CR'S GUIDE TO BIRDKEEPING
Part One - Why Would Anyone Want to Keep a Bird?

Here is part one of a series of articles I plan to write on keeping birds (not that many will read this here on dA ). In this article, I cover the potential birds have as pets and dispel some common misconceptions.

In the next few articles I will cover the different species of birds and how to choose the right one for you, where to get your bird and how to research, proper guide to cage selection and other equipment that you need, the art of toy selection, how to feed your bird, behaviour training, enrichment, grooming and health, and finally talking and trick training.

By following along, by the end of these articles you should know the basics on how to get the most out of keeping a bird – making sure both it and you are happy, that it’s healthy, well-socialised, well-behaved, can be taken anywhere with you and even trick trained.

They're Boring, Right?
So why would anyone want to keep a bird?! You’ve seen that budgie at Mrs. Smith’s house down the road… all it does is sit in its cage all day, chirping at its mirror, and goes ballistic from fright if anyone gets too close to the cage. Mrs. Smith doesn’t know it, but what she and most other bird owners are doing is borderline cruelty. On top of that, her budgie has so much potential to be an affectionate and entertaining pet, instead it rots in its cage, going insane from boredom.

Two Types of Pet Birds
There are two types of pet birds – aviary birds and companion birds. An aviary bird can be pretty much any species of bird (although common ones are finches, small parrots and quails) that are untamed and hands-off. It is vital that most of these species are kept with other birds of the same species for companionship. People keep them because they are gorgeous to look at (feathered angels boasting every colour of the rainbow and fantastic markings and sometimes voices) and fun to watch as they go about their business as birds. Many start collections of different species of aviary birds and may also get into breeding (including mutation breeding which can be quite rewarding).

Companion Birds
Companion birds are usually parrots (but can be other species too, I’ll cover that in the next article) and are tame and love human companionship. They are usually bought as hand-raised babies. Companion birds have a lot of potential and are incredible animals; here are just a few reasons why:
* Birds are playful. Birds love to play, some species enjoy wrestling and chasing your hands like a puppy that never grows up, lying on their back to play with a ball, playing movement, voice and mind games with you. Here is an video with some footage of my crazy little nutcase playing: [link]

* Birds can be cuddly. Some species love nothing more than to snuggle up to you and cuddle. Just note that with such birds, it is important to teach them how to be independent as well.

* Birds can talk. Birds, especially parrots, can be taught to speak in context. You can teach them to say what they want in plain English. This is an incredible level of communication with an animal. They will tell you if they want an apple, want to come out of their cage, if the dog has got into the room again, if they want a shower, etc. They can also learn to mimic sounds.

* Birds are intelligent. Parrots surpass dogs in intelligence and many rival monkeys. In fact, some species are able to add numbers higher than a chimpanzee can. The more intelligent species are compared to having the brain of a 5 year old human. This creates a very aware pet, but also has its downsides. Intelligent animals need a lot of mental stimulation, you can’t keep a bird by itself in a cage and never let it out. They are also problem solvers, many parrots figure out how to unlock their cages and let themselves out, if you won’t. It has been discovered that some species of parrots will actually give each of their offspring and partner individual names.

* Birds can be trained. Birds can be taught to fetch, roll over, wave, high five, say the right things at the right moments, play basketball, sort and match coloured items, do card tricks, fly through a hoop, turn around in a circle, spread their wings on cue, nod yes and no, and countless more. They should also be behaviour trained (like a dog is taught to sit) to keep them well-behaved.

* Birds are silly. They are very entertaining to watch when they are amusing themselves. They make up their own games, do acrobatics, practice the words they know (often mixing and matching words), jump up and down while making silly noises, hit their beaks on objects because the sound amuses them, and dance. Parrots love music and individuals seem to have different tastes. Some show preference to classical, while others like rock, pop, metal, dance… Some have incredible timing as they dance or hit their beaks in time with music they like.

* Birds are clean (by that I mean they clean themselves, but they still keep everything else messy!) and don’t smell. It is vital for a bird to keep its feathers in top condition. They spend a lot of time preening each feather to make sure they are just right. They also love taking baths and will bath themselves regularly.

* Birds are affectionate. Many are very in-tune with your emotions and will show concern and affection if they sense you are feeling down.

* Birds can be taken anywhere with you. You know dogs can be taken for walks, go for car rides, taken to events, and even on holiday with you… and so can birds! Birds can be leash trained and taking them out into public actually benefits your bird’s behaviour and health significantly.

* Birds live for a long time. Depending on the species, the lifespan of a parrot is 25-90 years! They are friends for life.

Here's Why You Wouldn't Want a Pet Bird
Now that you know why so many people love to keep pet birds, here are the cons. Consider them carefully and decide if you can realistically handle them:
* Birds are noisy! Birds greet the sun as it comes up, and have another round of noisiness as it goes down. Birds come in different noise levels, from low noise to very loud, so find out which level you and your family can handle. There are a couple of pretty quiet birds, but I’ll cover that next article.
Also, many people accidently teach their birds to scream for attention, causing horrible screaming problems. Other birds scream because they are not looked after mentally and are bored. Both these things can be avoided. I’ll also cover that in a later article.

* Birds are messy! In the wild, birds will take a bite out of everything and throw the rest on the ground. Entire forests exist because of birds’ eating habits. These habits are brought into your home. Birds also like to throw and shred things out of sheer amusement. Mess can often end up landing outside the cage.

* Birds are demanding! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LOW MAINTANENCE COMPANION PARROT. Parrots are very, very social animals, possibly even more so than humans. They absolutely must need a friend who they interact with daily. For a companion bird, that friend is you. Some species are not as demanding as others.
Birds also need their cage cleaned weekly, newspaper changed daily, and fruit and veges prepared (feeding them nothing but seed will eventually kill them early). I give some time saving tips on these in later articles.
Aviary birds however, are not as demanding (if you are not breeding them, that is). Probably the biggest thing you need to do for them is food preparation. They don’t need you to spend time with them.

The Next Step
If you have decided that a bird is the right pet for you, the next step is to decide if you want to get some aviary birds or a companion bird. With that settled, I’ll talk about the different species in the next article and how to pick the right one for you.

I know this particular article was a bit long, but comments are welcome! Agree or disagree with something I’ve said? Post it here. Bird keeping is a controversial topic and many have differing opinions. Have any questions or comments? Post them, I will appreciate it.