Parrot
Information
A parrot
is any of the many birds belonging to the family Psittacidae.
All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each
foot placed two at the front and two back. Parrots have
been kept as companions possibly as far back as the time
of the ancient Egyptians, and certainly there is evidence
of parrots being kept in ancient Greek society as early
as 400 BC. However, it has only been during this century
that parrots have become accessible to the general public
outside of the zoos and private collections that were
once the primary captive domains of the more exotic species.
Parrots
have different behavioral traits that apply to different
species, which enable wild parrots to better deal with
their different ecosystems. Each parrot, depending on
species, will be a product of both nature and nurture.
How loud and how cuddly any given bird becomes will be
a product of breeding and how he is raised and kept.
Parrots
should be raised in a clean but not isolated or visually
sterile environment. There should be things to see and
other birds, people, and toys to play with. At a minimum,
birds need 30-45 minutes per day of combined direct and
indirect attention. Basically, they need to be touched,
preened or scratched for at least a half-hour per day.
On top of that, they need to be out of their cage and
within view of you for about 3 hours per day.
Enjoying
a parrot as a companion means being comfortable with
bird toys (and pieces thereof), walnut shells, feathers
and dander strewn about the place. Nature depends on
parrots to scatter seeds and fruits around the forest
floor, you can’t expect them to do any different
inside your impeccably clean home. But parrots are also
naturally clean and prefer to do their really dirty business
in certain areas. Potty training can be an essential
behavioral aid and there is loads of advice on the subject.
It
is a fact of nature that parrots make noise. Some parrot
vocalizations can be heard for up to 1 mile! It cannot
and should not be eliminated as it is an important part
of a parrot's communicative and expressive process. Dark
rooms, isolation cages, squirting with water, closets
or the like do not work. As a rule, the bigger the bird,
the bigger the noise, but you can help minimize the amount
of noise by paying attention to what your bird is trying
to say.
Aggressive
biting is not a natural behavior of adult parrots, but
is a learned response that happens because an owner approaches
a bird improperly or tries to play with them when they
don't want to be played with. They really don't want
to bite, but we frequently fail to heed the "leave
me alone" signs like walking away growling or gently
holding our fingers. Parrots do not to bite in the wild
and a properly raised and kept domestic parrot should
not bite.
A healthy
bird is a happy bird. Parrots can become moody, aggressive,
and very ill when they are receiving a poor diet. Parrots
need a variety of foods including grains, seeds, vegetables,
fruits, fortified with vitamins and minerals. Absolutely
NO chocolate (very toxic), coffee, alcohol, avocado,
dill, greasy foods, fatty foods, salty foods, or foods
that are heavily supplemented with preservatives such
as hot dogs.
Parrots
are not domesticated animals. They have all of their
insticts and one must keep this in mind when dealing
with all aspects of parrot behavior. A concentrated effort
must be made to understand parrot behavior before you
become caretaker of this highly intelligent animal. While
they can be rewarding, they are also quite demanding.
Intellectually and emotionally they are surprisingly
like two year old humans - imagine having a two year
old for 50 years! Parrots are not a hobby, they are a
way of life.
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