Common Reasons People Give Up their birds.
NOISE – parrots are loud, even the smallest budgie can make enough noise in an apartment to cause your neighbors to bang on the walls – its part of what makes a bird “a bird” they vocalize – and when owners have had enough, rather than work with the bird or provide stimulating toys, they get rid of the bird in place of one who they think will not be as noisy.
MESS – parrots are messy, not only with their tossing of food bits all over but some have very effective projectile pooping! Some owners are not prepared for the “daily” cleaning of their parrots and when you realize how long they live – its not something they “expected” to have to do.
EXPENSE: parrots can be expensive, from the initial purchase to the cage costs of upwards to 1000.00 – not to mention the toys/wood/pellets/fresh fruit and veges and vet bills.
BITING: if you have a parrot, you WILL get bit, thats part of having one as a companion. How you react to that bite will determine if it becomes a habitual thing or if it can changed – certain things will startle the bird, they will bite in reaction, not many are aware of this and once bitten, become wary of the bird, if the bird bites their child or other pet in the home, 90% of the time it is rehomed immediately.
BEHAVORIAL PROBLEMS: what owners perceive as behavorial issues are not actually issues to the parrot, it is part of what they “do” and being that they are not so far removed from their wild ancestors, they are doing what comes totally natural to them.
If you do encounter issues ie:plucking/screaming/biting, it is up to you to determine “why” this behavior is occurring.
ALLERGIES: birds have alot of dander and those who suffer from asthma should not have birds with alot of dander ie:cockatoos/african greys/macaws.
Elderly people also have shown breathing difficulties in keeping larger birds.
HAVING A BABY: many people acquire birds when they are younger – prior to marriage and children, once married and babies begin to come, this can cause serious issues to the parrot – depending on the length of time the parrot has been in the home, they develop strong bonds with their caregivers – when a spouse arrives on the scene this can cause serious jealousy issues that can become dangerous if the bird tries to attack.
Once a baby is born, the attention shifts from the bird to the baby, this is when other behavioral issues arise – it can also be dangerous to the child. The owner than decides they no longer have the time for the bird and it is sent away.