Polly Wants A Home

Many people have often dreamed of having a large pet bird, thinking how cool it would be to have a feathered friend to ride around on your shoulder and perform neat tricks. Large birds are quite expensive though, so many times when people decide to make this dream a reality, they look for large birds that are available for adoption.

While this is a noble and thoughtful idea, it can often lead to people getting a bird that has severe behavioral or health issues, that the new owner may not be able to adequately handle. Many of the large birds that are available for adoption are birds that have been rescued from their previous home, and these rescued birds often come with a great deal of emotional baggage.

Possible Behavioral Issues with Rescued and Adopted Large Birds

Each bird has their own personality, and large birds are prone to have even more personality than a small bird breed. Added to that, large birds such as Macaws, Amazons, African Grays and Cockatoos are very intelligent birds. This intelligence can often cause a problem for new owners if the bird has been abused and neglected in their previous home environment.

Large birds can easily remember things. If they have been abused by a male, they tend to hold a grudge towards males. Likewise if they have been abused by a female. If they have been poked at by little fingers, they remember those little fingers and can be aggravated by just the site of a hand. Unfortunately for those hands, large birds have very powerful beaks, and can easily cause severe injury to a hand that is stuck in their cage.

Many large birds that have been abused and mistreated also have the propensity to be extremely loud. And not just a little loud. Loud to the point that your neighbors three blocks over will be able to hear their screams! This often stems from their previous owners constantly yelling and screaming at them, or not giving them enough attention.

Possible Health Issues with Rescued and Adopted Large Birds

There are also a number of health issues that can come along with your adopted and rescued large birds. Large birds require a specific diet in order for them to maintain proper health. Often times, people get these birds and do not realize the extent of this diet, and the bird is forced to subsist on nothing more than a seed diet. This is not healthy for the bird, and can lead to a number of health conditions that you as the new owner will be forced to deal with. Additionally, you as the new owner will also have to make sure that you have the means and abilities to feed your new adopted bird their proper diet to make sure that they are getting the nutrients that they need.

Some large birds that have been abused and neglected may also have problems with their feathers, skin, beak and nails. If the bird has been  neglected, they can have beaks that are too long and will require trimming, nails that require trimming, and if they have not been given access to bathing materials, can have skin and feather parasites such as mites. If the bird was neglected and not given proper mental stimulation, or has been stressed excessively, it could also have started feather plucking, which can also lead to a number of health related problems.

All large birds will require a lot of attention and care, and birds that have been rescued and placed for adoption will more than likely require even more care on top of that. Before you adopt or rescue a large breed bird, you should make certain that you know exactly what you are getting into, and thoroughly evaluate whether you will be able to give the bird exactly what it needs.