in the 1600s (or the Vikings hundreds of years earlier) the only parrot type birds native to the US have been the Thick-Billed Parrot out west and the Carolina Parakeet east of the Mississippi. Either that or the literature is lying to me! I kinda doubt it because they had no guns.
Before the last Ice Age there were lots of now extinct birds and maybe more parrot types lived in what is now Europe and rz, America.

I looked up Parrots native to Europe and there have not been any parrots native to Europe since records have been kept, and I think we can safely say there have been none since before the last Ice Age

Personally, I would love to see parrots EVERYWHERE- we can't have too many parrots! To hell with worrying about parrots displacing indigenous species ! I WANT MORE PARROTS! Why should the Aussies be the only people to share their environment with parrots? Why do we have to look at such boring birds? Let's breed budgies and cockatiels on a large scale in Southern California and let all the offspring go! Eventually they will

I want parrots at my bird feeders in Maine alongside the chickadees and cardinals, I want parrots entertaining tourists in our big city parks instead of pigeons and English sparrows, on our farms eating our crops alongside blackbirds, at our town dump eating our trash alongside the seagulls, on the side of our highways sharing roadkill with crows! Is this too much to ask? I can dream, can't I?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I looked up Parrots native to Europe and there have not been any parrots native to Europe since records have been kept, and I think we can safely say there have been none since before the last Ice Age

Personally, I would love to see parrots EVERYWHERE- we can't have too many parrots! To hell with worrying about parrots displacing indigenous species ! I WANT MORE PARROTS! Why should the Aussies be the only people to share their environment with parrots? Why do we have to look at such boring birds? Let's breed budgies and cockatiels on a large scale in Southern California and let all the offspring go! Eventually they will

I want parrots at my bird feeders in Maine alongside the chickadees and cardinals, I want parrots entertaining tourists in our big city parks instead of pigeons and English sparrows, on our farms eating our crops alongside blackbirds, at our town dump eating our trash alongside the seagulls, on the side of our highways sharing roadkill with crows! Is this too much to ask? I can dream, can't I?

The second to last paragraph was supposed to eventually envision budgies and cockatiels living and breeding all over Southern California!
Believe it or not, when I was a kid I thought about actually doing this when I grew up, but I actually did grow up!

 

[clark_conure]

I like the idea, but in a vet office your just asking for cross species infection. I've seen videos of museums and zoos doing it but it's not the gimmic you need.

 

[Free as a bird]

I looked up Parrots native to Europe and there have not been any parrots native to Europe since records have been kept, and I think we can safely say there have been none since before the last Ice Age

Personally, I would love to see parrots EVERYWHERE- we can't have too many parrots! To hell with worrying about parrots displacing indigenous species ! I WANT MORE PARROTS! Why should the Aussies be the only people to share their environment with parrots? Why do we have to look at such boring birds? Let's breed budgies and cockatiels on a large scale in Southern California and let all the offspring go! Eventually they will

I want parrots at my bird feeders in Maine alongside the chickadees and cardinals, I want parrots entertaining tourists in our big city parks instead of pigeons and English sparrows, on our farms eating our crops alongside blackbirds, at our town dump eating our trash alongside the seagulls, on the side of our highways sharing roadkill with crows! Is this too much to ask? I can dream, can't I?

Introducing new species into new environments always offsets the balance of life there and causes trouble so that's not a great idea

 

[Free as a bird]

The Carolina parakeet was hunted for its decorative feathers and to decorate hats.
Farmers slaughtered them by uncounted numbers because whole flocks would fly into their orchard and bite all the budding fruit off the tree leaving them no harvest.

This is what caused their extinction from what I have read.

I seen some documentry on a program to reintroduce the thick billed parrot. It’s a mutual program Mexico/US.

It's not the first time a bird has been hunted to extinction.
In New Zealand the native Maoris hunted the moa bird to extinction before the English arrived.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Introducing new species into new environments always offsets the balance of life there and causes trouble so that's not a great idea

Of course I know this! I'm just having fun with my imagination!

 

[Nolgi]

Someone may have mentioned it, but people can have parrot allergies as well. They can be dangerous in rare cases. Serious no on the doctor’s office parrot.

 

[texsize]

Someone may have mentioned it, but people can have parrot allergies as well. They can be dangerous in rare cases. Serious no on the doctor’s office parrot.

What better place to have an allergic reaction (or a bite that needs stitches) than in a doctors office.
Helps drum up business and helps their bottom line.
Win-Win.

