Parrots aren’t like dogs or cats. We always more or less know how to handle dogs (or at least we know somebody who knows!), but parrots are completely different than our 4 legged friends. It doesn’t mean that they are difficult to take care for, but they are certainly different and you have to know something about them prior to their purchase. So (1) don’t buy them on impulse, especially since some pet stores might try to take advantage of you if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Then (2) buy only adult parrots, even if the shop assistant tries to convince you to buy a baby. It is very easy to kill a baby parrot just by feeding it improperly and an adult parrot will get used to you as quickly as the young one. Pet shops that sell parrot babies do it only because they want to save some money on animal food. (3) Read at least one book on parrots before you choose to buy one. Why? Because…
Parrots are wild animals
Living with a parrot can be difficult, because the have never been really domesticated and they don’t have the “right” instincts. For example, it is absolutely impossible to punish a parrot. It won’t understand why you’re trying to discipline it - its instincts won’t have such “options” as punishing. When buying a parrot don’t think that it’ll be like buying a dog - it will be much more like adopting someone to your family.
Do your homework before the purchase
As you can see buying a parrot is a serious matter, but fortunately not a hopeless one. There are a number of books that can help you in dealing with it. Here are some of the best books on this subject, but you can probably find at least ten others, which would contain all information you will need. The books are: “Handbook for Companion Parrots” by Sally Blanchard and “My Parrot, My Friend” by Bonnie Munro-Doane. Read at least one of these books before deciding on a parrot.
