Rocky reminds me of a parrot
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Prospective parrot purchasers, beware! You
are asking for a lifetime of trouble.
Parrots take a lot of work, said Liz Wilson, a bird behavior specialist
from Levittown, Pennsylvania, in a report released at a meeting of the
American Veterinary Medical Association Friday.
Most people who buy a baby parrot get rid of it after five years, she
said.
"Parrots are not easy to live with," Wilson said. "They are loud and
they stay in their terrible twos for their entire life."
The macaw, a large parrot, may grow to full size relatively quickly,
but doesn't reach sexual maturity for five or six years. Owners are
often shocked to find themselves with an unruly teen-ager in the
house, she added.
David Graham, a professor of avian health at Texas A & M
University, said in a report released at the same meeting that parrots
are highly social animals that bond with mates in the wild, and in
captivity their owners must fulfill those needs.
"We've come to recognize that long-term solitary confinement is cruel
and unusual punishment in people, and the same applies to these
special animals," he said.
Parrots need to interact with the family, he said, adding that owners
often underestimate how long birds live. |