 

[Free as a bird]

Of course I know this! I'm just having fun with my imagination!

Ok I wasn't sure if you were joking or not

You should come for a vacation to Australia. A bird watching vacation. You'd love it. There are still so many birds here that I haven't seen including the budgie and cockatiel cos they live in the outback where hardly no humans live. I'd love to go to the outback one day with my main objective to see them in the wild.

Once I was hiking to a remote waterfall in Tasmania on my own. The track was hard going, muddy, steep, in thick forest, dangerous and I was tired. I heard this magical call that I'd never heard in my life. I'm looking around and could see nothing in the gumtrees around. I had to stop and have a drink. Then I look up and just in front on a bare branch are 3 big yellow tailed cockatoo it the sunlight, WOOOW, what a sight to behold with their big crests, yellow tails and cheeks, just magnificent to see. They just watched me watch them for about 20 seconds. I reached for my phone but they sensed I was doing something nefarious so they took off.
I've had many great wild avian encounters and that is one of my favourite

 

[jessem101]

Many have answered the obvious concerns. However i have seen some office birds thrive, but as some mentioned, they would be taken home on a daily basis and not left in the office. There are some conures or smaller sized parrots that aren't as noisy as lets say a cockatoo or some McCaws or Amazons. Last thing you want while someone is checking in is a very loud squawk that will shatter glass LOL

but going back to the office pet, i knew (this was in Nyc, it was at a doctor's office) a doctor, he owned a gorgeous McCaw and the McCaw was in his cage with a large sign above it stating "do not touch", the staff would feed him, his cage looked clean and was well behaved. Birds grow accustom to their environment, so if the bird only knew the office environment, he or she would know what to expect on a daily basis. Now i am not sure if they took him home on a daily basis, or how often they cleaned his cage (since it was always clean, i am assuming daily) and i am not sure how friendly the bird was or anything. So could it be done? yes i am sure, but there will be a lot of concerns. no way would i leave my parrot alone over the weekend, or when the office closed, so at min he or she will need to be taken home im guessing

I don't know...i mean breeders and parrot stores have multiple birds to where they don't take the birds home at the end of the day. but its also not their perm living area. But as stated above, they become accustom to what they don't know or do know...when my birds go off to daycare, they aren't monitored at night as well, and they are 100% fine when they come home. But this isnt anything new and all my birds are use to traveling as well.

not everyone treats their parrots the same as others...but when you get them as a baby...they will pick up whatever it is you want them to pick up. If you allow your parrot to free roam your entire house and expect the bird to want to go to his or her cage after a month or so...they will feel like they are in prison. but if you have your parrot on a set schedule, they will think otherwise. But as most mentioned, some species require more interaction than others...like some have mentioned a lory...yea no..they need a way to blow off steam daily, they aren't clean birds, they are very active and very affectionate. But some parrots can be lap dogs...and will hang out on a perch next to you for hours on end and think its the best thing ever. Would i take my Lory camping with me? probably not, would i take my amazon? yes, he loves going camping with us...and he does very well while we are out.

so is it possible? i say yes...is it preferred? probably not.

 

[highAZheat]

Hi everyone - thanks for all the feedback and the discussion - very helpful. After discussing this with my wife, we are reconsidering this, but with a few changes to the situation described in the OP:

1. I would take the bird(s) home every night and on the weekends. This way they would never be left alone and their primary home would be our home, rather than the office. Basically they would just get to come to work with me every day rather than be at home alone on some days (my wife works part time).

2. I would keep the large cage/perch/play area in my private office rather than the public area of the office. This way people could still hear them and see them a little, but it would alleviate the fear factor or allergy factor. If people wanted to see the birds I could show them, but they wouldn’t just be there in a public space.

3. If we did this, I would still consider budgies or conures or Amazons, but not lorikeets. I would consider an African Grey or even macaw as well, if they were relatively quiet (talking would be fine, lots of squawking would not).

Any thoughts?

 

[Jcas]

I think this could definitely work! I would still recommend smaller birds like budgies who are way less noisy, dirty, and messy. That way you get the beauty and pleasure of birds in the office without the risk of ear piercing screams, blood drawing bites, and the commitment of 20 plus years of ownership ( unless you really want a longer lived bird). You might consider a couple of hand- raised, already tamed budgie from a good breeder as they will be more comfortable around people and more willing to interact with those who want to get close to them. Good luck

 

[texsize]

This is what my Dr. office has to brighten up the place.