Signed up for this forum a few days ago. Hi everybody!
Ever since I saw them, I have been fascinated with the parrots, their colors, behavior, and ability to speak. Recently I realized that the larger parrots can be real pets - someone you would interact with a lot and be real friends with. So I've been doing some research and reading a lot of websites, including a lot of the posts on this forum. Lots of good stuff.
Here is one question that I'd like to ask to advance my understanding a little bit. I've read about potty training for the birds. Supposedly, it can be done. But what's the typical real life outcome? Do people here train their birds and are able to avoid having to run around with a towel wiping something off every 20 minutes? Or do they just get used to it and take it as a normal cost of keeping a parrot? I think it's really great that parrots are so intelligent and you can have them run around on their own and interact with you, but having them poop everywhere may concern my wife. Also, are you able to prevent it from destroying the more important pieces of furniture (like the TV), or does it end up getting to everything eventually? Unfortunately, we don't have a whole room we can totally devote to a parrot, where it would be allowed to do anything it wants.
I am in no way close to making any decision on a parrot - this would be more like "food for thought" for me. I will keep thinking about this for the next few months or maybe a year (obviously, it's a big commitment). If I do make the plunge, I will probably end up with something like a macaw, amazon, or an eclectus - knowing the answer to the above with respect to these birds would be most helpful.
Also, does anyone have any ideas on where I can get some hands-on experience/interaction with these birds? (I live in Boston). Reading the webpages and watching Youtube videos is fun, but doesn't give a complete picture - I don't think.
Thanks to everyone in advance. Nikita.
Ever since I saw them, I have been fascinated with the parrots, their colors, behavior, and ability to speak. Recently I realized that the larger parrots can be real pets - someone you would interact with a lot and be real friends with. So I've been doing some research and reading a lot of websites, including a lot of the posts on this forum. Lots of good stuff.
Here is one question that I'd like to ask to advance my understanding a little bit. I've read about potty training for the birds. Supposedly, it can be done. But what's the typical real life outcome? Do people here train their birds and are able to avoid having to run around with a towel wiping something off every 20 minutes? Or do they just get used to it and take it as a normal cost of keeping a parrot? I think it's really great that parrots are so intelligent and you can have them run around on their own and interact with you, but having them poop everywhere may concern my wife. Also, are you able to prevent it from destroying the more important pieces of furniture (like the TV), or does it end up getting to everything eventually? Unfortunately, we don't have a whole room we can totally devote to a parrot, where it would be allowed to do anything it wants.
I am in no way close to making any decision on a parrot - this would be more like "food for thought" for me. I will keep thinking about this for the next few months or maybe a year (obviously, it's a big commitment). If I do make the plunge, I will probably end up with something like a macaw, amazon, or an eclectus - knowing the answer to the above with respect to these birds would be most helpful.
Also, does anyone have any ideas on where I can get some hands-on experience/interaction with these birds? (I live in Boston). Reading the webpages and watching Youtube videos is fun, but doesn't give a complete picture - I don't think.
Thanks to everyone in advance. Nikita.