Is this a suitable situation for a parrot?

Long time no see Parrot Fourm!

I've been interested in being a parront for a long time, but the time has never really been right, so I've been resisting the temptation! However, I'm in a position now where I am able to get a new companion, but I'm wondering if it's suitable for a parrot, or if I should stick to dogs for now and keep on waiting.

I'm 25 and living with someone with 3 chihuahua's and two cats. Right now I'm studying (at least one full day off and one half day a week plus weekends off year round), and should be moving straight into work in two years when it's over (I do work placements/holiday work atm, usually we get hired by these places smoothly). I've done a lot of research and know what I'm looking for and what to expect with parrots. I can handle them, and I know people do make it work with dogs and cats in the house, but... Wanted to ask you experienced people your thoughts.

I would not combine cats and their natural prey-items (birds, small rodents etc.).
Chihuahua's are usually not the best trained/ obedient dogs so I would not trust those either.


You've done your research - and you are aware of the crazy amount of daily time and attention they need and frankly you do not sound like you would really have that time.

These chis are awesome little dogs; the owner actually treats them like dogs so not your typical spoiled brats haha. I really have no concerns about the chis going for the bird, I was more worried about the bird going for them! Not that I would have had any intention of letting them interact directly anyway. That seems to be the way most people who have dogs/cats and parrots do it.

I only spend about 16 hours in class, if I'm not there I'm at home; generally prefer my own company so I don't go out like most people. If on work placement its standard 9-3 stuff. Surely most people with parrots work? Do you not work or work part time? *honestly not being aggressive here, just curious*

Oh, I was not thinking so much as "now" but more in the lines of "work later".
Vacations etc. are a bust unless parrot can come along with or if you have a really, really good sitter.

(Yes, I am at home almost all the time, that is why I picked up a few rescues/rehomers - I do volunteer-work so the hours vary a bit, but am almost always at home at least a huge part of the day; right now I really have to because of Sunny going haywire if she is alone for 6+ hours)

I am impressed that you did and do you homework about these creatures
I've had many pets etc. in the past, but parrots are worse than children: in kids the amount of supervision decreases over time, in parrots it never does (and I am *not* the motherly type!).

LOL I would love to meet some really well-behaved chis someday - thanks to their sizes almost no-one will bother to train them like they automatically would a large dog. Good for you guys!

ChristaNL said:

Oh, I was not thinking so much as "now" but more in the lines of "work later".
Vacations etc. are a bust unless parrot can come along with or if you have a really, really good sitter.

(Yes, I am at home almost all the time, that is why I picked up a few rescues/rehomers - I do volunteer-work so the hours vary a bit, but am almost always at home at least a huge part of the day; right now I really have to because of Sunny going haywire if she is alone for 6+ hours)

I am impressed that you did and do you homework about these creatures
I've had many pets etc. in the past, but parrots are worse than children: in kids the amount of supervision decreases over time, in parrots it never does (and I am *not* the motherly type!).

LOL I would love to meet some really well-behaved chis someday - thanks to their sizes almost no-one will bother to train them like they automatically would a large dog. Good for you guys!

Click to expand...

Oh I've done my vacationing or big OE. South Africa was incredible! I really hate travelling anyway (motion sickness + flying anxiety doesn't make it fun lol) so I'm not so worried about that side of things.

As for work hours after study is over in two years, I would come home at lunch (when I was working before I started the course this year I used to do that for the family dogs anyway, or I'd take them to work) and then it would be out of the cage for all the time I'm home.

I never liked chi's till I met these guys! They are a big credit to their owner haha. I help her out taking one for obedience. So smart and willing to work! Bit tricky bending down for rewards and luring with such a little dog though! They are show bred so small as small get!

Species I was thinking were Sengal, Maroon Bellied Conure... something along those lines. I like the red collar/scaly/rainbow lorikeets but the liquid projectile poop is a touch off-putting. Though they are fairly common pets here and people seem to not have too much issues with it. I adore Macaws and the too's (especially galahs, corellas and red tail blacks) but they are a whole other level and my prior experience is with budgies, grass parakeets and a tiel. I'd love to get a bird harness trained so it could get some outdoor time. This place has some amazing places to take a harness bird to enjoy climbing in the trees and so on. Free flight is so impressive and NZ is probably one of the safest places in the world to do it, but not something i think I'm game for lol.

OOOoooo! a Kiwi!
What part of NZ are you in?
Lol I hear you on the lorries. I totally couldn't do their poop.

