So. You’re thinking about getting a parrot huh? Well, you are in the right place! Thanks for stopping by LuvBirb. 🙂 Choosing your parrot is an incredibly important and challenging decision. To help with that process, we’ll cover nine essential questions to ask yourself to help narrow down which parrot species might be right for you.
Parrots are long lives animal, so once you make your decision you are locked in! I’d recommend bringing out a pen and paper to help journal your thoughts. As you go through these questions, please know that they are in no particular order. All are equally critical things to think about as you think through your decision.
Alright let’s get to it!
Questions:
Question 1: ❤️What drew you to parrots?
Question 2: 🏡What is the current living situation?
- How much space do you have?
- Do you live with other family members?
Question 3: ⏰Walk me through your hour by hour schedule for your average everyday
Question 4: 🙂How important are each of these factors (not important, somewhat, very important) – tricks, talking, aesthetics, cuddliness, other?
Question 5: ✈️ How often do you travel typically during the year?
Question 6: 🤑 What is your budget for the initial purchase of a parrot and monthly upkeep?
Question 7: 💤For anyone that lives under the same roof, what is each person’s tolerance and patience to noise? Example, is someone a light sleeper? easily distracted?
Question 8: 🥲 How is your pain tolerance?
Question 9: 🧑🏫Do you like teaching others, e.g. kids?
Question 10: 🤔What is your personal vibe and energy levels? Do you enjoy chilling around the house? Being on the move?
Review – Why did I Ask These Questions?
Each of these questions correspond to a key factor that could help you prioritize which parrot species might be a good fit.
Question 1: ❤️ What drew you to parrots? This tells you a bit about your motivation, what are the parts that interest you about parrots. Did you see a cool trick? Did you see one talk? Maybe it was the colors. Keep this in mind because that is your gut instinct and will all things parrots you must go with what you can be consistent with despite how challenging things might be.
Question 2: 🏡 What is the current living situation?
- How much space do you have? This can really help narrow down which parrot species might be a fit for you. If you are short on space, then you will have to go for a smaller species. If you have a whole bedroom spare, then a larger species might be an option.
- Do you live with other family members? If you live with kids or pets, this is something important to consider. You can control how you react and respond to a parrot’s behavior but can’t guarantee others will. Therefore, with kids and pets sometimes it is better to go a little smaller to reduce risk of serious injury until everyone gets experience with parrots. This is also for the parrot’s safety and comfort.
Question 3: ⏰ Walk me through your hour by hour schedule for your average everyday. This will determine how much free time you have to dedicate to your companion. General rule of thumb, you want at least 2-3 hours of direct engagement time for any species. Also ask yourself, do you expect any part of schedule or lifestyle to change, e.g. new job soon? Be mindful that your life changes can influence your parrot too.
Question 4: 🙂 How important are each of these factors (not important, somewhat, very important) – tricks, talking, aesthetics, cuddliness, other? Different species each have their own natural strengths. E.g. African Greys are talkers, parakeets aren’t. Sun Conures are gorgeous but might be short in other skills. This will help you balance the priorities.
Question 5: ✈️ How often do you travel typically during the year? Did you know that the only airline that accepts parrots is Delta, and your bird must be able to fit under the seat. Otherwise, large birds have to go into cargo which is stressful. If you travel a lot, you have to keep in might flights and boarding costs. The bigger the bird, the more costly (also not all sitters accept large birds).
Question 6: 🤑 What is your budget for the initial purchase of a parrot and monthly upkeep? Parrots are classified as exotic pets so everything is expensive (maybe except for food since they’re vegetarian). Be mindful of the cost to purchase a parrot, monthly toy budget, seeds, pellets, savings for vet costs and misc supplies.
Question 7: 💤 For anyone that lives under the same roof, what is each person’s tolerance and patience to noise? Example, is someone a light sleeper? easily distracted? With parrots, it’s pretty much good bye sleeping in! If there is anyone that needs to do homework or work from home, make sure that everyone is onboard for what the noise levels may be or choose a species depending on what the family is comfortable with.
Question 8: 🥲 How is your pain tolerance? You will get bit, so are you okay with that? Where do you draw the line? As my wise dad always says, ‘expect the best outcome, but prepare for the worst’.
Question 9: 🧑🏫Do you like teaching others, e.g. kids? This one is a bit of an odd question, but teaching others can signal your level of patience and ability to communicate ideas to someone else. In the case of parrots, you are teaching and communicating with a child does not speak your language and may not understand you. How will you adjust your strategy, can you work past your own frustrations?
Question 10: 🤔What is your personal vibe and energy levels? Do you enjoy chilling around the house? Being on the move? Each parrot species has a similar energy, so be sure to find a species that matches that. For example, Africans and Amazons are a little more mellow, while Lovebirds and Parrotlets have super high energy and always need to be on the move.
Narrow Down the Parrot Species
This can be a lot to think through, so I’m working on the ultimate species cheatsheet. It is a broad characterization of the most commonly owned parrot species, but it will be something you can apply your answers to and (hopefully) start to help narrow down the species to explore.
Once you narrow it down to a few species, keep digging into the research. It won’t be as overwhelming with fewer options and the community will be here to help you through the details.
Interested in my personal recommendation, check out The Best Parrot Species for Beginner Owners.
Keep the Conversation Going!
No doubt there are more things to consider. For my more experience parrot owners out there, what have I missed? What should new owners ask themselves or consider when they are choosing the right species for them? Let us know in the community post.
