My temporary officemate just bought his 12-year-old daughter a parakeet for her birthday. He’s a blue baby and hand raised (the bird, not necessarily my coworker). No $15 Petco purchase for my officemate. Apparently his bird has pedigree.
Prior to the purchase, we talked quite a bit about bird ownership. I got to tell him all about our family adventures with mean Keeter and sweet Neon. How Keeter died from a brain hemorrhage after flying into a wall when we moved to the Katy house and how Neon died by lethal injection after a large mass was discovered in her main cavity.
His family settled on a bird after deciding that any other animal would be too messy and too much work. Both kids have kept a fish alive for more than a year, so it was time, by his estimation, to move to something more land-animal-like.
I did tell him that birds are not a care-free pet. I’ll never forget moving out of the Kingwood house and seeing all of the seeds, feathers and poop left behind from Keeter that had been hidden behind the dresser his cage lived on. I did also tell him that birds, like fish and dogs, can get ill and quickly need pricey vet intervention for life-saving measures. Because sometimes it’s better (read easier) to spend some money than have to teach your preteen child about the value of life. (Thanks Dad for forking over the cash to humanely end Neon’s journey here on Earth.)
My coworker asked me what he should be prepared for as a new bird parent. I told him that with Keeter and Neon, we had one nice, friendly bird that loved to chatter and run around on the ground and one mean bird that never learned to talk and bit everyone. Birds are like cats. Some are nice and some, for some reason, suck. There’s not much science to it. It’s just rolling the dice.
A benefit to owning a caged animal, I suppose, is that no one has to walk it ever. Now, I love walking Aggie, but if no one in my house wanted to do the walking, I could see how it would be an issue. I do think it is funny though that these smaller pets are used, it seems, as starter pets. They’re like Hooked on Phonics for dog ownership.
Having a bird won’t trick my colleague’s daughter into no longer wanting a dog. And truth be told, if he would’ve been the one to walk the dog, then he’ll likely also be the one scrubbing the poop out of the bird cage on the weekends.
All this being said, I think birds make great pets. I’ve occasionally thought about adding a bird to my happy family with Aggie, but for now come to the conclusion that there is just no room for a bird. Oh yea, and J hates pet birds. But he also was resistant to the idea of getting a dog…and we see how that turned out…