First of all, you can't EVER assume that because your dogs are sweet, well behaved, etc. that they will not go after a bird. That's just not how nature works. Pretty much any species of parrot you get is going to be quite smaller than the dogs, and there are 3 of them and one bird. And the pecking-order is that the dogs are predators and the birds are the prey, and that's just how it goes. The second that you think otherwise is when tragedies happen. I have 2 very well trained dogs that have never hurt a fly, but I have never allowed either of them to EVER be alone with any of my birds in a room, and even when I'm with them supervising I am extremely vigilant and do not allow any interaction at all. And you're correct, a parrot's beak can easily and quickly take out a dog's eye as well, but typically it's the other way around.

As far as the cats go, this is an issue. Cats are natural predators of birds, and all cats possess an innate hunting instinct. So not only are the cats a danger to the birds at all times they are out together, supervised or not, but what many cat owners don't realize is that even a cat sitting outside of a bird who is locked inside it's cage can cause the bird so much daily stress that the bird becomes quite ill. Cats tend to sit and stare, or rather "stalk" birds, especially when they are in their cages, and you can't allow the cats to do this to the birds, as it can be just as unfair and harmful as the cats being out with the birds. You also can't expect the bird to stay in his cage all day long, every day due to the cats being out. Basically, if you can't allow whatever bird you bring home to be out of it's cage for at least 4-5 hours each day, and give them daily interaction and affection, as well as mental stimulation, then it's not healthy or fair for the bird. So usually people with cats have to make sure that the cats are locked in a room behind a latched door for the hours the bird is out of it's cage. And a lot of people don't think that this is fair to the cats, but it's much less fair to keep a bird locked inside a cage all day long every day, and not give them the necessary out-of-cage time every single day that they need, as all parrots have the intelligence level of a 3-4 year-old human child, and as such they need constant mental stimulation to keep from becoming bored, stressed, and eventually self-mutilating...

You just need to sit down with your partner and discuss what type of daily routine and schedule is going to be required to keep a bird healthy and happy, and see if it's possible to work-out with both the dogs and the cats, as well as your study/work schedules. A bird is not at all like owning any other type of pet, they are more like having a child due to their intelligence levels and their sensitivity to stress.

I'm in sunny Nelson!

Obviously the ideal situation would be no other pets, so I'm thinking maybe I should just get a dog. Just been thinking about how I could make it work. There are always birds in need of rehoming and so few parrots in NZ have owners that understand how to look after them correctly, so it's so tempting now I can "technically" have one to take a parrot on. I need to keep off for sale sites really lol; always heartstrings being pulled by birds in cages too small living in sheds, etc.

I did have a thought (I remember from several years ago meeting someone with a galah that did this) of getting a nice sized aviary and having the bird go out in that when nobody is home. The cats and dogs stay inside when nobody is home, and the yard's fencing stops other animals getting in, so no stress on that front. Thoughts?

In the ideal world, there wouldn’t be other pets....but that said, many of us have birds and other pets. I have a cat (who is definitely a hunter), and I do not take any chances with the birds. I urge caution with dogs as well - we had a sun conure brought into the rescue that I volunteer a few weeks ago at that had been bitten by a very well behaved chihuahua (it was after hours and the emergency vet here won’t see birds). The owners were so surprised that their dog hurt the bird. The dog didn’t break the skin and was likely try to play with the bird, but the bird needed antibiotics, X-rays, etc. I don’t say this to discourage you from getting a bird - I only say this to encourage you to be cautious and protective if you decide to get a bird (lots of us make it work!). I haven’t tried out an aviary as we have many predators here that you don’t have .

kiwifeathers said:

I'm in sunny Nelson!

Obviously the ideal situation would be no other pets, so I'm thinking maybe I should just get a dog. Just been thinking about how I could make it work. There are always birds in need of rehoming and so few parrots in NZ have owners that understand how to look after them correctly, so it's so tempting now I can "technically" have one to take a parrot on. I need to keep off for sale sites really lol; always heartstrings being pulled by birds in cages too small living in sheds, etc.

I did have a thought (I remember from several years ago meeting someone with a galah that did this) of getting a nice sized aviary and having the bird go out in that when nobody is home. The cats and dogs stay inside when nobody is home, and the yard's fencing stops other animals getting in, so no stress on that front. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I dunno....I reckon parrots have it pretty good here. Certainly there are some pretty sad looking cases on trade me (I had succumbed to those before, Clarke was our impulse buy from that kind of scenario)....but compared to the rest of the world, and the need for rescues, we do pretty well really. I think it's alot to do with the fact you have to pay exuberant amounts because most of the parrots larger than a 'teil are so damn rare.

