((Technically, my mom brought home two Budgies and a Cockatiel when I was a kid, but Elly was my first parrot, chosen and cared for by me, as an adult.))

My ramblings shoudn't be taken as anything other than my wanting better conditions for birds and the people who love them as is my true intent.

Elly, my first higher-maintenance bird (Dusky Conure) came from Petco, one of the larger pet store store chains. Her antics made me fall in love. Excitedly, she paced, tripped, got back up, bounced happily. She was irresistible. I impulsively purchased her, not knowing what I was really getting into. This was 2006-ish, there wasn't much bird info around back then.

I'm happy knowing that isn't so much the case anymore, but still... not everyone is aware of what they're getting into.

Adult parrots sometimes do this, baby parrots often do this. They're just little babies that want to play and bond with a parent, be they human or birb. I was Elly's parent for a few years and she was my cute, sweet, little pickle bird. (Pike, a young, feral rescue conure acted similarly, too).
When parrots get a little older, they may or may not be as affectionate/playful after their hormones kick in. Despite my spoiling Elly with love, Elly chose my dad as her human and wanted to murder me. He laugh, she laugh, I laugh, but cried a little on the inside. If that's how she wanted to be, I figure, "Oh well, she's happy."
This is the point where many people give up their birds instead of weathering it out. She calmed down a little bit several years later and went back to loving everyone, although during her "spring time" she went nutters again, but again, we weathered it.

I wanted to make this point just incase anyone is motivated to purchase a parrot, not knowing what they're fully committing to. Also, these guys can live for 20+ years. If you're young, and plan on going to college, who shall tend for your buddy? Is your family comfortable with them screaming at sunrise, screaming for attention, screaming because a fly looked at them crossways? You got $1k+ in savings or willing to do a GFM for vet bills bc for some reason birds enjoy tempting fate and go everywhere they're not suppose to?

I'm happy to say as time has gone by, a lot of people are more research-savvy, and even more aware and compassionate to critters, than say 2006. The love of birds has come a very long way, but it still has a ways to go, and so I ramble.

I'm also inspired to write all this as I am not a fan of pet store chains and the care of their birds (with few exceptions). I went to Petco near Austin and saw a quaker with no perches or toys (see pic, quaker at the left). I commented on it in the most polite, yet concerned way possible. I'm not here to bully, just teach, and share.
The person at the front didn't seem to have cruel intentions at all, he was polite and seemed to not know any better. This is the fault of the company, not him. I think we should all expect better from these chains and not fund their operation until they do so. The only thing corporate listens to is $$$.



Elly was the one who started me on my journey to speak up for the birds, so there is a silver lining to all this. heart