Pookamama
New member
Hi, my name is Diana. I live with my husband and four kiddos. We have been carefully and thoroughly researching parrot ownership over the last few days. We realize this is a big responsibility to take on. My husband had a blue-headed pionus as a boy when he lived in South America and we've been interested in being parrot owners for awhile. Now that our kiddos are not babies anymore and we had a bird-sitting experience our interest has been rekindled.
So-there are a few lovely species out there. We are very attracted to African Greys and Blue-Headed Pionuses, (although there seems to be difficulty finding breeders of the latter in Oregon.) We are very willing to consider other species if they'd be a great fit for us!
I have a few questions I was hoping you could help me with as far as breeders go. Just to clarify, while this bird will belong to the family the primary caregivers will be myself and my husband, this will not be a bird for the kids. A lot of what I have read about the healthy treatment and care and attention needed for parrots is very similar to raising children. We are considering this more like an adoption of a person rather than a pet, as this is a lifelong commitment. We want to make sure we get a good fit for us and for the bird so that this is healthy for everybody. I am a stay at home mom and while my children are energetic, they are very compassionate and interested in the pets that family members have and the cockatiels we've been birdsitting.
We have a room where there is a lot of action (the kitchen) and another where it's a great deal quieter. I have heard that parrots prefer to be where the action is while in their cage. However, having rowdy kids, would a bird prefer a bit of quiet once in a while? We were considering getting a cage with wheels so we could move the bird into the quiet room if he/she seemed overwhelmed by my sometimes rambunctious children. Is this a good plan? I plan on only having the bird around the children supervised until I am absolutely confident that the kids are mature enough to deal with a bird, and I suspect that will probably take years. My children are young (the youngest is 2). But the bird would still be around the children a lot. With the sometimes loud and sudden noises and movements, would that be too much stress for a parrot? Or if we got a baby and it grew up with lots of noises and action, would it just get used to it? Are some breeds of parrot better than others for dealing with it, or does it just depend on the bird?
Any other advice and tips would be appreciated. We have done a great deal of reading on and off over the years and especially during the last week as we've been interested in parrot ownership.
I am having difficulty finding a lot of reliable websites of breeders in Oregon, many haven't been updated in years. How do you best determine from afar if a breeder has a safe and bird-friendly environment that they've raised their birds in? Is it necessary to visit the home? We are in the Albany area and don't mind traveling a couple hours to visit birds we are seriously interested in.
Thanks! I know that's a lot of questions.
So-there are a few lovely species out there. We are very attracted to African Greys and Blue-Headed Pionuses, (although there seems to be difficulty finding breeders of the latter in Oregon.) We are very willing to consider other species if they'd be a great fit for us!
I have a few questions I was hoping you could help me with as far as breeders go. Just to clarify, while this bird will belong to the family the primary caregivers will be myself and my husband, this will not be a bird for the kids. A lot of what I have read about the healthy treatment and care and attention needed for parrots is very similar to raising children. We are considering this more like an adoption of a person rather than a pet, as this is a lifelong commitment. We want to make sure we get a good fit for us and for the bird so that this is healthy for everybody. I am a stay at home mom and while my children are energetic, they are very compassionate and interested in the pets that family members have and the cockatiels we've been birdsitting.
We have a room where there is a lot of action (the kitchen) and another where it's a great deal quieter. I have heard that parrots prefer to be where the action is while in their cage. However, having rowdy kids, would a bird prefer a bit of quiet once in a while? We were considering getting a cage with wheels so we could move the bird into the quiet room if he/she seemed overwhelmed by my sometimes rambunctious children. Is this a good plan? I plan on only having the bird around the children supervised until I am absolutely confident that the kids are mature enough to deal with a bird, and I suspect that will probably take years. My children are young (the youngest is 2). But the bird would still be around the children a lot. With the sometimes loud and sudden noises and movements, would that be too much stress for a parrot? Or if we got a baby and it grew up with lots of noises and action, would it just get used to it? Are some breeds of parrot better than others for dealing with it, or does it just depend on the bird?
Any other advice and tips would be appreciated. We have done a great deal of reading on and off over the years and especially during the last week as we've been interested in parrot ownership.
I am having difficulty finding a lot of reliable websites of breeders in Oregon, many haven't been updated in years. How do you best determine from afar if a breeder has a safe and bird-friendly environment that they've raised their birds in? Is it necessary to visit the home? We are in the Albany area and don't mind traveling a couple hours to visit birds we are seriously interested in.
Thanks! I know that's a lot of questions.