When deciding to add a feathered friend to your family, it's important to select a bird whose needs can be met in your home.
Many birds, though popular and readily available, are not appropriate pets for most people. There are several species of birds with physical, behavioral, and social needs that are simply too great to be addressed in an average household. These birds should not be pets and are best left in their natural habitats.
Good Choices
Canaries, finches, cockatiels, parakeets, and lovebirds are birds who have a long history of selective breeding in captivity and can be considered domesticated strains of wild species. Their basic needs are more easily met, proper supplies to care for them are readily available, and these birds can live long, happy lives in a caring home.
Better Kept in the Wild
In comparison, birds like conures, parrots (of whom there are many varieties), macaws, cockatoos, and toucans are problematic because they have not undergone the same process of long captive breeding and genetic selection. These birds are still wild animals, even when bred in captivity. As such, their normal behavior can make them difficult and demanding to live with.
Issues like size, noise, destructive behavior, biting, and behavioral vices—coupled with a lifespan of 50 years or more—can make these species inappropriate as pets for the average owner. Because of these humane reasons, these animals are not recommended as pets. Most people simply cannot provide for the many complex needs of such birds, causing them to suffer for their entire lives.
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