 Bird Buying Guide
Choosing the Right Bird for You
Birds can be intelligent, enjoyable companions, but choosing the wrong bird can really cause heartache and frustration. How do you choose the right pet bird for you and your family? Before you try to decide which species of bird you want, you may want to think about whether a bird is really the right type of pet for you.
Many people decide to buy a bird because they want to have a pet that provides some company, but doesn't require a lot of time and energy to take care of. Actually, caring for a bird properly may not be quite as hard for caring for a dog, but it involves a bit more than tossing some seed in the cage every day. Birds need to have the papers or litter in the bottom of the cage changed daily and the entire cage should be washed down once a week to keep it clean. Also, if your bird has been hand fed, you will need to spend some time interacting with it each day to keep it tame and friendly.
If you don't have a lot of time to spend with your bird, you may want to consider finches or canaries. Although these little birds will be tamer if you spend time with them, they won't pine away if they don't have human interaction. They do scatter seeds a bit, but are not as messy as most other birds, so you will have less clean up, as well. Their pleasant vocalizations make these birds the ideal choice for apartment dwellers. If you want to have a bird that you can interact with, but you don't have a lot of room for cages and equipment, you may want to take a look at lovebirds, parakeets or cockatiels. These birds are all excellent pets for first time bird owners. Although they are louder than finches, these birds are not unbearably loud.
Most apartment dwellers do not have trouble with the neighbours over the vocalizations of their lovebirds, parakeets or cockatiels. If you feel that a lovebird or cockatiel isn't enough of a parrot for you, you may want to look at mid-size parrots, such as Senegal parrots and conures. Most of these birds are entertaining and cuddly pets. However, they can be loud enough to cause problems for apartment dwellers. The brighter conures, such as the sun conure, can be especially loud. Unfortunately, their loud vocalizations do not mean that they have the extensive vocabularies and clear speech that large parrots have.
If you are looking for a mid-size parrot that talks well, the Nanday conure or the Quaker parrot are good, but loud, choices. For people looking for a great talker, larger parrots are the best choice. However, just keep in mind that even African grays do not always develop extensive vocabularies. Every bird is an individual. Larger parrots have the intelligence of a toddler and need plenty of mental stimulation to keep them happy, so you will need to be prepared to spend plenty of time with your bird.
Where to Buy a Bird? - Breeder/Aviary or Pet Store
Generally speaking, getting a pet bird from a reputable bird breeder is the best option. Bird breeders may be located through our bird breeders lists. It may be harder to find a bird this way, and potentially more expensive, but generally a bird from a good breeder will be well worth it. However, you need to also beware of careless or unethical breeders. Personally visiting a breeder is best, since it gives you a chance to see the conditions in which their birds are raised, and you can also get a sense of how the breeder handles their birds. If the birds are crowded and kept in unclean conditions, look elsewhere! The volume of birds moving through pet stores increases the chance of being exposed to infectious disease, and many pet stores do not interact much with their birds so the birds may be skittish.
If you are looking for a parrot, try to find a breeder that hand-raises babies and continues handling the babies after weaning.
However, some pet stores do raise and sell hand-raised babies, and as long as the baby birds are raised in good conditions (with proper infection control procedures), and regularly handled, a really good pet store can be a good alternative if you cannot find a good breeder.
Advantages of Hand-Raised Birds
If you are interested in a parrot, then try to find a hand-raised bird. Hand-raised birds are taken from their parents and hand-fed by humans, which helps produce tame, human-oriented pet birds. A hand-raised bird is most likely to be a cuddly, tame, and easy to handle bird. Hand-raised birds should be weaned before you take them home, but make sure the bird was still handled regularly after weaning. Some breeders invest lots of time in hand-feeding the babies but then don't handle the birds much once they are weaned. As a result, the bird may become skittish and hard to tame again.
Note: a recent study showed that daily handling sessions with parent-reared amazon babies produced birds that appeared to be quite tame. Some experts believe that this method might produce better-adjusted birds in the long term. Hopefully more studies will be carried out to determine the long term effects of parent-raised vs. hand-raised birds.
Get a Weaned Bird
Very important! Some breeders believe that un weaned baby birds will bond closer to their new owners (and unethical breeders are probably glad to pass on the demanding work of hand-feeding!). However, weaned birds still bond very readily to people, and a young bird that was handled frequently after weaning should still be tame and easy to handle. Hand feeding is very demanding and inappropriately prepared formula can cause a number of health problems. As well, weaning can be very stressful for baby birds, and predispose them to illness. Moving a baby to a new home around this time just adds to the stress. It is also difficult to accurately assess the health of an un weaned bird, which not only makes choosing a bird more difficult, but also means that medical problems may go undetected for longer than if the baby is with an experienced breeder.
