BanalityBob
New member
- Mar 21, 2011
- 50
- 0
- Parrots
- Penelope: 12 year old Quaker Parakeet rescue//
Günter: 3 month old Peachfaced Lovebird
Hi, my name is Dave, I'm 23, and I've never owned a parrot before. Currently I'm working towards getting a feathered friend, slowly accumulating knowledge. I have an application in at a local parrot rescue which they have to okay before letting me meet the birds to start an adoption. I really don't have a specific species of bird in mind for my first pet; I'd prefer to kinda let the bird pick me.
That being said, I'm interested in smaller/medium sized birds like Conures, Caiques, Senegals, Ringnecks, and Quakers. I'm a big guy and get anxious around really small birds, and am slightly nervous about handling large birds like Macaws and Cockatoos (especially because the rescue takes in abused birds with behavior issues, I'd hate to jump in completely over my head with a traumatized big bird), so mid sized birds seem my speed. They also seem to have personality to spare...
I started loving birds when I was 8 and my parents took me to a zoo with a Lorikeet aviary where I could feed the birds. I stayed there all day, ignored the rest of the zoo, and came home covered in bird poop and smiling ear to ear. My parents, in their non-pet people logic, decided that if I could keep Zebra Finches alive, I could move on to a parrot eventually. The finches were...not at all what I wanted, and the female became egg bound and died six months after me getting them. The male died the next day. I have no clue why (I hadn't done any research about finches and probably was not the best pet owner to them since I kinda resented their existence). Since they died, my parents vetoed another bird offhand.
Petwise, I then raised gerbils, various tropical fish, had hamsters (dwarf and golden), guinea pigs, anoles, garter snakes, African clawed frogs, and cats. They were great, but not a bird. A friend had a cockatiel that hated me, but I stoically endured its biting until it let me hold it, and, more recently, a couple I am friends with got a green cheeked conure that is the best trained little bird I've ever met.
Since I'm now a college graduate (Bachelor's degree in English), have a steady job, and have a place all my own, and no pets currently save a lone betta in a 10 gallon in my bedroom, I decided that it is now time to finally start the process of getting a feathered baby. I have a lot of book knowledge about bird care (just this past week, I've probably spent about 4 hours watching training videos on various sites), lots of patience, and a love of birds, but am new and thus nervous as hell that I won't provide a good home for whatever parrot ends up picking me.
If you have any tips, tricks, and major fallacies to point out to a prospective bird owner, please let me know. I'm already aware of the noise level associated with birds (oddly, I find it calming), know about providing millions of toys and out of cage play time, and know about providing a varied diet, so I think I have the basics, but forewarned is forearmed...
Thanks for any help you guys end up giving. I look forward to meeting you.
That being said, I'm interested in smaller/medium sized birds like Conures, Caiques, Senegals, Ringnecks, and Quakers. I'm a big guy and get anxious around really small birds, and am slightly nervous about handling large birds like Macaws and Cockatoos (especially because the rescue takes in abused birds with behavior issues, I'd hate to jump in completely over my head with a traumatized big bird), so mid sized birds seem my speed. They also seem to have personality to spare...
I started loving birds when I was 8 and my parents took me to a zoo with a Lorikeet aviary where I could feed the birds. I stayed there all day, ignored the rest of the zoo, and came home covered in bird poop and smiling ear to ear. My parents, in their non-pet people logic, decided that if I could keep Zebra Finches alive, I could move on to a parrot eventually. The finches were...not at all what I wanted, and the female became egg bound and died six months after me getting them. The male died the next day. I have no clue why (I hadn't done any research about finches and probably was not the best pet owner to them since I kinda resented their existence). Since they died, my parents vetoed another bird offhand.
Petwise, I then raised gerbils, various tropical fish, had hamsters (dwarf and golden), guinea pigs, anoles, garter snakes, African clawed frogs, and cats. They were great, but not a bird. A friend had a cockatiel that hated me, but I stoically endured its biting until it let me hold it, and, more recently, a couple I am friends with got a green cheeked conure that is the best trained little bird I've ever met.
Since I'm now a college graduate (Bachelor's degree in English), have a steady job, and have a place all my own, and no pets currently save a lone betta in a 10 gallon in my bedroom, I decided that it is now time to finally start the process of getting a feathered baby. I have a lot of book knowledge about bird care (just this past week, I've probably spent about 4 hours watching training videos on various sites), lots of patience, and a love of birds, but am new and thus nervous as hell that I won't provide a good home for whatever parrot ends up picking me.
If you have any tips, tricks, and major fallacies to point out to a prospective bird owner, please let me know. I'm already aware of the noise level associated with birds (oddly, I find it calming), know about providing millions of toys and out of cage play time, and know about providing a varied diet, so I think I have the basics, but forewarned is forearmed...
Thanks for any help you guys end up giving. I look forward to meeting you.
