this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2024
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Birb, now someone tell me why I'm a monster for choosing.
There will never be enough meat on that baby to make a decent meal.
The birb is an Eclectus parrot. I've got a totally different perspective and opinion than some of the other comments you received. And that opinion is: They make terrible pets and are not really suited for the general public.
The basics of their care (food, water, shelter, medical treatment, cleaning, maintenance) are all pretty reasonable to accommodate.
Their psychological needs are a whole order of magnitude harder to provide, and can almost rival the time, attention, and energy needed for a young child. Depending on the age of the bird you adopt, you could be signing up for 20 - 30+ years of commitment to an animal that may ultimately not form a bond with you, is much more intelligent than a cat or dog in a lot of ways, and can pretty easily make your life nearly as miserable as its own. If they aren't happy, they will make sure that you aren't happy either, but keeping them happy can be a job in and of itself.
Now if you have experience with keeping similar birds in captivity, are well-educated on how much goes into their care, have lots of disposable income, and are fully prepared for the good and the bad, then you might do alright with one. But, if you're looking at them to be a "pet", then this is not a good option for you.
I look after two of these adorable birs when I was a teenager. They are usually alright. I don't remember anything bad about them or high maintenance care. You just need to be careful about handling them and their environment not to stress them to much. Only bad thing is their bite. They can rip your fingers off if you make them angry. I remember mines were breaking up the cage's metal bars just because they were bored. Other than that they are very clever and fun pets to have.
Gotta be prepared and committed, many parrot species have lifespans as long as humans. This isn’t a 10 year pet like a dog or cat
My WFH officemate is a 25 year old Cockatiel named Spike. He no longer really wants to come out of his cage, and on the rare occasion he does he doesn't so much fly as fall with style. That said, he's still spunky and loud and interactive and climbs all over his cage and has attracted interest from a local hawk on multiple occasions. He is my little buddy, even though my wife got him before we met. When he was younger, he would hang out on my shoulder (and poop on it) and could even be coaxed to fly over to me.
Definitely got the air cleaner running 24x7, though. SO MUCH dander.
My wife and I have a Moluccan cockatoo and an Indian ringneck.
Think of parrots as very demanding, often destructive, toddlers that never grow up and have no “inside voice.” They will make you thank whatever god you follow that you can get subtitles on your television.