Hello parrot enthusiasts! Some advice por favor?

Hey guys! My name is Kristin and I am a 27 yr old Alaskan woman that prefers labor over office work, is a serious boat person, (commercial fishing and sailing are my main two boating interests.) loves animals and the environment(am an activist of sorts) and I travel TOO much to own a traditional pet, like a cat or a dog. Growing up we had a lot of pets, cats, a guinea pig, a ferret.. 3 different parakeets, which I absolutely loved, and a sweet, sweet little old man cockateil. We never knew how old he really was. He, Larry Bird, was found, flying around the city one cold winter by my aunt, in the city of Seattle! She is a vets assistant and rescues all kinds of animals. He didn't do well with her other 3 or 4 cockateils she had, they pecked at him and pulled some of his feathers out so thats why my family decided to adopt him. He ended up being so loveable and cuddley and loooved being scratched and pet on his head. Him and my parakeet Reece were the best of friends, it was a great experience to have them growing up!

Anyways, I find myself going googoo gaga over friends' cats and other animals when I visit, and I am really missing having an animal around all the time. I travel a lot, not in the traditional vacationer kind of way. I usually roll in a truck with a camper or just sport a backpack for shorter trips. I am currently fixing up a 34 foot sailboat which I will eventually be living on for a good portion of the time.

With all this background info in mind, do you think that a parrot would be a good partner for me? I had a friend tell me I should get a black macaw, which I soon found out was actually a palm cockatoo and I have been reading up on them. Seeing their status as a species I am reluctant to search one out. I have a lot of respect for rare, unique or endangered animals so I am not quite sure on that.

I did read some of your forum and just decided to ask what the general consensus would say about my situation and whether or not looking for a parrot companion would even be a good idea. I honestly just imagine a bird would be really happy with me because of the amount of time I spend outside. The boat is near San Francisco Bay and that's where I will be taking it once its done. I may travel around the Baja area in the coming years but I also can't deny that I still spend quite a bit of time in Oregon and Washington. I spend a lot of my time in the woods, and if Im in a city I always gravitate towards the vegetated and treed parts of it. I understand that bonding with my bird would be absolutely crucial to being ok with being outside all the time, this I know and am keeping it in mind.

I figured I would just spill out all my thoughts in one go. From reading the other posts, I figure I can just get a much more straight answer quicker rather than saying hi, how are you, what's your name and fav color, etc etc. You all seem to be quite well spoken, understanding and knowledgeable and I am really curious what you all have to say.

Thank you!

Krstin

Also, if I don't respond right away, I will, just be patient. I am not one known to have the internet at their fingertips.

I'd say if you have a very safe and secure way to bring a bird along, he would enjoy it! Please don't count on a bird to not fly away, even if his wings are clipped - it can and does happen. Instead, harness train the bird so he simply can't get away.
I think I remember seeing someone mention one time that there is a type of back pack that is a bird carrier.
A black palm is probably not the bird you want to go for with only small bird experience in the past. They are extremely expensive to begin with, and not a good choice for a beginner to larger birds.

I saw a youtube video of a bird who lives on a boat. It is certainly possible to do that. I think it really depends on the individual. You'd need to have a "back-up plan" so that if your bird didn't want to go places, you could deal with it.

Hi

I think if you get a baby who gets exposed to traveling often it will not be a problem. He will just see it as the norm. I have been taking mine shopping, camping (sleeping in the tent in his cage ) and driving since he was 5 weeks old, and now, at five years old he is not fazed by any of it. It is just part of his life. In fact he loves it! It might be harder to get an older bird that has been cage or home bound all their lives to adapt to a vastly different lifestyle, but some of the other people with more knowledge can weigh in on that.

Just make sure that you do have the time available to spend with him that he needs and that he can travel with you to the places you go. If you know you will have to leave him behind most of the time, a bird would not be a good idea. I can not think of more rewarding relationship than with a parrot, but I might be biased, Lol.

And I have to agree with Sonja , please make sure that you harness train your bird!! Especially if you will be outside most of the time. (I am still in training with my grey, Lol) I also have to eccho her opinion of maybe going for something a bit smaller? Such a big bird might be a bit intimidating and end up the boss of you. Once again, the older hands will give better advice on this.

Last note, I think it might be a good idea to go for a relatively laid back bird, and pass on the well known nervous ones. But here, again, others will be able to give you better advice.

Hope all goes well. Let us know what you decide!

Thanks guys! Yes, Miloslave, that is what I wanted to assume about traveling with a bird. So is it just the palms that are pretty dominant? or just cockatoos or bigger birds in general? I definitely wouldn't be letting a bird intimidate me, trust me! That is rarely something that happens to me. BUT, I've never met one! I really liked the idea of the palm cockatoo after reading about them but its only that, an idea that a friend had. I haven't read anything on their personality.