I'm not sure if there would be one up your way, I'm in Canty. We have a parrot club, that has picnics/gatherings etc where all the parrots come out to play. It could be worthwhile getting in touch

I wouldn't bother with an aviary, but we're somewhat rural and get some decent frosts over the cooler months. And, you get adjusted to the keeping animals separated way of life. We have four humans, and no-ones missing out. If the cats asleep on the bed, we shut the door. The dog is older and likes to chill a lot too, so same goes. If a bird is out, a child (older kids) will take responsibility for keeping an eye on/entertaining others elsewhere. The dog will sit on their feet while they do homework in the office, for example.

How badly do you want a bird? If it's an absolute and dedicated passion, you'll make it work. If your own needs are met through caring for a dog, and you're a dog household already, that may well be easier - and cheaper - all around

itchyfeet said:

I dunno....I reckon parrots have it pretty good here. Certainly there are some pretty sad looking cases on trade me (I had succumbed to those before, Clarke was our impulse buy from that kind of scenario)....but compared to the rest of the world, and the need for rescues, we do pretty well really. I think it's alot to do with the fact you have to pay exuberant amounts because most of the parrots larger than a 'teil are so damn rare.

I'm not sure if there would be one up your way, I'm in Canty. We have a parrot club, that has picnics/gatherings etc where all the parrots come out to play. It could be worthwhile getting in touch

I wouldn't bother with an aviary, but we're somewhat rural and get some decent frosts over the cooler months. And, you get adjusted to the keeping animals separated way of life. We have four humans, and no-ones missing out. If the cats asleep on the bed, we shut the door. The dog is older and likes to chill a lot too, so same goes. If a bird is out, a child (older kids) will take responsibility for keeping an eye on/entertaining others elsewhere. The dog will sit on their feet while they do homework in the office, for example.

How badly do you want a bird? If it's an absolute and dedicated passion, you'll make it work. If your own needs are met through caring for a dog, and you're a dog household already, that may well be easier - and cheaper - all around

Click to expand...

I guess I'm just used to only seeing the sad tm cases and hearing of birds that never get out of their cages... We definitely don't have the same overpopulation issues at least, which is a good thing. As you say I think the price tag for the bigger birds puts people off.

That sounds super cool! It would be something worth looking into if I were to get a parrot.

Luckily Nelson doesn't get frosts aside from in the hilly valley areas. The bird would be coming in when someone was there and would stay in if it was cold or wet too. Was an idea for nice days to get some fresh air I guess.

When I had a budgie then a tiel when I was young (and we had a cat and a dog) they lived in my room so we'd just shut the other animals out and birds and I would hang out. Less practical for bigger parrots obviously.

I definitely am passionate and have had becoming a parront on my mind for years... I find myself always looking at both birds and stuff for them online and in stores and thinking about having one lol. I guess I know I can make it work but is it really for the best? I suppose I posted on here looking for conformation to my thoughts... Perhaps it will be a situation of waiting and seeing what comes along that really grabs me first.

I was all set to score an african grey from Gloriavale (would have had to call it Serenity Grace or something)when the opportunity to meet Henry came up. Sometimes being open to situations crossing your path is the best way to find your buddy!

I love and appreciate all the cautionary notes...
We see threads here, too often, about horrific tragedies that were totally unforeseen.
I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad you're listening.

I would wait and re-evaluate your situation when you have a job, as you will be able to better judge your time limits and your income will be more stable. Additionally, jobs can require moves and travel, and that is a giant pain/stress with a bird. Furthermore, you could end up in an apartment etc etc and that will also impact your decision. Start setting aside money now, and then when you are settled, you will have a nice reserve. No matter how much you think "you know" it will cost you, multiply that by....5 ...at least lol.

As others have said, pets are a concern- cats more than dogs, but both if you are dealing with a bird who isn't perch trained etc...My parents' dog (Who DOES NOT live with me) is semi-scared of my bird when we visit, but if my bird were less predictable, I could see their "sweet" dog grabbing her on impulse. The cat's are climbers and their bites (due to something in their saliva) can be particularly harmful to birds.

Also-- roommates are really hard to control-- hairspray, candles, perfume, non-natural cleaners, teflon/ptfoa/ptfe (often found in non-stick cooking pans, but also in irons, ironing boards, popcorn poppers, rice-cookers, drip trays, bake-in-a-bag meals, space-heaters, blow-dryers, curlers etc--the list goes on) nail polish, BBQ grills near the house, smoke, air freshener etc etc can all really harm your bird ..

OH!---and sleep schedules---you will want a dark and quite room where your bird can get 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep nightly...
It is HARD to boss around other humans like that in a shared living situation....Not to mention the potential for screaming and jealousy issues.