Parrots as Pets

Parrots are loud, messy, and quite a bit "wilder" than domesticated cats and dogs as pets. Many species aren't really good pets at all. But, on the plus side, a few of them talk, which is pretty cool. 

Keely is my snuggler, and would love to be on my shoulder 24/7, as long as we don't stay too far away from her cage for too many minutes. That being said, she often asks to be picked up and then doesn't actually come. She's had some issues with phobias that we've worked on (a solid 2 year period one time), and she does some feather picking - but she's better there than she's been in the past. Keely never got to learn to fly as a young bird, so doesn't have that ability now. She is my parrot with the biggest vocabulary, and is the most likely to use a phrase in context. Keely was an only pet for about a year, and to this day is disdainful of all other pets in our house, and orders them about. She is 16 years old, and I got her when she was about 3 months old.

One of my other parrots, Ginny, is always willing to come out and get snuggled. She almost always will step up if offered the opportunity. She's strong willed too, and always looking for an adventure. She's a wiggler, and can't stay still for long, so will not sit with you passively for more than a few minutes. Then she's off to find something to explore and probably chew. She goes through an amazing amount of cardboard boxes in her cage and reduces them to teeny tiny confetti. She'll work on her projects for hours each day. She is insanely jealous of Keely, and actively tries to take her out at all costs whenever the opportunity arises, in spite of the fact that Keely is bigger and meaner and would probably win in any battle. Even though Keely is the better talker, Ginny picks up many of the phrases that Keely says (and smartly figured out how to substitute her own name into the litany). They make a chorus back and forth once the talking starts - both basically trying to talk to me and outdo the other one. Ginny is about 14 years old, and she was handfed by my mom until she changed allegiance and bonded strongly to me on one of my trips home from college - to the point of viciously attacking all others.

My last parrot is a little cockatiel, Quiggly. Quiggly is off in his own world. He's not part of the battle between the "girls" for my attention. He's actually just as happy talking to his reflection in his bell or the doorknob. He's a fairly hands-off bird, and suffers through kisses and cuddles with many screeching protests. He's okay to occasionally come sit on your shoulder or the back of the chair - but on his own terms. Usually when he's wanting some attention he'll launch himself off his cage and onto the floor (he's very ungraceful and although he can fly when startled, makes little attempt to fly in his normal daily life). Then he'll walk over to me and get a step up. Quiggly loves to be the first bird to greet you when you come in the door, and will often repeat, "Hi, Quiggly" over and over again until I acknowledge him. He also loves it when you come near his cage to talk to him and/or attempt to whistle. Quiggly is my baby. He was born from my mom's birds and handfed by her. He was born spring 2009, so is 5 years old.