Parrot Facts for the Young

Anyone who is seriously considering buying their children a parrot needs to do plenty of research on parrot facts before even deciding which kind to buy. Parrots make wonderful pets, for the right owners, but some are more appropriate for children than others. Even the more appropriate ones can take quite a bit of energy and attention in order to maintain the bird's health. They need even more attention than kittens or puppies.
 

If you have very young children, you might not be ready for a parrot at all. You might want to consider a more social finch, instead. They are colorful, sweet, and require very little attention, compared to any one of the parrot species. If your child is old enough to assist with feeding, watering, and cleaning the cage, though, he might be ready for the smallest, gentlest one, the budgerigar parakeet. They come in all sorts of colors ranging from green, to yellow, to white. You can even get them in varying shades of blue. They don't require huge cages or much space in your home, and they live about the same length of time as cats and dogs, 10 to 15 years.

If your child is a little older and is willing and able to take on more responsibility, then he might be ready for a cockatiel. These birds come in pale yellow and gray and are about two and a half times the size of a parakeet. Though their bills can be sharp, and they can, like most parrots, sometimes be a little surly, they don't pose the danger of the bigger parrots, like Conures and Macaws. These larger birds have beaks and talons that can do serious, blood-letting damage to children and adults who don't know what to expect. Generally, cockatiels are loving and social without causing too much difficulty.

The larger members of the parrot family should be left strictly for adult owners and handlers, however. Because they require so much attention, they won't necessarily just sulk in their bird cages if they are ignored. They will do whatever they can to demand attention. Such birds can be quite aggressive if not handled properly, and the difficulty in teaching children how to deal with such a challenging bird is probably not worth the hassle. But whatever kind of bird you decide to buy, make sure you get as many parrot facts as possible before you take the plunge.

Alan is a lover of animals and nature. He writes on all types of alternative farming topics, as well as nature articles including those on tortoise facts and parrot facts [http://www.parrotfacts.org/].
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