The Older Bird
Older bird adoptions can certainly be successful, but there is lot of potential for problems. An older bird that is not tame will be very difficult to tame and turn into a social, cuddly pet. A tame older parrot may be very bonded to its previous owner and many not be as tame with a new owner; at the very least it may take time and patience to get such a bird to fully trust and start to bond with you. Also, when adopting an older bird you might be inheriting serious behaviour problems which may be difficult or impossible to fix. If adopting an older bird, make sure you know what you are getting, and be prepared to accept the bird as is.
Leg Bands
Your bird may have a metal band around one leg. These are a form of identification and are marked with a code that identifies the origins of the bird. Domestically bred birds have a closed band (there is no split in the band) that is slipped over the leg when the bird is small. Open bands are found on imported birds, and have a split since they are applied by closing an open band around the bird's leg.
What to Get in Writing: The Purchase Contract
Although a purchase document/contract might be quite informal, you should be sure to get certain things in writing:
- Make the purchase conditional to a vet check. Arrange to have your avian vet examine the bird, with the condition that you can return the bird if health problems are apparent.
- Hatch date, band number, scientific name, and sex of the bird if known.
- Amount paid and method of payment.
- Conditions of sale and under what circumstances the bird can be returned.
- If your bird is imported, make sure you get all the documentation. If you ever need to move your bird, you may need these papers.
10 Signs to Look For When Picking a Bird
There are a number of things you can look out for and assess when you are picking out a pet bird. Following this checklist is no guarantee of getting a healthy bird (especially since birds are excellent at hiding signs of illness) but it does give you an idea of what you should definitely avoid. Some of the items on the list take a bit of practice to appreciate what is "normal" and what is not; you can get a bit of practice by observing birds (friends, pet stores, etc.) before starting the search for your bird. Here is a 10 point checklist you can use when looking at birds.
1. Activity Level
Look for a bird that is active and alert, and interested in what is going on. Younger birds often sleep more than adults, but still usually wake up and are interested in new people and activity around their cage.
Avoid birds that are puffed up, sleepy, or reluctant to move (signs of illness).
2. Eyes
Should be clear and bright, with no discharge or swelling.
3. Nostrils
Should be clear of discharge or blockages. Scaliness around the nostrils can indicate a mite infestation.
4. Beak
The top and bottom parts of the beak should meet evenly, without gaps, and in good alignment. The top part of the beak should not be overgrown or overly pointy, and the edges of the beak should be smooth.
5. Feathers
Look for birds that have shiny, healthy-looking feathers with no downy feathers showing through. There should be no bald spots, except in Lutino cockatiels which often have a bald spot behind the crest. Baby birds take a while to become fully feathered but by the time they are weaned they should have all their feathers and are not fluffy anymore. However, young birds often have frayed feathers and a bit of a disheveled appearance.
6. Feet
In young birds, the feet should be smooth and soft, while in older birds they are usually a bit more scaly in appearance. However, watch for overly scaly feet which can be a sign of problems. The feet should be free of bumps or sores.
7. Vent
The vent is the area around the combined opening of the urinary, digestive, and reproductive systems (just in front of the tail on the underside of the bird). This area should be clean and dry, free of matted feathers or faecal material.
8. Body Condition
This is a bit more difficult to assess since you need to be able to feel the chest of the bird. Get the seller to hold the bird on its back, and try to feel the keel bone, which is a long, thin, flat bone that protrudes from the chest wall (breast bone) of the bird and runs down the midline of the bird from the chest to the belly. In a bird in good condition, the keel can be felt but its edge is nearly even with the muscles on the chest. In an underweight bird, the keel bone is very prominent and in an obese bird it is very difficult to feel. You want a bird that is in good condition and not too skinny (although newly weaned birds are often a bit thin) or too fat.
9. Breathing
Should be regular, quiet and not strained. Wheezing, clicking, shorting, or heavy, laboured breathing can be a sign of respiratory problems.
10. Attitude to People
This is not so much a health issue but gives you an idea of how the bird relates to people, which is important in determining what kind of pet it will be. Ask to handle the bird. Ideally, look for a bird that is very social, readily coming to you and staying calm throughout handling. A bird that initially resists a bit but warms up to you also has potential. A bird that panics when you try to handle it and bites or shrieks is probably not a good pick.
Bird breeders may be located through our bird breeders lists.
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