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Originally Posted by jrsygal37  I'm sorry. I am going through a similiar situation with my Cockatoo Boo. As you know but many do not, parrots require a lot more attention, feeding etc. It's equivaltent to having a toddler for the rest of your life. I aquired Boo as a baby out of an egg and she is about six now. Having had her six years I'm now an advocate against parrots as domestic pets. For one they outlive us and two almost always circumstances in our lives change and that is when most are put in rescues (If they are lucky). For us, my sons are now older teens and I went back to work. I'm not home much at all anymore. What I did do was take a room and bird proof it and I leave Boo out all day with toys and fresh food and water. That however does not make up for the lack of attention. Parrots are very sociable and NEED human contact. They can be very demanding with their ear piercing screams as well as plucking when they don't get what they need. Their food habits are expensive as well as time consuming. It's not just seed. It's home cooking the variety they need as if they were in the wild. I too go through whether I should place her for adoption with rescue. I'm struggling with that now. One one hand I know she's safe with me and won't be abused but on the other hand I knogk I'mw she's not as happy as she could be. She's very lonely. It's different with our dogs, my husband is home all day with them and he plays with them, feeds them etc. and when I get in they sit on my lap and watch TV with me. He's afraid of the parrot. Not a lot of people can handle the size and beak and damage they can do. Which is the other issue with parrots. They can never be left unattended in an area that is not bird proof. They are very destructive. I'm sorry you went through this. It's something I think at some point I will be going through. Elaine |
I agree, they require so much attention. They need you. You become their flock. And as most are one person birds it can become difficult when there are life changes. Echo refused to allow anyone but me to mess with him. He would bite anyone else. Very hard. So I couldn't bring him downstairs bc I feared he would bite my toddler. The man that will be working with him has a lot of experience with amazons so that makes me feel better. He would scream for attention and it was not only a horrible noise but it was very saddening to know how much he craved attention I could not give him. I had Echo for 4 years. When and if you have to rehome him it will be hard but in the end you will know you did what was best. It hurts terribly but I know that Echo needs more than I can give. It hurts most bc I love him and they are like toddlers. He understands things to an extent but he will never understand that I love him and that is why I gave him up. I just have to keep telling myself that its okay if he hates me. It fact, if he hates me maybe he won't hurt like I do. I have been away from him for up to a week. So I really have to stay away from the thought that one day soon he will have the realization that I am not coming back.
