Are you ready to own a parrot?

Taking on a new bird is a very LARGE commitment!  Three hundred and sixty-five days out of the year that bird will need care - are you ready for that?  Are you ready for the day in and day out food preparation? cage cleaning? expense? hormones? stages? and did I say expense?  All of these are things that you as a perspective new owner of a baby bird need to think about.  However, having said that be ready for some of the best times of your life! :)

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How could you replace experiences like these?  YOU CAN'T!  Being owned by a parrot has been a challenging and wonderful experience for my family, but I would not give it up for the world!  

SOME ESSENTIALS

SOME STUFF TO GET BEFORE YOU GET YOUR BABY:

1.    A cage.  Good brands are available (all having their wonderful points and down points) like:  CA Cages (these are a very popular brand and you can find them almost anywhere), California Cages and Kings Cages.

2.    A play gym & T-stands.  You can make your own or buy one.  Here are some links to some sites you might check out:  Wayne's Parrot Stuff, Parrot Play Center, Busy Beaks, Parrot Gyms to name a few.  Almost any advertisement in the Companion Parrot Quarterly should be good for cages or playgyms.  T-stands are great to take your bird around the house with you without having the bird on your shoulder (highly discouraged - too much damage can be done.  Remember that all the pirates had a PATCH over their eye and guess what was on their shoulder!).

3.     Toys!  I like Eb Craven's thoughts on this (Read Eb's Articles in the Companion Parrot Quarterly).   We typically think we have to have the brightest, most stunning toys for our birds when if we just went outside and found unsprayed, safe plants or tree branches our birds would be in HEAVEN!  And our pocket book would be better off.  The branches that I give the breeders are far more interacted with/devoured than any of the toys that I have ever put in their cages.  Just my thoughts on the issue.  However, if you would like to find toys, the above magazine has tons of toy manufacturers that you can chose from.

4.    A subscription to the Companion Parrot Quarterly.  This magazine is very very helpful with parrots and education for the pet owner.  I highly encourage all of my new parronts to purchase this magazine.  It is WONDERFUL!

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