Pet Parrot Content Is Getting More Popular On Platforms Like Tiktok, And I Just Want To Put It Out There

pet parrot content is getting more popular on platforms like tiktok, and i just want to put it out there that parrots are NOT like dogs or cats. i've already seen more than one video of someone falling in love with a parrot at something like a petsmart (sidebar: like for most animals, please find a responsible, ethical breeder) (this will also hopefully let you know that you are indeed buying a bred parrot and not a wild-caught) and buying one on impulse, and MY GOD does that make me nervous. people who are capable of giving parrots a good life are a vast, VAST minority of people.

my grandfather bred parrots so i grew up with them from a young age, and while i love them and respect them and am glad for the time i got to spend growing up around them, there's a reason *i* do not own a parrot. he always had a clause in the purchase agreement that meant parrots would be surrendered back to him and not abandoned/given to a shelter/rescue, and he had MANY birds given back. many. even with talking it through with people and letting them meet his other birds and experience their volume and how much care they need, there were still people who would buy a parrot and in a few months nearly beg to give it back bc they were in over their heads.

parrots are beautiful, intelligent animals, but they require SO much care and work and socializing. they are flock-based animals, and you will have to be their flock. they will need HOURS of your attention and care every single day. (and i mean HOURS). and if they don't get it, they can and will start engaging in behavior including mutilating themselves and plucking their feathers out. also they are super sensitive to their surroundings. new person in the house they don't like? plucking themselves with stress. too many visitors for their comfort? plucking themselves with stress. you went on a vacation and they aren't dealing with it well? plucking themselves with stress. new puppy in the house? plucking themselves with stress. get a divorce/move houses/new baby in the home? plucking themselves with stress. obviously not every bird will be sensitive to the same degree, but in general, parrots deal with stress/changes in environment WAY worse than other pets.

depending on the breed, you will have a creature with the intelligence of a toddler (some are even as smart as your average 5 year old), and you will be living with this toddler for literal decades. conures live 20-30 years, african grays live 40-60 years, and cockatoos can live 60-80 years. this toddler creature will ALSO have evolved to have a cry that can carry through jungles, and that volume is not gonna decrease bc you live in an apartment and your neighbors aren't gonna want to hear it. you ever heard a sun conure? get within a mile of one and you will.

tl;dr: parrots are beautiful and i love them, but there is no way in hell i would ever own one bc there are SO few people who should.

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question: if pokemon were real, and you has your favorite, would it sleep on the bed with you?

answers:

yes

no, because it is too big

no, because it IS the bed

no, because it would make a mess

no, because it would be dangerous

no, because i don't have a favorite pokemon

no, because i don't have a bed

To myself: “It’s ok to make bad art it’s ok to make bad art it’s ok to make bad art it’s ok to make bad art”

*the art is bad*

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