So what species do you think would be well suited for the travel lifestyle? I agree with getting a laid back bird, that definitely makes sense. and yes I would be taking it with me where I went, that is the idea I was trying to get across. I have a large family who all love animals, so I'm not too concerned about how old the bird gets because I know someone in my family would adopt them if they outlived me. I'm always getting into new things without falter so I don't really think it would be difficult for me to handle a bird larger than a cockatiel. I love animals and I am more patient than what is normal.. haha.

Thanks for the tip on the harness. Do you keep it on them all the time? Or would it be more like how you would have a dog... mostly on a leash, especially anywhere near public or civilization but in the proper setting it would be ok without? Miloslave, what is your experience with that? and if a bird flies off will he just kinda be like, F this ****, I'm going where I want? I just can't imagine that if you were good to your bird and you had made friends with it. Of course, it being spooked is a different story. I'm wondering how far off your bird might go comfortably, like how far away from you would the hang out zone be? Or is that just not an option at all? and do you always have a cage with you? guess he needs a proper place to poop, huh? =) can you potty train them? Oh boy so many questions.

Thanks for the info, all your responses are making me think of all the good critical questions that I need to know before I decide to get one or not.

Good night parroters

You can potty train them. I haven't managed it, but I'm impatient and she (galah) never seems to poo when I'm waiting for her to...

I reckon a corella would be the type you might be able to take about with you. Also, there's a caique I know of who goes to the park and the beach and everywhere. But it really depends on what you've got where you live, not what I might know about over here.

Even when your bird is tame and goes places, they can still fly away. The fellow who does youtube videos lost his bird, and he takes (or used to ) it to the park and everywhere.

The one on the boat in the Bahamas on youtube ("Lucky" his name is if you want to see his videos) is an african grey.

Thanks strudel. I will look up the corella and the caique. I watched a video on youtube of a amateur getting her macaw to fly outside, and mentioned a issue with outdoor freeflight, which was hawks. She was in a park right near a bunch of houses and the bird flew pretty much out of sight over back to the houses and thats when a hawk appeared nearby the macaw when it flew by. The bird came back and was fine but that is an interesting issue that I would have never thought of. this is the video:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74uqeVMGtxg"]Parrot Freeflight -- the Real Issues and Training Involved in Flying Outdoors - YouTube[/ame]
Obviously I am going to just get a harness if and when I get a bird but it is good to know about these things for the future of the life of the bird. Do you think the happiness they get out of flying free outweighs the dangers? Also am thinking I would never do that unless I could really see everywhere they could go and not in a treed area like I was thinking before. I think I really would like to just find out what kind of bird would like to fly around but nearby and not as far as that macaw did, but also in the birds defense, in the video she was purposely training her for a long freeflight.

I also read about grays and eclectus, and I know I would probably be spending quite a bit of time with my bird so I'm wondering if an eclectus wouldn't be a bad choice? I've always loved them, I remember seeing how gorgeous they were, especially the females, in my animal books as a youngster. I read that someone said that the females can tend to be not quite as outgoing and demanding as the males and so somewhat more dependent which I think would be a good thing. Am I on the right track here? What do you guys think...

This is fun, I am enjoying learning about them. And honestly I am quite a busy person at the moment and I don't usually have internet at my fingertips so I wanted people that post back to me to know that I really appreciate the feedback!

I don't really know about all the types, I know my birds, and have an idea from some of the "characters" I've come across online. Fargo is a macaw on here, Tab lets him fly about, but I think he's on a long lead harness when he does. You might be better starting threads with any specific topics you want feedback on, a lot of people won't see your questions in the introduction section. It's been brought up before about the risks of freeflying, I think Birdman had something to say about it.... If you do a forum search, you might find the threads where it was discussed.

Black Palm Cockatoos are actually quite rare--so they are uncommon and are extremely expensive. From what I have read, it is much, much better to have them suited in an aviary.

I think a medium sized parrot would better suit you. You have experience with birds so I think you would do fine with a “step up” if you want. But hey! Some people like to stick with small parrots and that’s great too (I’m actually kind of one of them)! The most important thing is having a parrot choose you so they already get to go home with who THEY want, not who YOU want. This should make the bonding process a bit more easier. It’s good to have a list of species you would like then to meet with the species until you find “the one”.

I love the idea of a parrot being able to go with you. Just make sure that everything is safe and secure because of the risk of predators and people who might want to steal your future parrot.

Having a harness can help with the risk of someone even thinking about stealing your pet. It shows that they would have to struggle a bit and attract attention to themselves.

A bird will and have that mentality if they fly off for all the reasons a bird flies off for. Mostly in their defense in order to find safety and shelter. It’s absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking to lose a close companion. Betrisher and Birdman666 were one of the luckier people to be able to find their lost parrots. Being able to let your bird wander around by themselves requires a strong sense of trust between both of you and I find that recalling (in a safe, preferably indoor environment would be a good start).

