How to convince a parent to get a bird?

Question

Hi. My parents are against me getting a bird because all they just say is that the house is becoming like a zoo. I do like animals. My parents say I have too many pets....all I have is a fish tank and 2 frogs.

How can I convince my parents to get a bird their argument is that they are messy and will mess up the house.

Answer 1

Your parents have a very valid argument.

I understand your parents' sentiment on living in a zoo, although it depends on where you live--if you live in a small apartment, that's a good deal of space being taken up by cages, food, etc., but I used to live comfortably on a farm with twenty chickens, a goat, four sheep, six cats, and one dog, and everyone was happy, comfortable and well-fed; what matters is how much breathing room you have. The size of the bird you want to get makes a big difference, too; large parrots like macaws require large cages, which are only a little smaller than your average refrigerator (width and depth wise), whereas a budgie can live comfortably in a much smaller cage.

It's also important to think about how much time you have. Fish and frogs don't require a whole lot of attention, but birds aren't just decorations, they are social animals and you have to spend time with them. You may have enough time to balance school and homework with the occasional feeding or tank cleaning that a fish or frog requires, and you may have enough time to add one more cage and set of food bowls to the equation, but can you also afford to spend a few hours socializing with your bird, every day, consistently? Of course you can always get two birds so they can keep each other company, but the less you socialize with them, the less they'll trust you, and the less they'll allow you to handle them when you do want to interact with them.

And birds can be quite messy, but I wouldn't say they "mess up the house", unless it's something like a zebra finch that flies everywhere, and you give it free reign to go wherever it pleases--which is dangerous anyway, there are a lot of things in a house that could easily harm or kill a bird if it is allowed to fly freely. Parrots don't fly around that much, they tend to just hang out on their cage, on a play stand, or wherever you bring them. As long as they're on top of their cage, or a playstand (which usually comes with a p**p/food catcher at the bottom to keep the floor clean), or somewhere you have laid down newsprint, they don't make much of a mess. However they can be pretty messy when they want to be; some parrots actually throw their food on the floor, just for fun! A whole dish may be upturned, the contents spilling onto the floor, simply because the bird thinks it's entertaining. Small birds like cockatiels don't do this, but they can still cause a small mess, as when they eat a seed the hull may go flying out of the cage; there are, however, cage "skirts" you can put on to keep food from flying out, or you can fold material around the bottom third of the cage. This works for random seeds but not for a bird that intentionally spills food, because the'll just climb up and toss the food over the skirt.

Answer 2

Tell them all the befits of getting one,and their not messy if you let them everywhere in the house for hours

Answer 3

Are they having to put up with taking care of your pets ?  Do they have to make sure they're fed ?  Assure your parents that they'll have zero trouble with the bird.  (You realize birds can live a long time and some of them are noisy.)

Answer 4

Show them your responsibility. Tell them you will take good care of it. You can get canaries, finches or budgies, they are fairly inexpensive and relatively low maintenance. If you get them you can prove your responsibility by always taking care of it.