If you love and own bird of your own, then it can be hard not to think of giving a pet bird to a loved one as a gift for Christmas, a birthday, or some other special occasion. After all, what better gift could there be than a loving companion to spend every day with? The truth, however, is that parrots or other pet bird species are actually one of the worst possible gift choices that a person could make.
While it may seem odd, there are a variety of good reasons for this. Read on to learn why you should never give a pet bird as a gift to anyone, no matter what the occasion or circumstances may be.
- Keeping birds can be expensive! If you yourself are a bird owner, then you should know first-hand how expensive it can be to keep and care for a pet bird properly. Even if you were to provide a loved one with a bird and cage as a gift, there are countless other expenses that the recipient would have to take care of. The costs of food, toys, and vet bills can add up more quickly than one might think, and the person you give the bird too may not be able to cover the price of all these things. The last thing anyone wants is for the quality of a bird's life to suffer due to it's owners lack of funds. Even if you feel certain that the person you want to give a bird to can afford everything their pet would need, they may have other financial obligations that you are not aware of.
- Birds can live for a very long time. Some parrot species have been known to live for up to 100 years in captivity. Even other types of birds, such as Canaries and Finches, can have average lifespans of 10 years plus. How do you know that the person you'd like to give a bird to would be willing to commit to keeping an animal for this long? What if the person goes through some life-changing event, such as having a baby or moving to a place where pets aren't allowed? Reasons such as this are exactly why the average pet bird goes through 5 different homes during its lifespan -- and also why birds are a terrible choice as a gift!
- Birds are not the ideal pet for every living situation. Just because you have the space to keep a pet bird does not mean that everyone does. Some people live in tiny studio apartments, dormitories, or condominiums. Even small pet bird species need plenty of bird-safe space to play in outside of their cages. If you think a person might have room to keep a bird in their living space, there is always a great chance that they would disagree. Space issues aside, those who do live in multi-family housing complexes may have landlords who prohibit pets, or neighbors that would complain about hearing a squawking parrot.
- Keeping pet birds can be hard work. Taking care of a pet bird involves more than just providing it with fresh food and water -- a lot more. The person that you would like to give a bird to may not be willing or able to properly interact and socialize with a bird, much less perform daily cage cleaning duties and offer several hours a day of supervised out-of-cage playtime. Birds can be messy, destructive pets that just don't "click" with all pet lovers. Because of this, choosing to not give a bird as a gift might possibly be the greatest decision you could ever make for a captive parrot (or for your intended recipient!)
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