A travel cage is a good option, they are smaller only to be transported. They should have a regular cage to play and hang out in so they can be independent as well. Some owners decide to have another cage for sleep.
Potty training is a more debatable topic. There are a lot of positive feedbacks as well as negatives one. The most common negative part is the risk of poop building up inside of them.

Happiness CAN come with a price. Since you’d be “on the move” more often it would make it hard for them to get a sense on where they are. That being said, if they get lost they could travel for miles trying to find a familiar area. Flying predators are also a big danger that could result in a beloved pet being lost. (Thankfully, I’m pretty clear on that). It’s better to let them fly in a field if possible. Again, you need to train them extremely well so they come back.

Female Eclectus can sport more of a ‘tude=more of a challenge but that’s only based on the generalization of the species. Just a reminder, female parrots are more inclined to egg binding so it’s important to have calcium at all times and to reduce nesting materials so she doesn’t get aggressive by protecting her nest aka cage. I find Eclectus one of the most beautiful parrots out there-male and female. Just remember that they require a diet consisting of fresh fruits and veggies. Also, since they are hypoallergenic they’re one of the best types of family pets. However, males would be better suited for families.





UPDATE: I just thought of this. Maybe a Pionus parrot? They're known to be one of the more laid-back type of bird and a couch potato.

Well, aside from the fact that BP2's are rare and hard to come by, and $17,000+ parrots, they are also specialized feeders. (Palm nuts.) So, overall, even if you found one, this would not be a good choice for boat living. The other thing, is larger parrots require more equipment, which doesn't necessarily fit on the cramped quarters of a boat. (Think cage & Playstand the size of a wall unit. Where would you put it?) Same answer for any large parrot really.

The other thing is there are all sorts of import export requirements with parrots when crossing the border ESPECIALLY a bird as rare and endangered as a BP2.

GOOD LUCK FINDING A LIVE ABOARD SLIP IN SF BAY THESE DAYS! You might try Redwood City. But the Bay Area was cracking down on that stuff when I left five years ago.

A smaller bird, like a caique would probably work. Overall? Probably not an ideal situation for the bird.

If he did fly off, and you were at sea, that's a death sentence!!!

All birds can fly away, no matter how strong your bond is. In the wild, when there's danger, the whole flock flies away together. It is really difficult to expect a bird to fly to you when the bird thinks its life is in danger. From what I've read about free flyers, the species that are hardest to train are Greys, cockatiels, and ringnecks, because those species prefer to fly in straight lines as opposed to circles. I don't know if this is true, but caiques might be a good option for boat living, because they're not as strong of a flier and wouldn't be tempted to fly really far.

Bringing a bird along on trips is the best! I bring my Lilo camping in the summer and road trips are my favorite! But I always have her in a cage or a travel carrier so nothing happens. But when I am in the camper, she comes out of her cage and hangs around with us! She loves being outside in her travel cage with us! In my opinion, parrots are the best traveling buddies!

Hey guys! Thanks for all the responses, my time around computers is about up and I would love to send a longer note detailing what I would LOVE to say but Christmas, family time and more traveling is about to begin so here's the short version:

I definitely understand the issues of free flight, and I want you all to be rest assured I will 100% get a harness and I won't do anything stupid if and when I get a bird! I also wanted to say that I am not ready for a bird quite yet, my life is a bit too hectic and I know I wouldn't have the time to properly bond and take care of it. I looked up the Corellas and the Caique and both were incredibly adorable. I think the Corella really would match up with me quite well, they seem intelligent and industrious, which I really like in a bird. The Caique also seemed like a stout little bird and the videos I saw showed that they loved roughhousing for their play which to me seems like that would mean they are a tough little bird! Obviously Im not getting a BP2, just fun to talk about and imagine. Also thanks for telling me about Lilo, she looks like a sweetie and I've always liked conures any time Ive seen them.

Oh and Birdman, I am probably going to dock my boat in Vallejo first, I have some connections for jobs there, but I might end up in Emmeryville or Sausalito too. I will look into Redwood city, I appreciate that. Didn't think I would get SF slip advice on the parrotforums, but for some reason, it doesn't surprise me

I am going to keep this list you have all recommended to me, and if I ever get a chance to meet any of them and I consider adopting, I will be back here with questions of the finer details of fluffy flying companionship.

Take care to all of you and have a wonderful holiday! Good night!

Khaiqha, a special thank you for the advice on the species that fly in straight lines, that is priceless information to me because I may have considered a cockatiel since I had one when I was younger.

My mom and her husband lived aboard there boat at the Coronado Yatch club here in San Diego. They found an Amazon in the Bay one day all water logged. How the bird survived is beyond me but it did. She said it thew up lots of salt water. Anyway, it spoke fluent spanish and was able to tell my mom it's name and some how she was able to find it owner. But who knows how long the bird had been in the water.