By Liz Wilson

It is an irony that poor health in a parrot, especially chronic low key conditions like malnutrition and inadequate surroundings, often reduces the noise, mess and aggression levels in many birds, and therefore makes it easier for the average human to live with them. However, once the condition is resolved, the owner finds out what living with a parrot is truly like! Often an owner will not be pleased and may even blame their vet, or other things, for the change, not understanding that improved health and conditions were the reasons.

Another major cause of difficulty is that people often misunderstand what domestic-bred means, thinking it is the same as domesticated. The fact that parrots, whether hatched in captivity or not, are wild animals complete with the genetic information of wild animals, is completely missed by many owners. This means they often have false expectations as to what life should be like, living with a parrot. This can be compared to a ‘dog with feathers’ syndrome. From experience, most humans are looking for a companion animal that perceives them as the centre of the universe, and always in the mood to do whatever the owner wishes. Obviously, these people are not going to enjoy co-habiting with a parrot. So on the subject of domesticated vs domestic-bred, one can resolve this confusion by explaining that a tiger born in a zoo may be domestic bred, but it is still a tiger.

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